iPhone 4S

[Amasov]

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/technologylive/post/2011/10/apple-to-unveil-next-iphone/1

I like what I'm seeing.

Still no iPhone 5 announcement as of this posting.

 

[EyalM]

Apple stock is down 4.7%. Ouch.

 

[Sheep]

For a company that claims to focus on user experience and not fixate on hardware specs like Android phone manufaturers do, a spec bump is pretty disappointing.

They would have absolutely cleaned house with a bigger screen in a similar sized form factor. That said, the next year should be pretty interesting from a gadget lover's perspective.

 

[Chaos Descending]

All in all, a very disappointing showing, IMHO.

Top end Android phones have the newest slickest iPhone beat.

- Sean, an iPhone guy.

 

[Dukhat]

This is fantastic news...for me.

My contract was up a few months ago, and I wanted to re-up so I could get an iPhone 4 (16 GB, $199). But I decided to be patient and wait for this announcement to see what Apple was actually going to do. Now, I can get the same iPhone 4 for $99. I just saved myself a cool hundred bucks! (Yeah, it's only going to be an 8 GB phone, but I don't care about that). Hell, I'd even get the iPhone 3GS now that it's free, but I'm too worried that it won't run iOS5.

But seriously...what? A faster processor...for what, exactly? An 8 MP camera as opposed to a 5 MP...but it could be 20 MP...it's still a shitty cell camera, just like all cell cameras. Voice recognition software that's two years old...again, for what?

 

[Candlelight]

For a company that claims to focus on user experience and not fixate on hardware specs like Android phone manufaturers do, a spec bump is pretty disappointing.

They would have absolutely cleaned house with a bigger screen in a similar sized form factor. That said, the next year should be pretty interesting from a gadget lover's perspective.

Agreed. The 1080p recording is great but how long will you be able to record that for??

There are still these "iPhone 5" cases popping up; maybe a redesigned iPod?? Next year with the promised new look Macbook Pro (hopefully not some wafer-thin Macbook Air-esque) and also at some point we should get a newly designed Mac Pro too.

 

[Scout101]

Figure it didn't really matter for me either way. I'm holding out until they release a 4G version of the phone. Until then, they can upgrade the specs all they want, but it's really still the same stuff mine does. Increasing the actual network speed is what will get me, not how shiny and kewl angry birds will look on the screen...

 

[Chaos Descending]

There are still these "iPhone 5" cases popping up; maybe a redesigned iPod??

Those were based on a prototype that's not supposed to see the light of day, according to "sources".

 

[Amasov]

When the 4S was announced, I pretty much figured the 5 wouldn't follow. I like what they've done with the 4S, but those features aren't enough to get me to upgrade to it. I'm going to assume that these features along with a boatload of new ones will be added to the 5. I'm halfway into my two year iPhone 4 contract, so hopefully, when it comes time for me to renew next Fall, the 5 should be on its way.

 

[Chaos Descending]

I've had my 3GS since the 3GS was launched, and I am very disappointed that the 4S is just an iPhone 4 with different guts.

There are Android phones with better specs, AND 4G LTE, AND bigger screens. Why should I stick with the iPhone?

I just got my wife a Galaxy S II last night. THAT'S a pretty phone...

 

[Charlie Kelly]

This is certainly a disappointing launch for both Apple and Tim Cook. There is nothing 'special' about the new iPhone and there are arguably better phones already out there which are also cheaper. I wonder how this is going to affect their market share over the next year as it is already wobbling.

 

[Stone_Cold_Sisko]

Wow, what a disappointment.

My contract (iPhone 3GS) is up in exactly 2 months, and I was debating between the best new Android smartphones and the "new iPhone" - feeling sure there'd be an iPhone 5 based on leaked cases and parts manufacturers.

No frikken way do I get a 4S knowing there's an iPhone5 waiting in the wings. The 4S based on what I have seen does NOT beat the best of the Android smartphones. All they did was bring iPhone roughly up to par to Android... definately leaning towards a Galaxy S2.

 

[Warp Coil]

Well, as someone with a three-year-old iPhone 3G I am happy to upgrade to the 4S when it is available. I will admit that I was hoping for something more dramatic than what we got, but the rumors had been circulating for a while now that a 4S-style upgrade was in the cards (and not a full redesign). I guess this will be Apple's standard practice - introduce a model, update the model, and then replace it entirely. They did it with the 3G/3GS and now the 4/4S.

 

[David cgc]

No frikken way do I get a 4S knowing there's an iPhone5 waiting in the wings.

I'll be pretty surprised if there's a new iPhone out before September of next year, especially if it looks anything like the case manufacturers' hypothetical. There was a lot of fishy stuff about that leaked case spec sheet, from the lack of complimentary rumors, to the shape of the phone itself. A tapered design that's thicker on the top and thin at the bottom is only really sensible for something like a laptop, where it gives the keyboard a slight incline. It wouldn't be too weird for an iPhone held in portrait mode, but once you held it landscape, either the left side or right side would be thicker and the balance of it would be off. A peculiar choice, considering that Apple comes on pretty strong about iOS being a gaming platform, and so many games being motion-sensitive.

The same "weird, but acceptable in portrait, but totally bonkers in landscape" criticism can be leveled at the fact that the case spec has the screen set high up in the body of the phone, rather than centered. The small "forehead" and big "chin" is odd-looking vertically, but holding it horizontally means that the left or right hand won't have as much space to grip off the screen.

 

[FreddyE]

This is certainly a disappointing launch for both Apple and Tim Cook. There is nothing 'special' about the new iPhone and there are arguably better phones already out there which are also cheaper. I wonder how this is going to affect their market share over the next year as it is already wobbling.

Beeing able to just call out "Wake me up tomorrow 8 o clock" or "What will the weather be like tomorrow" without even touching the phone seem special enough for me. A further step towards trek like speech recognition.

 

[Sean Aaron]

I'm surprised people expected a brand new phone when the 4 just came out last year. This is entirely according to Apple's normal pattern. I know I wouldn't do a hardware swap even if the iPhone 5 was announced because I've only had my iPhone 4 for a year.

And who cares what Android phones are out anyway?

 

[Chaos Descending]

What "normal pattern"?

2007 - iPhone - New Design (obviously)
2008 - iPhone 3G - New Design
2009 - iPhone 3GS - Upgraded iPhone 3G
2010 - iPhone 4 - New Design.

That's not a pattern! If anything, the 3GS was the exception, not the rule.

 

[Sean Aaron]

Well, after the 3G"S" I'm not surprised to see a 4"S" filling the gap between the 4 and the 5, myself.

 

[Dukhat]

If Apple had just tweaked the external design of the phone a little, but upgraded the internals like they just did, there'd be ZERO bitching right now. Most average joes only care about cosmetic changes. Faster processors, a few megapixels more, and voice commands mean nothing when the phone looks exactly the same. Apple really should have known this and taken it into consideration.

The ironic thing is that if anyone (like me) was about to buy an iPhone 4 but was waiting for this, they are now going to get a better phone for exactly the same price they'd have bought the 4 for a day before. I was basically ready to buy the 16 GB $199 model, and now I can spend the same amount of money for this. The only reason I'm not is because Apple decided to release an 8 GB version of the 4, and for a hundred bucks cheaper, the 4S's new stuff isn't worth the money to me, for what I'm going to use the phone for.

 

[Chaos Descending]

Well, after the 3G"S" I'm not surprised to see a 4"S" filling the gap between the 4 and the 5, myself.

You know the only reason that the 3G+"S" moniker came about is because they were already on the Third Generation of iPhone, but had already used the "3" name on the Second Generation of iPhone.

The iPhone 4 really was the fourth Generation of iPhone. But the Fifth Generation of iPhone is the iPhone 5... noooo "4S". Whatever.

The iPhone 4 name was deliberatley chosen to synchronize the name with the generation, which they've now undone and probably jacked up for all time.

Unless the next phone is gonna be called the "iPhone 6", which would be weird.

If Apple had just tweaked the external design of the phone a little, but upgraded the internals like they just did, there'd be ZERO bitching right now. Most average joes only care about cosmetic changes. Faster processors, a few megapixels more, and voice commands mean nothing when the phone looks exactly the same. Apple really should have known this and taken it into consideration.

I think you've gotten it wrong a bit, IMHO.

I think most people feel that a "top of the line" current generation phone must at a minimum have a larger screen (4.3" or bigger) and "4G" whether it be HSPA+ or LTE or what have you.

I don''t think it's a matter of cosmetics at all.