Here Are The Top 10 New iPhone 4S Features You Need To Know About
October 14, 2011
Today marks the launch of the fifth iteration of Apple's revolutionary entry in the mobile phone industry; the iPhone 4S. Announced just about a week ago, this new device, which looks just like the last one, comes with completely new internal hardware and marks yet another leap forward.
While it doesn't look new, the iPhone 4S brings a lot of new features. Here are the top 10 features you should know about, and try out if yours has already arrived:
Siri
Siri is without a doubt the biggest and most revolutionary exclusive new feature of the iPhone 4S. Combining artificial intelligence, natural language processing and the power of the iPhone, Siri is a virtual assistant that you can talk to and interact with to control your iPhone. It can set up your alarm clock, read your messages, take notes or set appointments, and much more. It even has a great sense of humor. Just hold your home button to check it out.
New Camera
The iPhone 4S' back camera is another incredible update to the iPhone line. First of all, it features a much bigger sensor, and will capture as many as 8 million pixels. It can also capture more light thanks to a brand new 2.4 maximum aperture. It has a special IR filter for better color, and best of all, it's been radically redesigned to be faster than ever. You access it from the home screen with a double tap on the home button, and then take shots with the volume button.
The front camera, however, is the same, and features a lower resolution. It's still great for FaceTime.
Speed
The iPhone 4S features a much better dual-core processor than the iPhone 4. It's clocked at 800MHz (a bit slower than the iPad 2 for better battery life and reduced heat), but it will still feel much snappier than any previous iPhone. It also features a much faster graphical processor, which will make your games look even better once developers take advantage of it. Not to mention, it's easy on the battery with up to 200 hours of standby and 10 hours of sustained use.
HD
The iPhone 4S has some great new filmmaking capabilities. First of all, it features a full HD 1080p sensor, so your video will look crisp, and it features a great image stabilization feature that will make your video much smoother. Here is a video comparison to give you an idea.
New Antenna
You might not see it, but the iPhone 4S antenna has been completely redesigned to acquire a better signal, along with faster speeds (up to 14MBps on AT&T in selected areas), and no more death grip.
That's right, the terrible plague that affected the iPhone 4, and made it lose its signal when you held it "the wrong way" is gone. The iPhone 4S now has two antennas, and will not be bothered by your fingers ever again.
Multi-Carrier
In the US, the new iPhone 4S is available on AT&T and Verizon, as well as Sprint. This way, whatever your requirements; like a family or company plan, or spotty coverage in your area, you should still be able to find an iPhone 4S that suits you just fine.
If you don't know which carrier or plan to pick, he's a great comparison of the different plans available.
Airplay Mirroring
Another exclusive iPhone 4S feature is its ability to mirror its screen, over the air, to an Apple TV. This feature is called AirPlay mirroring. That means you can stream anything from your screen over the air to a television, from games like Real Racing, to presentations using Keynote, or even a Netflix movie.
Same Design - Almost
That's an obvious one, but for those of you who didn't have the iPhone 4, welcome to a new world of luxury. The iPhone 4S, just like the iPhone 4, features a beautiful glass front and back, with a sleek metalic band that goes around it. It's a luxurious object, but you'll have to be very careful. Dropping it on a hard surface will break it, and unless you have Apple's new AppleCare+ coverage, you'll have to pay for the repairs out of your own pocket. The glass back is not a big deal, as replacing it can be done in-store for just about $30. The front however costs $200 to replace, and can take up to 48 hours.
Furthermore, the mute switch is placed differently on this design, so your original bumper and AT&T iPhone 4 case might not fit it. Verizon iPhone 4 cases should be fine.
iOS 5
The iPhone 4S is the first iDevice that comes with Apple's amazing new iOS 5 built in. That is, right from the get go you'll be able to enjoy the Notification Center, iCloud, iMessage and much more. To learn about everything that iOS 5 brings, check out our roundup of the top 10 iOS 5 features.
Everything From the iPhone 4
That's right, the iPhone 4S brings with it all the improvements made for the iPhone 4 and these are incredible. That is, the iPhone 4S allows you to place video calls over FaceTime, it has a great high-resolution Retina display, 512MB of RAM for great multitasking, and much, much more.
All This - On Video
Last, but not least, Apple has compiled an amazing advertisement video for the iPhone 4S, that goes over all the features. Make sure to check it out.
So that's it, the iPhone 4S is coming out today and we can't wait to get our hands on it. It's available in both black and white, with either 16, 32 or 64GB of memory and you can get it for AT&T, Verizon or Sprint. If you don't know which one to get, check out our buyer's guide.
Enjoy!
(Image credits: Apple.com & Ifixit)