At first glance, Apple’s new iPhone 4S does not seem to be that big of an improvement over the older iPhone 4. New features include a dual core processor, 8 megapixel 1080p camera, upgraded operating system, (iOS 5), iMessage (a chat feature that does not use a text message plans), improved antennas and new voice recognition. These features are mostly found on other smart phones. This lack luster feature set wasn’t super impressive on paper that is until you use this magical device.
One advantage Apple has over other market players is it has the ability to tightly control the hardware and the software. The iPhone 4S feel much more polished when you use it over other vendor’s phones. The software is optimized for the new A5 dual core processor and feels a lot faster than other phones of similar or even more powerful C.P.U.s. This makes a difference when you have a small amount of time to get something done. The improved antenna also allows for better reception over the older iPhone 4, and allows for different radios to operate on Verizon, AT&T or Sprint. This allows you to have the device you want and makes the carriers compete on service, which is a big win for consumers.
The new camera on the iPhone 4S has an 8 Megapixel camera and has the ability to shoot 1080p video at 30 frames per second. As someone who is use to carry around a digital camera, this new addition has made one more gadget of mine obsolete: a point and shoot digital cameras. The cameras on the iPhone 4S rivals that of other higher priced point and shoot cameras. And features such as image stabilization and the ability to edit photos quickly, make this an indispensable addition for people who love to take photos. Most people who carry a camera will quit when they have this device. While the iPhone 4S will not replace a DSLR camera, it will replace the point and shoot variety.
There is a major upgrade to iOS 5, the operating system that controls the iPhone, iPod, and iPad. There are over 200 refinements and additions to the software that make it feel like the most polished smart phone operating system on the market. One new feature that is found in other phones is called, “Reminders.” It’s a simple app, but Apple put its own twist on reminders. It allows you to specify a location where to remind you instead of a date and time. You pick the location upon departure or upon arrival; so you can set reminders when you leave work, or when you pull up in your drive way at home. This is the type of thinking that Apple is known for. They make you more efficient. They think about how people would want to use a reminder, not simply create another reminder app for its phone. This has been a great feature for people like me. It’s also nice for reminding you to pick up something when you’re at a store.
The final new piece of software included in the new iPhone 4S is what Apple is touting as Siri, an “intelligent assistant.” Siri is powered by Nuance’s Dragon Dictation. It allows for voice commands, and dictation system wide, but that is just the beginning. Siri allows you to talk to it and it interprets what you are saying. With other phones you can get dictation, or voice commands, but Siri doesn’t make you learn a new language or certain commands it truly tries to understand what you are saying. So if you say, “What is the weather like to day?” Siri looks up the weather based on your location and tells you what the weather is. If you say “what about in Chicago”, it knows you’ve looked up the weather previously and will get the forecast for Chicago. With help from the WolframAlpha computational knowledge engine, you can ask questions and Siri will query databases to find you an answer. Questions like, what is Pi?; how many days until Christmas?; or how many quarts in a cup? You can have Siri do things like remind you to do things, send emails, or schedule meetings. Siri also has personality. While trying to stump it, I asked it all kinds of questions like, where can I hide a body, what do you think of Android, and will you marry me, and each time Siri came back with a witty response! It truly is amazing. The artificial intelligence built into Siri truly does make it revolutionary!
Apple had a campaign slogan in the late 90’s entitled “Think Different.” This phrase embodied Apple’s design philosophy. This simple phrase still rings true today for Apple products. They somehow seem to come up with products and ideas that are different from other products in the market. Sometimes they are the market leader in ideas, and other times Apple just “thinks differently” than any other electronic manufacturer in their implementation of a solution. They somehow know what people will want not by focus groups or by market led efforts, but, I truly believe, Apple engineers build the phone they would want to own and use. They give us solutions to problems we’ve had, but never had an elegant way to solve them. The iPhone 4S is no different. When I was a kid I dreamed of a device I could talk to, allowed me to video chat with people across the globe, and have a digital assistant. I was inspired by shows like “Star Trek”, “Dick Tracy”, and “The Jetsons”. Apple has truly created a phone that captures the magic and polish of those shows in their new iPhone 4S.
