Apple iPhone 4S 32GB Smartphone Reviews and Deals

Apple iPhone 4S 32GB review

Good

Great design; iOS 5; the App Store

Bad

Expensive; it's not the iPhone 5

Overview

The fifth instalment of Apple’s ever popular iPhone range came not as the heralded iPhone 5, but in the shape of the iPhone 4S. Although a lot of people were initially disappointed, hoping to see a completely redesigned iPhone come on to the market, the iPhone 4S has some serious hardware and software updates that make it well worth considering if you’re looking to buy a top end smartphone.

The hardware upgrades in the iPhone 4S include the A5 dual core processor from the iPad 2 plus a new GPU Apple claims will offer a significant increase in graphics processing. The 4S comes with an 8MP camera too, which is capable of 1080p video at 30 frames per second.

One of the other headline features of the iPhone 4S was the co-release of Apple’s new OS which is used to power it. iOS 5 offers significant improvements over Apple’s previous operating systems; there are supposedly more than 200 new features including an Android style notification centre, iMessage (similar to BlackBerry Messenger) and new voice recognition software, called Siri.

Siri (pictured) is the only feature of iOS 5 which is only available on the iPhone 4S. It’s a voice activated system that performs commands such as writing text messages, making voice calls and checking the weather, to name but a few. So if you ask Siri, “What will the weather be like in London tomorrow?” it will try to give you an accurate (and often witty) answer.

Your next question will probably be, does it work? The simple answer is yes, it works surprisingly well. It’s still very limited and not all the functions are available in the UK yet, making it a bit of a gimmick at present, but it definitely has potential. 

Work

Siri is great to have on the road; being able to call, text, set reminders and make notes without having to look at your phone is a really useful. In the US you can even use Siri for directions, so if you need to stop for petrol you can just ask it to direct you to the nearest petrol station. This feature was not available in the UK at launch though, so unfortunately we were unable to test it out.

Another cool new feature to iOS 5 is the Reminders app. The thing we really liked about it is the ability to set location aware reminders, which trigger when you arrive at a location. So for example, you could set a reminder for when you get home, or when you get to work.

A few other features which really help the new iPhone in the work department are the ability to sync calendars with Google and Outlook, plus the ability to use multiple email accounts in the Mail app. As well as all these new features the iPhone 4s comes preloaded with its trusty back catalogue of apps including Stocks, Notes, Calculator, Converter and Voice Recorder. 

Play

With so many games and other cool apps available in the App Store this has always been Apple’s strongest area and the iPhone 4S does not disappoint.

With the same stunning retina display as the iPhone 4, plus a huge leap in processing power and graphical performance, the iPhone 4S is sharp, smooth and visually stunning – and so an absolute treat for gamers. We just hope Apple can fit a slightly bigger screen in to its next smartphone, as at 3.5-inches it’s beginning to feel a tad small compared to the 4.3-inch screen on the likes of the Samsung Galaxy SII.

The 4S comes with an 8MP camera with an improved aperture ratio as well as an improved video camera (1080p HD at 30fps). This all sounds pretty impressive and for most people this camera will be good enough to snap all their crazy antics, but it is by no means the best camera in the world and is outclassed by many smartphone cameras. 

iCloud is a great new addition to the Apple armoury too, as it automatically syncs apps, photos, calendars, contacts, books and the rest across all of your Apple devices. So if you take a picture on your iPhone you should be able to see it on your iPad or iMac straight away (as long as you’re connected to the net, of course). 

This also comes in handy with calendars and contacts as you don’t have to update the information on all your devices. The best part is still to come though; it means you don’t have to plug your iPhone in to your computer to update and sync it – hoorah! 

Connectivity

The iPhone 4S comes with all the things you’d expect to see in a top end smartphone (GPS, Wi-Fi, Maps etc), but there’s nothing particularly new or ground-breaking.

The main improvement over the iPhone 4 is the dual antenna system, which works really well and means the 4S is not just a very expensive brick like the iPhone 4 was on release. Bluetooth 4.0 is another new feature and could be a big deal if you’re in to your Bluetooth accessories (wireless keyboards, headsets etc).

There is still no flash support but Safari feels much quicker in iOS 5, which makes web browsing a breeze. The lack of flash does beg the question though, what is Apple waiting for?

Performance

Some early 4S adopters have complained about poor battery life, but we didn’t find this to be a problem. Ours was about on par with its predecessor the iPhone 4, which for a smartphone has a very respectable battery life.

A great new feature that comes with iOS 5 is the Android-esque notification centre. This makes the phone so much nicer to use as you no longer get interrupted when you receive a new message or email. Instead you get a discreet notification at the top of your screen; if you want to find out more you can access the notification centre by dragging it down from the top of your screen.

Three Mobile kindly sent us the 16GB white version of the iPhone 4S to review but the handset is also available in black and in a 32GB and a whopping 64GB version, impressive stuff. 

To put that in to perspective the 16GB version is capable of holding roughly 3,500 songs, 20,000 photos and up to 20 hours of video. In case maths isn’t your strong point, you need to times those figures by two for the 32GB version and by four for the 64GB version. 

Verdict

There’s no doubt in my mind that this is a great smartphone and certainly one worth considering. If you are looking to buy a phone for its specification and not just because it’s made by Apple though, I would seriously consider looking at the other top end smartphones available such as the Samsung Galaxy SII as you will find they offer much greater value for money.

Also, if you are looking to upgrade your iPhone 4 to the iPhone 4S my advice would be, don’t bother – upgrading your iPhone 4 software to iOS 5 should make enough of a difference to keep you happy until the illusive iPhone 5 is released.

Apple iPhone 4S 32GB specification and features

Model

Apple iPhone 4S 32GB

Manufacturer

Apple

Operating system

iOS

Colours

Black, white

Mobile internet

WiFi

Yes

3G

Yes

HSDPA

Yes

Size

Size

115mm x 59mm x 9mm

Weight

140g

Features

Talktime

8 hrs

Standby

200 hrs

Touchscreen

Yes

QWERTY keyboard

No

Camera

8 megapixel

Video

Yes

GPS

Yes

Bluetooth

Yes

Music Phone

No

FM Radio

No

Quad Band

Yes

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