What can a company be expected to offer next when its product is already the best-selling, most innovative smartphone among its competitors? That question has become obligatory whenever Apple debuts a new model of the wildly successful iPhone.
In the case of the Apple iPhone 4S, the answer is that you can expect many important upgrades and even some groundbreaking features. While there are always detractors who will hasten to point out what new smartphones don't offer, we found it easy to select the Apple iPhone 4S as our TopTenREVIEWS Gold Award winner.
The iPhone 4S is the first Apple cell phone to be available from the three largest U.S. carriers, each of which has its own advantages and disadvantages. AT&T has the longest history with the iPhone, having been its exclusive carrier through the first three iterations of the device. With AT&T, you get a 3G data network that is typically America's fastest. The downside is that in some regions, that network can be somewhat less reliable than the Verizon Wireless 3G network. The data load created by the popularity of iPhones has sometimes overwhelmed the AT&T network, but the problem seems to have been largely resolved.
With Verizon Wireless, which already carries the iPhone 4, you arguably get the nation's largest and most reliable network. Though the two biggest carriers' speed and reliability claims echo each company's advertisements, research substantiates those claims. The effect of the popular device's availability on Sprint's network remains to be seen.
Specifications
Capacity
Size and Weight
Height: 4.5 inches (115.2 mm)
Width: 2.31 inches (58.6 mm)
Depth: 0.37 inch (9.3 mm)
Weight: 4.9 ounces (140 grams)
Cellular and Wireless
- World phone
- UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz);
- GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)
- CDMA EV-DO Rev. A (800, 1900 MHz)4
- 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi (802.11n 2.4GHz only)
- Bluetooth 4.0 wireless technology
Display
- Retina display
- 3.5-inch (diagonal) widescreen Multi-Touch display
- 960-by-640-pixel resolution at 326 ppi
- 800:1 contrast ratio (typical)
- 500 cd/m2 max brightness (typical)
- Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating on front and back
- Support for display of multiple languages and characters simultaneously
Camera, Photos and Video
- 8-megapixel camera
- Autofocus
- Tap to focus
- Face detection in still images
- LED flash
- Video recording, HD (1080p) up to 30 frames per second with audio
- Video stabilization
- Front camera with VGA-quality photos and video at up to 30 frames per second
- Photo and video geotagging
Power and Battery
- Built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery
- Charging via USB to computer system or power adapter
- Talk time: Up to 8 hours on 3G, up to 14 hours on 2G (GSM)
- Standby time: Up to 200 hours
- Internet use: Up to 6 hours on 3G, up to 9 hours on Wi-Fi
- Video playback: Up to 10 hours
- Audio playback: Up to 40 hours
Audio Playback
- Frequency response: 20Hz to 20,000Hz
- Audio formats supported: AAC (8 to 320 Kbps), Protected AAC (from iTunes Store), HE-AAC, MP3 (8 to 320 Kbps), MP3 VBR, Audible (formats 2, 3, 4, Audible Enhanced Audio, AAX, and AAX+), Apple Lossless, AIFF, and WAV
- User-configurable maximum volume limit
TV and Video
- AirPlay Mirroring to Apple TV support at 720p
- Video mirroring and video out support: Up to 1080p with Apple Digital AV Adapter or Apple VGA Adapter (adapters sold separately)
- Video out support at 576p and 480p with Apple Component AV Cable; 576i and 480i with Apple Composite AV Cable (cables sold separately)
- Video formats supported: H.264 video up to 1080p, 30 frames per second, High Profile level 4.1 with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; MPEG-4 video up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps per channel, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; Motion JPEG (M-JPEG) up to 35 Mbps, 1280 by 720 pixels, 30 frames per second, audio in ulaw, PCM stereo audio in .avi file format
Headphones
- Apple Earphones with Remote and Mic
- Frequency response: 20Hz to 20,000Hz
- Impedance: 32 ohms
Mail Attachment Support
Viewable Document Types
.jpg, .tiff, .gif (images); .doc and .docx (Microsoft Word); .htm and .html (web pages); .key (Keynote); .numbers (Numbers); .pages (Pages); .pdf (Preview and Adobe Acrobat); .ppt and .pptx (Microsoft PowerPoint); .txt (text); .rtf (rich text format); .vcf (contact information); .xls and .xlsx (Microsoft Excel)
Sensors
- Three-axis gyro
- Accelerometer
- Proximity sensor
- Ambient light sensor
Mac System Requirements
- Mac computer with USB 2.0 port
- OS X v10.5.8 or later
- iTunes 10.5 or later (free download from www.itunes.com/download)
- Apple ID (required for some features)
- Internet access
PC System Requirements
- PC with USB 2.0 port
- Windows 7; Windows Vista; or Windows XP Home or Professional with Service Pack 3 or later
- iTunes 10.5 or later (free download from www.itunes.com/download)
- Apple ID (required for some features)
- Internet access
Environmental Requirements
- Operating temperature: 32° to 95° F (0° to 35° C)
- Nonoperating temperature: -4° to 113° F (-20° to 45° C)
- Relative humidity: 5% to 95% noncondensing
- Maximum operating altitude: 10,000 feet (3000 m)
Languages
Language Support
English (U.S.), English (UK), Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, Arabic, Catalan, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Indonesian, Malay, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Portuguese (Brazil), Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese
Keyboard Support
English (U.S.), English (UK), Chinese - Simplified (Handwriting, Pinyin, Wubihua), Chinese - Traditional (Handwriting, Pinyin, Zhuyin, Cangjie, Wubihua), French, French (Canadian), French (Switzerland), German (Germany), German (Switzerland), Italian, Japanese (Romaji, Kana), Korean, Spanish, Arabic, Bulgarian, Catalan, Cherokee, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Emoji, Estonian, Finnish, Flemish, Greek, Hawaiian, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Indonesian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Macedonian, Malay, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Portuguese (Brazil), Romanian, Russian, Serbian (Cyrillic/Latin), Slovak, Swedish, Thai, Tibetan, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese
Dictionary Support (enables predictive text and autocorrect)
English (U.S.), English (UK), Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), French, French (Canadian), French (Switzerland), German, Italian, Japanese (Romaji, Kana), Korean, Spanish, Arabic, Catalan, Cherokee, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Estonian, Finnish, Flemish, Greek, Hawaiian, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Malay, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Portuguese (Brazil), Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese
Siri Languages
English (U.S., UK, and Australian), French, German
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