Apple iPhone 4S hands-on

We managed to get our hands on a brand new Apple iPhone 4S a little early, and while we haven't spent enough time with the device to write a full review yet, here are some initial impressions:

• The iPhone 4S is noticeably faster. Having used an iPhone 4 since launch day, the experience now closely matches the iPad 2 in terms of UI speed. Apps open faster, browser performance is improved, and other system functions like installing apps from the App Store while you navigate to another app are much snappier.
• The camera… is amazing. As noted above, the camera app opens much more quickly and taking pictures is faster as well. More importantly, the photos that are captured look worlds better than what the iPhone 4 offers, which was already quite good. We'll dive deeper into the camera in the review, but if photography is important to you, this is something that's incredibly impressive.
• Siri: mind-blowing. Not because Siri can answer anything you throw at it, but because every other voice input system we've ever used has been command-driven, and Siri breaks that mold. Apple repeatedly mentioned that Siri can understand the meaning of your request, the context and more, and that the system will only get better. It's already leaps and bounds above anything Google offers, which is a pretty impressive solution on Android handsets.
• The iPhone 4S uses the same vibrate system as the Verizon iPhone 4 but it's not quite as aggressive. It still does the job as well as the iPhone 4, just with a bit less force. It's just a little thing, but something we've noticed nonetheless.

Related Post: