Nearly one hour into its iPhone event, Apple finally revealed a new device in the form of the iPhone 4S.
The iPhone 4S, available for pre-order to consumers on October 7, and in stores on October 14, includes the dual-core A5 chip, which is also used in the iPad 2. This, says Apple, will allow the iPhone 4S to run twice as fast as previous iPhones. In addition, the dual-core processor will allow games and other media rich applications to run as much as seven times faster than previous iPhones. The new iPhone 4S will also be available on Sprint’s network in the USA.
While the absence of an iPhone 5 will no doubt disappoint Apple enthusiasts anticipating a “next-generation” device, there are features beyond speed and performance within the iPhone 4S that make it a worthy update.
Most notably, the integration of Siri, which Apple’s head of worldwide marketing, Philip W Schiller, describes as the “intelligent assistant that helps you get things done just by asking.”
Apple acquired Siri in 2010, with the purpose of integrating its state-of-the-art voice recognition and search features into its devices.
A new playing field for iPhone games
Mike Capps, president of Epic Games, appeared onstage to demo the power of the new iPhone 4S. Epic’s sequel to its state-of-the-art title Infinity Blade will be released on December 1. Capps noted that Infinity Blade 2 will only be playable on the iPhone 4S.
Other improvements
Additional features of the iPhone 4S will include:
– A more powerful battery including eight hours of 3G talk time and nine hours of Wi-Fi browsing.
– The ability to switch between two antennas which should improve call quality.
– The iPhone 4S is a “world phone” meaning it is compatible with GSM (AT&T) and CMDA (Verizon/Sprint)-based carriers.
– 1080p HD video
– A new camera with an 8-megapixel sensor. This allows for better quality 8×10 printed photos from images captured from the device. An image-signal processor will enable face detection and provide for a better white balance for videos and photos.
