News from category ‘Hardware’

Everybody seems to remember an “antenna gate” issue after the iPhone 4 launch last year. Several customers reported issues with significant signal loss when holding their iPhone in a natural way. Noteworthy to say that not all customers saw the problem. Apple even held a press conference to give its explanations.

After release of the iPhone 4S many people were interested in if the new device has the same problems with antenna as the iPhone 4. Early testing and reports from iPhone 4S users seem to show that the signal drop from tightly gripping the iPhone has been diminished or even eliminated. That fact only proves that the new iPhone has significantly updated antennas, allowing almost completely eliminate “death grip” effect.

iPhone 4S back camera is really good. Better lens, many megapixels. However the iPhone 4S back camera really benefits from the new A5 chip, that has image signal processor unit responsible for nice real-time image processing, including face detection, white balance and automatic image stabilization. The difference between shaky iPhone 4 clips and smooth stabilized iPhone 4S footage really makes all the difference

Check out iPhone 4S versus iPhone 4 video footage comparison:

Here is another video comparing iPhone 4S with Canon EOS 500D (T1i):

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iFixYouri has posted a video showing you the steps to disassemble the iPhone 4S:

As usual, iFixit conducted their standard teardown of Apple's latest gear, this time it was Apple’s next generation iPhone 4S. The device has largely the same design as the iPhone 4, but inside it is different. The new iPhone 4S has a slightly larger battery that improves battery capacity and offers extra hours of talk time, comparing with the iPhone 4.

Other new thing implemented in the iPhone 4S is the A5 chip that improves performance up to seven times, comparing with the iPhone 4. The A5 CPU has a marking of E4E4 with 512MB of RAM.   The teardown also revealed a new Qualcomm MDM6610 baseband chipset that is the slightly modified model of the “worldwide” MDM6600 Qualcomm baseband used in the CDMA iPhone 4 that, as you remember, has both CDMA and GSM modes, but works in only CDMA networks. The iPhone 4S is the true worldwide smartphone, which will allow both GSM and CDMA customers to roam on GSM networks worldwide

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The iPhone 4S is still believed to have 512MB of RAM, just like the iPhone 4. The Infinity Blade developer, who suggested that, found out this fact when he tried to demo his game on the new iPhone 4S during last week's keynote.

"I'm still shocked that, with the iPhone 4S, I'm literally running around with a 1080p video camera in my pocket, with an eight megapixel camera, 64GB of hard drive space and an A5 chip with 512MB of memory. This is a really powerful computer, right?

AppVV also confirms that the iPhone 4S has 512MB of RAM. This fact is repeated on their Weibo page as well in response to a question:

Re @ LogIn_Kim: RAM have said before, is still 512MB.

Though they don't say how they found out that.

German website Macerkopf.de. has reported that some German customers have apparently received their pre-ordered iPhone 4S ahead of its official launch, October 14th. The iPhone 4S pre-ordered through Deutsche Telekom was delivered this morning. The lucky customer promptly shared photos of the packaging, device and Siri. The packaging is almost similar to the iPhone 4’ one.  The new assistant is now available in English, French and German, with more languages to come in the future. The US customers are still waiting for their devices that will start shipping on October 14th.

More photos below.

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We know that iPhone 4S is better than the iPhone 4, let's take a look at how Apple's latest smartphone compares to Android and Windows phones. Engadget compared iPhone 4S with Samsung Galaxy S II, Motorola Droid Bionic and HTC Titan. The first two are Android based, while the last one is Windows one.

Take a look at the results:

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UBM TechInsights posted their estimates  on price of the major components of the iPhone 4S. They suggest that the value of the components used to make the Apple iPhone 4S comes to $203 for the 32GB model which will be sold for $299 on a subisidized basis.

The most expensive part is the flash memory which costs $38. The second most expensive component   is Retina display wearing a $31 price tag. That is followed by the dual-core A5 processor, which costs $26. Making the new iteration of the iPhone a World Phone added $6 to the cost of a GSM-only unit, while the updated 8MP camera added only $3 to the price of the components.

iPhone’s rival HTC ThunderBolt was valued at $262 according to TechInsights. It includes such components as a LTE chipset, bigger battery, but lower resolution screen, and slightly slower processor, comparing with the iPhone 4S’.

The recently-announced 8GB Apple iPhone 4 indicated that Apple now offers the phone with small margin. Its component cost is $156 and the company is going to sell it for $99 with a signed 2-year contract.

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Yesterday during the expected media event Apple announced the new iPhone 4S, an upgrade to the existing iPhone 4 with improved A5 processor, new 8 MP camera with better optics, faster download speed on 3G, Bluetooth 4.0, and more. Media members who attended Apple's iPhone 4S event had the opportunity to spend some time with the new hardware following the presentation, and immediately started posting their first impressions about the iPhone 4S.

Engadget highlights the improved internal specifications of the new iPhone 4S, noting that it is faster than the previous model, with faster navigating between pages and opening the camera application. Engadget was also able to test the new voice assistant, Siri:

The most impressive part was the demo of Siri, the new assistant that lets you do just about anything you can do on your phone — but with your voice. We tried to psych it out with a bunch of random requests... Siri never faltered, never missed a beat… There’s nothing better to say than that. We even sent ourselves a few text messages, which Siri transcribed to a T. Of course, the lady on the other end still sounds eerily robotic, but we’re hoping for smoother responses from the alien within in a future update.

Jim Dalrymple at The Loop covers the differences in antenna design:

The current model has three bands — one on each side on the bottom, and one on the top. The iPhone 4S has four bands — two on the top and two on the bottom. The bands are where Apple houses the antennas for the device. The Wi-Fi, wireless and Bluetooth technologies use these areas. It’s not clear at this point if Apple moved any antennas or what they added the extra band.

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Check out official Apple videos of Siri Assistant, iCloud and new iPhone 4S:

Siri:

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Tim Cook just announced much anticipated iPhone 4S. On the outside the iPhone 4S looks exactly like its predecessor iPhone 4, but on the inside it's "all new." Apple has put inside a dual-core A5 CPU, a new dual-core GPU that boosts graphics performance by up to 7x. The display is the same 3.5-inch Retina with VGA front camera.

The back camera got much better. It features 8MP sensor, backside illuminated CMOS sensor for better low-light performance, 5-element lens with a hybrid IR filter and apertures down to f/2.4. The 4S can record 1080p video and has a new image signal processor for image stabilization and facial recognition. The camera is also quite a bit faster than many other smartphone shooters. It needs just 1.1 seconds before being ready to take the first shot and only half a second between successive images.

The antennas on the sides have been rebuilt and iOS will intelligently switch between two different sets on the fly to avoid dropping calls no matter how you hold it. Those antennas are connected to a dual-mode GSM and CDMA radio that will let Apple's handset roam the globe while enjoying either 14.4Mbps HSPA+ or EV-DO Rev. A.

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It's finally happened, today Apple has finally announced new iPhone 4S. Here's our usual comparison table iPhone 4S vs iPhone 4:

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During past weeks, we have heard lots of reports of next generation iPhone models that appeared in various inventories. And now German website iPhone-Ticker.de  has reported that it found other prove of the iPhone 4S release. German mobile carrier , the Apple’s partner in Germany, Vodafone is now offering a bumper for the new smartphone on their website. The next-generation iPhone, the so-called iPhone 4S, is available in three capacities both in black and white colors as well as the black/white iPhone 4 8 GB. This particular screenshot (above) was made from the iPhone 4 Bumper Vodafone shop page which claims compatibility with all these devices. The Vodafone listings confirm our expectations of a lower cost 8GB iPhone 4, and three iPhone 4S models (16GB, 32 GB, 64 GB). However, tomorrow, on October 4th, Apple is hosting a media event and all rumors will be dispelled.

Gismodo has managed to obtain images of the iPhone “N90A” model, manufactured by Foxconn's Brazilian factory. The new device is expected to be introduced next week. The N90A model is the low-end iPhone 4 model. As far as you know, the current-generation iPhone 4 has the N90 codename. So the rumors say that the changes will be minor. These images are not something really surprising, we have already seen images of that device, but these very shots prove that Foxconn has already started production of new iPhones in Brazil.  The cheaper iPhone will replace the iPhone 3GS in the low end. The higher end iPhone is rumored to be called the iPhone 4S. The below image demonstrates the model number ("N90A") in the top left and tells that it didn't pass inspection.