Well its official, Apple’s CEO Tim Cook took the wraps off of Apple’s latest smartphone the iPhone 4S. The rumors were surprisingly accurate, the outside of the phone closely resembles the iPhone 4 same 3.5” retina display but the inside has been completely redesigned.
The 4S includes a dual-core A5 CPU and GPU that reportedly offers up to 7x graphics performance compared to the iPhone 4. The antenna system has also been improved and now includes a dual-antenna system that intelligently switches to improve reception and help avoid dropped calls.
Other improvements include an 8 megapixel camera with improved optics that is capable of shooting 1080p video as well as the inclusion of iOS5. Apple also plans to include ‘Siri’ voice controls for 4S users that lets you control many phone functions with voice commands (similar to software already available on many Android handsets).
The new 4S is a true world phone, the redesigned antenna system is coupled to a dual-mode GSM/CDMA radio. With the introduction of the iPhone to the Sprint CDMA network, iPhone will now be available in 3 of the top 4 US carriers. T-Mobile users at least for now will be subject to using an un-locked iPhone on their 2G network as T-Mobile’s 3G network remains unsupported.
There will be 3 models of the iPhone 4S 16GB/32GB/64GB for $199/$299/$399 respectively, available in both black and white.
Other product announcements receiving considerably less attention are Apples slightly less capable brethren. The iPhone 3GS is now free on-contract, while the 8GB iPhone 4 drops to just $99 with a two-year carrier agreement.
The new low-priced offerings from Apple will offer serious competition to the myriad of low-end Android smartphones that are currently available in that segment of the smartphone market.
