Today, September 12, 2011, Apple unveiled the iPhone 4 to much anticipation. It packs a dual-core A6 processor, a 4 inch screen, 4g LTE and a new and improved f/2.4 aperture camera with backside illumination. Its only 7.6 mm thick and it is lighter than the previous models. It may not be the thinnest phone out there, but I think the mobile phone industry has finally gotten over that obsession of thinness. These features are a nice addition to finally include in an iPhone, but let's break down each one to show you why even my low expectations for this device weren't met.
This sums up my argument quick nicely and humorously. The typical (typical, not all) Apple fan has no idea what they are talking about and the iPhone always looks so similar the average brainwashed consumer cannot even tell the difference. Yet they do not care. If Apple says it is faster, even if it is slower, they will believe it is faster. Truthiness at its best! On to the video:
/The Screen
After what seems like years of waiting, Apple finally upped their puny 3.5 inch screen to 4 inches. I know 4 inches doesn't seem like much, you'd think they would go to 4.3 to compete with Android and Windows Phone, but at least it is big enough to function in today's society. It is strange, however, that less than a year after Apple stated that 3.5 inches is the perfect size and no one will want a phone that is 4 inches they release one themselves. The screen is mildly impressive. At least the resolution is high, its not quite 720p, but it still has high pixel density. The biggest problem I have is that it took this long to release a damn iPhone with a 4 inch screen. Android and Windows Phone users have been enjoying larger screen sizes for over a year. Apple is way behind the times with this one./The Processor
Apple's A6 processor specs have yet to be completely release but I feel more disappointment coming. Sure, it is dual core, but we have had dual core phones for a long time now. iOS doesn't need dual core power, it doesn't do anything that requires it. This is why Apple didn't jump on the dual core train a few years back. Although iOS is bland and lacking many useful and innovative features, it is built on a very strong architecture. The OS can run smoothly without a lot of power, in fact it runs fine with just a single core. The battery isn't any bigger either, so the bigger screen and more powerful processor will most likely just hurt the battery life. If they were going for power dominance they missed the mark there too. Most Android phones out today have a 1.2GHZ dual core processor or better. It will be interesting to see how the A6 stacks up against its competition in benchmark tests.
/The Camera
"But perhaps the most amazing new feature in the iPhone 5 is called panorama."
This is a real quote. This is also the most embarrassing quote I have ever seen coming out of a press event like this.
"Oh, really? It is called panorama? What is this word? It is so foreign, new, shiny, and Apple! Wait, you said panorama? You mean the feature that has been in Android phones for years? A standard, crappy camera feature that no one really cares about. This is the best feature of the phone? I'm going home." - Said everyone at the conference who has half a brain.
Besides the amazingly old and useless (besides that one visit the Grand Canyon) panorama view, the camera also finally added backside illumination. This type of sensor increases low-light performance. It is also old news for every other high end phone on the market, though considering this iPhone "high end" is sort of a stretch. It has a f/2.4 aperture which is good for a camera phone these days, but not great. Samsung and Nokia have done better. The camera is nice, but the days of the iPhone having the best camera are long gone.
/The Rest
Once again Apple went against its previous statements and integrated a 4g LTE radio in the iPhone. Congratulations, Apple, once again you are at least a year behind the competition. LTE is great, and fast, and became standard way before this iPhone announcement. I'm sure Apple will do something stupid like force you to use their own "amazing software" that auto disables LTE because it will save battery life or something stupid. People will call it fantastic no matter what.
Overall, this phone is a huge disappointment. It's ugly, albeit made out of nice material, packed to the brim with outdated technology, this is 2011, not 2009, and the new dock connector will make everyone pay a ridiculous $30 for it to work with all their hundreds of old accessories. This was a failure of massive proportions. Unfortunately people will still buy it.
WAIT. IT'S ALMOST 2013?! I thought this was 2011, based on the features and specs of the phone. No, this cannot be real life. This phone is literally 3 years behind the times. I thought this was the iPhone 4 release, not the iPhone 5. Well, this is what the iPhone 4 should have been like, then maybe it would have been decent.
This is the iPhone 5 people. Aka a mid-level 2011 Android phone with an Apple logo and worse software.
This is by far the biggest disappointment of the year in mobile phones. With the Galaxy S3, HTC One X, soon-to-be released Nokai Lumia 920 and Samsung Ativ S, and improved versions of the S3 and One X coming out there is absolutely no reason to even consider buying this phone. When it breaks sales records I am going to be angry, yet clearly not surprised.
/Other Unveilings
Apple also announced a new iPod Touch that no one cares about, and a new iPod Nano. As my friend pointed out to me, something was off with the Nano. Stop me if I'm wrong here, but doesn't Apple sue everything that moves because their phones look mildly similar to the iPhone? Well what does this Nano remind you of? Someone should be sued, hard.
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