The iPhone has proven to be a technological marvel over the years. The fact that it has spanned several manufacturing generations speaks of its inordinate success in the smartphone market. The first iPhone, often called the iPhone 2g, was first released in 2007. 3 years later, Apple would release the iPhone line’s fourth generation, the iPhone 4. Being a fourth gen iPhone, the iPhone 4 promises even better performance than its predecessors.
4g iPhone Hardware Review
What is immediately noticeable on the iPhone 4 is its departure from the previous iPhone design. The latest iPhone offers users a sleek and classy look that makes the previous releases look and feel bulky at best. The iPhone 4 does not only look good, it’s packaged to be stronger than most smartphones in the current market. The material used for the iPhone 4′s screen is as strong as sapphire—the material used in most high-end scratch-proof watches. This allows the iPhone 4 to be carried around in pockets without having to worry about scratching the screen.
Owners of the previous iPhones have noted a slightly annoying difficulty in pressing the home button. We’re happy to see that the latest iPhone’s design allows users better access to the device’s home button. Redeveloped volume keys and the ever handy mute switch is located on the device’s left side, while the micro sim slot occupies the right side of the iPhone 4. The standard power button and ear jack can be found on top of the device. The iPhone 4 however, departs from the standard hardware setup with it’s noise canceling microphone.
The iPhone 4 features a backside 5 megapixel camera with a 5x optical zoom and a nifty LED flash.
External Hardware Conclusion
The iPhone 4 is built like most smartphones, offering the standard buttons for easy navigation. The strengths of the iPhone 4′s hardware relies on its sleek design allowing it to be thinner than previous releases, and its durability. The iPhone 4 is built to last, setting a pretty high standard for smartphones in terms of design and durability.
iPhone 4 Software Review
As with most smartphones (or just about any other piece of technology), hardware forms only a part of the whole device. Software is an equally important aspect that companies need to continually develop. Over the years, Apple has proven to update the iPhone’s operating system several instances in order to address some of the issues encountered by users. The release of the iPhone 4 has included with it an update in the company’s operating system, allowing for increased capabilities never before seen from previous generation iPhones.
iPhone 4 Software
The iPhone 4 comes packed with Apple’s iOS 4. This operating system is designed to keep the latest iPhone’s performance at an optimum level, at the same time bringing with it several nifty features.
Previous iPhone owners will be happy to note that the iPhone 4 finally has multitasking capabilities. This allows faster switching between apps and the possibility of picking up where you left off. The iPhone 4′s multitasking works so well that it does not even tax battery life nearly as much as most users feared. This finally givese iPhone users a smartphone feel to their devices.
The iPhone 4 was also hyped for video calls. With FaceTime, an app for video calling, the iPhone 4 definitely lives up to this hype. The 5 megapixel camera on the backside allows users to share live videos to whoever is on the other line.
Another welcome feature that comes with the iOS 4 is folders. Devices running on this operating system will now be able to place apps on folders. The main problem that instantly presented itself is that the folders could only hold 12 items at any given time. This is a rather annoying limitation as we would rather place similar apps on a single folder and not several iterations of it.
Software Conclusion
The operating system update that came with the iPhone 4 offers several improvements to previous releases. It is, however, far from perfect and leaves much to be desired. It is nevertheless a welcome change that has addressed some of the issues of the previous operating systems. We feel that the iPhone 4 could have done with a better operating system, but that is a small concern as Apple could always (and has repeatedly done so in the past) update the software to better harness the iPhone 4′s capabilities.
iPhone 4 Internal Hardware
The iPhone 4 looks and feels different from the standard iPhone line. Open one up and you’ll see that the departure from the standard is not limited only to its outside appearance. Apple has packed the iPhone 4 with enough processing power to rival the iPad (and even the iPad 2 in some instances).
Internal Hardware
The iPhone 4 comes packed with an A4 central processing unit. While Apple hasn’t been clear on the processor’s clocked speed, comparisons have shown that it is certainly leagues faster than its predecessor, the iPhone 3GS.
In the memory department, the iPhone 4 doubles the 3GS’s with its 512 Mb RAM. In most cases, 512 Mb of RAM is enough to handle the processing power of the iPhone’s A4 CPU. In fact, it’s twice as much as even the iPad’s 256 Mb. While it could have done with a bigger RAM, the fact still remains that it has the same memory as the iPad 2, released almost a year later, so no one is really complaining that hard.
Storage, however, is a disappointment. iPhone users have continually stressed the need for an expandable memory slot. With the iPhone 4 released and no expandable memory slot in sight, it looks like this is one wish the Apple fan base won’t be getting any time soon. The iPhone 4 comes in two versions depending on its internal storage size: 16 and 32 Gb. In most instances, storage spaces like these will be enough for any smartphone, but with Apple introducing higher definition video recording capabilities on the iPhone 4, even the 32Gb might not be enough to store all your recorded videos.
The new design does not only make the iPhone 4 sleeker, it also allows space for a bigger battery. Although still not as easily replaceable as most smartphones’ batteries, the increased performance by a bigger battery is a welcome addition to the iPhone line.
Conclusion
The device’s sturdy build, classy design and extra durability are only one part of the improvements Apple has added to the iPhone. A very capable processor, ample memory and an operating system that takes full advantage of the phone’s capabilities, completes the package. The iPhone 4 is wihtout a doubt one of the top performing smartphones in the market today. It has everything any smartphone needs, and more.
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