Everything you need to know about Apple's new iPhone 4

iPhone 4 is the most significant hardware revision to Apple's widescreen iPod, breakthrough internet communicator, and phone since the original iPhone 2G was released in 2007. But how significant is it? Apple CEO Steve Jobs said there were over 100 new features and singled out 8 for special attention. We'll take the most interesting of both and see just how important they are, after the break.

(For more on the software, see our massive iOS 4 feature walkthrough).

In typical Apple hyperbolic fashion, they introduce iPhone as changing everything, and they have a video to prove it. Beyond the hyperbole, the thought they place into every detail of what they make is impressive. New mixes of stainless steal. New technologies for battery life. Manufacturing procedures that create unmatched build quality. And consider this: how many companies have a Senior Vice President of design?

YouTube link

FaceTime

FaceTime got the Steve Jobs "one more thing" bump at this year's WWDC so it's a fitting place to start the feature discussion. Now Apple didn't invent video calling, of course, but once again they're taking what has been a niche technology and making it mainstream. There are a couple of huge challenges this time: at the moment it's Wi-Fi only and iPhone 4 only. "At this time" because Apple indicated they were trying to push it out to the carriers and their 3G (and upcoming 4G) networks next year, and they've built it out of -- and are releasing the resulting work back to -- open standards so it can be implemented into other clients and devices. (If you're curious as to which standards, Apple lists them as H.264 video codec, AAC audio codec, SIP signaling protocol, STUN and ICE for NAT traversal, TURN for TCP/UDP data receipt, RTP and SRTP for audio and video packet delivery.)

In typical Apple fashion, however, the end user isn't supposed to worry one bit about all those acronyms mean or how hard it is to do what they're doing -- the end user is simply supposed to press the FaceTime icon and talk to their parents or grandparents, see their children and grandchildren, or tap the switch button to flip from front-facing to rear camera to watch the first footsteps or see the winning goal. That's how Apple is marketing it and they're usually very good at marketing.

Yes, on Wi-Fi you could just use your laptop webcam or MacBook iSight, but iPhone 4 will be infinitely more portable. You won't be (or at least you shouldn't be) chasing your 2 year old around the garden with a 5 lbs pound computer. And we won't even get into what it could do for long distance romances...

Apple should add FaceTime to their Mac iChat app eventually (though with their current iOS focus, the resources may not be there at this point). Skype might just be looking at supporting it as well, which would be huge. As an open standard, Android and Palm apps might come along for it as well. And if you paid attention during the keynote, Steve Jobs said 10 million Apple devices -- not just iPhones -- would support it by the end of the year. So yes, the iPod touch might finally get a camera and get into the fun.

Now there's no word from Apple about recording FaceTime calls so that may not be available at launch (and hordes of impetuous young Hollywood stars should stop and thank Jobs for that), but it's something that's easy to see them adding in the future.

Maintreaming video calls, especially locked to Wi-Fi and a singe device at launch, is a huge challenge and it could be called a gimmick if it were anyone but Apple. (Their focus on small feature sets usually prevents gimmicks from creeping into the roadmap). Unlike mobile web browsing, apps, and video recording, there's no guarantee FaceTime will take off with the masses. But it's so scifi you just have to love the attempt.

YouTube link

Retina Display

All previous generation iPhones shipped with 320x480 displays and with Android increasingly going 480x800, conventional wisdom assumed Apple would have to meet that resolution. They didn't. To lift Apple Senior Vice-President of iOS Software, Scott Forstall's favorite line -- they blew it away. The new iPhone has a 640x960 display at 3.5" diagonal size and 3:2 aspect ratio for a whopping 326 pixel density per inch (that's 78 microns wide for pixel geeks). Topping it off is an 800:1 contrast ratio so whites are whiter and blacks are blacker.

That means, very literally, where last year's iPhone had 1 pixel, this year's will have 4. For developers this is huge because older apps will look the same as before, if not slightly better because Apple will automatically re-render text and UI elements at the higher resolution. New apps will just look phenomenally better.

Apple is calling this set of technologies "Retina Display" because they day the pixel density is so high your retina can't distinguish the dots anymore -- it looks like a photo or magazine page. There's some debate about wether or not the Retina Display claim is scientifically accurate (it depends a great deal on how sharp your eyes are and how close you hold it) but for all intents and purposes, it doesn't matter. It's sharp enough that most people won't notice the pixels -- until they go back to other displays.

Apple is also using the IPS (in-plane switching) technology they mainstreamed in the iMac and iPad along with LED backlight to create an incredibly wide viewing angle. Where other devices look pretty much blank from the side, iPhone 4 is still legible. For those trying to hide the documents they're reading on planes, privacy films will no doubt sell like hotcakes. For those who want to share a movie or webpage with their family and friends, it'll be hugely appreciated.

For their next trick, Apple has used optical glass that's not only been treated for even greater scratch resistance, not only using their oil-resistant coating, but is laminated directly onto the screen so that there's no longer a gap in the display. The pixels are right underneath the glass, minimizing reflections and making it feel more like you're looking at it and not through something into it.

What this means for users is that the iPhone 4 will look better more often, text will be easier to read in a wider variety of circumstances, and apps will appear the same as before if they haven't been updated, and crisper and clearer than ever before if they have.

Multitasking

Steve Jobs highlighted multitasking as one of iPhone 4's eight new features but that's software not hardware, and it will work on iPhone 3GS and iPod touch G3 as well, so I'm covering it in TiPb's iOS 4 walkthrough.

Still, it should look and work even better on the iPhone 4, and here's hoping a post-release teardown reveals Apple was good enough to go with 512MB of RAM this time to really keep it snappy.

Cameras front and back (with LED flash)

The big news with iPhone 4 is that Apple introduced a front-facing camera into the mix. It's only VGA resolution -- 640x480 -- but for self-protrait profile shots for social networks like Facebook and Twitter, and FaceTime video calls, it should be more than enough for now.

The bigger news is the rear-facing camera, and that iPhone 4 feels like Apple is finally taking digital imaging seriously. The first two generations of iPhone camera were outstanding only in their convenience, with low megapixel counts and serviceable if limited software. Apple kept hiring engineers, however, and while the iPhone 3GS raised the bar to 3.2 megapixels and introduced tap-to-focus and all manner of automagical white balancing, iPhone 4 is a leap beyond. And not just in megapixels.

Sure, other devices already have 8 megapixels, but anyone who loves photography already knows megapixels are meaningless after a certain point (unless you're shooting billboards, and then you have something in the 23 range already, don't you?) In the megapixel spec race, just like with dedicated cameras before, hardware makers take the same lens and cut it up ever-smaller, meaning the number of pixels goes up even as the light captured by each one (i.e. the quality of those pixels) goes down. Canon and Nikon are (thankfully) shifting away from megapixels and racing now towards ISO/low-light performance and it appears Apple is following suit.

iPhone 4 is getting a 5-megapixel camera, but instead of chopping the iPhone 3GS lens up even more, they've increased the physical size of the rear-facing lens and more than that -- added a backside illuminated sensor to really up the low-light levels. They've also added an automatic LED flash, which is a good casual option. It's not the dual flash some other devices have, and its not the sun-like torches the big boys of SLR carry shoe-mounted, but it harkens back to the original iPhone camera -- good enough given the convenience of having it built in. (Speaking of which, there's also a 5x digital zoom which is, eh, a digital zoom -- since they obviously can't do optical given the narrow depth of the phone -- but it's there if sneaker zoom isn't possible).

iPhone 4 5 megapixel camera with LED flash

720p video recording and editing

The bigger 5 megapixel camera on the iPhone 4 means not only will it do bigger stills but it can now capture 720p videos as well. Apple isn't specific on its tech spec page, but it looks like they've gone from the iPhone 3GS' 3:2 VGA aspect ratio to a full on 1280x720, 16x9 which will be great news to casual videographers. (Everyone else is carrying around a Mark II as well now for 1080p, right?)

The LED flash can be turned on to brighten dark moments, and while the mic doesn't seem improved, overall it's a good upgrade and might even make the iPhone 4 good enough to replace your Flip MinoHD.

Also worth noting, just like with iPhone OS 3.0, iOS 4 will let you trim and share your clips right on device. Apple is also introducing the $4.99 iMovie for iPhone app for more advanced video editing, theming, transitions, and titling.

We'll cover the built-in functionality in our iOS 4 walkthrough and as soon as iMovie for iPhone ships, we'll get you a full review. Suffice it to say, if you don't mind working on a 3.5" screen, the demos look fantastic.

Folders

iOS 4 has the same 11 home screens as iPhone OS 3.0 but thanks to Folders you aren't limited to 180 apps anymore -- you can shove 12 into the space that previously took only 1, meaning 2160 is you new limit. Strangely, only 9 apps are shown on folder icons instead of the 12 that lurk inside, but thanks to the Retina Display those tiny 9 should look incredibly sharp and clear enough to identify even without the smart folder naming.

However, while Jobs again singled this out as an iPhone 4 feature, it should work (if not as sharply) on all iOS 4 devices and so we're covering it in our iOS 4 walkthrough instead.

Noise-canceling microphone

It turns out two microphones on the iPhone 4 are more than twice as good as one. The reason is, like some other devices before it, iPhone 4 is using that second mic for noise cancelation. Whatever sounds it pics up that aren't picked up by the main mic at the bottom -- the one you're talking into -- get digitally removed from the audio meaning the person at the other end has a far better chance of hearing more of what you're saying and less of the party, traffic, or other commotion going on around you.

Gyroscope

Being able to more precisely control position in 3D space on iPhone 4? Terrific. Watching Steve Jobs play Jenga on the WWDC stage? Priceless. Both come courtesy of the new gyroscope included in the iPhone 4, no doubt at the behest of game developers. It will do for the iPhone what Wii Motion Plus did for Nintendo -- make good control much, much better. With 3-axis detection, rotation around gravity, advanced motion sensing is a reality. (If you're not a gamer, that translates into augmented reality apps, which should find fine use of it as well).

Even better, Apple has packaged it up along with the accelerometer to create CoreMotion API for developers so it can be more easily integrated into apps, and more elegantly degraded down to accelerometer alone for previous generation devices that don't have a gyro. (Just like CoreLocation does if GPS isn't present).

Stainless steel antenna bands

When Apple says things like they created their own stainless steal alloy for the iPhone 4 band, it just sounds like they're showing off. When they explain that not only does the band form the main structure of the device (allowing for more room inside), but the gaps -- as complained about in earlier device leaks -- are caused by it being part of the antenna system of the phone, it's exactly them showing off.

The structural part is a take-off of the unibody technology that debuted with the MacBook Air in 2008 and has since spread across the MacBook line and into the iMac and iPad. The antenna part? Well, we'll have to wait and see what difference if any it makes in the iPhone 4 reception -- particularly on AT&T. If it improves that there likely won't be a single complaint about the gaps, not ever again.

Apple A4 processor

The Apple A4 system on a chip (SoC) debuted with the iPad. While Apple isn't making their own components (yet?), they are taking the ARM Cortex A8, revving it up to 1GHz, and pairing it with an Imagination PowerVR SGX to incredibly performant, even more incredibly power saving results.

Apple truly believes that people serious about software make their own hardware, and with iPhone 4 they're starting to take that down to the silicon level.

Battery life

Thanks to the Apple A4 and the larger battery crammed into the iPhone 4, battery stats look better than ever, and even match the iPad for video playback.

Talk time: Up to 7 hours on 3G, 14 hours on 2G
Standby time: Up to 300 hours
Internet use: Up to 6 hours on 3G, 10 hours on Wi-Fi
Video playback: Up to 10 hours
Audio playback: Up to 40 hours

Other specs

A few more iPhone 4 specs deserve mention.

Size

Height: 4.5 inches (115.2 mm)
Width: 2.31 inches (58.6 mm)
Depth: 0.37 inch (9.3 mm)
Weight: 4.8 ounces (137 grams)

So, essentially the same size as previous iPhones, but 24% less depth. Which is crazy. There has to come a point where increasing the components, and size of the components in the device becomes more important than thinning it out. Right?

Colors

Like previous years, iPhone 4 comes in black and white. Unlike previous years, iPhone 4's white option isn't back-only -- even the glass front plate comes in white.

Cellular and wireless

UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz)
GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)
802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi (802.11n 2.4GHz only)
Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR wireless technology

Pentaband radio is almost as crazy, and certainly good news to people in countries like New Zealand where the additional frequencies will be most welcome. People hoping for the 1700 MHz band for T-Mobile 3G will unfortunately remain disappointed.

802.11n is welcome, the 2.4GHz only is not. That's the same, busy, interference-laced band most of the slower 802.11 protocols slum around in, not to mention microwaves and garage door openers. Now that dual-band routers (like Apple's own Airport Extreme since 2009) can support both older standards and the newer, higher bands, it's unfortunate we're not going to get to

TV and Video

It looks like iPhone 4 supports the same PCM stereo audio in .avi file format as iPad, which I thought was for importing footage from older video cameras via the Camera Kit USB dongle. If it is, then does that mean the Camera Kit will work with iPhone 4? (It doesn't with iPhone 3GS under iOS 4).

VGA cable support is listed, so apps that choose to make use of it can be output through the dock to VGA adapter that was released alongside the iPad. Carrying presentations around with the iPhone will be a great ultra-mobile solution. (Hollywood probably won't let too many of their movies escape that way, however).

Conclusion

Steve Jobs was right, iPhone 4 is Apple's biggest leap forward since the original iPhone 2G they rightly claim re-invented the smartphone market. Is it big enough to re-re-invent it? That's impossible to answer until we've reviewed it but the odds are long -- that type of thing typically only happens once every decade or two, not year or three. Still it's one of the most significant pieces of engineering to date and that's saying a lot.

TiPb will have a complete iPhone 4 review as soon as Apple makes it available and a buyers guide before it goes up for pre-order to help you decide if and when to buy it or upgrade to it.

In the meantime check out TiPb's iOS 4 preview to see the software Apple's bringing to bear on this amazing piece of hardware.

(And if I've missed anything in this preview, point it out in comments so it can be added in).

Rene Ritchie is one of the most respected Apple analysts in the business, reaching a combined audience of over 40 million readers a month. His YouTube channel, Vector, has over 90 thousand subscribers and 14 million views and his podcasts, including Debug, have been downloaded over 20 million times. He also regularly co-hosts MacBreak Weekly for the TWiT network and co-hosted CES Live! and Talk Mobile. Based in Montreal, Rene is a former director of product marketing, web developer, and graphic designer. He's authored several books and appeared on numerous television and radio segments to discuss Apple and the technology industry. When not working, he likes to cook, grapple, and spend time with his friends and family.

80 Comments

I am so getting the white version, despite the obvious sensor at the top.
Stainless STEEL and Canon, not Cannon.
It's an alloy not an allow
What is a "stainless steal antenna band"? I love that this wasn't a typo, but rather a mispelling by a journalist, as it appears more than once. It's a "stainless steEl antenna band". This isn't a thief, it's a material.
Typo on "Canon" -- "Cannon and Nikon are (thankfully) shifting away from megapixels and racing now towards ISO/low-light performance and it appears Apple is following suit."
Otherwise, great article!
Very nice article. I'm sure I'll be buying one soon as my 3G leaped from my hands and landed face down on concrete (not pretty).
I think the thing I'm most interested in is the performance of the A4 chip. It has to work much harder to push out 4 times as many pixels, and I would hate to see a lackluster performance just to gain a better display. I guess we wont really know until it goes on sale.
Thanks again for the great article
--- Patrick
my cracked iphone 3G screen: http://www.flickr.com/photos/zooboing/sets/72157624175856346/
Great review...ready to pre-order TUES
Thank you, Rene. Great article, as usual! Can't wait to get this phone. Hmmmm, white or black...
Curious if the external speaker for listening to music is any louder. Don't remember seeing this mentioned in past reviews, but the 3gs sounds louder than the 3g. Would be great since your already packing your music collection.
Ok, I have one remaining question. How much ram is actually in the iPhone 4? I keep hearing different things. Is it 256 or 512?
Anonymous,
You misspelled "misspelling."
@iMurdock - Does it even matter how much RAM the iPhone has? The UI is always smooth as butter. I hear it's lower spec compared to the competition which makes me wonder what the heck everyone else is doing with their 1 ghz processor that still have jittery UIs... :/
Sir, I had heard a rumor that the new iPhone also had "true GPS." Was this just a rumor, or does in fact have true GPS capabilities?
Thanks!
(or Madam, my appologies)
Hey!
Great summary!
My only beef is the word 'steal'. That spelling means rob or theive. You want steel which is the metal alloy.
Too bad spellcheck won't correct that, eh?
@Plaz - I would just like some clarification on the full specs of this device. I have no problem with the GUI. I'm running a 3G and am looking forward to a major upgrade. So if anyone can clarify for me that would be great. Either way I pre order mine on Tuesday.
Great article! I will certainly be getting this guy, and a nice bumper case and screen protector to go with it. Must protect my investment :)
I'm just wondering if you have any information, on how the pre-order works for the new iPhone
@Nygel Anderson I just pre order from apple they have always delivered on time but my ipad order will be going on it 4th week of wait now. :(
@Anonymous. As much as I love Rene and the gang...I don't agree that bloggers are journalists. Having said that, this was a great review.
Huked on Fonics Workt fer Me!
@ anonymous
i love that this wasn't a typo, but a misSpelling by a hypocritical commentator.
Hey guys, anyone know if iOS4 supports Bluetooth file transfer (to any phone)? I'd love to have this option.
HD out for television ?
Great write up Renee. I can't believe all the comments about spelling. What a joke guys, get off his back. Great content.
@Just another guy: Every iPhone since the 3G has had "true" GPS. AGPS is GPS with assistance from quicker location techniques such as cell tower lookups to gain a faster initial lock. The better question is will the external band antenna make the GPS more accurate?
@Wacko Jacko: Since there is no general file system access in iOS I doubt it. For some some reason Bluetooth seems to have received little attention from Apple in iOS. You can't even exchange contacts via Bluetooth. Haven't heard if the Bluetooth audio profiles have been completed.
Great read, but man, lots and lots of errors and typos. Might wanna clean it up.
I just pre-preordered my 16GB Black at my local Radio Shack. They have a sign up sheet and will start collecting deposits on Tuesday. I was first on the list and they will be opening at 7AM on the 24th. I am so psyched for this thing!
@ Anonymous
STFU u usless tit
RENE,
YOU DIDNT LIST THE 100 FEATURES...THE HEADLINE MADE ME READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE HOPING FOR SOME FEATURES I DIDNT KNOW ABOUT IOS4. PLEASE ADD INFO
@joe g- I agree. This was just the keynote with a bunch of spelling errors added.
Nice article as always Rene.
@Plaz... More ram is always a welcome addition to a new iPhone or pad platform.
Wow! Thank you Rene for this great comprehensive content!
You should call this "Complete rehash of old reviews" Nicely laid out though . Sure would like to here about the overall sound though .
@ Rene - "There has to come a point where increasing the components, and size of the components in the device becomes more important than thinning it out. Right?"
Not necessarily. The thinner and lighter, the better. Right up to the point where the iPhone can't take the punishment that a bigger, more robust design could withstand. That would be the holy grail: the thinnest possible iPhone that still stands up to whatever torture tests Apple subjected the iPhone 4 to during testing.
The new "sandwich" design allows apple to shrink the stainless steel band as components get smaller over the years. Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if there were an updated iPod Touch with a similar design come September. And it should be thinner than the iPhone 4, the way the current iPod Touch is thinner than the iPhone 3GS. Apple would need to figure out how to strengthen the area around the headphone jack, since the metal around the opening would be really thin if they just reduced the width of the band.
LOL, funny how the launch day is the 24th, but I've never been more excited about PREORDERING on Tuesday.
So why is Apple pushing out FaceTime before it works over the cell networks? I think the first reason is because there must be a new iPod Touch in the works (as I mentioned before) with a camera.
FaceTime will only work on iPhone 4s for now, but it's almost certain that there is an iPod Touch with a camera in Apple's future plans. And those too could theoretically run FaceTime if Apple adds, say, iChat with video to iOS before the iPad Touch-with-camera's launch. There would need to be some kind of software to connect non-phone iOS devices, so a video-enabled iChat might be the way to go.
And, of course, let's not forget the iPad. That's the second reason for rolling out Wi-Fi-only FaceTime. There's plenty of space to put front and back cameras on the iPad. And all such camera-equipped iPads could run FaceTime over Wi-Fi, since all iPads are Wi-Fi equipped.
Finally, FaceTime would bring AT&T to its knees if Apple had enabled it on iPhone data connections. It will take a whole lot more bandwidth to support video calls, FaceTime or other, on the cell networks if the concept really does become mainstream. LTE aka "4G" is being tested now, and will be rolled out some time next year. And even then, the initial data rates won't be all that much faster than 3G is now. It will take years for 4G to really develop into a fast (and reliable) data delivery network.
Apple doesn't need to wait for all of that to happen. iPod Touch with cameras and iPad with cameras will be available years before 4G really hits its stride. Why wait?
(One more thing - by the time 4G starts to gain traction, Apple will have phones for T-Mobile and/or Verizon and/or Sprint and/or who knows what other carriers. Apple won't even need to wait for AT&T to get their 4G act together...)
@Plaz
It does matter to me how much RAM the iPhone 4 has, and where they're clocking the A4 chip at. I want speed, plus multitasking is going to need extra RAM to make sure that the iPhone doesn't lag or slow in performance.
I agree with Joe G. I'd like to know more about the features. And, to those criticizing Rene's spelling, please lighten up!
Even if the phone is not all that they say it is, there is no doubt that it will be more than my BB Curve that I am currently using. Almost every phone experience from browsing the web to using apps will be a million times better. I'm on board.
I have one question though. Currently, I cannot view facebook videos (unless they are Youtube) on my 3rd gen ipod touch. Is this something that the iphone 4 will be able to do? Anyone know?
Nice article , but I believe it's 24% less depth not width.
For the people commenting about the editing, get a life. It's a blog not the New York Times. Besides, I'm sure your grammar and spelling are perfect, right?
Does anyone know if iPhone 4 cases and accessories will be available before release day? I want to be able to take care of mine from day one. Other quick question, does anyone know if the Apple "bumper" raises the device, meaning when I lay it flat, will it prevent the front/back from touching the surface it's laying on?
If by "Complete Preview" you meant a synopsis of the 8 things already covered ad nauseam, then great job.
Anybody see an article with the other 92 "new" things about iPhone4 that weren't covered in this "Complete" preview? Link please :-)
@MrC Thanks!
@ SockRolid,
I look at the thickness a little
diferent. If they made the iPhone 4 a little thicker, there are several POTENTIAL thing they could do:
1. Destroy all other smartphones in batery life by putting in a larger batery. (who wouldn't LOVE an iPhone that you could use all day without recharging?)
2. Provide for better heat management. Speeding up the processor increases heat. (I know they have it under control at 1ghz, but maybe they could go faster. I can hardly wait to hear from "team Fandroid" about the comming soon 1.5ghz snapdragon.
3. This one is a pipe dream but... Maybe a camera with a nonfixed lens. At the size of the sensor, you wouldn't need to move the lens far to focus/zoom.
I'm sure there are more things they could do if they had a bit more realestate in there...
Heck, they could even add an sd slot if they wanted to.
Joe
6: the iPad is pretty effective at pushing out 1024x768. It should have no problem with 960x640. It's more about how the graphics chip and the driver software works than the speed of the CPU since the display is composed and rendered by the GPU.
I wonder why is no official statement of the ram in the iPhone 4? they always make a huge deal of this when the put it on the iPhone even if they have been for years in other devices. why is it the dont put the ram in big bold blue letters the specs......
Hey Rene, love this site and I can't spell to save my life. And I don't care. Thanks for the great review. Just 2 more days..
@Plaz.....you're stupid! More ram = better performance.
Didn't see this mentioned: will you be able to download word docs, excel files, PowerPoint presentation to the phone? I use it for business as well and need some files on the go. Cloud solutions are fine, but not always feasible.
Already ordered my ZAGG full body maximum coverage. Next step is to pre-order and then after that pick it up.!!
Yeeeee, a new iPhone. Have you people even seen the the new EVO. Now that is a great phone. I prefer this ove the iPhone any day. I have been using the EVO for over week now and cannot find a single thing wrong with it. Android has taken over the market and surpassed iPhone and will continue to do so. WHY? Because they offer so much more.
@Jon:
Last time i checked, Apple is taking over the market more than what Android is taking over. More like 28% and Android at 9%. Maybe you're just thinking that Android is playing catch up. :) yup, i think that's it.
Apple was reportedly testing both 256 and 512MB RAM versions of the iPhone 4 prototype, which may be why there were so many mixed reports. We'll have to wait until the final version ships and gets torn down to find out for sure because Apple hasn't been releasing that type of spec. We try to post articles that appeal to a wide-range of readers. Theme hacking is more for experts. Previews are meant more for casual readers who just want to know what's coming in broader strokes.
Hey Rene do you know if the speaker is better on the new iPhone??
@ Rene: Thanks for clarifying the RAM point.
I suspect RAM wasn't mentioned because it was not upgraded. What benefit could there be to keeping 512MB a secret?
As a 3G user, I'll be more than happy with 256!!!
Looking foward to the new iPhone. Seeing if it lives up to how much hype it has.
By the looks of it, it will be much improved and I think it looks better.
"I have been using the EVO for over week now and cannot find a single thing wrong with it."
Well then let me spell it out for you -- even in airplane mode it loses 5% of battery per hour. The screen on many folks EVOs is separating from the body and causing massive light leakage. Android OS, in the places where HTC's lovely Sense hasn't re-skinned it, is not a pleasurable user experience. The EVO is a lovely device, however, and I suspect now that Google's mission is UI/UX polishing and they've acquired Matias Duarte, that by Android 3.0 it will truly be a thing to behold. I'm not a hater, by any means, I'm just not willing to gloss over in order to troll a competing-platform-centric site.
512 MB would be such a sweet spot for RAM.
I'll be disappointed if it doesn't have 512mb RAM. Ya, 256 is enough if you don't jailbreak. Even with a jailbreak it's almost always enough. But more sure would be nice. Every other phone coming out now has 512. Would be odd to not put 512 in the iP4.
@Nathan.....God I soooo hope Apple increased the volume on the speaker, I can hardly hear people when I turn on the speaker phone on my 3GS
I am running iOS 4 on my phone and the voice control does give you the correct time if you ask "what time is it?"
Apple says 100 new features in the iPhone 4 but we keep hearIng about the same 9 over & over.
Apple says 100 new features in iOS 4 but we keep hearing about the same 8 over and over.
Someone must about the rest of these new features. But who?
This thing is going to rock. Build quality is top notch and one of the areas where it really excels. Can't Wait!
www.orderyourcards.com
professional design & print
Is the new iPhone speaker louder? My wife's droid blows my iPhone 3g away.
The 2 new Motorola Droids being released in the next 2 months blow the new iPhone away.
Looks like a quality phone. The display is too small, in my opinion. They should have filled that pretty face with all those extra pixels instead of scrunching them into the traditional Iphone rectangle. I can't see 320DPI anyway!
Based on my research, I'm think I'm going to go with one of those new Motorola Android phones. They seem to have better features and are more customizable. Have you seen how well that google voice search and navigation works?
All that said, I may get my wife one of these Iphones - she likes pretty stuff that's simple, while I like power and speed and options.
wow this looks great, but we are already hearing about a 2ghz droid by the end of the year. I love the polish and simple functionality of the iphone, but its unfair to expect it to be the best phone around when it gets an update once a year, whereas there are a ton of manufacturers and service providers competing for "best android phone" all year long.
i cant wait to get the new iphone. i am sooo excited! this is gonna be theee best yet. isnt the first day you can buy it in stores, June 21 ?
Woohooo Iphone 4! I cant wait to get this phone, I got a little tired of using my Droid for some reason I dont feel very comfortable using it. Its a great phone, but...meh idk I just prefer the Iphone.
@everyone it DOES have 512MB of RAM...CONFIRMED BY APPLE!!!
i also cant wait to buy the iphone 4 , it will change the hole smart2phone section , i am right now in europe i will buy it in germany , they have it without contract , you can visit httt://www.smart2phone.de , there you can buy without contract.
i love it.
those 2 videos are no more than great marketing tool! Its a good device with new features but I would say not enough to leapfrog the android phones out now. "bringing video calling to the world?!?!?!" wtf! Video calling has been on cellphones even on my Motorola Razr V3XX 2/3 years ago if i could recall... But to give credit, Apple has a great marketing talent...
I cant follow it everyday :S:S:S Im about gonna thrown 3gs away lol damn iphone4 make me feel desire lol :D hope i can buy it lol ( have to eat less for this tho :D sound crazy lol )
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