GlobalGyan Blog

Last night, I almost faced an Internet blackout at home, minutes before the iPhone announcement was to commence. The broadband connection which was down for a day had not yet been restored and both my cellular data connections were wavering, refusing to open most sites. Having announced earlier in the day that I was expecting something dramatic at the keynote and that my resolution to skip an iPhone generation was wavering, I wondered if I'd miss the excitement of the live coverage of Apple's event.

addepalli: 
16mos after IP4 and with a new CEO in the spotlight, today's iPhone announcement's got be dramatic, I expect. My resolve is weakening….
10/4/11 11:12 AM

However, persistence paid off… I was able to get the Twitter feed on my iPhone 4 (running on a weak 3G signal) and also accessed the Engadget live-blog on my iMac connected to the Tata CDMA EVDO network (through my Blackberry). I was all set as Tim Cook took the stage for his first product launch at Apple. 

90 minutes later, I was a bit disappointed. Obviously, expectations were quite high, particularly because the iPhone 4 was an amazing upgrade to the 3GS. There were several rumors predicting a minor update only (4S), but I was hoping for a surprise. This was, after all, Tim's first public appearance as CEO. Unfortunately, he didn't say much - his colleagues did most of the talking. And, more than half the time was spent repeating stuff (iOS5 and iCloud) that had been announced earlier.

The new iPhone 4S (the most amazing iPhone ever) made no changes to the exterior of the iPhone 4… well, not that there was any real reason to. Maybe they could have adopted the iPad 2 form factor, but not really required. The 4S had three major "internal" changes:

1. Faster proceessor, with the A5 dual-core. Apple showed off how it creates amazing gaming performance. Well, my iPad 2 does that too, and I don't spend too much time on my iPhone with games (except the occasional Angry Birds while I am waiting for a meeting). Anyway, this processor was a pre-requisite for the next two changes, I guess.

2. Superior camera. With my limited knowledge of cameras, it appears that the 4S camera is a massive improvement (over the IP4 and other smartphone cameras) for still and video photography. Having just invested massively in my first DSLR (and assorted lenses & accessories), I am kind of content with the mobility of the IP4 camera and the quality of the DSLR. The camera in the 4S is not sufficient to induce purchase.

3. Voice Assistant. The real WOW moment of the keynote was the demo of Siri, the voice-activated personal assistant that is built into the 4S. Voice recognition stuff has been around for many years, but what Apple showcased yesterday was amongst the best ever implementation of natural language conversations with a machine. It appeared so good that it was kind of scary… Rohan Joshi (@mojorojo) tweeted something very apt:

mojorojo:
When Skynet kills us all na, we'll all stop being so amazed by this Siri shit. "NO SIRI! STOP! STOP NO! AARRRGGGHHH" 
10/4/11 11:57 PM

Siri is the only compelling reason to upgrade from the iPhone 4 to 4S.

If you are with the 3GS or any other "smartphone", I'd say go buy the 4S. Also, if your carrier is subsidizing 70% of the cost of the phone, then again, you could upgrade. But if you have to spend another US $650 for the 4S (having spent a similar amount a year ago), I would advise restraint. Wait till 2012; your iPhone 4 with iOS 5 and iCloud will continue to amaze you for some more time. Hopefully Apple will get back to its summer schedule of launching iPhones and you will have a new iPhone 6 (the most amazing iPhone ever) in less than a year.

 

Update: See this video of Siri in action (from the Apple site) - amazing stuff! Also, this Dan Curtis post about the difference between "good enough" (Android voice actions) and "better" (Siri)

Update 2: Sorry Tim. http://t.co/1pmW5MwN