The 4s and it's lack of 4G support

[BDD888]

Has Apple just shot themselves in their collective feet by not including 4G support in the 4s? I assumed it would since there are so many 4G Android phones out already and more to come.

Or is the 4s to keep Apple fans happy till they can roll out the iPhone 5? Are they still planning to announcing an iPhone 5 this year?

I was about to consider the iPhone 4s till I found out it only supports 3G. Which isn't to say I won't still buy a 4s. But now as it is I might be looking at 4G phones from Motorola or Samsung as my first smartphone. Why would one not buy a 4G phone?

 

[DeanP]

To be honest, I don't really care about 4G (none available in NZ).

But yeah, I am quite furious - it took 18 months and all they did was a spec bump. Going to stay with my iP4.

 

[BDD888]

If I am to only choose an iP I'd go with the 4s (since I don't already own one). I could have got the iP4 for an exceptional corporate deal. But I wanted to wait and see what Apple would come out with releasing the "4s" or "5". The features on the 4s are great...that bugs me is that it's not a 4G phone. I think many people were expecting that.

If you were going to buy a new smartphone today I think it would only make sense to buy a 4G phone. Which is why I hope the 4s is just a stopgap phone. And that there will be a iP5 on the way. Hopefully announced later this year. Or even next October. If not...then I'm going Android. I won't be buying for roughly a year (reasons I won't go into). So I can wait.

Apple gives us a "iP4s" that doesn't have "4G". What are they thinking??

 

[osxx]

I would like to see 4G but not with the battery life my co worker gets with his Android
if he does not bring his charger the phone will not make it to the end of an 8 hr shift.

 

[RavingMac]

Do you really have 4G service routinely available to you?

From what I have seen (and admittedly I live in a small market area) for now and the immediate future 4G is a marketing ploy (like the ever increasing mega-pixels on digital cameras).

Also, I tend to do most of my heavy usage on Wifi so it is a non-issue to me.

Bottomline: if all else were equal I would certainly use 4G as a determining factor in my purchase, but they aren't. The iPhone 3Gs I currently have is the best phone I have ever had, period end of statement. Most people I know who have other smartphones don't feel that way about their phone.

 

[BrianLachoreVPI]

They certainly haven't "shot themselves in the foot". Are there people who will go another direction for 4G? - I'm sure there are, and there are probably people who will hold out until next year in anticipation of a possible 4G iPhone. I'd have to imagine that since Apple is all about high margins - the business case for including 4G wasn't strong enough, given that in reality, most of the US doesn't have that service available.

 

[BDD888]

Brian,

I'm surprised. I'm from Toronto. And most of the major providers are offering 4G service and of course pushing 4G phones.

It was exactly because we know Apple is for the high profit margins that I would have thought the 4s would have been a 4G phone. With good battery life. Maybe Apple hasn't worked that out in time for the 4s release. They want to get it right when they do release a 4G phone.

As I said...due to circumstances I won't be buying till roughly the same time next year. So if it takes that long for Apple to put out a iP5 w/ 4G then fine. But the 4G phones out there...they can't all have poor battery life could they? Even the Samsung II? Motorola Bionic/Atrix...etc.

 

[dtravis7]

Give this a read. Very good info from a very smart person.

AnandTech - Why No LTE iPhone 5 in 2011? Blame 28nm Maturity, Check Back In Q2/Q3 2012

 

[BDD888]

Thanks for the URL. Will read. I know of Anandtech. And was going to ask how important is having LTE? To buy a future proof 4G phone. Or a future proof phone period. I was considering the 4s. Haven't written it off yet. But I can wait till roughly the same time next year. So if there's a iP5 LTE 4G phone...GREAT.

 

[Corato]

Coming from the 3GS the 4s will be a huge improvement. I personally do not use that much data via cellular so 4G is not a big deal for my use case. I am happy to see the world phone capability.

 

[osxx]

Give this a read. Very good info from a very smart person.

AnandTech - Why No LTE iPhone 5 in 2011? Blame 28nm Maturity, Check Back In Q2/Q3 2012

Thanks for the link would of gave you a rep but i got the must spread around flag.

 

[lilmill]

Give this a read. Very good info from a very smart person.

AnandTech - Why No LTE iPhone 5 in 2011? Blame 28nm Maturity, Check Back In Q2/Q3 2012

Great link. I'm still undecided on upgrading my iphone4, I guess I will play with the wife's 4s to see if it's worth it. I was hoping for a little bigger screen, and I'd also upgrade mine. Lte is still a ways off and I don't think the battery life is worth the performance, since I'm not going to lose my unlimited for a tethering plan.

 

[BDD888]

The differences between an iP4 and an iP4s IMHO is not great enough to warrant an upgrade. You just bought the iP4. Now if you had an iP3...

The screen size is another disappointment. I thought Apple would have used a 4-4.5" screen to be competitive with 4G Android phones. Apple is giving Android phone manufacturers a chance to gain market share they didn't have. Not smart IMHO.

What's missing in the 4s?...no 4G, no LTE, no 4" screen...perhaps they'll have these changes in the iP5. And more than 10 hours of battery life continuous (talking, email, browsing...etc.).

 

[robduckyworth]

moan, moan, moan, is that all people do on product launches?

its had an A5 processor, siri, 8MP camera w/new optics. up to 7x faster graphics, 2x Safari speed increase. AND iOS 5!

so it doesnt have 4G. big woop, wanna fight about it. get over it and move on.

is it a stop gap for the iPhone 5? i doubt it. who cares anyway, its a great improvement. Impatience always annoys me.

I have had no sleep. i apologise for the crankiness, but i need to get this off my chest.

 

[Doug b]

According to Apple, with ATT's roll out of their HSPA (fake 4g) network, and the improved antennas in the 4Gs, users should theoretically see download speeds which match that of current Verizon and Sprint 4G users with 14 Mbps or better. technically speaking, none of the already existing 4g networks are truly what 4g was meant to be. More like 3.5g.

So don't be upset, because the truth is that you've fallen victem to marketing nonsense ! And this is coming from a guy with "4g" on the Sprint network....

Doug

 

[BDD888]

According to Apple, with ATT's roll out of their HSPA (fake 4g) network, and the improved antennas in the 4Gs, users should theoretically see download speeds which match that of current Verizon and Sprint 4G users with 14 Mbps or better. technically speaking, none of the already existing 4g networks are truly what 4g was meant to be. More like 3.5g.

So don't be upset, because the truth is that you've fallen victem to marketing nonsense ! And this is coming from a guy with "4g" on the Sprint network....

Doug

Good to hear some truths about 4G vs the 4s' 3G performance. I've never owned a smartphone period. So this is all news to me. But while the speed isn't an issue...I think a larger screen would have been better. As I said...I haven't written off the 4s as my first smartphone. Just researching now...

 

[cwa107]

As I said...due to circumstances I won't be buying till roughly the same time next year. So if it takes that long for Apple to put out a iP5 w/ 4G then fine. But the 4G phones out there...they can't all have poor battery life could they? Even the Samsung II? Motorola Bionic/Atrix...etc.

They can... and do. You can expect just a few hours under normal use. Android is pretty bad about managing battery life to begin with, with power hungry first generation 4G chips, it can only be worse.

When I had my 3G Droid Incredible, I was charging nightly with an extended life battery and in light use. My iPhone 4 tends to go 2-3 days in between charges.

And that's just battery life. Android sucks in so many other ways, I've barely scratched the surface. I suffered through my Droid for about 6 months before I finally went over to an iPhone.

 

[BDD888]

cwa,

As I said. I haven't written off the 4s. Just gathering the real facts. Question is when I am ready to buy will there be an iP5? I'm going to be living in LA for almost a year in few months. So, it would make no sense for me to buy an iP4s now. Nor pay full price for an iP4s with no plan.

Had no idea android was that bad. There is a reason why the iPhone rules the smartphone market. Guess Apple does (and did) know what they were doing in not releasing a 4G LTE phone yet. As the tech is still too young.

 

[Doug b]

Had no idea android was that bad. There is a reason why the iPhone rules the smartphone market. Guess Apple does (and did) know what they were doing in not releasing a 4G LTE phone yet. As the tech is still too young.

It's not. No offense to cwa but, that's just one opinion which obviously is based upon a bad experience. Not everybody will have had such bad experiences. I know that I haven't! I love my EVO. The shame here is that out of the tons of Android phones, maybe less than a handful are worth thinking about. Heck, the good ones arent even marketed!

Battery life with 4g on will of course drain the battery, but that's got more to do with the size of the antenna/chip relative to the size of the battery, and not always the power management of the OS. This is likely why an ATT based Android phone will achieve the same 4g speeds with HSPA and longer battery life. Yet to be seen though I believe.

Believe me, there are plenty of things an Android device can do that an iPhone can not, but the point is more that it boils down to personal choice and what you plan to do with said device.

Like Steve Jobs said... (paraphrasing) Don't let the opinions of others overshadow your own or keep you from being yourself.

Doug

 

[macrostheblack]

While I know I will only add fuel to the fire AT&T 3g network is still the most consistant and fastest network out their for data. true LTE can boast faster speed on occasion I would rather have 8 mbps constant then 4mbps that will some time hit 10mbps for a second or two here and their. I can totally see why apple Isn't putting to much intrest into LTE as they are looking at selling there phone to a world wide market and a true 4g standerd hasn't been established. while LTE is proving viable for Verison it isn't for the 98% of the rest of the world that runs GSM where wimax is proving to be more viable.