iPhone 4S Test Notes: No More Death Grip [Video]

By Casey Chan Oct 14, 2011 1:57 PM 29,523 62

Apple improved the antenna design in the iPhone 4S in an attempt to kill the notorious Death Grip problem in the old iPhone 4. Did it work? Yes. OH YES. There is no death grip in the iPhone 4S.

We pitted an AT&T iPhone 4S vs an AT&T iPhone 4 to compare the death grip attenuation and when we tried to choke the 4S, it didn't budge. The 5 bars stayed steady throughout our entire test. The old iPhone 4? When gripped, the signal slowly dropped from 5 bars to 3 (and then re-gained those lost bars when we opened it up).

So if you were worried about the Death Grip still existing in the iPhone 4S, worry no more. It's gone. Sayonara. Killed. Buh-byed. Dead dead dead. You can't "hold it wrong" anymore. Finally?

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iPhone 4S Test Notes: Apple Earbuds [IPhone]

By Adrian Covert Oct 14, 2011 6:52 PM 26,569 67

Yep, they're still shit. [iPhone 4S on Giz]

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iPhone 4S Test Notes: App Speed [Video]

By Casey Chan Oct 14, 2011 9:15 PM 24,215 23

It's faster. Screens slide smoother, apps launch quicker and stuff just works better. But that shouldn't really come as a surprise—we've seen the difference between an A4 and an A5 processor before. What IS surprising is just how fast the 4S' camera is. That thing KILLS.

We tested the iPhone 4S against the iPhone 4 and iPad 2 and though the 4S felt better when compared to the iPhone 4, it's not an iPad 2/iPad 1-sized difference where you feel like the old generation is trudging trough slowsand and it's impossible to ever go back. However! It'd be foolish to discredit the speed difference because it clearly exists and it definitely improves the iOS app-launchy, screen-slidey experience. iOS is just slicker on the 4S, things work better and you get to do what you want to do faster.

Where the iPhone 4S truly blows the iPhone 4 away is in its camera speed. I tried to "rapid fire" the cameras in both devices—obviously more of a stress test than a real-world test—and the results were stunning. First, the iPhone 4 camera takes MUCH longer than the 4S camera to open. And then when I started taking pictures over and over and over again, the iPhone 4S handled it with ease. Saying the camera in the iPhone 4 struggled is a bit of an understatement; in a solid 10-15 seconds of button mashing, the iPhone 4S managed to take twice as many photos as its predecessor. The camera speed in the 4S is legit, folks.

The iPhone 4S also shines in more intensive games like Infinity Blade and NBA Jam. The iPhone 4 isn't even on the same level, actually, sword swipes swoop smoother and controls feel more responsive on the 4S. What we saw in our testing was the iPhone 4S and iPad 2 battling it out for first place while the old iPhone wasn't even close. And that's the real gist of it, the iPhone 4S compares more to the iPad 2 than the old iPhone 4. And that's a pretty good place to be.

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iPhone 4S Test Notes: Browser Benchmarks (Versus the Fastest Android Phones) [IPhone]

By Sam Biddle Oct 14, 2011 6:19 PM 25,446 72

The iPhone 4S is faster than the iPhone 4. How much faster? And how much faster than its non-Apple kin? We did some benchmark bench pressing to find out. Feel the burn!

First, some synthetic benchmarks, courtesy of Sunspider. How fast could these phones crush JavaScript? We tested each phone on the same Wi-Fi network, inches away from one another. A lower score (faster) is better:

iPhone 4S: 2237.8 ms
iPhone 4: 3611.8 ms
Droid Bionic: 3963.9 ms
Samsung Galaxy S II: 3523.2 ms

The iPhone 4S is the champ by a wide stretch—and its little brother still beats the beefier Bionic.

But what about some non-synthetic testing? We loaded up two popular, image-heavy sites under the same conditions. Again, lower is better:

iPhone 4S
Awl: 6 sec
NYT: 5 sec

iPhone 4:
Awl: 7 sec
NYT: 8 sec

Droid Bionic:
NYT: 12 sec
Awl: 13 sec

Samsung Galaxy S II:
NYT: 5 sec
Awl: 8 sec

Again, the 4S crosses the finish line first. Is this a completely comprehensive test? No. Is this highly indicative? Yes.

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iPhone 4S Test Notes: Call Quality [IPhone]

By Adrian Covert Oct 14, 2011 5:46 PM 17,072 10

Call quality has never been a strong suit of the iPhone. But ever since iPhone 4 came out on Verizon, things have gotten just a smidge better. And the iPhone 4S reaffirms that Apple's improvements have been no fluke.

We compared the iPhone 4S on ATT, Verizon and Sprint to a trio of new Android phones: Motorola Droid Bionic (Verizon), Samsung Galaxy S II (Sprint) and the HTC Amaze (T-Mobile). We placed calls to a landline phone and tested for not just for overall quality, but also the noise canceling capabilities of each phone. So how'd they fare?

When comparing among iPhone 4S models to each other, the CDMA-powered Verizon and Sprint phones sounded better than the AT&T handset on both ends of the line. Yes, the CDMA handsets lacked a certain clarity and sounded a little more hushed, but the voices were full and soft, which made having a conversation easier on the ears. Voice quality on the AT&T iPhone 4S was tinny and shrill and generally less pleasant, even if voices came through bolder.

On the Android side, the Galaxy S II was more or less on par with the AT&T iPhone 4S. Clear and upfront, but again, shrill. The HTC Amaze sounded the worst, sounding tinny and distant and surrounded by ambient noise. The Droid Bionic, on the other hand, sounded great. Striking a balance between clarity and richness of voice, it was the best sounding of all the phones. But it's also running on Verizon's 4G network, so it was somewhat expected.

Winner: Droid Bionic

For the noise cancellation test, I was sitting in an enclosed booth, so I just threw on a song with a lot of abrasive noise and proceeded to talk over it to my co-conspirator on the other line.

All the iPhones eliminated about the same amount of noise, quickly recognizing when I was speaking and dampening the music, making my voice intelligible. When I wasn't speaking, the mic would hone back in on the background noise. The AT&T's noise cancellation was more noticeable, since the audio quality is brighter.

Of the Android phones, the Galaxy S II and the Droid Bionic performed about the same, cutting out most of the unwanted sound and leaving my own voice intact. It took longer than the iPhones for each of the Android handsets to detect when I was speaking, but once they caught up, they performed admirably. The HTC Amaze's noise cancellation worked well enough, but it took the longest of any to kick in, and even when it did, it still let some background noise through.

Winner: iPhone 4S

The call quality on all the iPhone 4Ses is the best yet of the lineage. That said, it still quite isn't on the level of the Droid Bionic, even the 4S has some awesome noice cancellation capabilities. And if you're looking for a top-to-bottom comparison, here it is:

1) Motorola Droid Bionic (Verizon)
2) iPhone 4S (Sprint and Verizon—tie)
4) iPhone 4S (AT&T)
5) Samsung Galaxy S II (Sprint)
6) HTC Amaze (T-Mobile)

[iPhone 4S on Giz]

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iPhone 4S Test Notes: Data Speed (It's Slow) [IPhone]

By Brent Rose Oct 14, 2011 9:00 PM 41,669 86

The iPhone 4S is here. One of new, not-so-visible features? A re-spiffed antenna, and stuffed inside the AT&T 4S, new guts that (should) mean faster data speeds. But theoretical max speeds are not real world experiences. So which iPhone is the fastest: AT&T, Sprint or Verizon? And how does the 4S stack up against the most jacked Android phones?

We tested the iPhone 4S on AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon; the iPhone 4 on Verizon and AT&T; the Samsung Galaxy S II on Sprint and T-Mobile; the Motorola Droid Bionic on Verizon, and the HTC Amaze on Sprint.

None of the iPhones proclaim to run at "4G" speeds, although AT&T has billed phones with the same potential data speed as the 4S as "4G." What you consider 4G may differ from what somebody else calls 4G, and sure enough, every Android phone we tested is a 4G phone, according to their respective carriers.

Let's talk speed limits, theoretically. Verizon and Sprint's iPhones use CDMA EV-DO Rev A, which has a theoretical max download speed of 3.1Mbps. The old AT&T iPhone 4 was technically capable of hitting 7.2Mbps downstream. AT&T's iPhone 4S uses a version of HSPA+ with a max speed of 14.4Mbps downstream. For the non-iPhones, the Amaze 4G and Galaxy S II on T-Mobile also run on HSPA+, but a version that theoretically allows a peak downstream speed of 42Mbps. The Galaxy S II on Sprint uses WiMax for 4G speeds, while Verizon's Droid Bionic runs on its LTE network, which claims speeds of up to 12Mbps (though we've seen them go well above 20Mbps). Obviously, theoretical max speeds are not real world speeds. Which is what we wanted to check. (Is this alphabet soup of network standards confusing? Read this.)

This is just a spot test, from our roof in our downtown NYC offices. We have pretty strong signalage from every carrier (every phone showed max bars, and though bars can be slightly misleading as a measure, they're ballpark). Of course, some networks are stronger than others in certain areas, which is why we've got more comprehensive, diverse network testing on the way, in lotsa different locations. (For something a little wider reaching, check out—and participate in!—the great national network test.)

Method: We ran at least five speed tests for each to make sure we were getting good data, and then averaged the results.

(BTW, click on the charts to embiggen.)

Most important, to most of you anyway, are download speeds. No surprise, perhaps, the 4G phones massacred the iPhones, beating them by nearly 1000 percent. AT&T's faster theoretical speeds with its iPhone 4S are indeed faster in real life, beating Verizon and Sprint on the iPhone 4S. And yes, the 4S was definitely faster than 4 on AT&T. No real gain for Verizon—our theory is that Verizon iPhone 4 already had a tweaked antenna design, so it had less to gain.

Upload speeds on phones have gotten more and more important, considering how many of us are now syncing our high-res photos and HD videos back to the cloud. The Droid Bionic's crazyquickness is way beyond anything else, which is why we love us some LTE. The iPhone 4Ses' speeds make us sad though, particularly AT&T's. (We re-ran the tests many, many times to see if they weren't a fluke. Perhaps there was a problem with the tower near us.) Sprint's iPhone 4S had the best upload speed of those we tested, at 0.89Mbps.

Again, these are preliminary tests, but so far Sprint seems to average out the best of the iPhone 4Ses, with the second fastest downloads and fastest upload. Plus you get unlimited data. If all you care about is downstream and you've got good AT&T service, that's going to be your best bet. Of course, the bigger take away? iPhones are officially slowwwww when it comes to raw data speeds. Next year, right?

Image credit: Shutterstock/Ra Studio

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iPhone 4S Test Notes: Asking Siri for Sex and Drugs [Video]

By Sam Biddle Oct 14, 2011 8:00 PM 67,135 85

After a little while it gets boring asking Siri to text people and convert gallons to quarts. It's been a long day. I'm a little delirious. Help me, Siri. God, just help me.

It can't get me drugs. It can't understand my need. But at least it'll tell me what it's wearing without any questions. [iPhone 4S on Giz]

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The Invisible Universe, Classic Notes and More [Android Apps Of The Week]

In this week's best Android app roundup, you have a better note taking app, an app that lets you see the invisible, a Shazam for TV and much more.

Check out the apps by clicking right here. You'll be directed to the Android apps tag page. Apps will be listed in the side bar. Not in the post

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Classic Notes + App Box for Android: Like a Better iPhone Notes App for Your Android Phone [Android Apps]

Call me old fashioned but I can't get into those progressive note taking apps because I love to write on digital yellow legal pads. There's just something more note worthy about writing on a yellow background, you know? Classic Notes is that nostalgic pad with a TON of hidden features.

Classic Notes+ App Box is a note taking app that looks a lot like the iPhone stock Notes app or AK Notepad on Android, but with a lot more features mindlessly yet seamlessly thrown in. On the surface, it's an ordinary notepad—you write, you type, you note, it really has everything a note taking app should have (import txt files, sharing notes, etc.)—but hidden inside are nutty features like conversion options, tip calculator, weather, time, Wikipedia search, and a ton more bat-shit crazy options (seriously) that don't really belong in a note-taking app but are nice (?) to have as a backup.

When you try to do too much as an app, you end up overwhelming people (kinda like how I feel about Evernote) but because Classic Notes hides all those excess features in a menu option, you're not smothered by features that have nothing to do with note taking. It's sort of hilarious that they've added stuff as useless (for me, at least) as a mortgage calculator or water intake calculator. But hey! The more the merrier. Note-taking wise, you can sync your notes to Google Docs and Dropbox and add dates to Google Calendar. That's what makes Classic Notes lovely, it's dead easy to use for those who don't want to be burdened with anything more than a notepad but also deeper for supernerds who love to dig in and sync the shite out of their notes.

Classic Notes+App Box

Download this app for:

The Best

Quickfast way to take notes

The Worst

The extra apps are weirdly placed

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