Definitely the Apple of my ear

The voice controlled Siri software on the new iPhone 4S has the potential to be a game-changer, says Noel Campion.

THE iPhone 4S was greeted with disappointment when it was first announced last month, as many people were expecting the iPhone 5. Instead, the latest model doesn’t have a bigger screen and is almost identical to the original iPhone 4.

On first viewing, there are subtle exterior differences that only a keen eye will spot. However, don’t be fooled by this book’s cover: iPhone 4S is nearly twice as fast and the graphics are seven times speedier, sporting a new dual antenna design that banishes the grip of death which marred iPhone 4’s release.

As well as the 16GB and 32GB version, you can now get the 4S with 64GB. I think we’d all love a larger iPhone display but quality is better than size and this is something the iPhone 4 has proven time and time again even when pitted against some of the best large screen mobile phones. Yes, we were all hoping for a 4-inch plus iPhone with retina display, but we’ll just have to wait for the iPhone 5 for that.

The iPhone 4 never felt slow, but when I compared it to the dual core A5 chip in the 4S (also found in the iPad 2) you could see a noticeable difference in loading apps, especially when loading web pages.

I also saw a major performance boost in the camera app which loaded faster and was quicker to take and save photos.

The 8MP camera in the 4S is a serious step up in quality from the already excellent 5MP found in the iPhone 4. In real world use, I have found the iPhone 4 camera to take better photos than a lot of 8MP phone cameras. The 4S uses an improved backside illumination system to increase the amount of light that actually gets picked up, coupled with a five-element custom lens assembly for better sharpness and overall accuracy in the final frame.

The aperture has also been refined: down from f/2.8 in the iPhone 4 to f/2.4 in the iPhone 4S. This means that more of the available light can reach the sensor, thus improving noise and photos in lower lighting.

Lastly, there’s a new, advanced hybrid infrared filter which helps to reproduce more accurate and natural colours. All this means better shots, that are less likely to overexpose in bright conditions.

I suppose you could say that Apple are only catching up with the rest of the mobile market but now the iPhone 4S can capture video at 1080p Full HD, up from the 720p of the iPhone 4. With it comes real-time digital image stabilisation which reduces irritating handheld shakes. The resulting videos are very impressive but, unlike a real HD video camera, you don’t have an optical zoom.

The iPhone 4S works great with the second generation Apple TV which allows you to use AirPlay Mirroring which wirelessly displays everything on your 4S on your HD TV. You can also use it to stream video and music. Also new to the 4S is 1080p Full HD output support, via the Apple Digital AV Adapter or Apple VGA Adapter.

The standout feature of the iPhone 4S is voice-controlled personal assistant software, Siri. Its presence will definitely be a reason for some people to jump ship from other mobile phones. Be warned that you have to use Siri for a while to fully appreciate its functionality. I’ve played with a lot of voice control and voice dictating software over the years and I gave up on all of them eventually. But then, Siri isn’t just voice control software. It resides on Apple servers with a massive database that provides artificial intelligence on your iPhone 4S which doesn’t just understand the words you say but can interpret the context of the meaning behind them.

Simply hold the home button for two seconds or hold the phone up to your ear and you will hear the Siri tone. Ask Siri to make a call, create a diary entry, text a message, or email someone and it will do as you command.

For example, you can say: “Send a text message to Pat Murphy saying that I will be 15 minutes late for our meeting”. Siri will create the text, read it back to you if you want and ask you “Do you want to send it?”

And then send it for you — all hands free. Siri has the ability to interact with multiple apps in one go: responding to a meeting request from a friend, for example, sees your calendar automatically checked for clashes — with the iPhone 4S flagging up any issues — and then a reply sent as well as a new entry in your schedule.

Siri will tell you the weather for tomorrow in your current location or present you with answers to questions like “How many calories in a bagel?” or “What is the population in Peru?” from the Wolfram Alpha online database.

If it doesn’t know the answer, it will ask you, “Do you want to search the web?”. It’s great for setting reminders like, “Remind me to have my editorial copy ready for tomorrow at 8am”. You can also ask it to “Wake me up in seven hours” and it will set an alarm.

I love the way you can talk in plain English and Siri will understand what you mean. For example, if I say, “Will I need an umbrella tomorrow?”, Siri might respond with, “It doesn’t look like it’s going to rain tomorrow.”

On the downside, locations and maps don’t work outside of the US, but Siri is in beta so hopefully it will soon be able, for example, to recommend restaurants based on your location.

Also, Siri can’t launch apps yet but again this is something that should be possible in the future.

One of my favourite new features is the support for dictation, which works in any app — including third-party apps. A new microphone icon has been added to the on-screen keyboard: tap it and start speaking, then when you hit “Done” the text is automatically pasted in and it generally gets it right. And when it doesn’t, the results can be hilarious.

Siri even has a sense of humour. When I asked “What is the meaning of life?”, it answered “To think about questions like this,” and “All evidence to date suggests it’s chocolate.”

Finally, I was able to get at least a full day of medium usage from the iPhone 4S and thanks to the new antennas I didn’t have any problems with reception or dropped calls. The 4S supports quad-band and HSPA+ up to 14.4Mbps downloads and 5.76Mbps uploads, depending on your network.

Overall, the iPhone 4S has major improvements with better photos, reception and voice quality has improved and everything runs faster and smoother but Siri, even though it’s still in its infancy, has the potential to be a game-changer.

Siri also has incredible possibilities for those with impaired vision. Ultimately, nothing less than an iPhone 5 will please some and they should wait for it but, for the rest of us, the iPhone 4S is the best iPhone to date.