Do you think that the iPhone 4S is the peak of Apple's phone designs

Design wise, the iPhone 4 is one of the most beautifully designed devices ever. But it is uncomfortable to use as hell, it feels like a brick in your hands.

The iPhone 5 is a beautiful device, but not as eye catching as the iPhone 4 when released. In the other hand the i5 is a pleasure to use. Naked tend to be awesome within room temperature, but with cold or heat it is less comfortable. Nonetheless it is so thin, that you can fit a nice case to isolate the temperature-prone back, and it simply rocks.

Bottomline:

iPhone 4 will be considered a milestone in technology design when looking back at history.
iPhone 5 is not revolutionary in a visually sense, tho the unibody design is a massive step ahead.

From a consumer stand point. The iPhone 5 is a joy to use. And for me that is all that matters.

I agree with the thread starter.

iphone 4S design was way better than iphone 5. The thing I hate about iphone 5's design is its very tall design. The thing which makes it look very tall is the face that nothing has been added to the width, rather only length has been increases, which to me looks very awkward.

They should have added width as well, which would have made iphone 5 look a better designed handset.

I think the 4's design is better looking but uncomfortable to hold (without a case). I like that apple doesn't use the ordinary cheap plastic parts but aluminum is way to weak. I don't know if I want a phone that will look likes its been attacked by a wild animal before my next upgrade is due. Not much other options I guess.

I still have my 4s and love it. I have play with the 5 im not ready to give up my 4s.

4s vs 5

i was in an att store yesterday. i've never owned an iphone. i handled and compared the two on display, and instinctively gravitated to favoring the 4s model. it felt much better in my hand, the smooth glass back felt nice, i liked the silver trim, and its dimension seemed natural. the 5 felt too tall/long, too light, and don't like the painted aluminum back (looks like it will scratch very easily in not immediately protected. from what i've read the internals may be superior, but i'm not convinced that the externals are an improvement.

economically, att has the 4s refurb for $50, which doesn't hurt either. the 5 is perhaps more technologically forward, but the 4s seems to be a classier model (imho).

The 5 is, in every way possible, better than the 4S.

The 5 was just enuf to make a change and sell some more phones but the OS and design are dated it is only the popularity that is selling phones
Like windows and Win 8 sucks to

I think the 5's design is fantastic and it excels in being lighter and faster. The 4 had a great feel to it and a lot of people liked the materials used. The 4/4S was the culmination of 4 years of work and it was the best that design ever had. The 5 is entering the new era, pushing towards something different. It's not perfect, and will be changed, upgraded, & improved in the next iterations. So while a lot will like the 5, a lot will not. It's just how it is in the 1st version of a technological product. I think the 5 is a good starting point and am excited to see how they improve it from here.

It's unfair to compare the fully polished iPhone 4 to the newly designed iPhone 5. If the next version flops, you can make the case Apple peaked at the 4 although I would say it's unlikely.

No, I'm gonna' go with the 3GS.

I don't even know where to start.... first of all, to imply that the 4S has better "build quality" is absolutely laughable. There is NO indication that there have been more issues with the 5 (despite the whopping thousand people or so complaining of nicks in the "scuffgate" thread, the few hundred people who have found a bad pixel, and the 14 people who have dust under the camera lens or screen).

Next, I sure wish Apple would just include a couple of lead weights you could attach to the phone so all of these folks who think that the weight equates to a "premium" or "higher quality" device could tape them on and move on. It could even make it thicker for them too... that'd be sweet.

Finally, the 5 is far more than a "little" faster with a slightly larger screen. Most speed tests rate it twice as fast, and the LTE feature makes cellular browsing so fast I will NEVER go back.

I loved the 4S, but it's old tech. Old connector, 3.5G, slower, poorer calibrated screen, etc... Time has moved on.

Even if Steve didn't play a part in the 5 at all (and there is great evidence he did), and even if you think the 4 was amazing (which it was, and I do too), the 5 is superior in almost every perceivable way. Some people are just never satisfied (even if it was the "prototype" there would be plenty of complaints... there always are, even if they are just fake Android users posting on an Apple).

The 5 is overwhelmingly popular. It sold out faster than any iPhone previous. It still requires a wait list. It has an outstanding satisfaction rating.

So far, it's the pinnacle. It will get surpassed. Always does.

The iphone 4, when it came out, was blockbuster new and fresh.
It's still the standard bearer. The iphone 5 is clearly derivative off of the 4.

But this is like fashion--what's newer emotionally feels better, but in reality there was nothing wrong with the 3g or 4 designs, and the designs, if you put in the latest hardware, would work just fine. I think that we're biased towards thinking that new = more attractive.

Functionally, the 4 /4s designs are the best. The iphone 5 has too many physical design flaws that were kept for the sake of being new.
Instead of scratching, it dents. But then it scratches too you quickly realize as my anodized paint is coming off after 1 month. It's not as sturdy; the entire device can warp b/c it's aluminum, a soft metal. There are also screen problems with the iphone 5. So many of them have off-yellow tinting (it's not even an even yellow gradient), as well as some type of interlacing issue where you see horizontal and vertical lines. Only the insane people on this board notice it, but I saw it instantly. Didn't even know what it was until I had 4 iphone 5 units and they all had them, and I looked it up on this board. I had to go to a fifth unit to find one with a screen that performed like the iphone 4. I absolutely do believe Foxconn's assertion that the iphone 5 is too complicated to make in the quantities and at the speed that Apple desires. Quality control suffered. And it's going to be a bear to replace that one piece aluminum back. If they would have put the 4" screen into the exact same body as the iphone 4s, and newer innards, I would have bought that.

The next leap in functionally useful design will be that carbon fiber stuff or the liquimetal.

itjw said:

I don't even know where to start.... first of all, to imply that the 4S has better "build quality" is absolutely laughable. There is NO indication that there have been more issues with the 5 (despite the whopping thousand people or so complaining of nicks in the "scuffgate" thread, the few hundred people who have found a bad pixel, and the 14 people who have dust under the camera lens or screen).

Next, I sure wish Apple would just include a couple of lead weights you could attach to the phone so all of these folks who think that the weight equates to a "premium" or "higher quality" device could tape them on and move on. It could even make it thicker for them too... that'd be sweet.

Finally, the 5 is far more than a "little" faster with a slightly larger screen. Most speed tests rate it twice as fast, and the LTE feature makes cellular browsing so fast I will NEVER go back.

I loved the 4S, but it's old tech. Old connector, 3.5G, slower, poorer calibrated screen, etc... Time has moved on.

Even if Steve didn't play a part in the 5 at all (and there is great evidence he did), and even if you think the 4 was amazing (which it was, and I do too), the 5 is superior in almost every perceivable way. Some people are just never satisfied (even if it was the "prototype" there would be plenty of complaints... there always are, even if they are just fake Android users posting on an Apple).

The 5 is overwhelmingly popular. It sold out faster than any iPhone previous. It still requires a wait list. It has an outstanding satisfaction rating.

So far, it's the pinnacle. It will get surpassed. Always does.

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Completely your opinion that the 5 is better than the 4S. Please stop acting like what you say is the end of discussion.

In MY opinion, I've seen WAY more QC issues/concerns with the 5 than any other iPhone model. And even though most of the general public doesnt complain about the problems, they DO exist. The fact that some people have had their iPhone 5 BEND shows right away that it's not as quality as the 4S.

The 4S was solid. The design (although considered "old" because of the 4) isn't outdated, nor is the processing speed, graphics, display, etc. In fact, it practically has all the features as the 5, except the LTE and 4" screen.

And more weight DOES equate to a more solid feel. Just like you could compare Mercedes Benz vehicles (4500lbs+, premium vehicle) compared to a Hyundai Sedan (2500-3000lbs, economy vehicle).

Drive a heavy car (Mercedes), then drive a light car (Hyundai). Which feels safer and more durable/solid?

I know cars are a different discussion, but the principle is the same.

The 5 is better FOR YOU, that's why you purchased it. Me? I test drove a 5 and still went back to my 4S. It's not leaps and bounds ahead of the 4S. 5 owners just say that to make them feel better about their purchase.

This is why upgrading every 2 years is the best.

unagimiyagi said:

Only the insane people on this board notice it.

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I rest my case.

The insane people of the world don't decide what the "peak" of anything is, it's the MASSES that do that. While I always thought it would be cool for my phone to have a weapons grade laser in it, it wouldn't be practical or cost-effective (even if it would be the PEAK for the insane crowd).

Look, I'm not saying the 5 is flawless, but it is FAR superior to the 4/4S. The idea that somehow GLASS is more "durable" than aluminum is highly subjective. I can drop my 5 and there's a 50/50 chance it will be in far better condition than the 4/4S. The 5 holds up better in drop tests, it just does. It holds up better in submersion tests too (some people question whether or not some were coated with liqupel).

As for bending, the device has been out for 3 months now... there are literally only a handful of cases (not to mention no way of knowing how hard they had to bend it). It's NOT widespread, and that includes the general public (who aren't OCD (generally) and who don't carry the phone around as carefully as we do). If there was a legitimate issue with the aluminum, the masses would have found it out by now.

I've leaned on mine, hard, while having it in a tight pocket. No bends.

My wife keeps hers in her purse with all kinds of crap. No bends.

But some mystery guy on the internet (who could have dropped a bowling ball on it for all we know) posts a couple of pics and it's "bendgate".

Please... There is no problem. Only internet sensationalism.

The 5 is vastly superior. The 4S was a significant step up from the 4, but even I agree it wasn't "groundbreaking". The 5 is somewhere in the middle, but it's still the peak (to all but the most "insane" people).

retinarob said:

My SO has a 4S and it feels cheap after owning the 5 for a few months, in my opinion.

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In my opinion you're a liar.

itjw said:

I rest my case.

The insane people of the world don't decide what the "peak" of anything is, it's the MASSES that do that. While I always thought it would be cool for my phone to have a weapons grade laser in it, it wouldn't be practical or cost-effective (even if it would be the PEAK for the insane crowd).

Look, I'm not saying the 5 is flawless, but it is FAR superior to the 4/4S. The idea that somehow GLASS is more "durable" than aluminum is highly subjective. I can drop my 5 and there's a 50/50 chance it will be in far better condition than the 4/4S. The 5 holds up better in drop tests, it just does. It holds up better in submersion tests too (some people question whether or not some were coated with liqupel).

As for bending, the device has been out for 3 months now... there are literally only a handful of cases (not to mention no way of knowing how hard they had to bend it). It's NOT widespread, and that includes the general public (who aren't OCD (generally) and who don't carry the phone around as carefully as we do). If there was a legitimate issue with the aluminum, the masses would have found it out by now.

I've leaned on mine, hard, while having it in a tight pocket. No bends.

My wife keeps hers in her purse with all kinds of crap. No bends.

But some mystery guy on the internet (who could have dropped a bowling ball on it for all we know) posts a couple of pics and it's "bendgate".

Please... There is no problem. Only internet sensationalism.

The 5 is vastly superior. The 4S was a significant step up from the 4, but even I agree it wasn't "groundbreaking". The 5 is somewhere in the middle, but it's still the peak (to all but the most "insane" people).

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It doesn't matter that the occurrences of bends aren't happening to the masses. Take your iPhone 5 in your hands and try to bend it, it will bend. That's poor quality using cheap lightweight materials. Case closed. You can glorify the 5 til you are blue in the face. It's made cheaper than previous models. I'm not surprised, big corps are cuttings costs across the globe. The iPhone 5 materials allowed apple to spend significantly less on manufacturing the phone. You can tell by the various QC issues. I understand that by purchasing one you now think its the best obviously. Consumerism.

I much preferred the glass back of the 4 and 4S to the aluminium back of the 5. I think it's wrong to consider the 4 the peak of Apple design, it's more that the 4 design is very iconic.

I would have preferred if they'd kept the glass back for the 5.

Well, ask yourself this: which one was built by unicorns using diamond-tipped cutting tools?

No matter what people will buy the iPhone however they are starting to lose people's interest since their OS is old. In my office alone, there are 10 people I work with who left the iPhone 4 and 4S to go to Samsung SGIII and a lot more folks are moving as soon as their contract is up. We are all Techy peeps in an iT company so they are not waiting another year for features that they have now on the SGIII like NFC.

For me, I am just tired of the tight control on the OS, and with a JB on 6.0.2 and the IP5 not ready yet, I am getting more bored each week.

SunnyRenegade33 said:

In terms of design - not performance. Does anyone else feel like the iPhone 4S will be the peak of Apple, Inc.'s phones aesthetically speaking? I have no doubt that Apple will continue to release better performing products - but as far as design goes, I think iPhone 4S is the peak.

I'm not a huge fan of the iPhone 5's design. I feel that it's actually a little bit too thin (never thought I'd be complaining about that) and I think it's awkwardly tall. I also dislike the the back of the iPhone 5 in terms of it's color.

Even if Apple released a transparent glass phone, I still would prefer the iPhone 4's design to it. The only thing that would prompt me to upgrade my phone at this point would be a SIGNIFICANT technological upgrade (something more than a tiny bit faster, or a tiny bit more resolute). Maybe something like the discovery of a technology that could project digital projections from your phone or something



What do you guys think? Has Apple reached it's peak in terms of design when it comes to phones with the 4S? Or do you prefer the new design of the 5, and think that Apple's future products will trump what we're familiar with today?

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Suck it up. 4 inches is The New Standard. You just have to buy the 5, then you'll notice how flawed the 4S was.

'Nuff said

bonskovsky said:

Suck it up. 4 inches is The New Standard. You just have to buy the 5, then you'll notice how flawed the 4S was.

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What was flawed about it? Does improvement in a new model make the previous generation flawed somehow?

wc17 said:

The people that criticize the iPhone 5 design are those that have not used it for a good period of time.

If you use it for more then just 5 minutes you'd realize it the best iPhone made to date. No question.

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I agree. I actually like the screen size, especially when texting the longer screen is nice to me.

bonskovsky said:

Suck it up. 4 inches is The New Standard. You just have to buy the 5, then you'll notice how flawed the 4S was.

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That seems like a misconception.

The 5 is better in every regard.