Apple to Release iPhone 4S with New GPS Features?

[macjock]

See all the people that are worried about what name the next phone will be given?

Why are they sweating? Is it not the case that the 4 is the first iPhone to have its name directly linked to its place in the product line?

Who cares what it is called, let's see what it does.

 

[aadler]

I think the design of the iPhone 4 shows the level of hubris that has crept into apple, I really hope they at least will skip the glass back. The design of the iPhone has only stepped backwards since the 2g.

 

[Zunjine]

This iphone 4 is not worth a hardware upgrade, they need a redesign badly. It's already looking so dated. The screen is tiny to the point of making the web browser frustrating to use, the hardware is too fragile and it's ugly and thick.

Who gives two ***** about "GPS Features" what kind of retard will go buy a new one and fight contracts with carriers to upgrade from their current iphone 4?

Thinnest smartphone on earth. Official:

http://www.appleinsider.com/article...e_and_expands_samsung_patent_fight_to_uk.html

Fragile? Perhaps. But then I don't drop my handheld computing devices. I've had mine since launch and it has two tiny scratches on it and that's all. Almost looks brand new. Compare that to the scuffed up metal and plastic designs of the past!

Ugly? Dated? Matter of opinion. Seems the millions who keep buying it and the 3 and a half year old 3GS design don't agree.

 

[GorgonPhone]

You're right,... maybe an iPhone 4S ALONE would not make people run to the Apple stores, HOWEVER... you're forgetting this thing called "software", specifically VOICE ASSISTANT that is supposed to be supported ONLy on the new hardware. Remember what the owner/archetect of the software said about it a day or so ago:

Make no mistake: Apple’s ‘mainstreaming’ Artificial Intelligence in the form of a Virtual Personal Assistant is a groundbreaking event. I’d go so far as to say it is a World-Changing event.​

Apple knows that people will clamor after new hardware, but they will also over new software if it is truly "world-changing". Think about it.

look i dont care if there is and app to beam me straight to heaven the fact is the damn screen is too small.. so it will be hard to see where to click to use the damn thing...

 

[trims]

What do you guys think is wrong with the current design that you feel is crucial for Apple to change it?

Is it because of the screen size?

No. Its because it feels dreadful to hold, i.e. use as a phone.

 

[number9]

I am really hoping that there is an iPhone 5...why would we be waiting if it is a minor incremental update? Unless it is taking this long to get Assistant ready for prime time.

Remember back in 2007 when Apple totally surprised with the design of the original iPhone...it was nothing like anyone predicted. Why can't they do that again? I want a radical redesign and I hope Apple comes through for me!

16 months for the same reason they released Snow Leopard and then Lion for OS X: optimizing the iOS and making sure the new features are usable, because in the end, 90% of people only notice or care about the way they interact with and use the phone. Most people don't care what raw material the back of the case is made of.

Aren't most smartphone upgrades these days incremental? Incremental upgrades in the processor, incrementally more RAM, incrementally more screen real estate. Software has been where all of the innovation has taken place.

Apple shocked everyone with the iPhone in 2007 because there were very few phones like it on the market. Everything looked like a BlackBerry. Now, everything looks like an iPhone. Unless you completely throw away the current design of touch screen phones, there won't be anything revolutionary in terms of asthetic design. Making it thinner or tapering the back or changing the case from metal to plastic to glass to carbon fiber to adamantium to unobtanium to unicorn skin isn't really a radical redesign. Smartphones are like cars. Cars haven't really changed in over 100 years. Sure, the materials changed, the safety features have improved, and the shape of the body has become more intricate and aerodynamic, but they still have 4 wheels, a powertrain, and a passenger compartment. There's only so much you can do with the car, so your model year changes amount to internal hardware (engines, powertrain, suspension) and asthetic revisions to the same package.

I hope Apple knows that they're working for you and that might let you down!

 

[DJinTX]

How about iMacs and Macbook Pro's etc???
They are getting hardware bumped all the time... What's the big deal?

Does iOS5 looks amazingly different than iOS4?
Is Lion a big change in OS X ?

I don't see why Apple has to change the looks of their products every upgrade. Except for the people who buy something because they wanna show they have 'the new stuff'.

Yes, some people are superficial and just want to show off the latest greatest iThing, but most people wanting a redesign want it for one or more of the following reasons:

1. They want a larger screen
2. They want a non-glass back panel
3. They want a more rounded enclosure
4. They want a better antenna system


If you don't redesign the phone, then you can't really solve any of these issues (except #2 if they made the back panel out of another material).

So this is why, and should answer your question.

 

[beany boy]

Will Carly Foulkes be in line for one?

 

[bushido]

The iPhone 4 isnt as fragile as it might seem actually. I dropped mine of the couch 5 times on purpose last nigh t and the glass just wont break.

 

[Brien]

In case you didn't figure it out, the reason we aren't getting an iPhone 5 this year is due to Qualcomm's lack of decent LTE/GSM/CDMA chipsets in quantity.

I'm willing to bet that Apple wanted to release a redesigned phone this year, hit some stumbling blocks, and instead made an iPhone 4S. Which, btw, is a terrible name, as everything else has a "5" in it (A5, iOS 5).

 

[Vip]

Store Down

:d:d:d:d

 

[Zunjine]

What about the iPods? With a 7" Kindle Fire, is Apple going to still charge over $200 for an iPod Touch with a 3.5" screen? Will we see a $129 iPod Touch and the end of the iPod Classic and nano?

The kindle fire is a plastic device with no camera, no mic and 8gig of memory on board. The iPod touch is easily superior in all aspects but screen size. Plus they're not even in the same product category.

 

[snowcrash]

"16 months for a hardware bump"

I would say it's more then just a hardware bump. iOS 5, iCloud, iTunes Match, Voice Assistant (if true) fix the antenna issue (yes some did REALLY have an issue), CDMA/GSM in one iPhone. Not to mention the problems they had with the white iPhone 4. I'm sure they don't want to follow in those footsteps again. Yeah they could have redesigned the case but if they don't want the larger screen (power consumption) then why bother with a new case design since clearly the iPhone 4 is a powerhouse in sales??? Do you all REALLY think that with all that the iPhone 4s (or whatever it's going to be called) is really going to suffer? I know a lot of people who LOVE the look and feel of the 4. Personally I don't but I like the iPhone for what it can do, not how "cool it looks"

 

[FoxHoundADAM]

Here's my deal. I like the way the iPhone 4 looks. The A5 processor and camera are nice upgrade, but honestly at this point are pretty standard practice.

My #1 want was a larger screen. Doesn't have to be a 4.5" or anything crazy just a little bit more real estate. Seams like I won't be getting that so while the other features are nice I'm feeling a bit let down that they didn't address my biggest want or seam to give me anything else to give teh update some "pop".

We shall see in an hour I guess.

 

[miamialley]

It's been too long. I don't believe that next summer the newest iPhone will have a 3.5" screen. They have to release a new design today.

 

[tbrinkma]

Have you ever actually used the SG2? I would be willing to bet you haven't. That screen has gotten very good reviews. It may not be as sharp when viewing tiny text, but definitely is more vibrant.

Go read a review, or stop hanging out in your parents basement and go out and mess with the phone so you can make an informed comment instead of a retarded one.

Ok, he says he prefers 'crisp detailed graphics', and you respond with essentially, "Yeah, the SG2's screen isn't as crisp, now get out of your parents' basement."

You conceded the point he was making, and then threw in an ad hominem for good measure. Way to win the argument...

 

[randfee2]

I can believe, that Apple won't be releasing a new design, I can totally see it. The reason why I still believe they'll have a design upgrade is the timespan - not "until now" but "until when" this would be the top of the line mode.

An iPhone 4S would be kind of ok now, if the other features rule... BUT, all other manufacturers will update their phones way before "iPhone 6", which would supposedly come out in Fall 2012 at the earliest.
Now... I just can't imagine Apple will not act on all the competition, I can't imagine it being mid 2012 and the iPhone still is the iPhone four from mid 2010, not when I thinjk of the competition.

So, I consider it highly unlikely Apple is willing to leave it at this until oct. 2012. This just makes it improbable in my eyes.
Apple could, of course, introduce the iPhone 5/6 before oct. 2012 but that would most certainly piss off many people who signed a new 2 year contract - at least I'd feel quite cheated - although that's life in the hardware business.

 

[number9]

Believe it! I have been pretty excited about the new iPhone release up till a day or so ago. They have gone all this time and only upgraded the processor and little else. This is as disappointing as the iPad 2. I was all set to get one until I saw they did hardly anything worthwhile to it. Oh a new processor??? Wow. After a year that should be a given.

Apple is holding out the iPhone 5 for Sprint. More exclusivity, terrific! I was hoping all that garbage was in the past. Apple makes good products but they are still a disgusting greedy corporation, and that's a losing situation for the public. Their product releases have been slowing more and more without Steve Jobs kicking everyone in their ass. I have been getting very disappointed with the product upgrades lately. Wait a year or more for a processor or GPU boost and pretty much nothing else. Where is the innovation that was so well known for. It seems they are resting too much on their laurels!!

Hey, that 2010 iMac you have in your signature must have been the most disappointing purchase of your life. It looks almost identical to the one before it and all they did was put a new processor in it! Apple Sux!!!!!

 

[marksman]

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I'm constantly amazed by what people consider to be significant and not significant changes.

An A5 and twice the RAM would make the so called 4S many times more powerful by every possible measure than the current model. We would be talking huge differences in performance for anything involving complex mathematics - games, Augmented Reality, Artificial Intelligence, image and sound processing. We don't yet know what this Assistant feature really means but if it really does require an A5 then we're looking at some complex AI.

This people call a 'spec bump'?

But a new case design? That's revolutionary! A new shape? Really? Huge increase in processing power with the potential to drive apps that we can't even imagine yet is a spec bump but a new shape is mana from heaven?!

Sure, I can get why some people want a bigger screen. For me that's not a big deal. I get the feeling that pretty soon after owning it you'd stop noticing the difference in screen size when looking at stuff. The fact you'd have more trouble fitting it in your pocket and reaching the far end of the screen when holding the device in one hand, however, wouldn't change.

I think Apple chose 3.5 inches for a reason and I suspect they're going to stick with it because human hands are still the same size they were when the first iPhone came out. It hasn't stopped Apple having the two best selling smartphones and the best selling PMP in the world.

You nailed it. I fail to follow the logic either. All I know is apple will have the top 2 or 3 selling smartphones in 2011 and again in 2012.

 

[cms2]

I'm hoping for the iPhone 5 so that the iPhone 4S will be available as the cheaper option. I have a 3G (not 3GS), so really I'm just looking for something that isn't a paperweight.

 

[Intarweb]

"S" stands for stopgap.

 

[ade2bee]

Goodness!

So, even though all this speculation of a new design is nothing to do with Apple or Tim Cook(we think), as has been mentioned earlier, Tim Cook will have to have Bowling Balls for certain parts of his body, regardless of rumor, to stand on stage and declare that after 16 months, all you're announcing is a spec bump. In the tech world 16 months is a lifetime. As I've said before, the general public sees this as a floored design anyway.

Samsung and the rest of the posse must be rubbing their hands with glee and anticipation... Apple could have just come up with a interim re-mould of the design at least.

Waiting for the Big Ben size clanger to be dropped...

 

[Zunjine]

Yes, some people are superficial and just want to show off the latest greatest iThing, but most people wanting a redesign want it for one or more of the following reasons:

1. They want a larger screen
2. They want a non-glass back panel
3. They want a more rounded enclosure
4. They want a better antenna system


If you don't redesign the phone, then you can't really solve any of these issues (except #2 if they made the back panel out of another material).

So this is why, and should answer your question.

Prove it. Aside from all the moaners on here can you site any evidence that people want these things?

The iPhone 4 and 3GS sell massively well. Better than any of the handsets that have any of the things you mentioned. Ask the average man in the street and he has no idea that the antenna issue ever existed. When was the last time you saw anyone reporting this? Have we seen court cases where people have sued Apple for selling a faulty product? Have we seen a drop off in sales? A great number of returns? Poor customer feedback and satisfaction scores?

The glass back could be an issue but, again, what evidence is there outside of people on forums mouthing off that this is a problem for other consumers? Any large scale surveys where people have sited this as a reason for not buying an iPhone 4?

I keep seeing people making these same statements over and over again and yet no one has ever offered anything to support them. Sure, you can say that you want these things but if you're going to claim that others want them too and that those others constitute a significant market share then you need to back that up with something.

 

[Zmmin3]

If this is the case, then I gave up the chance to have the unlimited data for nothing!

My phone came up for renewal in July just before Verizon ended new unlimited data plans. I thought to myself..do I want unlimited data or do I want the newer design and newer technology. I decided I wanted the newer design and technology and deal with the limited data.
So now if I get the Iphone, I missed out on unlimited data and be getting a phone with the old design.

I guess I will just go order a new battery for my LG Env Touch and just live with my "dumb" phone for a lil longer. That or move over to the S2 as my first smart phone.

 

[marksman]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_4 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8K2 Safari/6533.18.5)

The crying sure will be entertaining, as always the "Apple fail" remarks are.

Apple apparently failed too when Jobs announced the iPhone 4. So you know, fails are bound to happen.

Should read back at the ipad announcement threads and all the cry babies 'Apple FAILLLLLL,' 'worst device ever HAHAHAHA,' 'this is gonna kill apple!!!!!111' etc.. A lot of those accounts don't exist any more. Some of those people on this thread I see. Where's the ipad now? Oh right..

The talk about apple failing with the iPad was epic. It does make all this more entertaining. So many people dont understand why apple has been so hyper successful in the phone and tablet markets.