Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Iphone 4 or 4S, which to choose?

A

ADAADW

macrumors member
Original poster
May 5, 2009
41
0
Hey

I know this might be a dumb question but im looking for others opinions about this problem. Ive waited a long time for the 4S but finding out i cant use EDGE (2g) to save battery life and the fact that the phone has 100hrs less stand by time make me wonder if i should just get the 4. I can get the iphone 4S 16gb for $159 or a 32gb iphone 4 for $199. The biggest thing for me is battery life and being able to go a few days w/o a charge depending where i am (camping, upnorth, hiking...)

Any thoughts are greatly appreciated!

Update: Also i dont mind 2g speed, if im off the path i know 2g is usually pretty much everywhere so speed is not everything for me
 
Well the iPhone 4s doesn't have bad battery life it actually last me that same more then my iPhone 4
 
Get the 4S, most of the people complaining about the battery are freaking out for no reason. Their probably using their new phone more than they usually would.
 
The battery isn't as bad as some people are making it out to be. You definitely want the 4S, you will regret getting the 4, I gaurantee it.

Siri alone is enough reason to switch. Trust me, get the 4S...take my username down and private message me when you get the 4S and you are loving it...that's how much I stand behind it.
 
if you're going to go camping/hiking a lot, maybe you should bring one of those cases (e.g., morphie juice pack) that also doubles as an extra battery.
 
ADAADW said:
Hey

I know this might be a dumb question but im looking for others opinions about this problem. Ive waited a long time for the 4S but finding out i cant use EDGE (2g) to save battery life and the fact that the phone has 100hrs less stand by time make me wonder if i should just get the 4. I can get the iphone 4S 16gb for $159 or a 32gb iphone 4 for $199. The biggest thing for me is battery life and being able to go a few days w/o a charge depending where i am (camping, upnorth, hiking...)

Any thoughts are greatly appreciated!

Update: Also i dont mind 2g speed, if im off the path i know 2g is usually pretty much everywhere so speed is not everything for me
Click to expand...


The battery is really not an issue on the 4S. I would venture to say that for the vast majority of users will have no issues getting through the day without having to worry about battery life. If you want to see bad battery life, buy an LTE android device. I tried the Bionic and went from 100 to dead usually in 7-8 hours of normal use. In the same amount of time my 4S has been in the 60% to 65% range.

I agree with the post above, if you are camping a lot, I would invest in a portable power pack. Most advanced smartphones are not going to go days without charging unless you simply dont use them. And you can always turn off mobile data or use airplane mode and enable only when needed.
 
you live once my friend....4s it is if you use more than 12gb of data you should have a harddrive, otherwise dont take soo many pics or vids...
 
ADAADW said:
Hey

I know this might be a dumb question but im looking for others opinions about this problem. Ive waited a long time for the 4S but finding out i cant use EDGE (2g) to save battery life and the fact that the phone has 100hrs less stand by time make me wonder if i should just get the 4. I can get the iphone 4S 16gb for $159 or a 32gb iphone 4 for $199. The biggest thing for me is battery life and being able to go a few days w/o a charge depending where i am (camping, upnorth, hiking...)

Any thoughts are greatly appreciated!

Update: Also i dont mind 2g speed, if im off the path i know 2g is usually pretty much everywhere so speed is not everything for me
Click to expand...

Well, the stand by is 200 hours, which is more than 1 week, so I think you should care more about how much it drains the battery while doing other activities like web browsing, apps, movies, music etc...
 
SRLMJ23 said:
The battery isn't as bad as some people are making it out to be. You definitely want the 4S, you will regret getting the 4, I gaurantee it.

Siri alone is enough reason to switch. Trust me, get the 4S...take my username down and private message me when you get the 4S and you are loving it...that's how much I stand behind it.
Click to expand...

Haha this was pretty convincing ^^^. I really do like the idea of Siri and i think most of you are right about the battery with the 4S. i think ive just seen so many complaints about the battery on MR because if you have an issue this is where you come to post about it.

Also is it reasonable to think that i can maybe get 2-3 days of light usage for the 4S? That would probably do me for the most.

EDIT: Thats a great idea with the battery pack, if im out for a week or so i might have to invest in one of those.
 
HazyCloud said:
4s. Siri is amazing. If Siri was all :apple: added, I would have still bought it.
Click to expand...

Dude come out of that Hazy cloud! Siri has worked 20 minutes since getting my phone on launch. It can't handle any different name spellings it is actually pretty bad!
 
Siri is a neat little gadget. Kind of like facetime, it's cool as a conversation piece, play around with, but I think long term it will be nothing more than that. If you want a 32gb 4 off contract hit me up. I'll include every case I own.
 
Siri is cool, but the novelty wore off after a single weekend.

I'm returning my 4S and going back to my 3GS. My 3GS still works great. For me, the 4/4S doesn't do anything over and above the 3GS that I care about.

siri - maybe when it's better
facetime - used it once, probably never use it again
front facing camera - meh
alert center - meh
64Gb? my 3GS 32Gb is only 1/2 full
 
73CortinaV8 said:
Siri is cool, but the novelty wore off after a single weekend.

I'm returning my 4S and going back to my 3GS. My 3GS still works great. For me, the 4/4S doesn't do anything over and above the 3GS that I care about.

siri - maybe when it's better
facetime - used it once, probably never use it again
front facing camera - meh
alert center - meh
64Gb? my 3GS 32Gb is only 1/2 full
Click to expand...

of course you are...
 
73CortinaV8 said:
Siri is cool, but the novelty wore off after a single weekend.

I'm returning my 4S and going back to my 3GS. My 3GS still works great. For me, the 4/4S doesn't do anything over and above the 3GS that I care about.

siri - maybe when it's better
facetime - used it once, probably never use it again
front facing camera - meh
alert center - meh
64Gb? my 3GS 32Gb is only 1/2 full
Click to expand...
Other than Siri which i personally dont use on the 4s, It only has an 8mp camera compared to a 3mp camera on the 3GS. It also has superior video. It's also a whole lot faster in safari and opening apps. The screen is also much crisper and a lot better looking. Stop trying to fool your self. You probably where going to return the 4s before you ever used it probably because you couldnt afford it. All you are doing now is trying to make yourself feel better. The 4s is SUPERIOR to your 3GS and you know it. The majority of 3GS owners who upgraded to the 4s agree with me.
 
I love people who chime in on anyone wanting to return the 4s with, "you can't afford it". lol
 
I'll risk being the sole dissenting voice and advise you to get a 4. The 4S has a better camera, faster processor, and a larger capacity, but unless those features appeal to you more there's really no reason why a 4 shouldn't be adequate. Also, the widely bemoaned antenna issues of the 4 aren't very severe if you're in an area with adequate coverage and honestly it's not been too much of an issue with me (when I've been in areas with coverage... damn AT&T).

EDIT: Forgot that you mentioned the 4S you're able to buy is cheaper than the 4. Now it really just boils down to capacity; battery life shouldn't be much of an issue.
 
BoxerGT2.5 said:
I love people who chime in on anyone wanting to return the 4s with, "you can't afford it". lol
Click to expand...

The truth is it is an affordability issue most of the time. Who wouldn't want the latest and greatest iPhone??!!!!. Everybody does. having had the 3G, 3GS, 4 and now the 4s, the 4s is the best phone so why would someone go back to a 3GS?!!!...my guess would be affordability and I am willing to bet I am right.

----------
mrsir2009 said:
For the average user you won't notice the diff that much.
Click to expand...

Ya having an 8mp camera and a 1080p video camera and load speeds 3 times faster than the 3GS you wouldn't notice a difference lol. Dont forget the retina screen either. Also, the speaker volume on the 4s is much louder than all the previous iphones. Give me a break!
 
73CortinaV8 said:
Siri is cool, but the novelty wore off after a single weekend.

I'm returning my 4S and going back to my 3GS. My 3GS still works great. For me, the 4/4S doesn't do anything over and above the 3GS that I care about.

siri - maybe when it's better
facetime - used it once, probably never use it again
front facing camera - meh
alert center - meh
64Gb? my 3GS 32Gb is only 1/2 full
Click to expand...
Concur...that Retina display hurts my eyes!
 
If you're an average user that doesn't play a lot of games, buy the i4 off craigslist for ~300 and use your contract next year.
 
gtmac said:
Dude come out of that Hazy cloud! Siri has worked 20 minutes since getting my phone on launch. It can't handle any different name spellings it is actually pretty bad!
Click to expand...
Siri has worked on my phone almost every time. I would say 8/9 out of 10 times I use it, it works perfectly.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back