iPhone 4S Review

Now that I’ve had my new iPhone for five days I feel confident saying I totally love it! It’s so much faster than my old phone; it responds instantly to my commands instead of taking a moment to think about it. I noticed the auto-correct works much better now too which is a relief since I suck at typing on the virtual keyboard. The retina display is amazing too. I even love the feel of the phone in my hand and I was a bit worried about that. Oh and the battery life seems pretty decent too. Not amazing, but then again, what smartphone battery is?

The only thing I’m not happy with is that it’s still hard to hear calls through the phone’s earpiece. The sound level is fine on speaker or through the headphones but the earpiece never seems loud enough and I can’t hear well if there’s any background noise. I’m surprised no one else has complained about this. I have excellent hearing (verified at the doctor office this year when I had water trapped behind my eardrum) so I don’t think it’s me nor do I think I have a faulty phone since I had the same complaint with my 3GS. Luckily I don’t use the phone part of my device as much as all the other features.

The only complaint I have seen online is regarding yellow screens. I compared my new phone to the 3GS and while it does have a warmer look to it I don’t think it’s excessive. I’m guessing it must have been done intentionally to make viewing the screen easier on the eyes.

In any case, if anyone reading this is contemplating getting the iPhone 4S I highly recommend it. Coupled with the awesome features of iOS5 (hello notification center), it’s even better than I was expecting. I’m totally becoming an Apple whore. It’s just a matter of time before I cave and buy an iPad.

Bonus: I highly recommend WhatsApp for SMS-free texting if you don’t have an unlimited texting plan. It works much better than any of the other texting-replacement apps I’ve tried over the past two years.