Apple’s New iPhone 4S Brings More Speed, Better Camera, and Increased Voice Control

EDITOR’S NOTE: Looking for Cali’s full video review of the iPhone 4S? You’ll find it right here.

Hopes for an iPhone 5 did not come to fruition, but the delivered iPhone 4S did bring an interesting mix of greater speed, a better camera, more voice control and availability on the Sprint network.

Dual Core Processor

As expected, the processor will be the dual core A5 as seen in the iPad 2. Apple promises this will deliver up to seven times faster performance. Battery life is stated to be 8 hours.

Improved Antenna

The iPhone 4 was the phone that introduced us to the grip of death. The 4S appears to use the improved antenna developed for the Verizon version, and has intelligent management aimed at dynamically switching to use the part of the antenna where you aren’t holding it.

Camera Improvements

The camera takes a jump up to an 8-megapixel sensor, measuring 3264 x 2448 – 60% more pixels. Backside illumination on the sensor means 73% more light, which should provide better low light performance. The lens has 5 elements and an f/2.4 aperture. Video will be 1080p, and you can expect new image stabilization and facial recognition features. Camera operation will be a bit faster with a shortcut from the phone’s lock screen.

Siri Voice Control

Maybe the most interesting part of the announcement is the larger role voice command will play on the new phone. If you’ve used the voice control app Siri, you’ll know where the iPhone’s voice control is going. Ask natural language questions, and the system will respond with information either on screen or spoken. It also is promising the ability to read messages to you and let you respond by speaking, with voice to text.

Pricing and Availability

The 4S will be available in both black and white, with 16GB, 32GB and 64GB capacities for $199, $299, and $399. The iPhone 4 will continue to be available in 8GB for $99 and the 8 GB 3GS will be offered for free (these prices are all with 2 year contracts). The 4S will be available starting October 14th, with ordering beginning October 7th. Carriers will be ATT&T, Verizon, and now Sprint as well.

Will You Buy?

Is the iPhone 4S enough of an upgrade over your current phone to get you to buy? If so will you be going with Sprint, AT&T or Verizon? Which feature intrigues you the most? Let us know in the comments.