Apple iPhone 4 Review

Introduction:

Plenty of things can change over the course of three years in the mobile world as technology seems to leap new heights constantly when devices are being packed with intricate hardware and an accompanying platform experience to make it gratifying. The smartphone landscape changed heavily when the original iPhone first came to fruition back in 2007 to a wide audience that was initially skeptical in how an unknown figure in the mobile community could change the game. The events that unfolded over the last few years tell the true telling of how the iPhone substantially affected the industry with its ground breaking performance. However, we've seen the handset don two additional makeovers, the iPhone 3G and 3GS, that some still argue to not necessarily accompany that reinvention that came along with the original's release. It's summer and Apple's tradition of releasing a new version of the iPhone each year continues as the world has been well informed regarding the highly prized product which received plenty of attention in the last few months leading up to its release due to a bevy of leaks. It's here! Now and in the flesh! But will it be enough to withstand the onslaught of competition that's currently catching up, consistently evolving,  and closing the gap?



The package contains:
•    Apple iPhone 4
•    USB Cable
•    User Guide
•    Stereo headphones
•    Wall Charger

Design:

Quickly gazing at the smartphone for the very first time, it tastefully can be seen that Apple decided to go back to the drawing board this time around as it sheds the previous look of the iPhone 3GS with a totally new one. Clearly it looks like an iPhone from afar, but upon closer inspection, you can meticulously feel the love that went into building and crafting this device together. Essentially the handset is encased by two pieces of strong glass which are held together by the brushed stainless steel band – used also to help aid the handset in receiving better cellular radio connections. The smooth glass found in the back replaces the glossy plastic one that's been in use with the previous two iterations and essentially make it flat – even the lens on the camera follows the flush pattern. As much as we adore the strength of the material and radiance it offers, it's a prone for all the nasty baddies out there that take away from its shiny luster. Additionally, when holding it for the first time after being accustomed to the curved backing of the iPhone 3GS, it doesn't hug your hand as good as we'd like it to – still, it didn't take too long before we got used to it. Clearly it's one of the thinnest smartphones (it's actually said to be the thinnest) we've seen to date. It's also narrower than the previous versions of the product. Following suit, the iPhone 4's construction feels solid throughout every nook and cranny as there is no denying that it can repel the wear and tear of age. Flaunting an almost identical weight to its older sibling found with the iPhone 3GS, it's evenly balanced and makes the phone feel even more durable, however, we'd be appalled to think about the consequences of dropping it. Overall, the fresh look of the iPhone 4 has a somewhat nostalgic tone as it makes us harken back to the 80s when Sony's beta-max units were all the rage with their metallic exterior and knobs jutting out prominently. Its industrial design provides a modern update which tastefully exemplifies an old time favorite look that will surely keep gazers close-by.



You can compare the Apple iPhone 4 with many other phones using our Size Visualization Tool.


When you quickly look at the landscape of high-end smartphones currently on the market, they all mostly sport WVGA displays and utilize a range of technologies – such as LCD, AMOLED, or Super AMOLED. As we tend to see Apple stick with something very unique for their handset, they decided to employ an LED back-lit IPS LCD display packing a monster crunching 640x960 pixels resolution which quickly became more known as the “Retina Display.” At the same time, Apple opted to keep its screen size at 3.5” which naturally increases its pixel density immensely – making it THE most detailed screen we've seen to date. Compared to the WVGA displays in use with some of its competitors, the “Retina Display” on the iPhone 4 pack a wallop by making even the tiniest of text look detailed upon closer inspection. Honestly, we were able to clearly see the difference between the iPhone 3GS and 4 when looking at the display from a distance of a foot – text on the iPhone 4 was much smoother and didn't look fuzzy like on the 3GS. Colors continue to shine as it boasts support for the same 16 million colors we were first introduced to back with the original. And just like all of the previous models, the capacitive display was responsive to the touch which made navigating around the interface a breeze. Still being one of the few handsets to utilize an oleophobic coating on the touchscreen, we're always glad to see it looking so fresh and pristine every time we take it out of our pockets. Generally using any handset outdoors in direct sunlight can become a nightmare – making some look quite unviewable even when brightness is set to its max. Thankfully, it steers ahead of the pack as it manages to shine brightly in almost any lighting conditions – even in direct sunlight. In addition, the utilized IPS technology comes along with some pretty wide viewing angles. However, we still feel strongly that Super AMOLED displays provide for richer looking colors, which can even fool some out there to believe that the display is turned off when the color black is present.


This time around, Apple decided to make the single home button feel more springy than what we experienced previously. In fact, this actually applies to all of the physical hardware buttons found on the phone as every single one of them has that solid tactile feel. The left part of the phone houses the all too standard vibrate switch and volume rocker – the latter being two distinct and separate circular sized buttons. Jumping to the top, we have the 3.5mm headset jack and dedicated power button while on the right side you'll find the micro SIM card slot. On the bottom of the phone, you'll notice the  speakers and Apple's proprietary connection port. Flipping it over to its rear, the only thing you'll find is the 5-megapixel auto-focus camera with flash and the usual mirror looking Apple logo that elegantly brands the smartphone. Finally, in the front and next to the main speaker is the 0.3-megapixel front facing camera.

Interface:

Although Apple has yet to come out officially to announce what speed its custom A4 chip uses, the overall experience navigating throughout the platform is pretty much what we would've expected for it to be – quick, intuitive, and responsive. Apple's bread and butter of continuing its focus to provide users a seamless experience hasn't changed one bit now that iOS 4 has been unleashed to the masses. We were already amazed at how much peppier the iPhone 3GS was running with iOS 4, but it's safe to say that the iPhone 4 takes it just one notch ahead. Naturally it may prove to be insignificant, but to watchful and meticulous eye, we can clearly say that the iPhone 4 with iOS 4 is one of the most responsive platforms out there and now adds some new transition effects and animations. When you compare it to something like Android 2.1, iOS 4 is still missing that level of animated visual presentation that Android prominently showcases (mainly with Live Wallpapers). If you want to learn more about the platform, you can always check out our hands-on article about iOS 4 running on the iPhone 3GS – the experience on the iPhone 4 is comprised of all the things we saw in the iPhone 3GS, but faster. In the end, there hasn't been a blatant amount of major renovations done to the platform. Sure it has multi-tasking, but its only enemy right now is time – developers will need to integrate this functionality into their apps to make the experience wholesome. In its current form, the multi-tasking aspect on iOS 4 is merely just a quick menu launcher that will allow you to quickly relaunch applications that you've recently opened and takes out the hassle of having to go back to the home screen constantly to run something. Lastly, the platform as a whole has yet to embrace the reality of integrating social networking into the mix much like how webOS and Android have been able to do – some better than others. You've got support for multiple exchange servers, but we'd imagine that the general consensus among owners is its lackluster integration of things like Facebook or MySpace into the core aspects of the phone. Despite those shortcomings, the Apple iPhone 4 combines its raw power and simplified interface that enables just about anyone to get situated with the platform right away.



Messaging:

To date, there are very few touchscreen phones that are able to rival the iPhone's on-screen keyboard. Some have valiantly tried to overtake the iPhone in this space, but we feel that its general responsiveness continues to make it more appealing for owners. With the iPhone 4, there isn't any change to the messaging experience that we haven't experienced before, but iOS 4 will now underline words that are misspelled and will provide its best suggestion for correction. Its predictive text still proves to be very accurate in attempting to figure out what you're writing – hence why we believe that it's still the best around.


One of the big things on the iOS 4 powered iPhone 4, when it comes down to emailing, is its unified inbox that will present you a centralized hub where you can gather and view all your emails. In addition, there is now threaded view for your emails to keep the conversations you have with people quite organized so you can quickly jump to previous emails for any clarification. Business users will also adore the fact that the phone supports multiple Exchange Server accounts now.



Connectivity:

With so much hardware packed into the sleek looking handset, it's hard to imagine that cellular radios and such are neatly tucked away. This quad-band (850/900/1800/1900MHz) handset will surely enable you to make voice calls in just about any spot around the world, but its quad-band UMTS connectivity is equally appealing (850/900/1900/2100MHz) in gaining 3G access. In addition, the iPhone 4 packs Bluetooth 2.1 to not only connect you to a wireless headset, but to a Bluetooth keyboard as well, thanks to iOS 4. Finally, 802.11n Wi-Fi is on board to offer you an alternatively faster data connectivity.

The web browsing experience has been consistent over the years with very little innovation surrounding it (probably because it wasn't really needed). Sure it looks like Flash will never make it to the platform, even with the iPhone 4's snappy speeds and large capacity battery, but that may not prove to be a deal breaker for some. What you do get is one of the most intuitive and fluid experiences seen on any handset out there. With its high-res “Retina Display” to show you every last detail, you can literally recognize the faintest of text when pages are first loaded and displayed fully. Pitting it against the iPhone 3GS, there is a surprising difference in clarity as the pixel packing iPhone 4 steps up to the plate showing off how text is much more precise and detailed. All in all, the web browsing experience remains consistent as Apple continues its stance in attempting to provide users the most intuitive and optimal performance.

Camera:

We're starting to reach a level when cell phones are about to bridge the gap against your usual point and shoot digital cameras. The conveniences are there as cell phones offer a ton more convergence features to make some people rely on it more for taking not only candid and in the moment shots, but also ones that involve saving a precious moment in time. The Apple iPhone 4 doesn't gamble its strength solely on numbers, but rather, it opts to provide users a better performance when taking shots in low lit conditions. The 5-megapixel auto-focus camera might seem to be your standard on most smartphones nowadays, but Apple opted to throw on a backside-illuminated sensor to strategically cater to low light shots. The result is pretty substantial as shots did not lose too much detail – we would usually tend to see slightly pixelated or noisy images in poor lighting. The new single LED flash on the phone makes for a great addition to the iPhone 4's arsenal, but we noticed that images become grainier when being taken at more than 5 feet.  Outdoor shots taken at the peak time of the afternoon when light abundantly shines down upon us are good with plenty of detail and neutral looking colors – but they still looked a tad bit over-exposed. However, we did notice it to be more prominent during the early evening when the yellow glow of the sun is starting to set for the day. Finally, macro or close-up shots came out extremely detailed – although we had to play around with the distance of taking the image at first. One thing we'd like to point out is the quick nature of the iPhone 4 taking photos – you can literally snap a slew of images consecutively.






Shooting 720p video on a mobile phone isn't new at all, especially when feature phones like the Samsung Instinct HD tout its prowess in that category. Naturally some would be thrilled at the sight of checking out some highly detailed videos, but they're quickly dashed when they notice a somewhat stuttering performance. Thankfully the iPhone 4 doesn't skimp out of performance as it's able to capture detailed videos at 30 fps – easily leading the pack out there in that area. Although there is still a slightly noticeable hiccup in playback, it doesn't deter to the more fluid looking videos it is able to shoot. One thing we experienced taking videos was that the white balance would jump like crazy depending on the lighting condition you're shooting in. At one point it would look normal, quickly jump to something super-exposed, and finally back to under-exposed. You can check out the video sample we recorded to see exactly what we're talking about.

Apple iPhone 4 sample video at 1280x720 pixels resolution.

Aside from using the main camera on the back, you can always switch to using the VGA front facing camera. It's blatantly obvious that the quality won't be the best, but hey, you've got the option to take easier self portraits and even rely on using it as a mirror – you can't go wrong with that!

Multimedia:

It's difficult to imagine that the original iPhone set the precedence of what all music players that are released have to live up to. As much as we can say that the presentation is still inviting to this day, especially with the eye candy filled Cover Flow interface, there has been a lack of innovation or improvement in this area. Similar to the web browser, the overall presentation has not changed at all since it was first revealed back in 2007 – so it saddens us to see little progress in this area. However, it shouldn't deter people from knowing that it still offers a straightforward experience that has a dash of good looks to make it still reign with the best out there. Improvements can be seen all around in the hardware of the iPhone 4, but we did notice that the speaker emitting audio at the bottom of the phone was marginally louder, but not by much – at one point, it even seemed like it was at the same level we experienced on the iPhone 3GS.


With a presumably fast about 1GHz A4 processor toiling away under the hood, video playback on the iPhone 4 was nothing short of beautiful – especilly when its “Retina Display” makes those 720p captured videos look good. Playback is extremely smooth with no evidence of lag whatsoever, which naturally highlights its prowess in this arena. Switching between portrait or landscape doesn't stop the flow of the video as it continues to play steadily – ultimately making it one handset to enjoy getting comfy while watching a long movie.





If there was something unexpected to see out of Apple's unveiling of the iPhone 4, it has to be the fact that they've decided to retain the same storage capacities. Available in either 16GB or 32GB options, some would question their decision now that 720p video capture is on board. Better keep it safe and stick to the higher capacity one if you tend to be heavy when it comes to media.

Software:

The leak of the Apple iPhone 4 finally brought many people out there with the hopes of seeing video calling – done right. Needless to say that there are some apps out there, namely Fring, that enable iPhone users to video chat with other Fring users. Apple decided to bring along FaceTime to offer owners an experience that makes video chatting more gratifying than current iterations. As we've seen with Qik on the HTC EVO 4G and Fring on other handsets, these apps basically allow you to video chat through a carrier's 3G network. Furthermore, the argument can be made that Apple's FaceTime is crippled from the onset due to the fact that it solely allows you to interact with other iPhone owners only and that you need to be connected via Wi-Fi to use it – for now. As we were able to test this out, we were initially skeptical about its performance, but it was easily erased relatively quick after seeing how both video and audio were on point with one another. Once you're in a phone call with someone, you can simply press the FaceTime icon on the screen to get it started up. We were impressed by its fast simultaneous connectivity despite sporting pixelated looking video taken from either cameras. Audio in fact sounded better than what we imagined initially – especially after trying out Fring. Sure there might be an Achilles Heel with its roll out, but as Apple works with the carriers, we can only cross our fingers and hope for a 3G roll out down the road.

Performance:

Much of the iPhone 4's prowess can be seen in the myriad of smartphone categories that it's able to execute well, however, its calling quality has moderately improved with the addition of the noise-canceling microphone. When using the phone in noisy environments, out callers said that our voice was still audible, although somewhat more prominent whenever we started to say something after a long pause. We still were plagued with hearing static sounds garbling up the background of our conversations, but thankfully voices were marginally audible on both ends and loud as well on the highest volume setting. As we switched on the speaker phone, voices were distorted towards the loudest setting, but became more bearable after a few notches down.

Okay, so here's one of the crazier experiences we saw in testing out the iPhone 4. Apple has touted the use of the stainless steel band wrapping around the handset would provide for better signal connection with the internal cellular radios, however, we were starkly baffled to see the opposite. During the whole process of using the Apple iPhone 4, we were readily comparing it to the iPhone 3GS we had on us. We've never really experienced any sketchy network connections using the iPhone 3GS for the past year, but we were perplexed to find the iPhone 4 performing not as expected in this regard. At one point, we noticed the iPhone 4 dropping down to 3 out of 5 bars while our iPhone 3GS remained steady at a solid 5. Apple has recently issued a statement saying that touching the bottom left side of the phone with your hand may result in poor connection. This issue seems to not be present in all units, but ours had it, and yours might too. And that's somewhat disturbing.

The iPhone 4's battery life is clearly superior to the current iPhone 3GS running iOS 4 – especially when it evidently packs a larger battery in conjunction with the power efficiency of the A4 processor. During out testing, there was a clear difference between battery life as the iPhone 4 seemed to retain a longer charge than the 3GS – easily making it last a decent day on normal usage. Apple definitely retooled the handset to enable it to consume less power while not sacrificing on performance. The manufacturer has the phone rated for 14 hours of talk on 2G (7 hours on 3G) and 300 hours of standby time.

Conclusion: 

Another year, another iPhone right? It's only natural to see an abundance of consumers get giddy knowing that Apple is launching their latest iPhone every summer – from what we've been experiencing so far. The iPhone 4 received the biggest makeover to date with its packed internal hardware, updated looks, and premium materials. Tallying in at a mere 0.37” in thickness makes it one of the slimmest smartphones ever crafted (probably the slimmest) – and it truly embodies the essence that Apple naturally radiates in the design of their products. We definitely adore how it manages to combine a nostalgic and modern approach to its design which is only supplemented with the finest of materials to make it stand out among the crop. Pretty much everything under the hood received a major overhaul – we especially love the detailed Retina Display.

Software wise, iOS 4 has refreshed the handset and continues to showcase Apple's stance in offering an intuitive platform that can easily be adopted by a broad range of customers. Simple and straightforward is the game when it comes to navigating across the platform as anyone will have an easy time with its short learning curve. However, it still has a lot to go in truly embodying the aura of perfection. Personalization is still lax, even after Apple's fourth iPhone, but they've only begun to break the mold – so hopefully things down the pipeline may address its shortcomings.

The Apple iPhone 4 is not the perfect phone. It suffers from certain problems with its signal reception (at least some units do), call quality is not excellent, photos taken with the 5MP camera are pretty good, but we've seen better, FaceTime is only available via Wi-Fi for the moment, multitasking is yet to be utilized by developers... We can always find a bunch of drawbacks to exploit. However, over the years we've come to believe that it is fairly easy to point out the exact disadvantages of the iPhone. And, in a way, we believe this is because everything else found under the hood works like a dream. From dialing a contact, through web browsing, to playing a 3D game - there's hardly a phone on the market that does all that in an easier and more seamless way.

It all comes down to personal preference. The Apple iPhone 4 has a display of better quality, but smaller size, when compared, for example, to the HTC EVO 4G, Motorola DROID X or Samsung Galaxy S – some of the best Android phones out there. The iPhone 4 lacks the 4G connectivity (which, as a matter of fact, you might never get), but its App Store sports about 4 times more apps, with each being about 5 times better in value. Its iOS 4.0 does not feature active homescreen widgets to show you what the weather is like on the outside, like Android does, but it would never freeze, crash or lag. As we said, it's all a matter of personal taste.

So our advice is... simply decide for yourself what you want from your smartphone, and how you want it.

Apple iPhone 4 Video Review: