Apple's iPhone 4: Thoroughly Reviewed
by Brian Klug & Anand Lal Shimpi on June 30, 2010 4:06 AM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Apple
- iPhone 4
- Gadgets
- Mobile
Speakerphone Volume
In my N900/Motorola Droid piece, I alluded to an interesting note I made about the iPhone 3GS's speaker volume. For a long while, people have complained that the iPhone's speakerphone volume was too quiet, complaining that even at the maximum volume it was nowhere near loud enough. The same applied to noise level over the handset through the earphone speaker.
I've noticed a similar issue, but picked out another detail while testing the AT&T MicroCell - calls on 2G are louder than calls on 3G. After I got my soundmeter, I set out about measuring, and found that my suspicions were confirmed. Calls on 2G GSM are indeed significantly louder than calls on 3G UMTS on the iPhone, and curiously not so on the Nexus One. The reason? Dynamic range compression.
If you're familiar with the FM loudness war, than you'll instantly understand what's at play with 2G versus 3G call loudness. Calls placed over GSM have a smaller dynamic range, while 3G calls over UMTS have greater dynamic range (and fidelity). The dynamic range of GSM is roughly equivalent to CDMA 1xRTT (which is what all calls on Sprint and Verizon are placed over - not over 3G Ev-Do), though that's a whole other can of worms to discuss. Regardless, when users unfamiliar with the inherent difference in fidelity hear a 3G call after getting accustomed to 2G loudness from 1xRTT or GSM, it sounds notably quiet on the iPhone.
This is a problem that's existed since the iPhone 3G, and has gone unchecked in the 3GS, and 4. For whatever reason, Apple isn't increasing the gain on 3G to match the same loudness, possibly to preserve fidelity, and the result is that the speakerphone and earpiece are never as loud as they really could be compared to a 2G call. As I mentioned before, Android on the Nexus One appears to use an automatic gain algorithm to normalize loudness. If you place a 3G call and listen carefully, you can actually hear the gain ramp up to meet the same loudness as the 2G GSM call.
The difference between these phones might not look like much, but keep in mind the logarithmic nature of dB: -3 dB is half the loudness.
On the iPhone 3GS, the difference is 7.36 dBA, while the iPhone 4 somewhat lowers it down to a still-audibly-different 3.31 dBA. The Nexus One shows no difference in loudness between 2G and 3G, correcting both to a (likely purposefully exact) 80 dBA. The iPhone 4 is indeed louder than the 3GS, by 4 dBA. It's a difference, but not an overwhelming one. I'd say the iPhone 4's speakerphone is still loud enough, though calls over 3G are still a bit too quiet. Until Apple increases the gain on 3G calls, iPhone 4 customers who are hard of hearing should invest in a bluetooth headset.
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The0ne - Wednesday, June 30, 2010 - link
Actually, Anand likes the performance of the iPhone and i don't blame him. It is smooth, well implemented and thus makes using it more enjoyable, quantifiable or not. Features be damn, what counts is how a user perceives the device he/she is using. And once attached or rather use to them it's hard to like something that isn't the same or better.For the most part, android OS and WebOS are fine for the vast majority of users. The slight sluggish performance is really not hindering anyone from doing anything practical. It is really just a matter of perception.
As for features and design, I can honestly say unless you been in the design phase yourself many decisions are made prior to production. Missing features such as Flash memory support is a choice left out purposely. Don't kid yourself they are doing it because they either can't or because of lack of money/resources.
mesiah - Thursday, July 1, 2010 - link
I don't agree with the flash memory support. Flash memory is so cheap to implement that it comes on the cheapest of cheap products. And before anyone uses the excuse of "a flash port would clutter up the phone and make it look ugly" Look at the huge ugly connector port used to sync / dock an iphone. Compare that to micro usb. You don't think they could shrink that thing to a quarter of its current size, or less, and add in a flash memory port? Hell, A smart engineer could make a docking port that doubles as a flash memory port (makes me wonder why we haven't seen this yet.) The reason you don't get upgradeable flash memory is the same reason you don't get removeable batteries. There isn't money in batteries and memory, the money is in forcing people with outdated hardware to upgrade.The0ne - Thursday, July 1, 2010 - link
Err, I think u might has misread what I was trying to say. As you've stated flash memory support is very easy and cheap to design in. For Apple not to have it means they have purposely decided against it. For example, creative labs has flash support on some of their PMP devices but it is extremely poor in design that it's unusable. That's the other caveat to just putting features in and not properly supporting it.Anand Lal Shimpi - Wednesday, June 30, 2010 - link
By feature parity I was referring to what's new that made it into iPhone 4: higher res screen, 45nm SoC, much improved battery life, smaller form factor. I'd expect that within the next 6 - 12 months we will see Android phones with similar specs.Software feature wise, Android is at parity in most cases and far ahead in others.
Take care,
Anand
darwinosx - Wednesday, June 30, 2010 - link
They you don't know much about either Android, the iPhone 4, or both.Mumrik - Friday, July 2, 2010 - link
Are you aware that your username undermines every single pro Apple comment you make?Also, I think most of us will take Anand's word for it over an anonymous commenter's.
mmike70 - Sunday, July 4, 2010 - link
Why does it undermine?John Sawyer - Thursday, July 1, 2010 - link
The somewhat larger number of pixels in the Retina display that Apple is using in the iPhone 4, plus its smaller size than the Evo and Droid X displays, do combine to make for a massive difference, as the pictures in the article show. I've compared the two, and the iPhone 4 display really is startlingly good. Many things don't look hugely different between the two, such as some videos, larger graphics and text, etc., but small text (which I look at a lot because that's what a lot of websites serve up) certainly does.semo - Wednesday, June 30, 2010 - link
I'm sorry Anand but I just couldn't bring my self to read your review after yet again detecting your bias towards this product. You come from an engineering background and it shows in your methods of analysis which appeals to me.Do you wait 6 hours in line for a new SSD? I detect hints of emotion in this article's introduction. I could be wrong but I always try to avoid technical reading when I suspect there is bias. It is plain to see on other technical sites where the companies' mission statement is part of the introduction but much more subtle here.
I look forward to your next SSD and chip architecture articles.
bplewis24 - Wednesday, June 30, 2010 - link
Anand is about the most objective Apple iPhone fanboy there is. There is no denying this, and it's both a compliment and a criticism. Until he can stop making subjective generalizations like this:"There is this more open, more configurable, more capable feel you get with Android that you don't with the iPhone. That can be both a positive and a negative. Android phones feel more like computers while iPhones have more of that appliance feel. It still boils down to personal preference, the 4 won't change that."
Really, Anand? Being more open and configurable can be a bad thing? We really need to stop perpetuating this myth that Androids can only be liked by "PC" geeks and people who like to dig deep into the OS. The reality is that Android devices don't force you to customize if you don't want to.
I'm also fairly certain that the "scrolling" issue which isn't present on my Moto Droid has something to do with the live wallpapers eating up CPU processing power. Nevertheless, I don't experience it on my phone and to blanketly imply that the OS UI is clunky (which most iPhone fanboys cling to in every comparison) is completely disingenuous.
Until Anand can rid himself of some of this bias, he will still be known as the best and most objective iPHone reviewer on the interwebs, but the title in and of itself won't be saying very much.
Brandon