Apple iPhone 4S: Thoroughly Reviewed
by Anand Lal Shimpi & Brian Klug on October 31, 2011 7:45 PM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Apple
- Mobile
- iPhone
- iPhone 4S
The A6: What's Next?
Apple has somehow managed to get a lot of the mainstream press to believe it doesn't care about specs and that it competes entirely based on user experience. Simply looking at the facts tell us a different story entirely:
| Apple SoCs | ||||||||
| 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | |||
| Process | 90nm | 90nm | 65nm | 45nm | 45nm | 28/32nm | ||
| µArch | ARM11 | ARM11 | Cortex A8 | Cortex A8 | Cortex A9 | ? | ||
| CPU Clock | 412MHz | 412MHz | 600MHz | 800MHz | 800MHz | ? | ||
Apple has been at the forefront of the mobile hardware race, particularly if we look at the iOS platform as a whole (iPad + iPhone). Apple was among the first to move from ARM11 to the Cortex A8, and once again with the move to the A9. On the GPU side Apple has been even more aggressive.
Apple hasn't stayed on the same process node for more than two generations, echoing a philosophy maintained by even the high-end PC GPU vendors. It also hasn't shipped the same microprocessor architecture for more than two generations in a row.
Furthermore Apple even seems to be ok with combining a process shrink with a new architecture as we saw with the iPhone 3GS. It's generally thought of as a risky practice to migrate to both a new process technology and a new architecture in the same generation, although if you can pull it off the benefits are wonderful.
The truth of the matter is Apple is very focused on user experience, but it enables that experience by using the fastest hardware available on the market. With that in mind, what comes in 2012 with Apple's sixth-generation SoC?
It's fairly obvious that we'll see a process node shrink. Apple has been on 45nm for two generations now and the entire market will be moving to 28/32nm next year. If Apple sticks with Samsung, it'll be on their 32nm LP process.
The CPU architecture is a bit of a question at this point. We already know that Qualcomm will be shipping its next-generation Krait architecture in devices in the first half of 2012. TI, on the other hand, will deliver an ARM Cortex A15 based competitor by the end of next year. The aggressive move would be for Apple to once again migrate to a new process and architecture and debut a Cortex A15 design at 32nm next year.
Looking purely at historical evidence it would seem likely that we'd get a 32nm dual-Cortex A9 design at higher clocks first. If Apple wants to release an iPad update early next year, that's likely what we'll see. That still doesn't preclude a late 2012 release of a dual-Cortex A15 solution, perhaps for use in the next iPhone.
Note that we haven't talked much about potential GPU options for Apple's next silicon. Given the huge upgrade we saw going into the A5 and likely resolution targets for next-generation tablets, it's likely that we'll see pretty big gains there as well.
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crankerchick - Tuesday, November 1, 2011 - link
Nice in depth review. AnandTech is the best place to get quality reviews. Thanks!Death666Angel - Tuesday, November 1, 2011 - link
I don't really see how a doubling of bandwidth (3GS->4->4s) is "more dramatic" than a tripling (3G->3GS). I am also not really impressed that smartphones now have the bandwidth of PCs from 7 years ago. After all, they have a great copy sheet.Soldier1969 - Tuesday, November 1, 2011 - link
If you already have a I4 this is NOT worth the upgrade! Waste of money. Much better options out there for a upgrade path the 4S isnt it...and Ive had the Iphone since release. This was a huge disappontment and failure for Apple. The only reason it sold as much as it did was all those people that still had the 3GS from 2 or 3 years ago or new customers. If you had a 4 already your just a "moop" if you upgraded to one of these!PeteH - Tuesday, November 1, 2011 - link
Depends what you are looking for in an upgrade. That graphics performance is pretty incredible. If you want to develop games pushing the boundaries of what is possible graphically on a mobile device the 4S makes a lot of sense.Lucian Armasu - Wednesday, November 2, 2011 - link
The graphics performance "in a benchmark". As you could see in the review, it only gets about double the FPS in real games, because it's bound by memory bandwidth.I doubt the games can run any faster or look any better than other current GPU's in mobiles.
thunng8 - Wednesday, November 2, 2011 - link
wow, what an absurd statement. Several games that were optimised for the new graphics increased their details level greatly and also added FSAA. You should have a look before passing judgement.*kjm - Tuesday, November 1, 2011 - link
Unless your like me and on Sprint comming from a Samsung M800 that is going on 4yrs old. I would think "most" people that can upgrade don't to stay off contract as long as the phone is working for them.doobydoo - Wednesday, November 2, 2011 - link
What would be a 'better option' right now, to upgrade an iPhone 4 to?Lucian Armasu - Wednesday, November 2, 2011 - link
The differences are not that big hardware wise at this point, so it will be more of a decision based on software. If you like iOS 5 you get an iPhone 4S, if you like Android 4.0, you get a Galaxy Nexus. If you like a different phone design, you get a Droid RAZR.I don't think the upgrade from iPhone 4 to iPhone 4S would be worth it anyway. Maybe from iPhone 3GS, for those who want to stay in the Apple ecosystem.
weiran - Wednesday, November 2, 2011 - link
> If you like a different phone design, you get a Droid RAZR.Which is ugly as sin, and isn't really an "upgrade" from an iPhone 4.
IMO from a design POV the most interesting iPhone competitor right now is the unreleased Nokia Lumia 800, for hardware and software.