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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thunng8 - Wednesday, November 2, 2011 - link
Subjectively similar, but if you read the detailed analysis, the iphone4S camera is sharper even without resorting to a high level of software sharpening.steven75 - Friday, November 11, 2011 - link
Hardly anyone bought an iPhone 4 for facetime. That's very different from what's happening with Siri, whether it stays that way long term or not.doobydoo - Friday, December 2, 2011 - link
Where's your evidence that the CPU in the Samsung Galaxy S2 is faster?Apple aren't using the same chip, they're using their own custom version of it.
The CPU/GPU combination in the iPhone 4S is faster, full stop.
kepler - Monday, October 31, 2011 - link
I disagree, there were plenty of review for Android phones, as they come out. He did the Incredible and Thunderbolt pretty thoroughly. The difference is that he can't review 15 Android phones from 5 different manufacturers every month.I'm sure we'll get a great spread on the Galaxy Nexus, and possibly the Razr, as they are big ticket items. I know I pretty much just skim the Apple stuff, as I'm not a big fan of Apple, its practices of litigation over innovation, not to mention the moral distaste of Mr. Jobs. I think iOS is a child's OS, behind the times as it is, and Siri is just a gimmick to try to keep the outdated OS alive for (hopefully) its last iteration.
Of course, none of that means that it isn't a good product.
doobydoo - Tuesday, November 1, 2011 - link
'iOS is a child's OS'Just like Google is a child's search engine.
As Einstein said, everything should be as simple as possible, but not simpler.
Usability matters.
KoolAidMan1 - Monday, October 31, 2011 - link
In what universe is hardware or practical OS performance faster with Android?Your bias, keep an eye on it.
medi01 - Tuesday, November 1, 2011 - link
In what universe did you have a chance to compare (legit) OS performance on the same hardware, you clown?doobydoo - Tuesday, November 1, 2011 - link
Huh? In what universe could you not understand a basic sentence?He didn't say he'd measured two different OS's on the same hardware. He essentially said he could compare the REALITY of both sets of phones (Android and iOS) by taking into account their PRACTICAL performance, that being performance taking into account BOTH the hardware they run on and the software they run on.
In other words, in the real world, iPhones DO use iOS, and Android phones DO use Android, putting one OS on the other hardware (which you are suggesting) would be completely irrelevant. What is relevant, however, is how they both ACTUALLY perform, given the reality of their software. And that has been measured throughout this article and shows the iPhone 4S is currently the best performing phone there is.
Even taking the software aside, direct comparisons have been made between the Mali-400 in the SG2 and the much faster 543 in the iPhone 4S.
claytontullos - Monday, October 31, 2011 - link
I feel as though the throughput difference between ATT and Version/Sprint isn't being leveraged enough.I would really like you guys to review the Samsung Galaxy Note paying special attention to if it bridges the gap between tablet and phone.
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Clayton
CharonPDX - Monday, October 31, 2011 - link
I am often in crowded areas where I theoretically have a strong 3G signal, but have no data throughput. Yet if I drop to EDGE (on my old iPhone,) I can get slow-but-usable data service.I also use it to save battery life.
On the 4S, I can't do that any more. And *REALLY* aggravatingly, Apple advertises "2G battery life", yet you can't force it into 2G mode any more!