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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Dark Legion - Wednesday, June 30, 2010 - link
Not to be a grammar nazi, but since I'm posting other things anyway..."Even Palm entered the race with a competent offering, and Microsoft isn't far behind."
Both the Evo and Incredible have 8GB built in + room for 16GB microSD (though they come with 8GB microSD?), and the Incredible also has dual LED flash.
SimKill - Wednesday, June 30, 2010 - link
I just printed this to a PDF, and its 75 freaking pages... Holy bleeding batman(in a good way) It's longer than even some magazines, 1 article.AWESOME
(I think it would be perfect on a Kindle...hmm next thing to buy :evilgrin: )
It's going to make for a nice evening read.
griffonu - Wednesday, June 30, 2010 - link
Really cool review! The first informative one in a general noise of non-sense and subjective opinions on the net./bow
Furuno - Wednesday, June 30, 2010 - link
I don't now what should I say about those $29.99 bumper case... It's even more expensive than my $15 "backup" phone...And I wonder why you're so excited about video call? isn't this is an old technology already? I've been doing this since high school with Nokia 3G's phone (forget the name).
I still prefer N900 tough, mostly because of it's Debian-based OS. As a programmer that's usually works with a Linux machine it's just incredible. Like, wow I can do apt-get install on my phone!
Oh, and thanks for the in-depth antenna issue explanation! Great article!
Griswold - Wednesday, June 30, 2010 - link
I'd rather like to know what apple says about the bumper cases. They cost them maybe a dollar at the most to make and they sell it for 29 bucks. Thats a fucking fat cash cow right there and it explains why they refuse to hand one out for free. What would you rather have? $2m spent in a couple weeks for satisfied customers or $56m profit from partly annoyed customers?(yea I read it, the issue is not really an issue and not everyone is going to buy a bumper case... its anecdotal)
JAS - Wednesday, June 30, 2010 - link
Indeed, Apple's pricing for its Bumper is outrageous. Who would pay $29 for a small piece of plastic? But if you are running a corporation, have a legal responsibility to shareholders to maximize profits, *and* customers are willing to buy a product at the listed price ... ?How long will it be until a third-party case maker introduces its own perimeter case for under $10?
kmmatney - Wednesday, June 30, 2010 - link
It won't be long at all. I bought by 3GS rubber case for ~$2 on dealextreme. It's now even cheaper:http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.11687#op... full view
I agree that they should give away the cases for free, or heavily discounted . In any case, I don't anyone is crazy to not use a case on such an expensive device. You're going to drop it sometime.
Screammit - Thursday, July 1, 2010 - link
I'd have to agree with the video call bit, other phones (evo in particular) can do video calls over 3g AND can interface with computers through applications like Fring and Skype. I'm sure the video quality to only other iphone 4 users is stellar, especially over wifi, but isn't it a tad restrictive?archcommus - Wednesday, June 30, 2010 - link
I'm sorry, as much as I love Anandtech and Anand's in-depth and candid articles in particular, the bias here towards Apple is extremely strong. This article is night and day compared to the EVO review just posted. This is direct, interesting, discusses real impressions - EVO review was just a list of facts and things we mostly already knew. Honestly, it shouldn't have even been posted. I've gotten similar feelings about other Android reviews (Droid review 6 months after release? really?). I come to Anandtech to expect this level of quality in all articles, regardless of personal preference. As I said, I usually love your content Anand, but really the only thing I'm following of yours now are your SSD articles. All the rest of your attention goes towards Mac/iPhone.Griswold - Wednesday, June 30, 2010 - link
Have to agree, even though it assured me that my plan to get that phone is a good plan.Too much apple brown nosing.