When you look at your iPhone 4S, do you see a powerful device with a lighting-fast, well designed user interface, beautiful display and perfect form factor? Or, do you see a slow-ass, chunky piece of crap that is limited by imperfection. Personally, the former description seems most appropriate, since the majority of opinions and retail popularity seem to indicate that the iPhone 4S is the best iPhone Apple has ever released.
That said, there is one area of the iPhone 4S that does require consideration as we move to a state of high anticipation about the iPhone 5. Many of the mockups of the iPhone 5 that have circulated, have suggested that the device will have a thinner form factor and curved back, essentially reducing the interior volume. If this was the case then this would certainly be an issue as perhaps the only complaint that I have about the iPhone 4S, is the battery life.
Unlike some people, my iPhone 4S doesn’t drain battery excessively. It consumes battery power at what I would expect is a relatively normal rate for a device of that speed, but noticeably faster than an iPhone 4. What this equates to is that, at the end of the day, the battery indicator is about to, or has, turned red. Using the iPhone 4 in a similar manner meant that around 40% was the lowest it ever got with nightly charging.
If the rumors come true, if the iPhone 5 has a thinner form factor, if it has LTE capability and if it has a faster A5X processor, then battery life has to be the highest consideration on Apple’s design checklist. Either the battery technology used in the iPhone 5 takes a great leap forward, or the device moves to severely low power displays together with low power cellular network and processor requirements.
The iPhone 4S is fast enough, the display is beautiful, the camera is impressive, and it’s thin and light. With the next iteration of the iPhone, it is time to focus on power. With LTE, battery life will be key.
Powerful…