If you are looking to upgrade, there’s little question the iPhone 5 are going to be on your microwave radar, but what concerning last year’s iPhone? The iPhone 4S was no slouch Associate in Nursingd if you picked one up you may be inquisitive whether an upgrade to the latest model is basically worthwhile. instead you may wish to require advantage of the deep discounts the old iPhone models enjoy whenever a replacement child hits the block.
Join North American nation as we break down the iPhone 5 versus iPhone 4S comparison into individual classes to assist you create the correct alternative.Before we start you would possibly wish to ascertain out our full iPhone 5 review and our iPhone 4S review. simply bear in mind that those review scores area unit a product of their times and relate to what was available on the open market once every phone was discharged.
Design and construction
There’s really no misunderstanding the distinctive look of the iPhone line, but it has evolved and matured an excellent deal since the initial 2007 unleash. The iPhone 5 looks plenty like Associate in Nursing iPhone 4S that has had a growth spurt. It is 4.87 inches tall compared to 4.5 inches and it is zero.30 inches thick compared to zero.37 inches. once you decide it up you’re affected by however light it feels. The iPhone 5 weighs simply 3.95 ounces, that is sort of a full ounce lighter than the iPhone 4S.
A larger screen and a slimmer type factor have been achieved while not compromising on the materials and quality. The iPhone 5 includes a brushed metal back instead of glass. it is conjointly significantly more durable than its forerunner and has been trouncing the competition in drop tests.
The controls area unit abundant an equivalent. The familiar home button is present and correct, the ability button is ever so slightly smaller on the iPhone 5, and a Nano-SIM has replaced the Micro-SIM within the iPhone 4S. You’ll conjointly notice that the lightning port is significantly smaller than the old 30-pin dock instrumentation.
Winner: iPhone 5
Feel
With 2 devices therefore similar the texture comes down to some of minor points. The iPhone 5 is lighter and nonetheless it still looks like a premium construction. The brushed metal backing is additionally lighter than the glass backing you’ll realize on the iPhone 4S, to not mention less liable to smears and fingerprints. the only place where the iPhone 5 falls down is that the power button. Despite the very fact that the phone is taller, Apple has left the ability button on the highest and it may now be alittle of a stretch for a few folks.
Winner: iPhone 5
Screen quality
You have a 4-inch tissue layer display versus a 3.5-inch ‘Retina’ {lcd|liquid crystal display|LCD|digital display|alphanumeric display} display. both area unit rated at 326ppi. The iPhone 5 is 1136×640 pixels and also the 4S is 960 x 640 pixels. That additional height definitely counts, though within the short term, many apps can have a black band at the highest and bottom rather than stretch to fit the new resolution. Movies can now play in 16:9 while not letterboxing, that is nice.
The iPhone 5 doesn’t simply have a taller screen, though; it conjointly boasts warmer colors, larger clarity in direct sunlight, and wider viewing angles.
Winner: iPhone 5
Operating system
If you’ve made the upgrade to iOS half dozen on your iPhone 4S, then you’re running an equivalent operating system as the iPhone 5. That additional display height enables the iPhone 5 to display an additional row of icons and a lot of content in some apps, but there’s really no other distinction between the two phones.
Usually there is a replacement, exclusive software package feature with a replacement iPhone unleash. The iPhone 4 got FaceTime and also the iPhone 4S got Siri, but the iPhone 5 doesn’t really have anything notably notable, aside from a replacement Maps app and bankbook (which we’re still struggling to figure out).
Winner: iPhone 5 (for its additional icons)
Audio and video
In terms of content, you've got exactly the same options, but there area unit some of differences once it involves audio and video. As mentioned before, the taller screen allows for 16:9 movies to play on your iPhone 5 once you read it horizontally, that is a nice improvement.
Then there’s the new EarPods that ship with the iPhone 5. they are designed to fit your ears a lot of comfortably and they offer far better sound quality than the earphones that came with the iPhone 4S. The bass is better, though true audiophiles can still wish to shop for smart quality earphones or headphones separately. Another tweak is that the audio jack has been affected to all-time low of the iPhone 5 probably as a result of the new lightning port spread out some house there.
Winner: iPhone 5
Cameras
On paper, you've got exactly the same 8-megapixel rear-facing camera, but in follow the iPhone 5 will boast a few enhancements. For ideal lighting conditions you’ll be in a bad way to examine any distinction, but in low light conditions the iPhone 5 camera comes into its own. The light-emitting diode flash seems to be better and there’s less noise in shots. There have conjointly, apparently, been enhancements to its HDR capabilities.
They both support 1080p video recording, but only the iPhone 5 can take photos whereas you are recording video. the essential quality is additionally slightly improved thanks to better noise reduction, white balance, and image stabilization, but the distinction is subtle. Improved compression means HD video on the iPhone 5 is 20 p.c smaller.
Two other differences worth mentioning area unit that the iPhone 5 camera is quicker to capture a photograph and that the new sapphire crystal lens is incredibly tough, creating it troublesome to scratch.
When we flip to the front-facing FaceTime camera there’s a noticeable improvement. A 1.2-megapixel camera capable of 720p video recording has replaced the VGA camera.
Winner: iPhone 5
Hardware specifications
The iPhone 5 is clearly a jump up from the iPhone 4S once it involves raw processing power. The new A6 processor is far faster than the A5. The RAM has conjointly been increased from 512MB to 1GB. The phone boots up faster; it loads apps faster; it runs games faster. the advance generally performance is very noticeable.
Winner: iPhone 5
Voice and LTE information service
The iPhone 5 boasts three noise-cancelling microphones for improved decision clarity. It conjointly supports HD Voice, but not on Sprint’s network. We’re still waiting to listen to whether any carriers stateside can support HD Voice, but it has been confirmed on 20 carriers elsewhere within the world, including Everything everyplace within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Now you'll be able to conjointly enjoy 4G LTE on your iPhone and also the improvement is Brobdingnagian. If you utilize plenty of information then this may be a serious enticement for you. Even for casual net browsers the increased speeds for web pages gap area unit at once noticeable. what proportion of a benefit that LTE support is for you depends on your carrier and where you live, but those LTE networks area unit growing larger each day therefore it’s an excellent feature to own.
Winner: iPhone 5
Charging/connecting accessories
At last we reach a class where the iPhone 4S can win. the choice to change to the new lightning port for the iPhone 5 means all of your old accessories aren’t compatible. The Lightning to 30-pin Adapter can cost you $30. If you wish to splash out for a replacement charger setup then you’re observing $38 versus $30 for the iPhone 4S. If you've got a range of docks and other accessories that you’re connected to then this can be simply an additional cost.
Winner: iPhone 4S
Battery life
When it involves basic 3G speak time, both devices area unit rated at eight hours. However, the iPhone 5 can give you eight hours of browsing on LTE or 3G, versus half dozen hours of 3G browsing on the 4S. It conjointly squeezes an additional hour of Wi-Fi browsing in at 10 hours and it ought to support an additional 25 hours of standby time, per Apple website.
In follow you aren’t planning to notice abundant of a distinction in battery life, but the very fact it has an even bigger screen and it’s lighter makes that slight improvement for the iPhone 5 quite spectacular.
Winner: iPhone 5
Overall winner: iPhone 5
The iPhone 5 is clearly the general winner, as you'd expect. the real question is what proportion better is it? It really depends on what you wish from your phone. If you are assault Associate in Nursing iPhone, but you don’t want cutting edge performance and you wish to save alittle of money then the iPhone 4S might be the better alternative for you. everyone else ought to go for the iPhone 5.
Is it worth upgrading from the iPhone 4S? Well, probably not. You get all the advantages of iOS half dozen anyway and also the iPhone 5 really isn’t a serious discovery. a few staff here at Digital Trends still use the iPhone 4S with iOS half dozen and it doesn’t feel perceptibly slower, as phones generally do after being upgraded. If you still have a year on your contract, we recommend you wait it out and scrutinize the iPhone half dozen.
Winners by category:
• design and construction: iPhone 5
• Feel: iPhone 5
• Screen quality: iPhone 5
• User interface: iPhone 5
• operational system: iPhone 5
• Audio and video: iPhone 5
• Cameras: iPhone 5
• Hardware specifications: iPhone 5
• Voice and LTE information service: iPhone 5
• Charging and connecting accessories: iPhone 4S
• Battery life: iPhone 5
10 to 1 makes it pretty clear: the iPhone 5 is better than the iPhone 4S.
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* Analyst says iPhone 5 was Steve Jobs’ last project; expected this summer
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* The When, Where, and the way of merchandising your old iPhone
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