iPhone 4 Review: 1 - Hardware Fit & Finish
The fourth generation of Apple's iPhone dynasty has appeared, generating longer lines than ever. Is it worth the wait?
In this series
iPhone 4 Review: 1 - Hardware Fit & Finish
iPhone 4 Review: 2 - the Phone & FaceTime
iPhone 4 Review: 3 - Camera Photos & Videos
Apple's chief executive Steve Jobs called iPhone 4 the biggest leap yet for the company's smartphone franchise, and he wasn't just blowing the hot air. There's a lot to like about iPhone 4. From its slim design to its precision chassis to its fantastic display, the hardware looks and feels excellent. Unlike previous iPhones, there's no cheap plastic back cover. Unlike other smartphone alternatives, there's no array of buttons to keep track of, no rubber flaps or plastic covers to break off or wear out, and no pointer device needed to make up for a haphazard and flawed touch interface.
After the impressive design of the original iPhone, 2008's iPhone 3G introduced a cheaper looking plastic case, along with support for 3G and GPS, two of the most significant features missing on the original. iPhone 3GS brought improved speed with a faster Application Processor and more RAM, but retained that same cheap looking plastic body.
iPhone 4 smokes previous models inside and out, launching a new industrial design that isn't just nicer looking than the previous two plastic generations, but feels downright luxurious, with a mirrored glass front and back sandwiching a very thin, precision stainless steel body.
This is a fierce bit of kit
The new phone demands a sense of reverence, as if you're almost unworthy to use it. We mortals will instantly grease up both sides with our oily fingerprints, and if we're clumsy enough, we might drop or lose it unless we handle iPhone 4 as The Precious on our quest to make it through the day without nicking it up somehow. Jobs said the new device feels like an old Leica camera, and that's seems pretty spot on. It's not just nice looking, but exudes extremely sharp fit and finish unlike nearly any other consumer device I've recently come across.
Part of the reason for that is that everything else in the world is marching toward being efficiently cheap. When iPhone 3G appeared, I noted that despite its vulgar cheapness, the new design would enabling Apple to reach a wider, broader audience. This time around, Apple is wooing smartphone users upscale, but without jacking up the price.
This direction goes distinctly against the grain of consumer gear in general and smartphones specifically, which have been plunging toward cheap materials with simply styled plastic battery covers, rows of clunky buttons, and tacky light up trackballs. iPhone 4 looks like a a high end Sony design taken from the 80s and evolved along into an upscale luxury brand. Apple isn't just giving the iPhone 3GS a makeover; the new model humiliates the former, making it feel and look clunky, dumpy, and frumpy.
The only time you might prefer owning an iPhone 3GS is when you catch yourself watching in horror as your new iPhone 4 escapes your grasp and hurls toward the floor, as its new glass panel back is now just as easy to shatter as its front. If you find yourself dropping your phone a lot, do yourself a favor and get a case for it.
Is that $700 in your pocket?
The fit and finish and the appearance of every detail of the phone, from its headphone jack to its camera port, and from its volume buttons to its hold switch, is simply luxurious and precise in a way I have rarely seen in a consumer device. Of course, the iPhone 4 is also roughly $700, before your carrier's subsidy kicks in and brings the entry price to around $300. If you think about the device as a $700 bit of equipment, it will impact how you handle it, who you allow to use it, and where you choose to pull it out.
Apple's new iPhone isn't unique in its price; every other comparable smartphone costs about the same thing. But the company has really raised the bar in terms of what users should expect in build quality and design savvy. HTC's Droid Incredible and EVO 4G and Motorola's Droid X really look cheap and unsophisticated compared to iPhone 4 (as does Apple's own iPhone 3GS), yet they all still cost around $700 without that subsidy. If they wore real price tags, Verizon and Sprint probably wouldn't be able to sell very many.
In the auto market, there's a broad range of vehicle choices available to serve users, from the very expensive luxury high end to the simple, but much cheaper cars on the low end. In smartphones, there's now a wide range of quality, but there's no real difference in price.
That reality also has no precedent in the PC arena, where there has always been Apple on the high end opposed to cheap PC offerings, a large chunk of which cost much less because they delivered a lot less. The problem facing Apple's iPhone competitors is that smartphones can't get dramatically cheaper, because carrier subsidies hide a great deal of any price difference, ensuring that the entry price for consumers isn't very significant.
Were Apple, HTC and others duking it out over phones ranging from $99 to $700 at retail, Apple would have a much harder time introducing such a high end device to such ecstatic crowds of buyers. Incidentally, that issue is also why Apple can't really translate its iPhone success into the TV set top box market.
In between however, Apple has also introduced iPad as a very competitive tablet with no real rival, and the iPod touch as a similarly undisputed leader in the nearly uncontested market for sophisticated media players. The success of those products has leveraged Apple's success in smartphones, as the profitability of the iPhone has created economies of scale that have enabled Apple to sell the iPod touch for as little as $200 and iPads for $500, both far less than the real cost of iPhone 4.
And then you turn it on: Retina Display
I prepared myself for a mind-blowing screen, but all I saw was the same thing, an awful lot sharper. On the Retina Display of iPhone 4, text pops. Graphics and photos sizzle. But there's nothing that feels unexpected when you look at the screen. It seems both impressive and ordinary. Then I looked back at the iPhone 3GS screen and remembered how things were before iPhone 4.
Oh yes, the magic is there: the Retina Display is phenomenal. But like a boost in CPU speed or some more RAM, once you glance at the 960x640 pixel, 326 ppi resolution of the iPhone 4 screen your eyes establish a new baseline of normal. This looks the way the screen is now supposed to look.
The new display appears to be significantly less bright than the iPhone 3GS, but in my efforts to compare the two, it seems like the perceived brightness of the previous model is in part due to its softer, blurrier appearance. The Retina Display is razor sharp. No really; I never noticed a real problem with the iPhone's resolution before, but the new screen is simply amazing when you focus on details, especially in comparison with previous models. It is exacting and precise.
It truly does look like the output of a color laser printer, albeit using glossy paper that magically glows. Twenty years ago, I was transfixed by the sharp black text spit out of Apple's original LaserWriter. Now, I have a dynamic color screen that fits in my pocket, and that screen has an even higher resolution. This is definitely some crazy futuristic stuff, but it's now, immediately, the new normal.
As for performance, while being slightly less bright, the screen is not just dramatically sharper than previous iPhones, but also sports wider viewing angles, both side to side and up and down. It performs very similar to the IPS displays in the latest MacBook Pros, although again, the ppi of the Retina Display is approaching a pixel density three times as high (Apple's 17 inch notebook is 117 ppi vs iPhone 4 at 326 ppi).
For all the pre-launch hysteria about how Apple was exaggerating and misstating its resolution in comparison to the human retina, the new screen isn't anything approaching an inflated bit of marketing noise; it's the real deal. It will ruin your retinas for ever returning to a lower resolution screen however.
So far, apart from those that have already dropped theirs, or a small number of people who have received defective units, build issues have largely been constrained to a temporary spotting issue that seems to resolve itself. There are however other issues with iPhone 4, and they relate to its most important function: calling.
Issues related to antenna signal (both actual performance and the reported signal meter), proximity sensors (for blanking the phone's screen while you have it next to your face talking), and calling features will be outlined in part 2, focusing on the Phone and FaceTime.
In this series
iPhone 4 Review: 1 - Hardware Fit & Finish
iPhone 4 Review: 2 - the Phone & FaceTime
iPhone 4 Review: 3 - Camera Photos & Videos
Apple's chief executive Steve Jobs called iPhone 4 the biggest leap yet for the company's smartphone franchise, and he wasn't just blowing the hot air. There's a lot to like about iPhone 4. From its slim design to its precision chassis to its fantastic display, the hardware looks and feels excellent. Unlike previous iPhones, there's no cheap plastic back cover. Unlike other smartphone alternatives, there's no array of buttons to keep track of, no rubber flaps or plastic covers to break off or wear out, and no pointer device needed to make up for a haphazard and flawed touch interface.
After the impressive design of the original iPhone, 2008's iPhone 3G introduced a cheaper looking plastic case, along with support for 3G and GPS, two of the most significant features missing on the original. iPhone 3GS brought improved speed with a faster Application Processor and more RAM, but retained that same cheap looking plastic body.
iPhone 4 smokes previous models inside and out, launching a new industrial design that isn't just nicer looking than the previous two plastic generations, but feels downright luxurious, with a mirrored glass front and back sandwiching a very thin, precision stainless steel body.
This is a fierce bit of kit
The new phone demands a sense of reverence, as if you're almost unworthy to use it. We mortals will instantly grease up both sides with our oily fingerprints, and if we're clumsy enough, we might drop or lose it unless we handle iPhone 4 as The Precious on our quest to make it through the day without nicking it up somehow. Jobs said the new device feels like an old Leica camera, and that's seems pretty spot on. It's not just nice looking, but exudes extremely sharp fit and finish unlike nearly any other consumer device I've recently come across.
Part of the reason for that is that everything else in the world is marching toward being efficiently cheap. When iPhone 3G appeared, I noted that despite its vulgar cheapness, the new design would enabling Apple to reach a wider, broader audience. This time around, Apple is wooing smartphone users upscale, but without jacking up the price.
This direction goes distinctly against the grain of consumer gear in general and smartphones specifically, which have been plunging toward cheap materials with simply styled plastic battery covers, rows of clunky buttons, and tacky light up trackballs. iPhone 4 looks like a a high end Sony design taken from the 80s and evolved along into an upscale luxury brand. Apple isn't just giving the iPhone 3GS a makeover; the new model humiliates the former, making it feel and look clunky, dumpy, and frumpy.
The only time you might prefer owning an iPhone 3GS is when you catch yourself watching in horror as your new iPhone 4 escapes your grasp and hurls toward the floor, as its new glass panel back is now just as easy to shatter as its front. If you find yourself dropping your phone a lot, do yourself a favor and get a case for it.
Is that $700 in your pocket?
The fit and finish and the appearance of every detail of the phone, from its headphone jack to its camera port, and from its volume buttons to its hold switch, is simply luxurious and precise in a way I have rarely seen in a consumer device. Of course, the iPhone 4 is also roughly $700, before your carrier's subsidy kicks in and brings the entry price to around $300. If you think about the device as a $700 bit of equipment, it will impact how you handle it, who you allow to use it, and where you choose to pull it out.
Apple's new iPhone isn't unique in its price; every other comparable smartphone costs about the same thing. But the company has really raised the bar in terms of what users should expect in build quality and design savvy. HTC's Droid Incredible and EVO 4G and Motorola's Droid X really look cheap and unsophisticated compared to iPhone 4 (as does Apple's own iPhone 3GS), yet they all still cost around $700 without that subsidy. If they wore real price tags, Verizon and Sprint probably wouldn't be able to sell very many.
In the auto market, there's a broad range of vehicle choices available to serve users, from the very expensive luxury high end to the simple, but much cheaper cars on the low end. In smartphones, there's now a wide range of quality, but there's no real difference in price.
That reality also has no precedent in the PC arena, where there has always been Apple on the high end opposed to cheap PC offerings, a large chunk of which cost much less because they delivered a lot less. The problem facing Apple's iPhone competitors is that smartphones can't get dramatically cheaper, because carrier subsidies hide a great deal of any price difference, ensuring that the entry price for consumers isn't very significant.
Were Apple, HTC and others duking it out over phones ranging from $99 to $700 at retail, Apple would have a much harder time introducing such a high end device to such ecstatic crowds of buyers. Incidentally, that issue is also why Apple can't really translate its iPhone success into the TV set top box market.
In between however, Apple has also introduced iPad as a very competitive tablet with no real rival, and the iPod touch as a similarly undisputed leader in the nearly uncontested market for sophisticated media players. The success of those products has leveraged Apple's success in smartphones, as the profitability of the iPhone has created economies of scale that have enabled Apple to sell the iPod touch for as little as $200 and iPads for $500, both far less than the real cost of iPhone 4.
And then you turn it on: Retina Display
I prepared myself for a mind-blowing screen, but all I saw was the same thing, an awful lot sharper. On the Retina Display of iPhone 4, text pops. Graphics and photos sizzle. But there's nothing that feels unexpected when you look at the screen. It seems both impressive and ordinary. Then I looked back at the iPhone 3GS screen and remembered how things were before iPhone 4.
Oh yes, the magic is there: the Retina Display is phenomenal. But like a boost in CPU speed or some more RAM, once you glance at the 960x640 pixel, 326 ppi resolution of the iPhone 4 screen your eyes establish a new baseline of normal. This looks the way the screen is now supposed to look.
The new display appears to be significantly less bright than the iPhone 3GS, but in my efforts to compare the two, it seems like the perceived brightness of the previous model is in part due to its softer, blurrier appearance. The Retina Display is razor sharp. No really; I never noticed a real problem with the iPhone's resolution before, but the new screen is simply amazing when you focus on details, especially in comparison with previous models. It is exacting and precise.
It truly does look like the output of a color laser printer, albeit using glossy paper that magically glows. Twenty years ago, I was transfixed by the sharp black text spit out of Apple's original LaserWriter. Now, I have a dynamic color screen that fits in my pocket, and that screen has an even higher resolution. This is definitely some crazy futuristic stuff, but it's now, immediately, the new normal.
As for performance, while being slightly less bright, the screen is not just dramatically sharper than previous iPhones, but also sports wider viewing angles, both side to side and up and down. It performs very similar to the IPS displays in the latest MacBook Pros, although again, the ppi of the Retina Display is approaching a pixel density three times as high (Apple's 17 inch notebook is 117 ppi vs iPhone 4 at 326 ppi).
For all the pre-launch hysteria about how Apple was exaggerating and misstating its resolution in comparison to the human retina, the new screen isn't anything approaching an inflated bit of marketing noise; it's the real deal. It will ruin your retinas for ever returning to a lower resolution screen however.
So far, apart from those that have already dropped theirs, or a small number of people who have received defective units, build issues have largely been constrained to a temporary spotting issue that seems to resolve itself. There are however other issues with iPhone 4, and they relate to its most important function: calling.
Issues related to antenna signal (both actual performance and the reported signal meter), proximity sensors (for blanking the phone's screen while you have it next to your face talking), and calling features will be outlined in part 2, focusing on the Phone and FaceTime.
Comments
Excellent review as usual Dan, but you might want to tone down the slobbering a bit.
You are correct about the iPhone 4's display being the new normal. I got to play with my wife's new phone for a few minutes and it is incredible.
I find it trivial to get the bars to go down to zero. Sweaty fingers and just the right grip and poof; they are gone.
Rob
The same feeling struck me inspecting the new Mac mini. They are getting really precise with the manufacturing lately.
Maybe they are reversing course a little bit on the price lowering/slight compromises of the last few years.
Of course, the iPhone 4 is also roughly $700, before your carrier's subsidy kicks in and brings the entry price to around $300.
Isn't the entry price closer to $200?
~Callum
This "review" seems like it's almost a rewritten Apple press release or a paid advertisement, than a review...Maybe if my iPhone 4 wouldn't drop calls every time I hold it "normally" in my left hand, I could deal with the fanboyism displayed in this article a little better...
Like I said, I agree about the fit and finish and the display...But it's sort of like owning a BMW compared to a Ford Taurus...the fit and finish on the BMW are much better than the Taurus, but in this case, the BMW won't stay running for no more than 20 to 30 seconds before the engine dies while the Taurus keeps running right along...
But this new iPhone 4 has a big issue, and until that big issue is properly addressed I won't be buying an iPhone 4, and I certainly won't be recommending it. This: "just don't hold it in that way" crap is a big deal, and Steve needs to get his head out of his ass if he thinks people are going to accept it. The word on the street is hold off on purchasing an iPhone 4 until we know more. And the word is spreading. I want an iPhone 4 like the next guy, I have the money up stairs for it in fact. But this antenna debacle isn't going away anytime soon. Apple needs to wake up and fix the issue at hand, rather than blaming their customers for holding it wrong.
Yes, we're still pissed about. Why wouldn't we be. Apple makes some of the best products in the world. We expect more from Apple. Some of us Mac fans we're taken aback by Steve's comment. Surely Apple is abandoning it's principles?
Great device, but...
Isn't the entry price closer to $200?
Indeed: http://store.apple.com/us/browse/hom...co=MTgyNjM3NDU unless he was talking Canadian Dollars?
...iPhone 4 smokes previous models inside and out, launching a new industrial design that isn't just nicer looking...
It seems to be SO new it's killed an interesting mix of my iPhone accessories that worked with my 3GS only three days ago. (I think they were broken by the hardware and not the new iOs--i upgraded to v 4 several days before the phone came out, but i only noticed the failures after getting the iP4)
Examples:
--My Kensington Nightstand doesn't charge my new phone.
--half a dozen short usb-to-iphone connector cables no longer work (connecting the new iP4 to my MBP via any of those cables does NOT trigger the opening of iPhoto to import photos; it does NOT trigger the opening of iTunes; even if I open iTunes manually the new iP4 does not show up as a device, using those cables--in other words, i can no longer sync using those cables).
It'd be interesting to know what changes were made in the iPhone connector, and why.
I'd like others to report here: Are any of your accessories still working? third-party chargers? docks? etc.
was there anything you disliked (it can't play all the music files itunes can handle, people bitch and moan about the antenna... although I haven't had any trouble, some of them have yellow spots on the screen, the glass on the back is different from the gorilla glass on the front and is likely to pick up scratches, it doesn't make a very good margharita, etc.).
I've got one, I really like it, but there are some real issues with this handset too -- give us the straight dope! no, the antenna thing is not a big deal; yes the voice recognition software kinda blows compared to android.
oh, and comparing it to every other phone out there, it looks and feels amazing.
You think I'm stupid?
The iphone has the most engaging and robust media ecosystem on the market.
HTV EVO can go suck it!!!!
But this new iPhone 4 has a big issue, and until that big issue is properly addressed I won't be buying an iPhone 4, and I certainly won't be recommending it. This: "just don't hold it in that way" crap is a big deal, and Steve needs to get his head out of his ass if he thinks people are going to accept it. The word on the street is hold off on purchasing an iPhone 4 until we know more. And the word is spreading. I want an iPhone 4 like the next guy, I have the money up stairs for it in fact. But this antenna debacle isn't going away anytime soon, and people want to hold their phones in a regular manner, and not take this crap from any company.
I sure hate it for those unfortunate customers. Both of the phones we bought work beautifully. I realize there's an issue, unfortunately, the people who aren't having problems don't chime in to let the world know their device works, and works great. I suspect, and I could be wrong, that out of the millions of iPhones Apple will sell, only a very small percentage will actually have problems.
Mine works flawlessly, and I'm letting the world know. Others should do the same.
i agree with the sentiments expressed about the build quality and display...apple has nailed it with the iphone 4, but...
This "review" seems like it's almost a rewritten apple press release or a paid advertisement, than a review...maybe if my iphone 4 wouldn't drop calls every time i hold it "normally" in my left hand, i could deal with the fanboyism displayed in this article a little better...
Like i said, i agree about the fit and finish and the display...but it's sort of like owning a b&w compared to a ford taurus...the fit and finish on the b&w are much better than the taurus, but in this case, the b&w won't stay running for no more than 20 to 30 seconds before the engine dies while the taurus keeps running right along...
bmw =\\
I don't believe I've ever seen a screen so beautiful on a mobile device. I remember Steve asking the audience during the keynote if they could tell the difference between the two phones, and thinking to myself that I could not. After picking up my iPhone 4 and returning home, I placed both the 3GS and iPhone 4 side by side and was absolutely blown away by the display. I, too, thought Steve was exaggerating the screen's ability - I'm eating my crow like a man, I was dead wrong, Steve.
I'm looking forward to seeing it. I'll wait until the lines go down at the Apple store first. Too bad I can't get one. With the network coverage in my area there would be no point. But I'm sure the "call failed" message looks beautiful in hi def.
"The new phone demands a sense of reverence, almost as if you're unworthy to use it." Really? I should feel unworthy to use a phone?
Your delusions are out of hand. I recommend some ssrious in-patient therapy.
Jesus dude, get a room. I love the product too but not enough to drool all over the eyes of everyone reading the review.
"The new phone demands a sense of reverence, almost as if you're unworthy to use it." Really? I should feel unworthy to use a phone?
Your delusions are out of hand. I recommend some ssrious in-patient therapy.
You'll be labeled a troll now. I know, it's sad.
The new phone demands a sense of reverence, as if you're almost unworthy to use it.
Apparently if you have hands, and you hold it like a regular iPhone, you are unworthy to use it.
The iPhone 4 is beautiful. The iPhone 4 feels solid. The iPhone 4 is thin. The iPhone 4 is physically smaller and sleek. The iPhone 4 is simple to use. The iPhone 4 has one of the best displays out there. The iPhone 4 is fast! The iPhone 4 has the best OS out there. The iPhone 4 has super cameras. The iPhone 4 has the best games and third parry apps. The iPhone 4 has it all?
But this new iPhone 4 has a big issue, and until that big issue is properly addressed I won't be buying an iPhone 4, and I certainly won't be recommending it. This: "just don't hold it in that way" crap is a big deal, and Steve needs to get his head out of his ass if he thinks people are going to accept it. The word on the street is hold off on purchasing an iPhone 4 until we know more. And the word is spreading. I want an iPhone 4 like the next guy, I have the money up stairs for it in fact. But this antenna debacle isn't going away anytime soon. Apple needs to wake up and fix the issue at hand, rather than blaming their customers for holding it wrong.
Yes, we're still pissed about. Why wouldn't we be. Apple makes some of the best products in the world. We expect more from Apple. Some of us Mac fans we're taken aback by Steve's comment. Surely Apple is abandoning it's principles?
Great device, but...
Ireland. GREAT POST. APPLE must make this right. Either a software fix (THAT WORKS), new phones (THAT WORK) or there will be a lot of returns. THAT would rip my heart out as I've owned Apple products since the '80s and crowed about them for many years.