This article was originally intended to provide a glimpse at an app or two that would allow the “up” volume control button on the side of an iPhone 3GS to fire its camera — similar to the function brought to the iPhone 4 and 4GS via the iOS5 operating system.
There’s one thing you can say about Apple fans and that is they’re a devoted lot; suffering through long lines to pay high prices for items that on occasion do not work as well as the buyer might have hoped. This leads us to ask, “Why does the company seem to continually release new iPhone models that are immediately deluged by complaints?”
There’s one thing you can say about Apple fans and that is they’re a devoted lot; suffering through long lines to pay high prices for items that on occasion do not work as well as the buyer might have hoped.
Selling a reputed 4 million new iPhone 4S devices during its first weekend, Apple was bound to hear some complaints, although the overall ratings were quite favorable.
XBIZ examined a variety of recent news and technical reports to discover some of the most frequent complaints voiced by customers concerning the iPhone 4S, learning that a few of these issues are nothing particularly new.
For example, users of previous generations of iPhone models have long reported less than expected battery life, but the new model was supposed to solve that, with Apple VP Phil Schiller reportedly claiming that the device’s improved power management would allow eight full hours of talk time before the unit required recharging.
“After three days of nonstop testing, we had a clear answer: The iPhone 4S is generally more power hungry than the iPhone 4, and Apple has only made the slightest capacity improvement to the iPhone 4S’s battery,” an iLounge review stated. “Moreover, whereas Apple underpromised with the iPhone 4’s battery estimates, it comes closer to overpromising with the iPhone 4S.”
ILounge notes similar battery consumption between the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S when using Wi-Fi connections and for phone calls and surfing; while using a 3G connection, or watching videos or listening to music, will drain the latest model’s battery more quickly than that of its predecessor.
Speed has also been a concern, with some users (most notably those on the newly approved Sprint network) reporting slower than expected speeds, with others suggesting that the company is purposefully throttling iPhone access to its network — claims that were also heard when Verizon initially entered the fray.