Apple iPhone 4 review
So finally it’s here. After the usual hype, the queues, and a sycophantic quote or two from Stephen Fry, the iPhone 4 is here. And it’s expensive.
Let’s get that one out in the open right away. The lowest price you’ll currently pay for an iPhone 4 is £219 for the 32GB version, after which you have to pay £25 per month for 24 months from Vodafone. That works out at a total cost of ownership of £819 over two years, compared with the HTC Desire, which will cost £600 over the same period. The key question is: is it worth the extra 220 quid?
It’s certainly a design departure from iPhones past. The main difference with the new phone is that it’s both thinner (9.3mm to 12.3mm) and a little narrower than the 3GS. The rear of the phone is flat, instead of curved, and there are more sharp edges than curves. Some may take issue with this, arguing it’s less comfortable to hold and more difficult to slide into a pocket than previous generations.
What you cannot argue with is that the new iPhone feels altogether more solidly made. The front panel is made from a tougher glass, which also now features on the rear panel, while the stainless steel band that wraps around the edges of the device lends a classier look to this iPhone.
The oleophobic, fingerprint-resistant coating is also on the rear and the front, the upshot being that it’s easier to keep clean than the previous model. The detailing is a little cuter too, with small round buttons instead of a rocker for the volume, exposed stainless-steel screws flanking the docking port at the bottom edge, and a pair of beautifully crafted ports for the stereo speakers next to each of these.
Screen star
The other major change is what Apple calls its “Retina” display. Despite the name, there’s nothing technologically innovative about it and it’s no bigger than before either, measuring 3.5in across. It is, however, the highest resolution smartphone screen on the market today. At 936 x 640 it crams in four times as many pixels as the previous iPhone’s display.
And quality is top too. It uses the same IPS technology as the iPad so colours are deep and rich, and viewing angles are wide. Sat side by side with a Desire it’s immediately noticeable that the screen isn’t as colourful or iris-dilatingly bright as that phone’s OLED display. But what’s also obvious is that the Retina display is crisper, making small characters much more readable.
If you don’t mind the small screen area, it’s fine for reading iBooks on, and although not transflective, it is readable in sunshine if you turn up the brightness.
