Comparing iPhone 4/4s and Samsung Galaxy SII

I would like to compare the iPhone 4/4s and Samsung Galaxy SII holistically. I know that there are many reviews and technical specs shown on other websites. I would say this version of review is different based on my experiences on iPhone 4, 4s and Samsung Galaxy SII that I previously owned.  

Common iPhone 4/4s and S2 problems located over the net:

1. iPhone has the home button problem that it becomes less responsive if you use it overtime. It costs more than RM 150 to get it fixed (happened to my iPhone 3G).
2. S2 has problem with its battery. Many had complained about it. Like battery drains incredibly fast and nothing could stop it until the batter has fully depleted. After that it will work like normal (happened to me, once).

First off, lets start with processing speed, iPhone 4 is slightly slower than 4s and S2 because it is still working on a single core processor. iPhone 4s and Samsung S2 work incredibly fast due to their dual core processors. The set back for the 4s and S2 is that the battery life drain incredibly fast (I am comparing to iPhone 4); and it is faster on the S2 due to its bigger screen.

Personally note: Speed for a cell phone is really important, at least to me. I will want to get to every app as fast as I could simply because I don’t like to wait to stuff to load. Many people would want to get the iPhone 4 after the release of the 4s because they think there is not much of a difference between the two of them and it is slightly cheaper on the 4. But I would prefer to get the faster one because these kind of technological gadgets get outdated pretty fast, especially when there is an update on the iOS (the slower ones will be even slower). On the other hand, a cell phone that has low battery life will easily cause frustration to me because it limits the things that I could do without my charger staying with me.

In terms of touch sensitivity, it really frustrates me when I was using S2. Certain times it would not detect the heat from my thumb and therefore it would not respond. You may argue that different person has different heat level on their thumb. But, in all honesty, I have never experienced this issue with iPhones, not even with my old iPhone 3G (iPhone 3G would respond to every touch I made on screen, it just respond in a very slow manner). I feel the lack of total control over the S2; it really frustrates me at times, especially when I am gaming on that device. How would you feel if you instruct it to do something but it does not follow? Think about it.

On the connectivity of the phones, the S2 has a slight flaw because certain times the pages would not load despite I am on a WIFI or on EDGE/3G. I seriously don’t know why and how this would happen even though it loads just perfectly fine awhile later. One thing that I am certain is that this is not due to the connectivity issues because it happens quite frequently. You may think that no one device would function perfectly at all times in terms of connectivity because the line may face connectivity issues, however, in my experiences with my iPhones, it almost never happened. When there is a connection, even though it is very slow, it will definitely load.

In the apps market, iPhones have more apps in the app store than S2. However, I do not think the number of apps is a factor in choosing between iPhone 4/4s and S2 unless you tell me you want to have 500,000 apps in your phone. On the other hand, there is one thing that I would like to say about these apps for Apple and Android. Apple apps are only available in the apps store (Apple Inc. legit store, unless you jail broken it) while S2 comprises of many third party apps. In another way to say this is that, one has more quality control while the other has lesser control. The time when I was using the S2, certain apps could not be updated. I remember there was one app about Google map that could not be updated because it says that the update is not supported in Malaysia. Meaning to say, as long as you are in Malaysia, you will always have that app pending on your apps update. In addition, I have experience constant crashing on one of the games app on the S2 (because I only play that particular game on that device). This may be justified that there is a bug on that particular app that has not been fixed. Well, I have no much to say about this. This is just base on my personal opinion.

As you read, you may find me bias towards iPhones. But let’s talk about prices of iPhone and S2. The iPhone 4s with Digi cheapest you can get is RM 2090 while S2 is RM 1399. I guess the price differences are compensated with the quality that comes with it. So essentially we could not make a direct comparison. But I really like the bigger size of screen of S2 even though I could not text with one hand as my thumb go hardly reach the other side of the screen.

Let’s work on iPhone 4 and 4s. Three biggest changes from 4 to 4s are camera, processors and Siri.

The camera is really awesome. Everyone has a different definition when we say awesome. But I have never seen a phone camera that could compare with a point and shoot camera. The shuttle speed is great too. I am really satisfied with the camera for casual use even though I am a DSLR.

Dual core processors are of course better, but like I just mentioned, it is compensated with the lower battery life. But it is sufficient enough to last me for a day, so it is okay. For those who have higher tolerance for a bit slower phone but with possible longer battery life, go for the 4.

As for Siri, in all honesty, I don’t use it much because it is pretty useless in Malaysia for two reasons. One being the slang we use on a daily basis could not be captured by Siri with 100% accuracy. I played with it many times and most of the times I have to repeat myself; forcing my self to speak nicely and accurately in English. On the other hand, Siri does not locate maps & restaurants in Malaysia. When you say “bring me there” and Siri will say “Sorry, I am not able to find restaurants in Malaysia”. These are the reasons why I don’t use Siri much and people should not factor in Siri when purchasing between iPhone 4 and 4s.

Think about these when you are considering your purchase because the amount is significant.