The iPhone 4S Thread

[Isgrimnur]

I just ordered an Otterbox Defender case which was an iPhone 4 design for ~$25, which is half of what they are marked for on the mfg site.  I'm taking them ar their word that there are literally no case changes between the 4 and 4S.

[kathode]

I'm getting myself a Grovemade one, although haven't decided what artwork to put on it.
http://www.grovemade.com/collections/iphone-4-case-features-page/

[ravenvii]

I just ordered an Otterbox Defender case which was an iPhone 4 design for ~$25, which is half of what they are marked for on the mfg site.  I'm taking them ar their word that there are literally no case changes between the 4 and 4S.

There are no changes between the CDMA (Verizon) iPhone 4 and the iPhone 4S.

But there are slight changes between the original (GSM) iPhone 4 and the iPhone 4S (volume buttons moved a notch to accommodate the new antenna design, for one).

[Isgrimnur]

Well, crap. The one I ordered said universal, which I didn't understand, but now assume that is a carrier reference.

Ah, well. It will work or it won't.

[kathode]

Got my shipping notice! 

[Isgrimnur]

More case details:

The iPhone 4 and 4S have identical dimensions in height, width, and depth; however, the mute switch and two volume buttons have been slightly moved to accommodate for the new dual-antenna system. Comparing the models indicates the iPhone 4S has its mute button moved approximately 3 millimeters to the right, while the two volume buttons are only about 1 millimeter to the right.

The Otterbox Defender RealTree is listed as 4/4S, and I see no indication that it's specific to any particular carrier configuration. 

[ravenvii]

More case details:

The iPhone 4 and 4S have identical dimensions in height, width, and depth; however, the mute switch and two volume buttons have been slightly moved to accommodate for the new dual-antenna system. Comparing the models indicates the iPhone 4S has its mute button moved approximately 3 millimeters to the right, while the two volume buttons are only about 1 millimeter to the right.

The Otterbox Defender RealTree is listed as 4/4S, and I see no indication that it's specific to any particular carrier configuration. 

Yeah, some cases are "universal" (their holes are cut a bit bigger ). Sounds like you'll be good to go.

[Isgrimnur]

Yay! [/Kermit]

[hispanicgamer]

My order status is listed as backordered. I should have ordered directly from Apple rather than AT&T. 

[DarkEL]

My order status is listed as backordered. I should have ordered directly from Apple rather than AT&T. 

I placed orders with AT&T to upgrade both mine and my wifes iPhones. Got an email a day and half later saying they couldn't process my card for some reason - so I called them within minutes of getting the email and re-verfied the credit card number again and it went through without a hitch. They assured me that my "place in priority" hadn't changed (which considering I was one of the idiots who got up in the middle of the night to place my order was kind of a big deal to me).  Coincidentally - my bank showed no issues with their original request going through.  I knew in my heart that it was probably a mistake to place my order though AT&T but after fighting with the Apple ordering system for over an hour and a half, I was ready to try anything.

Checked order status this afternoon - Wife's upgrade order has a status of processing - but mine lists a status of backordered. So I called AT&T again just to ask what was up.

Girl I talked to on the phone said that it's in backordered status because it's a pre-order. I really want to believe her that everything's okay with my order but my gut tells me to expect that AT&T has screwed up and my wife will get hers on Friday but I'll be S.O.L. And if that happens I'm going to be exceptionally bitter against AT&T and will regret not having switched carriers this time  (I only stuck with AT&T because I have one of the old unlimited data plans.)

[Soulchilde]

Hopefully, I can walk into a store on Friday to pick up one.   Figure between Best Buy, Apple Store and AT&T I will be able to snag one

[DarkEL]

More evidence that AT&T's order processing glitch has screwed my pre-order.  Wife's upgrade listed as shipped with a tracking number this morning. Mine still showing as backordered.

Hopped onto online chat with AT&T order rep, and was very polite just to ask "is it likely that I won't get my phone this week - please let me know so i can explore some other options".  But they wouldn't give me even the most basic confirmation about that - saying that they don't have any information about shipments. Although at one point he did inject a canned response that said that backordered phones were fulfulled on a first come-first serve basis and that it would be 21-28 days but then immediately backtracked about whether or not that meant that my phone was not going to deliver this week.

Sigh....

[Teggy]

Since I have a discount through my wife's office, I get to go through the "premier" site. Hopefully that means I get bumped to the front of the line The site that I can view doesn't give me a status one way or another. My email stated "scheduled to be delivered as early as October 14, 2011"

[Teggy]

I now have shipping confirmation...

[Isgrimnur]

Mine's out from Hong Kong.  It's being delivered to home.  As much as I want to pre-sign for the shipment so that it's there when I get home, I really don't want to risk someone walking off with my $400 phone and me be on the hook for it...

[wonderpug]

Mine's out from Hong Kong.  It's being delivered to home.  As much as I want to pre-sign for the shipment so that it's there when I get home, I really don't want to risk someone walking off with my $400 phone and me be on the hook for it...

Oh I'm sure it'll be fine.  What was your home address again?

[Isgrimnur]

  Thanks for taking the low hanging fruit, pug.

[rittchard]

Hopefully, I can walk into a store on Friday to pick up one.   Figure between Best Buy, Apple Store and AT&T I will be able to snag one

I hope you are already waiting in line, right?  

Just kiddin, good luck!!!!!

[The Grue]

I now have shipping confirmation...

+1

[Soulchilde]

Hopefully, I can walk into a store on Friday to pick up one.   Figure between Best Buy, Apple Store and AT&T I will be able to snag one

I hope you are already waiting in line, right?  

Just kiddin, good luck!!!!!

 

[Blackjack]

Computerworld got some more thorough hands-on time with a 4S:
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9220777/Hands_on_Apple_s_iPhone_4S_is_a_sure_thing?taxonomyId=75&pageNumber=1

With the exception of a micro-SIM card slot on the right side, the iPhone 4S is a dead ringer for the Verizon/CDMA version of the iPhone 4 introduced in February. Extremely precise cases designed specifically for the original iPhone 4 may have trouble fitting over the ring/silent switch and the volume buttons of the iPhone 4S, which are slightly shifted from their position on the GSM iPhone 4; precision cases for the Verizon iPhone 4 and less-precise iPhone 4 cases will have no trouble. [I was asking about the SIM card slot earlier-bj]
...
To get the most out of dictation, you'll need to start thinking in punctuation. For example, to construct a decent email message, I might say, "Dan comma new paragraph. What do you think about writing a review of iOS numeral five question mark. I think it might be right up your alley period new paragraph. Let me know what you think exclamation point." The thing is, it works.
...
For users of the iPhone 4, the iPhone 4S's charms are a bit more subtle. There's no doubt that the iPhone 4S is faster -- though the iPhone 4 is not exactly poky. The 4S camera is definitely better, but the big leap came from the iPhone 3GS to the iPhone 4. The jump from 4 to 4S is a bit more incremental. Siri is certainly intriguing, but in its beta state it's unclear just how useful it will be in the long run. Over the next few months we should get a better idea about how Siri is evolving.

If you struggle with typing on your iPhone, the new dictation feature could be a huge reason to upgrade. (Though I'm still disappointed that this feature isnt available on older models.) My father-in-law bought an Android phone about a year ago because he needed to be on Verizon and he wanted the ability to use speech-to-text; today he'd be able to choose the iPhone 4S instead.

International travelers who are also Verizon or Sprint subscribers will rush to embrace the iPhone 4S, given the flexibility that comes via the international unlock of the devices micro-SIM card. And of course, fans of Sprint's network and rates (including the only remaining true unlimited data plan out there) will finally be able to join the iPhone party.

In the end, the iPhone 4S follows Apple's recent trajectory of iPhone releases: It's an object of some appeal to people who last upgraded their phones a year ago, and over the next year a great many of them will find it worthwhile to upgrade to the iPhone 4S. But to all those people whove been hanging on to their iPhone 3G or iPhone 3GS, the wait is over: Its time to upgrade without any hesitation whatsoever.

[Blackjack]

Anybody having any luck with the iOS5 update? I got a "system can't restore" message, and so it stuck with my current iOS version (4.3.5).

[rickfc]

Anybody having any luck with the iOS5 update? I got a "system can't restore" message, and so it stuck with my current iOS version (4.3.5).

I downloaded an image of the GM release last night and updated my phone. In the process of updating my wife's with the official release.

[wonderpug]

Is there a legitimate reason for Siri to be on the 4S only, or are they keeping it off the older devices just to make the new one seem fancier?  Is it ridiculously processor intensive or something?

[hispanicgamer]

My order status is listed as backordered. I should have ordered directly from Apple rather than AT&T. 

I placed orders with AT&T to upgrade both mine and my wifes iPhones. Got an email a day and half later saying they couldn't process my card for some reason - so I called them within minutes of getting the email and re-verfied the credit card number again and it went through without a hitch. They assured me that my "place in priority" hadn't changed (which considering I was one of the idiots who got up in the middle of the night to place my order was kind of a big deal to me).  Coincidentally - my bank showed no issues with their original request going through.  I knew in my heart that it was probably a mistake to place my order though AT&T but after fighting with the Apple ordering system for over an hour and a half, I was ready to try anything.

Checked order status this afternoon - Wife's upgrade order has a status of processing - but mine lists a status of backordered. So I called AT&T again just to ask what was up.

Girl I talked to on the phone said that it's in backordered status because it's a pre-order. I really want to believe her that everything's okay with my order but my gut tells me to expect that AT&T has screwed up and my wife will get hers on Friday but I'll be S.O.L. And if that happens I'm going to be exceptionally bitter against AT&T and will regret not having switched carriers this time  (I only stuck with AT&T because I have one of the old unlimited data plans.)

Just wondering if you ordered a white 64GB, which is what I ordered.

[Soulchilde]

Anybody having any luck with the iOS5 update? I got a "system can't restore" message, and so it stuck with my current iOS version (4.3.5).

There is tons of reports of iO5  bricking peoples phones and locking up their device.  I have downloaded the update, but I will wait to install

[Teggy]

Yeah, I was moving my 3GS from my old Macbook to my Macbook Pro so I'd be able to do a quick sync when the new phone arrived - I had seen people post on Facebook so I made sure to cancel out of the update.

[wonderpug]

Well, my apps are all gone.  Super.  Thanks, iOS 5 update.

Updated iTunes
transferred iPhone purchases - learned that lesson already!
backed up my phone - I want to be safe!
Started the update, it backs up my phone also - I'm super safe!
<hours pass>
Welcome to iOS 5! - all my apps are gone grumpyface.jpg
Well, that's why I backed things up
<lengthy montage for restore process>
Return to a blue screen of death, reboot
<lengthy montage for restore process>
Welcome to iOS 5 - all my apps are still gone

My photos, texts, and contacts are still there, so I'm thinking this is because Apple and I have a fundamental disagreement over what a backup should do.  Apple thinks a backup just handles that core stuff, and that apps are covered under syncing.  I think a backup should be all inclusive.

If I've lost my game saves, well, that sucks, but if I lost the data in my password manager app, I'm going to be extra grumpy.  I can't think of any other apps that had critical information, and at least my photos, notes, and text messages were retained.

"It just works" slogan revoked.

[SkyLander]

At least the App store now has a list of the apps you bought instead of the guess and check shit it was before.

[CeeKay]

Well, my apps are all gone.  Super.  Thanks, iOS 5 update.

Updated iTunes
transferred iPhone purchases - learned that lesson already!
backed up my phone - I want to be safe!
Started the update, it backs up my phone also - I'm super safe!
<hours pass>
Welcome to iOS 5! - all my apps are gone grumpyface.jpg
Well, that's why I backed things up
<lengthy montage for restore process>
Return to a blue screen of death, reboot
<lengthy montage for restore process>
Welcome to iOS 5 - all my apps are still gone

My photos, texts, and contacts are still there, so I'm thinking this is because Apple and I have a fundamental disagreement over what a backup should do.  Apple thinks a backup just handles that core stuff, and that apps are covered under syncing.  I think a backup should be all inclusive.

If I've lost my game saves, well, that sucks, but if I lost the data in my password manager app, I'm going to be extra grumpy.  I can't think of any other apps that had critical information, and at least my photos, notes, and text messages were retained.

"It just works" slogan revoked.

did you wait for it to fully restore?  mine took about 45 minutes to restore everything after the initial install even though I could still access the phone (it wasn't locked with the Apple logo or 'synchronization in progress' wasn't on the screen) but iTunes still had the progress bar up.

needless to say the iOS5 update seems to have worked for me at least.

[rickfc]

Well, my apps are all gone.  Super.  Thanks, iOS 5 update.

Updated iTunes
transferred iPhone purchases - learned that lesson already!
backed up my phone - I want to be safe!
Started the update, it backs up my phone also - I'm super safe!
<hours pass>
Welcome to iOS 5! - all my apps are gone grumpyface.jpg
Well, that's why I backed things up
<lengthy montage for restore process>
Return to a blue screen of death, reboot
<lengthy montage for restore process>
Welcome to iOS 5 - all my apps are still gone

My photos, texts, and contacts are still there, so I'm thinking this is because Apple and I have a fundamental disagreement over what a backup should do.  Apple thinks a backup just handles that core stuff, and that apps are covered under syncing.  I think a backup should be all inclusive.

If I've lost my game saves, well, that sucks, but if I lost the data in my password manager app, I'm going to be extra grumpy.  I can't think of any other apps that had critical information, and at least my photos, notes, and text messages were retained.

"It just works" slogan revoked.

Also, sometimes you need to restore from backup a second time to restore your apps and folders. That's how I had to do it.

[Roman]

my iPad update took forever too.

Once it was all done and started synching the apps - that took the longest. Painful.

[gellar]

my iPad update took forever too.

Once it was all done and started synching the apps - that took the longest. Painful.

Ditto.  I think it was a 60 min process for me all told.  64GB iPad 1.

Can't upgrade my phone yet.  Hopefully will be able to next week.

[leo8877]

I had to do a restore on my phone, but all my apps and photos are there after the update.

[wonderpug]

I had to do a restore on my phone, but all my apps and photos are there after the update.

Seriously?  Before the update, did you have all your apps synched?  What am I doing wrong here?

[gellar]

I had to do a restore on my phone, but all my apps and photos are there after the update.

Seriously?  Before the update, did you have all your apps synched?  What am I doing wrong here?

When I hit the restore button post update, it had two specific restore progress bars (sequentially).  First Apps, then Music and Video.

[leo8877]

I had to do a restore on my phone, but all my apps and photos are there after the update.

Seriously?  Before the update, did you have all your apps synched?  What am I doing wrong here?

When I hit the restore button post update, it had two specific restore progress bars (sequentially).  First Apps, then Music and Video.

Yeah I synced and backed up everything just through iTunes.

It was 2 hours to restore the phone and firmware and then restore from my latest backup and then sync my apps to phone.  3 distinct processes it looked like for me.

[Purge]

My phone is unlocked (AT&T phone riding on the Rogers airwaves) so I need base-band preservation.

I've got a few days to watch everyone elses explosions before a decent JB is out with proper baseband. Thankfully the reports I've read show that redsn0w 9.x are supported on the iOS5 JB's.

[Devil]

Whole ordeal took about 6 hours last night.

Hate that I have 400 Apple IDs now, but things seem to be working well.

[wonderpug]

Are the geo-fences 4GS only also?