Items tagged with iPhone 4S
Fire-prone batteries are nothing new when it come to electronics. Roughly a decade ago, Sony-manufactured batteries were under the microscope for defects. More recently, Samsung found itself forced to issue multiple recalls on its Galaxy Note 7 smartphone due to defective batteries causing fires. In that case, Samsung eventually fingered the "irregularly sized" battery inside the smartphone as the culprit. Apple has stayed clear of any major battery issues with its iPhone line until now. A suit has been filed against Apple by State Farm insurance company and Wisconsin resident Xai Thao. Thao was a State Farm customer and according to the lawsuit, a defective iPhone 4S "failed" and "started a...
Read more...
Do you remember that 80s flick Cocoon, where senior citizens received new leases on life (along with youthful exuberance) by taking a dip in a pool that was occupied by alien lifeforms? Well, Apple looks to have its own fountain of youth for older iOS devices in the form of iOS 9. As we reported earlier this year, Apple is looking to hold the line when it comes to adding a wealth of new features to the next version of iOS. Instead, Apple is working overtime to squash existing bugs and make iOS 9 its most stable release ever at launch. To use a past example from Cupertino, the move from iOS 8 to iOS 9 should be similar to the upgrade from OS X Leopard to Snow Leopard. Today, serial Apple leaker...
Read more...
Apple iPhone 4 and 4S owners haven't much time to celebrate the release of iOS 6, which introduces a bazillion new features, along with a nifty panoramic picture mode. Unfortunately, for some users, all the goodness of iOS 6 has come at the expense of battery life. Yep, here we go again. It seems like shortened battery life is always an issue with an Apple product at any given time, and in this particular case, iPhone 4 and 4S owners have taken their complaints to the Cupertino company's support forum. "Some is massively eating battery life in 6.0. I have a 4S, and I had great battery life. 8AM-5PM workday and I would have 50 percent life left," Apple forum user Chris Howard explains. "I just...
Read more...
Apple beat Samsung to a pulp in court over patent infringement claims and is now owed over a billion dollars in damages, but when it comes to stateside smartphone shipments, Samsung has reason to boast. The company's flagship Galaxy S III device topped the iPhone 4S in smartphone sales in the U.S. in August, which is the first time that's happened. "We believe this is the first month since the iPhone 4S launched in October 2011 that it was not the top-selling smartphone in the U.S. market," said T. Michael Walkley, a Canaccord Genuity analyst. Be careful not to read too much into that. American consumers aren't boycotting Apple by any stretch, they're just preparing for the iPhone 5 launch. Apple...
Read more...
In addition to the new lower price on the iPhone 4S from Sprint, the wireless carrier is now offering a $100 gift card to new users who buy a smartphone over the Internet. Just one week ago, Sprint lowered the price of the 16GB iPhone 4S to $149.99 on its website. This deal comes a month before Apple is expected to reveal the next generation of the popular smartphone. Could it be that Sprint has excess inventory? Or is it just a back-to-school promotion? Regardless, this is a pretty sweet deal on a very popular phone. As you'll recall, Apple retail stores are now secretly price matching iPhone discounts available elsewhere, so Sprint's website may not be your only avenue for picking up an iPhone...
Read more...
You're not really supposed to know about this because Apple isn't advertising it, and heck, it might not even be true. But word on the Web is that Apple's retail locations have authorized employees to price match discounted iPhone 4 and 4S models, provided the lower price is from a major retailer or wireless carrier. In other words, Apple isn't going to price match that $25 iPhone 4S Ed from the down the street is trying to hawk from his trench coat, but if Best Buy or Sprint advertises a stellar deal, you're golden, Ponyboy. There is a limit. According to the source who revealed the secret policy and internal screenshot to MacRumors, Apple is willing to knock up to $49.01 off the price of an...
Read more...
If you've recently bought a popular smartphone and are having trouble with it, Fixya's July update may have information on solving your headaches. The blog lists data on devices as recent as the Samsung Galaxy SIII, and details common issues with the iPhone 4S, Nokia Lumia 900, HTC Titan II, Galaxy Nexus, and the BlackBerry Curve (for the six people out their using one). The breakdown of issues is rather interesting. Microphone problems top the charts for both Samsung devices. With the Galaxy Nexus, which has been out for awhile, there's a list of ROMs or software programs that may fix the problem. S III owners are comparatively out of luck, the best the blog can offer is to look for Android...
Read more...
The iPhone 5 rumor mill is spinning up again after apparently taking a few weeks off due to heat exhaustion. The latest buzz coming out of Taiwan is that the device will feature a quad-core processor based on Samsung's Exynos platform. That would make the Exynos 4412 the most likely candidate for the device, and we've already seen an excellent phone built around that platform -- the Samsung Galaxy S III (although the US version we've looked at here is dual-core Qualcomm Krait). If the Galaxy SIII is a great phone (and it is), then why would we want to see a quad-core iPhone 5? Simple, we don't. The iPhone has always been about making real-world improvements rather than saturating the market with...
Read more...
Cricket today announced plans to sell pre-paid iPhone 4/S devices next month, which would make it the first (and only) U.S. carrier to do so. Customers will have two base models to choose from, an 8GB iPhone 4 in black or white for $400, or a 16GB iPhone 4S for $500, also available in black or white. To go along with Cricket's no-contract iPhone 4/4S models, the carrier is rolling out a $55 per month all-inclusive unlimited talk, text, and data plan, the latter of which is becoming increasingly rare as wireless carriers dispense with all-you-can download data buffets in favor of tiered price plans. "Our customers want the best products available and we are excited to bring iPhone to our pre-paid...
Read more...
T-Mobile's Chief Marketing Officer Cole Brodman has an interesting idea for revamping the mobile industry -- and it involves killing the subsidy plans that have driven smartphone adoption over the past five years. Brodman was participating in a round-table at the Geekwire tech summit; other speakers included Jon Irwin, the president of Rhapsody), Mike McSherry, CEO of Swype, and David Bluhm, CEO of Z2Live. Asked what one thing he'd change if he had the power to do so, Brodman pointed to subsidy programs. “It [device subsidies] actually distorts what devices actually cost and it causes OEMs, carriers — everybody to compete on different playing fields," the CMO said. "I think it is...
Read more...
It may have taken forever and a day, but owners of iPhone 4S smartphones and iPad 2 tablet PCs running the latest stable build of iOS (5.0.1) can finally jailbreak their Apple gear. Don't take it for granted. The Chronic Dev Team, which unveiled the iOS jailbreak code on Green Poison, said hacking the A5 isn't exactly a walk in the park. "The ridiculously complex combination of exploits-within-exploits that make this iOS jailbreak possible have consumed thousands of hours of brain-power & effort from a legion of world-renowned hackers, several of whom have been working diligently on this project since the dual-core A5 processor was unveiled by Apple last March," the Chronic Dev Team said....
Read more...
If there's one fact that's emerged after Steve Jobs' death this fall, it's that the man hated Android. Really hated. As in, declared thermonuclear war on it and dedicated himself (and Apple's bank account) to wiping it from existence. In light of Steve's Khan-like level of loathing for Google's operating system, it's a wee bit surprising to hear the "other" Steve sing its praises. “My primary phone is the iPhone,” Woz said. “I love the beauty of it. But I wish it did all the things my Android does, I really do." According to Woz, the iPhone is a better option for anyone who's plugged into the Mac ecosystem or suffers from a fear of computers, but Android wins out in terms of...
Read more...
Siri is the most compelling reason to upgrade to an iPhone 4S, but it's obvious that Apple's locking the software to that particular phone in order to convince iPhone 4 owners that they just have to have the latest and greatest. Why, technically speaking, won't Siri work on other iOS devices? Looks like it's due to a choice of Apple's. But thanks to genius hackers roaming the planet, there's a new solution. Spire is a new solution that allows for Siri to be installed previously unsupported, but jailbroken, devices. Spire is a small download, but while installing it will download Siri itself (directly from Apple). The whole process uses around 100MB of data, so you definitely want to be on Wi-Fi...
Read more...
We hope everyone is able to spend the holidays with the people that mean the most to them, but we also recognize that sometimes it's impossible to get everyone together. When you can't be there in person, a phone call may be the next best thing. With these smartphones, you'll be able to call your far-away siblings, parents, and other important people in your life to wish them Happy Holidays, perhaps even with direct video chat for quality face time. HotHardware Holiday Gift Guide: Smartphones...
Read more...
This Holiday Gift Guide is sponsored by Epson—makers of the World’s Fastest 2-sided inkjet printer, the Epson WorkForce Pro. Run your business at full speed with Epson. We hope everyone is able to spend the holidays with the people that mean the most to them, but we also recognize that sometimes it's impossible to get everyone together. When you can't be there in person, a phone call may be the next best thing. With these smartphones, you'll be able to call your far-away siblings, parents, and other important people in your life to wish them Happy Holidays, perhaps even with a direct video chat for quality face time. Apple iPhone 4S (HotHardware Review) Apple's latest iPhone...
Read more...
Something smells rotten in Cupertino, and we're pretty sure it's coming from Apple. Following a raft of complaints from iOS device owners over poor battery life when running iOS 5, Apple responded with an update -- iOS 5.0.1 -- that was supposed to address the issue, and according to Apple, it did solve the problem for most users. Forum complaints suggest otherwise, as we reported here, and now Apple is halfheartedly acknowledging that there might still be an issue. "The recent iOS software update addressed many of the battery issues that some customers experienced on their iOS 5 device," Apple said in a statement, according to AllThingsD. "We continue to investigate a few remaining issues."...
Read more...
Been holding out for an unlocked iPhone 4S in the States? It's here! Apple recently started selling completely unlocked iPhone 4S handsets on their Web site, giving those who managed to cling tight to their funds a chance to buy an iPhone 4S off-contract and with no carrier lock involved. If you aren't familiar with unlocked phones, the unlocked iPhone 4S is a GSM handset that has no software or hardware ties to AT&T (the only GSM carrier in America to offer the phone). In other words, you pay a full, unsubsidized price for the phone, and then you can use any Micro-SIM worldwide, without having to pay AT&T's roaming rates. If you're interested, the phone can be ordered from the Via link...
Read more...
Apple yesterday rolled out its iOS 5.0.1 software update which, among other things, was supposed to stomp out a bug that causes iPhones and other iOS devices to lose battery life faster than they should. It also added things like multitasking gestures for the original iPad, better voice recognition for Australian users, and got rid of another bug with Documents in the Cloud, but it was the battery drain issue users were most looking forward to having resolved. Unfortunately, it doesn't appear the update did any good. Those affected by the bug -- and not everyone is -- took to Apple's support forum to rage their frustration over the persistent issue, even after applying the update. "Updated about...
Read more...
Developers have access to a new beta version of iOS 5 -- version 5.0.1 -- that's supposed to fix battery life issues reportedly plaguing some iPhone and iPod touch users who installed Apple's latest and greatest mobile OS. iPhone 4S owners have been particularly vocal in voicing concerns that their shiny new smartphone is giving up the ghost well before their previous iPhone device used to, even though their usage habits are the same (we haven't run into this issue ourselves). What gives? According to the release notes, Apple discovered and fixed a bug affecting battery life. What exactly that bug is, Apple didn't elaborate, but the Cupertino company did outline other changes included in iOS...
Read more...
AT&T is no longer the only wireless carrier selling Apple's iPhone device, but the company is quick to let everyone know it still has a leg up on the competition in downloads speeds. The iPhone 4S supports AT&T's HSPA+ network, and even though your chances of hitting theoretical maximum downlink speeds of 14.4Mpbs are nil, it's proving to be a selling point nonetheless. As one user in the video below states, "There service is faster than the others, I've heard." "It’s no surprise that customers are clamoring for iPhone 4S and they want it to run on a network that lets them download twice as fast as competitors’," said Ralph de la Vega, President and CEO, AT&T Mobility...
Read more...
Having trouble with your "virtual personal assistant," as Apple likes to refer to its Siri voice recognition software? You're not alone. Here we are three days after the iPhone 4S launch and users are still taking to Twitter and Apple's support forum to voice their frustration that Siri is experiencing network connectivity quirks. It's been an intermittent problem on our end as well, and it's been really frustrating trying to play with an awesome toy that doesn't always want to play back. And let there be no mistake, Siri lives up to its billing as an awesome piece of technology, albeit only when it's working, of course. The problem doesn't seem to be carrier dependent and users report connectivity...
Read more...
Cooling their jets? No way. While pundits were quick to declare Apple's iPhone 4S as nothing more than a rehashed iPhone 4 with a few new tricks, the general populace hardly sees it that way. While the company has sold 1+ million phones on opening weekends before, they've never moved this many. After a weekend's worth of sales, Apple announced that 4 million of their new 4S phones were sold. Yes. 4 Million. With an "M." That's more than a little crazy when you consider the realities surrounding this launch. It took well over a year to get the 4S onto shelves, and just about everyone following Apple was expecting an iPhone 5 -- not just some overhauled iPhone 4. Early reviews weren't exactly gushing,...
Read more...
