The air is still blue with people cursing Apple for the pricing of the iPhone 4S in India (why the service providers hawking it have not taken flak is another story). And let’s face it, at a beginning price of Rs 44,500, this is one of the most expensive phones to have hit the Indian market of late. Still, I plan to buy one. Read on for my rationale.
Before I embark on this, let me make a few points – a. I am not saying that the iPhone 4S is an affordable phone; b. I am not anti-Android – my primary devices for the last two years have been Android ones most of the time; c. I am not an Apple or iPhone fanboy – I criticised the first iPhone heavily; d. I am looking for a high-end device, not a regular middle-path one; e. No, Apple did not pay us for this piece.
All clear? Right, let me marshall my thoughts, such as they are. I would be purchasing an iPhone 4S, notwithstanding its price tag, for the following reasons:
The app performance edge
Forget about all the figures being chirruped by other platforms – the stark fact is that iOS has better apps than the competition at the moment. Which is the reason why one can do so much with the iPhone. And let’s face it, although most iOS apps will run perfectly well on the iPhone 3GS and the iPhone 4 (both of which run iOS 5), the iPhone 4S is likely to handle stuff like heavy duty games, video editing and the like a whole lot better because of its extra processing power.
Also, most app developers are likely to start coming out with apps that are more suited for the iPhone 4S than the earlier editions of the device. It happened with the iPad, and it is going to happen with the iPhone as well. No, it is not silly to invest in an iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4 even now, but if you have the budget, you will get most bang for your buck with the iPhone 4S, especially if you are the heavy duty gaming and app using type (guilty!).
Siri…
So apps will run much better on the new iPhone, and heck, one of the apps I really, really want to try out is Siri. I have seen a couple of friends using and it seems such a far cry from the stilted and erratic voice command apps we have had so far. If you like Vlingo, you will adore Siri. The option of just being able to search for something or get information about something or do a whole lot of tasks, by just speaking to your phone? You bet I will pay extra for it. This is the way tech is supposed to be – the way we saw it in science-fiction.
The camera
I have absolutely no talent as a shutterbug but after my initial cynicism about cameras in phones, I cannot help but feel that a good camera on a phone is increasingly a must-have. Simply because it is so much easier to click and share images from a phone rather than a camera where you in most cases need to transfer images to a computer or other online device. I actually liked the much-maligned Nokia N8 just because of the convenience its superb shooter gave me.
Now, from what I can see, the iPhone 4S has arguably one of the best cameras seen on a cellphone (the one on the iPhone 4 is one of the best I have seen), and of course, it has better image tweaking apps than any other platform. And those apps will run a lot faster because of better specs. And full HD video too. No, I would not buy a phone solely because of the camera on it – but the quality of the camera on a device can sway me. And in the case of the iPhone 4S, it has done so. I love sharing images on my social networks, and this seems one heck of a device to use for that purpose, especially after some very ordinary efforts by the Android crowd, although a few Windows Phone devices do come with very good cameras, albeit with fewer tweaking apps.
Absence of obsolesence
I have invested in three Android devices. And all three were outdated within a few months of their purchase – Google released new versions of its OS, and the manufacturers took their own sweet time getting them on to their devices. The net result was that I was left holding a device with great specs and an old OS. Not a good feeling.
That has almost never happened to me with an iPhone as each edition has been supported for 2-3 years. Yes, it does not come cheap, but thanks to Apple’s records of providing updates to devices directly, at least I am not going to feel that I am holding a device whose OS updates depend on the whims and fancies of manufacturers, who would rather I bought a new device altogether. Symbian and Windows Phone both score over Android in this department, but ah, they have not the app-interface one-two combo of the iOS device group.
No crazy price drops and fluctuations
Apple is the only brand whose device prices are not likely to change for a significant period of time. So, unlike in the case of some other products whose price dips significantly within weeks or even fluctuates crazily from outlet to outlet, an Apple product is likely to cost the same as its launch price for a year at the very least. Which is why I do not mind investing a very high amount in it – I know I am not being conned into shelling out extra cash by manufacturers trying to cash in on some launch hype.
No “even better” device coming for a while
I know that Apple is unlikely to start talking of a new iPhone for the better part of a year, unlike its competition, which is already yakking about new devices which will be better than the ones it placed in the market barely a few months ago. When I buy an iPhone, I know it is not going to be bettered by Apple for quite a while. And that is very reassuring, simply because it is the only device of its kind. There will always be a better Android or Windows Phone in the works, but we are unlikely to see more than one iPhone a year.
Service and support
If I am investing a hefty amount in a device – and Rs 44,500 is a fair bit for me – I expect it to be backed up by great service. And so far, I have never had any complaints from Apple. Three of my friends had iPhones that developed defects in the warranty period – they were replaced. Two others had an Android device and a Symbian device, which also malfunctioned in the warranty period – they were made to run to different service centers and in the end were given badly scratched and repaired devices. No prizes for guessing what I would prefer.
So those are my seven reasons for buying the iPhone 4S when it becomes available. Yes, I know they might not make sense to anybody. Honestly speaking, if you are someone who does not love fussing with apps, does not get too bothered about camera quality, has no qualms about an older OS, applauds when a manufacturer launches a new and improved devices within a few months of your having purchased their latest product, and feels not the slightest twinge when the price of their device dips by a sixth within a few weeks of its release, you do not really need to invest in something like this.
Unfortunately or fortunately, these things do matter to me. No, I am not a mainstream phone user – I put myself in the power smartphone user category. I love my apps and like the feeling that I am using a device that is unlikely to get dated soon, and that I am getting good service and support for the money I have invested in it. Yes, Rs 44,500 is a lot of money. Yes, I can buy a decent laptop for that much. But I do feel that I am getting a fair bit for that price and er…when on earth did you go looking for a phone and end up buying a laptop?
Which is why you will find me buying the iPhone 4S. And no matter what people say about how expensive the device is, I wager I won’t be the only one.
