Apple iPhone 4S Review: The Best Gets Better

Build & Design

As mentioned earlier, the iPhone 4S looks glaringly identical to the iPhone 4 in both design and weight. This year-old design withstands the test of time and is still one of the most elegant looking phones on the market.

Like its predecessor, the iPhone 4S retains the industrial solid design with a thin and sturdy build. It's only 0.37 inches thick, 4.5 inches tall, and 2.31 inches wide (9.3mm x 115.2mm x 58.6mm); and the familiar form factor is not a bad thing at all. There is still the one concern: the glass back that is easy to shatter... but this is still a beautiful phone nonetheless.

Screen
No it's not a 4+-inch screen as rumored; it has retained the 3.5-inch screen size since the first iPhone of 2007. The iPhone 4S sports the year old 960 x 640 retina display on the 3.5-inch touchscreen and it still looks fantastic by today's standards, although some may argue that it's starting to look a little small compared to the larger AMOLED screens that its competitors are offering. It would be nice if the screen were upgraded to at least 3.75 inches, especially for those who are always on the road and are dependent on their PDAs for emails and work. Even movies and games on the phone would benefit more from having more screen real estate.

Touchscreen Keyboard
Because of how solid the iPhone 4S is built overall, typing on the virtual keyboard is very easy and accurate, especially for those who have small to medium-sized hands and the sensitivity is great. Pinch to zoom, swiping, and tap typing are executed with ease and haven't changed that much over the years. The problem still remains for those who have larger hands and might find it difficult to navigate at times so it will take a while to get used to. I have medium sized hands and I "fat-finger" once in awhile when I type on the screen so a larger form factor will definitely help alleviate that.

Other Buttons & Controls
The accessible buttons are simply laid out with the familiar Home button that we've seen on all iPod Touches and iPhones (sorry, no narrow-but-wide Home button as had been rumored): Volume Down and Up which you can now use to snap pictures, the Mute switch, and the sleep/power button up on top. Nowadays it's all about the touchscreen.