The Hong Kong version started shipping on the 11th, and I got mine on the 12th. Scalpers are really efficient these days; it arrived in Shanghai the very next day. It’s been 10 days since I got it, so I thought I’d write up a brief review.
1. Purchasing
At the moment, the Hong Kong version is probably the best choice, but due to supply shortages, prices are rising steadily. The iPhone is currently the only Apple product that does not come with a global warranty. Apple’s warranty policy for iPhones restricts service to the country of sale. Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan share a mutual warranty agreement; however, since it hasn’t officially launched in Mainland China yet, warranty service there isn’t available for now—it will be once it launches.
That’s why waiting for the Hong Kong version makes sense. Of course, if you don’t care about the warranty, the most cost-effective options would be the unlocked Canadian or US versions. Note that for the US version, there are factory-unlocked models from Apple and contract-free models sold by AT&T; theoretically, there shouldn’t be much difference between them.
Please pay attention to the following when purchasing:
- Check for any cosmetic defects
- Verify that the serial number on the box, the SIM tray, and in the system settings all match
- Hong Kong version model numbers end with ZP
- Check the activation date on the official website. Of course, this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t buy it if it wasn’t activated for the first time recently; just weigh the pros and cons yourself.
Here are a few photos of the exterior:
For white lovers:
From another angle:
Posing with B&W C5 earphones:
2. Signal and Battery
This is also a reason to choose the 4S over the 4. The dual-antenna design resolves the ‘Antennagate’ issue and strengthens the signal. Everything works perfectly with my Unicom SIM card. I haven’t encountered any of those ‘Welcome Screen’ loops or signal drop issues often reported with China Mobile cards, so I’m quite satisfied so far.
As for the battery, based on current usage with 3G, data, and location services all turned on, it lasts about 6-7 hours of continuous use (active screen time, excluding standby). Performance is no worse than the iPhone 4, but it might still fall short for some heavy users. You might want to consider getting an external battery pack, like the one I bought:2000mAh Mophie Juice Pack Boost
3. System and Apps
Not much needs to be said about apps. I restored directly from my iPod Touch backup. Aside from having to re-enter various passwords, everything else transferred almost completely. When I opened Fruit Ninja, the game was even paused exactly where I left off on my Touch.
I still recommend using legitimate apps. The domestic App Store now settles transactions in RMB, which is actually cheaper than USD pricing. The built-in Chinese input method in iOS 5 has excellent autocorrect capabilities and is very smart; you rarely need to manually select characters when typing a full sentence. iMessage has also saved me quite a bit on SMS fees.
I’d like to mention the notification systems in iOS versus Android. On Android, if you want notifications from an app, that app must run in the background. In iOS, notifications are handled entirely by the Notification Center server, and apps added to the Notification Center can be closed. Leaving aside the fact that running many background apps consumes more memory and battery, on Android, after swapping the battery and rebooting, you have to reopen all those apps just to get their notifications again.
4. Siri
I played around with Siri a bit right after getting the phone. There are already plenty of funny interactions online, so I won’t go into detail. As for practicality, it doesn’t support Chinese yet. Since my Contacts and Calendar are in Chinese, features like location-based reminders, scheduling events, or sending texts to specific people are currently unusable…
Additionally, Location Services aren’t fully supported in China yet, so functions like finding restaurants or navigation are missing. Otherwise, its capabilities are mostly limited to Google and Wolfram Alpha searches. It will become much more useful once it supports more websites. On a side note, the integrated voice dictation feature in the English keyboard does significantly speed up English typing.
Actually, the function I use most often right now is setting alarms… Before bed, I just tell it ‘Wake me up at 7,’ and that’s it. For now, I don’t think buying a 4S solely for this feature is worth it.
5. Camera
This was the biggest reason for upgrading to the 4S. The camera quality is excellent. Here are a few photos taken yesterday while out and about. These photos haven’t been processed on a computer; post-processing was done exclusively using the built-in editing tools in the Camera+ app:
People’s Square, Shanghai Art Museum
Central Plaza, Huaihai Road
Super Brand Mall
Apple Store Pudong
Japanese Stir-fried Udon
Hong Kong Plaza
Häagen-Dazs
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