The Galaxy S2: an iPhone-4S-killer?

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The Galaxy S2: an iPhone-4S-killer?

The received wisdom is that Apple fans will just keep buying iPhones – or indeed iAnything – even if another product is technically better, just because Apple has that reputation and credibility. The reputation that it'll work right out of the box, do exactly what you want it to do, even if you're not especially technically capable.
And the credibility that says, well, just that you're stylish, more stylish than anyone who doesn't own an iPhone. These things are both underpinned by superb design that ensures Apple phones are both user-friendly and easy on the eye.
Has the Samsung Galaxy S2 already beaten Apple at their own game, even though it's significantly older than the iPhone 4S? Samsung has sold over 10 million Galaxy S2 deals already, making it the most popular Android phone of all time. Yet even though this latest Apple phone launch has met with more disappointment than any before, iPhone 4S deals will still outperform the S2 with ease, guaranteed (1 million pre-orders were placed on the first day they became available, before it was even released).
Let's take a look at whether those sales figures will be justified.
Look and Feel
First impressions are something of a tie. The Galaxy S2 is slimmer and smaller than the iPhone 4S, and looks just as cool, but feels distinctly less robust, largely because it eschews the current high-end smartphone trend for one-piece, machined-aluminium casings in favour of a lighter but probably weaker construction.
Still, at a mere 116g in weight and a shade under 8.5mm thick, it just feels a lot niftier than the iPhone's 140g and 9.3mm. If you live the kind of active life most of us do, though, you'll probably prefer the tougher-seeming iPhone, just to avoid the risk of that sickening feeling when you drop your £400 Galaxy on the floor and bits fly off with a loud cracking noise...
One thing that will be off-putting for some iPhone fans is that the 4S looks exactly like the iPhone 4. While Android fans may drool over processor speeds and storage space, many iPhone owners love being in a position to gloat over owning the latest Apple phone. The 4S lacks this gloating power.
Apple's big boast is still ease of use, but again the Galaxy easily lives up to this standard, with the Social Hub feature allowing you to seamlessly integrate several different email accounts, social networks or other communications platforms, finally bringing a bit of order to our 21st century, over-connected, over-informed chaos.
Siri
Still, the iPhone 4S potentially scores more highly here, overall, thanks to Siri, the virtual personal assistant whose services come built in to the phone. The Galaxy may be convenient, but it's still just a phone; Siri should take convenience to a whole new level, and is the next best thing to a personal social secretary most of us will ever have.
Again, "she" will offer that classic Apple convenience, that better-than-life quality that has sold so many phones. Siri makes using your phone seem like you're not using your phone, in that you just talk to her rather than tapping the screen – and she responds by booking you a restaurant table, or telling you whether it's cold enough outside that you'll need a coat.
…or so Apple Claim
This is provided that Siri actually works like Apple claims in its marketing of course. Siri is still in beta, meaning there are probably some issues with it. Voice controls exist on the Galaxy S2, although they are not quite as well integrated or far reaching. Unless you are partially sighted or have difficulty using your fingers though, Siri (and voice control in general) could prove to be another much lauded feature that rarely gets used.
On the other hand it could prove to be as big of a technological revolution as touchscreens were a few years back. Touchscreen phones had been around for many years before the original iPhone of course, but it was the Apple device that made them the market norm. Likewise, we have already seen voice controls on phones but so far they have yet to meet with any real appreciation.
Personally I am still not convinced by it. The technology behind Siri may have evolved quite a bit the last few years, and it may even be as slick and understanding as Apple claim. Yet Siri's voice still sounds like a Texas Instruments toy from the 1980s. Voice synthesis, it seems, has not made much progress at all – even if voice recognition has. If I were to ever truly consider using voice controls on a phone, I would want something more pleasant and life-like to listen to than a female professor Hawking.
So while Siri could potentially make the iPhone 4S so much more convenient for some phone users to use, it is likely to end up like FaceTime as an overhyped feature that very few people really have any need for or desire to use.
Processing Speed
The processors on the two phones share a similar spec, both being dual-core. The Galaxy S2's is nominally a little faster, at 1.2GHz compared to the iPhone's 1GHz, but the iPhone 4S chip is the Apple A5, the same one as that found in the iPad 2, and so is tried-and-tested on a high-end multitasking multimedia device. It should be more than capable of running the iPhone.
Being released several months after the S2, the iPhone 4S could have really wowed with a 1.5GHz dual core chip or something. Yet it was unveiled to the world with a processor that doesn't even match the Galaxy in terms of speed. The point here is that most iPhone owners don't really care about processor speeds, and the iPhone 4S was merely bringing itself more into line with current technological trends.
But with the Galaxy S3 being up for release in just a few months, and some rumours suggesting a staggering quad core 1.8GHz chip in use, the iPhone 4S will most likely not have the staying power to remain up-to-date by the time the iPhone 5 / Galaxy S4 make their way to the stores this time next year.
Cameras
The two cameras, likewise, are closely comparable. Both are around the 8 Megapixel mark, though initial reports put the iPhone camera as more capable and versatile in a variety of different circumstances. On the upside, the Galaxy S2 can take USB pen drives, plugged directly into it with no need for an adaptor, for taking more snaps or holding more music than you fit on its 16GB memory.
The most expensive iPhone 4S has up to 64GB memory, so though it doesn't take a USB stick without an adaptor, you won't need on quite so soon. But with that model costing well over £1000 it is unlikely to be the most popular option, with most prospective 4S owners choosing the 16GB-with-no-option-to-upgrade model.
So, on balance, which should you go for? As a lot of people had noted on October 4th at the Apple keynote, the iPhone 4S is not drastically different to the iPhone 4 – and the Galaxy S2 was already more impressive than that a few months ago. The big difference is with Siri voice controls, a feature that the majority of people will probably not use for more than 5 minutes to see what it is about.
The iPhone range is now comparable to the Galaxy S2 in terms of processing and camera, but with the Galaxy 2S being around £100 cheaper, these days, that might make all the difference.