[citation][nom]drapacioli[/nom]Anyone who states the iPhone 4S is catching up to the nexus one is confusing the nexus one with the nexus galaxy prime, and from the 4 to 4S, yes they have caught up, but they have not blown away the competition, as the Galaxy S2 and Galaxy Nexus (also the upcoming Droid RAZR) are the flagship android phones right now and are the 4S's main competitor. And true, the iPhone 4S has the fastest mobile GPU in the world, but that does not mean the Galaxy S2 is not a more powerful overall phone. The S2 has a better processor (CPU, not GPU. Apple might have been better if they did not underclock the processor, but then Apple wouldn't have such good battery life), more RAM, expandable storage, roughly the same camera (iPhone 4S is most likely better), NFC, and a superior display. Apple has a superior Camera, more stable and fluid OS, a Retina Display (Retina vs screen size is mostly user preference), better battery life, and probably one or two more things I missed as I haven't owned a 4S, just a 4. To the end user, they probably could never tell the difference on anything except maybe the GPU. True, the SGS2 has more RAM but iOS is more optimized for memory usage. The phones are essentially equal, and sales will tell which one is better in the eyes of the consumer.Siri could be great, but it's still beta and only on iOS. A Siri alternative is available in Vlingo ( I don't care if it's "less intelligent," it still does voice commands) and a Siri copy will likely make it's way to Android too. There's no stopping that, unless Apple releases Siri for Android (and that will never happen).[/citation]
1 - They weren't confusing the Nexus One with the Nexus Prime, they are just genuinely that obtuse.
2 - From the 4 to 4S they didn't 'catch up' - they set the new highest benchmark, the fastest CPU/GPU combo in ANY phone, combined with leading battery life, most apps, and unique features like Siri.
3 - The Galaxy S2 and the Nexus are indeed the most competitors. The Nexus has the same GPU as the Samsung Galaxy S (2 years old). The Galaxy S2 has a worse GPU than the iPhone 4S, like you said. However, the Samsung Galaxy S2 DOES NOT necessarily have a faster CPU, which you claim entirely without foundation. In fact, preliminary benchmarks describe exactly the opposite picture. It's this exact naivety of just assuming the CPU is faster because of higher GHZ that is so ridiculous. It's why I evidence all of my points.
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Also, bear in mind that iOS interface is entirely GPU accelerated, so this higher performance in possibly the CPU combined with the certainly much faster GPU is a massive boon for the iPhone 4S. It is certainly immediately obvious when you try both phones side by side, and affects every single app.
4 - The RAM argument I agree is irrelevant because iOS handles multi tasking far more elegantly and never suffers slowdown as apps use memory like Android does.
5 - Given all of the above, and the fact that Apple has a better reputation for quality, manufacturing, customer satisfaction, more apps, and unique features like Siri and iCloud, wireless TV link, the only benefit of the SGS2 is the larger, lower resolution screen. It's a high price to pay to sacrifice everything else on the phone, just for a larger screen - it's very illogical to describe the phones as equal.
6 - Siri has been widely reviewed and compared to every single Android alternative, and has been found to be superior in every single case, despite being a beta. Not only is there no equivalent on Android right now, Siri will only get better at exactly the same rate that Android is playing catchup. As for the fact that that catchup will happen at some point in time, I find that irrelevant, people want to use their phone now. You may not care if the Siri rip-offs on Android are not as good, but a lot of people actually do want a more functional system that they don't have to learn commands to. Voice commands are so primitive and old it's ridiculous that they're even mentioned in the same breath as Siri. It suggests to me you've never actually tried it.