iPhone 3G vs. iPhone 3G S: Big difference?

By Joseph Hanlon on 10 June 2009

If yesterday's iPhone 3G S announcement at Apple's developer conference left you a little confused or underwhelmed, don't worry: you're not alone.

In fact, we can't remember the last time a phone update was so seemingly insignificant, though the Nokia N95 8GB comes to mind. As with the build-up to the launch of the 3G last year, the weeks leading up to 8 June were speckled with rumours, but what was most interesting was that none of this speculation was especially outlandish. Those who tried their hand at photoshopping mock-up handsets stuck with a fairly familiar design, and those who guessed at improved hardware went no further than a front-facing video camera or an OLED display (we were gutted when this one wasn't true).

So let's take a closer look at the specs of both starting with physical dimensions:

Dimensions 115.5x62.1x12.3mm 115.5x62.1x12.3mm
Weight 135g 133g
Network GSM 850/900/1800/1900
HSDPA 850/1900/2100		 GSM 850/900/1800/1900
HSDPA 850/1900/2100
HSDPA 7.2Mbps 3.6Mbps
Storage capacity 16/32GB 8/16GB
Bluetooth v2.1 v2.0

Apple has also made up a chart of similarities and differences between the iPhones:

(Credit: Apple)

Most interesting in Apple's chart is video recording and battery life. All current iPhone 3Gs will be able to download the iPhone 3.0 firmware on 17 June and we would have suspected that video recording would be a software upgrade and not specific to the camera module. As for battery life, Apple is citing a 0-50 per cent increase in battery life; as in 0 per cent for talk-time, but 50 per cent for web browsing. It is nice to know that browsing would run the battery down as much, but as a phone first shouldn't we expect to see the improvements elsewhere?

What do you make of all of this? Is the iPhone 3G S a necessary and important step forward for Apple, or is it just a lot of hot air? Let us know in the talkback below, or jump on the forums.

Topics: 3g, 3gs, apple, apps, camera, iphone, mobile phone, video, cent, battery life

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Comments (29)

  • dj commented on 13/11/2009 06:10 Report abuse

    they have an app for radio

  • Ithika commented on 05/08/2009 05:03 Report abuse

    It certainly is surprising that Apple made such a fuss about a relatively minor upgrade. However, they have finally added all the things that previous iPhones lacked and stopped me from getting one.
    I will absolutely get a new iPhone 3Gs when my current contract (with the woeful LG Renoir) is up.
    The things that the iphone still can't do, for example video call or radio, are really quite insignificant. Frankly I've never used video calling despite having a video-call capable phone for the past 4 years. It's just too expensive! And why would you want a radio in what is essentially a 32GB ipod?

    And let's not forget that, with internet access, if you really wanted to, you could listen to radio stations online.

  • bj commented on 02/08/2009 22:46 Report abuse

    whats the point in having an iphone if you've got an ipod touch, or an ipod for that matter

  • Dalla commented on 29/06/2009 17:05 Report abuse

    @Blind-as-a-bat - radio? It's an iPod for crying out loud. Who wants a radio when they've got their entire music library at the touch of their fingers anyway?

  • Stipe commented on 28/06/2009 20:09 Report abuse

    Oh forgot to add 3gs weighs 2grams more than 3g so best to stick with 3g

  • Stipe commented on 28/06/2009 20:07 Report abuse

    you get mms with the update of the software for 3g anyway, not worth getting 3gs compass doesn't work bad reviews, and voice control? big whoop? you dont even see ppl using bluetooth headsets anymore. g2 by htc is better. but like sheep ppl follow shame on you lol all.

  • dd commented on 25/06/2009 21:47 Report abuse

    Radio? Video Calling?? MMS???

  • Gh0stly commented on 20/06/2009 23:35 Report abuse

    Great for new inductees to the iPhone world. Love the new 32GB size. Exactly what I was waiting for to finally make the switch :D That and tethering. Cut Copy Paste was also a seller.

  • TB commented on 17/06/2009 17:31 Report abuse

    Not enough of a change for me. I think Android is the way to go because you have dedicated mobile makers looking after the hardware and dedicated software developers looking after the OS.

  • Blind-as-a-bat commented on 16/06/2009 21:25 Report abuse

    The iPhone definitely lacks some things that your "typical" phone has e.g. radio, why can't Apple put a radio in! But it definitely does other things much better e.g. bright clear display, user interface, the touch interface. But what is going to make me upgrade to the 3GS (which I was not planning to) is its accessibility feature. I'm visually impaired and do struggle to see the small fonts of modern day phones. The iPhone 3GS has a zoom feature which can magnify the screen similar to the feature Apple offers in their OSX operating system.

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