After Flunking the iPhone 4, Consumer Reports Gives iPhone 4S Passing Grade

Posted 11/08/2011 at 12:29pm | by Paul Lilly

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Apple's iPhone 4 has had a bear of a time trying to impress the folks over at Consumer Reports. After a round of testing, Consumer Reports said it was able to confirm a design defect relating to the antenna placement and how it could potentially lead to dropped calls, and that was the reason it could not recommend the device. And when Apple rolled out a CDMA version of the iPhone 4 for Verizon customers, Consumer Reports called it a "middle-aged device" and said customers should wait for a newer model. So how does the iPhone 4S rank?

Much better, as far as Consumer Reports is concerned. In fact, it's the first iPhone 4 model to finally receive a recommendation by the nonprofit testing and information organization.

"Overall, the new iPhone 4S scores higher in the Ratings than the iPhone 4, thanks to such enhancements as an upgraded camera, a faster 'dual-core' processor, and the addition of the intriguing Siri voice-activated feature, which accepts and responds to verbal commands in a conversational manner, using a synthetic-sounding female voice," Consumer Reports said.

It also did not exhibit the same reception flaw as the original iPhone 4, which continues to plague the original device and is the reason why it's still not on Consumer Reports' list of recommended models, the organization said.

Despite the above mentioned upgrades, Consumer Reports says they weren't enough for the iPhone 4S to outscore the best new Android-based phones in its Ratings. The top scorers include the Samsung Galaxy S II phones, Motorola Droid Bionic, and several other phones with larger displays and 4G connectivity.