What are all the differences between the iPhone 4 and the iPhone 4S? Is one best for me?

Please note that the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S both have been discontinued. However, this Q&A has been updated with current iOS support info and other details and is quite useful for anyone buying or selling either of these models on the used market.

With even a detailed look at any of the iPhone 4 models -- the iPhone 4 (GSM), iPhone 4 (GSM, Revision A), or iPhone 4 (CDMA) -- and the iPhone 4S one would be unlikely to notice major differences.

However, even though they may not have major differences visible to the naked eye -- there nevertheless are major differences between the iPhone 4 and the iPhone 4S.

Photo Credit: Apple, Inc.

External Differences

The iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S models all use the same general all stainless steel body design and a thin "metal band" that wraps around the sides of each phone. However, the iPhone 4 (GSM) models and the iPhone 4S have an access panel on the right side (and an enclosed Micro SIM card) and the iPhone 4 (CDMA) does not have an access panel or a SIM card.

Additionally, the iPhone 4 (GSM) models have three antenna "breaks" in the metal band (one on the top and one on each side toward the bottom) and the iPhone 4 (CDMA) and iPhone 4S have four (two on both sides toward the top and bottom).

The rear camera also has considerably better specs on the iPhone 4S -- capable of shooting 8 megapixel stills and 1080p 30 FPS video. The older iPhone 4 models, by contrast, are capable of shooting 5 megapixel still photos and 720p 30 FPS video. Both lines have a VGA quality front-facing camera designed for use with Apple's "FaceTime" software (although it works equally well with third-party applications like Skype). The camera in the iPhone 4S is faster, too, and is ready to take photos within a second of launch and additional photos within a half second.

Identification Differences

One simple way to externally identify the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S models, as well as other many other iPhone models, is by the Model Number listed in small type on the back of the phone.

Specifically, the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S model numbers are:

iPhone Model	Model Number
iPhone 4 (GSM)/(GSM, A)	A1332
iPhone 4 (CDMA)	A1349
iPhone 4S (Global)	A1387
iPhone 4S (China)	A1431

If the iPhone will boot, it may be even easier to lookup any of these models by Order Number with Everyi.com's Ultimate iLookup feature. Apple refers to the order number as "Model" in software. To find the "Model" select the "Settings" app and then click General > About > and scroll until the field is visible.

Everyi.com's Ultimate iLookup also can identify these iPhone models by EMC Number and their Serial Numbers.

Battery Life Differences

Battery life has changed a bit between the iPhone 4S and the previous iPhone 4 models. All of these models provide an Apple estimated 40 hours of audio playback, 10 hours of video playback and 6 hours of Internet use on 3G, but Apple has increased the official battery life estimates for the iPhone 4S to 8 hours of talk time on 3G (up from 7 hours on the iPhone 4 models) and reduced the official Internet use on Wi-Fi (9 hours down from 10 hours). Standby time also has been reduced from 300 hours to 200.

In "real world" testing, these differences are muted for most tasks, but the difference in battery life during 3D gaming use is the downside to the significantly improved performance of the iPhone 4S for graphics tasks.

Wireless Connectivity & Data Differences

A major point of differentiation is that the iPhone 4S is a dual-antenna equipped "world phone" that supports both GSM and CDMA networks -- UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz); GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz), and CDMA EV-DO Rev. A (800, 1900 MHz) -- and the "antenna automatically switches between send and receive." It supports 802.11b/g/n and Bluetooth 4.0, too. HSDPA is up to a theoretical maximum of 14.4 Mbps.

AnandTech has additional information about the iPhone 4S antenna capabilities that also may be of interest.

By contrast, the earlier iPhone 4 models support either GSM or CDMA networks, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, and only support a maximum theoretical HSDPA download speed of 7.2 Mbps.

Unfortunately, it also is worth noting that Apple has disabled the CDMA capability on unlocked iPhone 4S models purchased in the United States.

Internal Differences

Internally, the iPhone 4S is considerably more powerful -- with a dual-core Apple A5 processor compared to a single core Apple A4 processor on the iPhone 4 models -- although the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S both have 512 MB of RAM. Apple reports that the iPhone 4S is twice as fast overall and has seven times the graphics performance, and independent benchmarks and testing largely confirm this claim.

Capacity was increased to 16 GB, 32 GB, and 64 GB for the iPhone 4S, compared to 16 GB and 32 GB for the originally offered iPhone 4 models. However, Apple later offered 8 GB configurations of the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S alike.

iOS Support & Software Differences

Both the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S are capable of running iOS 5, iOS 6, and iOS 7, but specific features supported by each operating system are different on each device.

The iPhone 4 fully supports iOS 5, but only partially supports iOS 6 and iOS 7. The iPhone 4S, on the other hand, fully supports iOS 5 and iOS 6, but only partially supports iOS 7, iOS 8, and iOS 9. The iPhone 4 does not support iOS 8 or later at all and the iPhone 4S does not support iOS 10 or later at all.

Perhaps most notably, regardless of iOS version, only the iPhone 4S is capable officially of running "Siri," Apple's acquired "intelligent assistant" software program that endeavors to parse naturally spoken questions and provide voice answers using the web as its source and perform basic software tasks as well (like adding an appointment to a calendar or preparing and sending a text message). In the "real world," Siri doesn't always perform perfectly, but it still can be useful.

Running iOS 6, the iPhone 4 supports an "Offline Reading List" feature as well as Find My iPhone and Find My Friends capabilities, but it does not support Turn-by-Turn Navigation, Flyover, Panorama photographic mode, or "Made for iPhone" hearing aids like the iPhone 4S.

Running iOS 7, the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S alike do not support AirDrop. However, both devices support all basic functionality -- Control Center, Notification Center, and Multitasking, as well as Safari and iTunes Radio -- in addition to "Filters in Photos" and an assortment of photo functionality that Apple refers to as "Square and video formats and swipe to capture." Just as it does running iOS 6, the iPhone 4S still supports Panorama and Siri, and it supports new "Filters in Camera" functionality in iOS 7, whereas the iPhone 4 does not.

Running iOS 8, the iPhone 4S most notably is not compatible with the "Continuity" feature and running iOS 9, feature support is bare bones at best. It doesn't support advanced operating system features like predictive Siri, third-party Spotlight search, public transit directions in Maps and more. Performance also is slower running iOS 8 or iOS 9 compared to iOS 7.

iOS Performance Differences

Based on hands-on experience, if performance is most important to you, you should run iOS 7 on your iPhone 4S. The iPhone 4S is a bit slower running iOS 8 and even slower running iOS 9. However, application support for iOS 7 has become more and more of an issue since it was discontinued. If application compatibility is more important to you than performance, iOS 8 or iOS 9 are your only option short of buying a newer iPhone.

This video from iAppleBytes does an excellent job demonstrating the performance difference between iOS 7 (on the left) and iOS 9 (on the right) running on the iPhone 4S and help you to decide whether or not you feel the performance loss is worth the compatibility gain:

Note that if you have upgraded your iPhone 4 or iPhone 4S to a newer version of the operating system, it is not possible to "downgrade" it to an earlier version without resorting to jailbreaking or other hacks.

Comparison Chart

These differences -- processor, storage, connectivity, battery life, software, cameras, and identifiers -- along with pricing information are summarized below for your convenience:

	iPhone 4 (GSM)	iPhone 4 (CDMA)	iPhone 4S
Processor:	Apple A4	Apple A4	Apple A5
Storage:	8, 16, 32 GB	8, 16, 32 GB	8, 16, 32, 64 GB
GSM/EDGE:	Yes	No	Yes
UMTS:	Yes	No	Yes
HSDPA:	Yes (7.2 Mbps)	No	Yes (14.4 Mbps)
HSUPA:	Yes	No	Yes
EV-DO:	No	Yes	Yes
Bluetooth:	2.1+EDR	2.1+EDR	4.0
Talk Time (3G):	7 Hours	7 Hours	8 Hours
Talk Time (2G):	14 Hours	None	14 Hours
Battery (3G Web):	6 Hours	6 Hours	6 Hours
Battery (Wi-Fi):	10 Hours	10 Hours	9 Hours
Battery (Music):	40 Hours	40 Hours	40 Hours
Battery (Video):	10 Hours	10 Hours	10 Hours
Standby Time:	300 Hours	300 Hours	200 Hours
SIM Card:	Micro	None	Micro
Original iOS:	iOS 4.0	iOS 4.3	iOS 5
Fastest iOS:	iOS 6	iOS 6	iOS 7
Maximum iOS:	iOS 7 (Partial)	iOS 7 (Partial)	iOS 9 (Basic)
Siri Support:	No (Hacks Only)	No (Hacks Only)	Yes
iOS 6+ Read Offline:	Yes	Yes	Yes
iOS 6+ TBT:	No	No	Yes
iOS 6+ Flyover:	No	No	Yes
iOS 6+ Panorama:	No	No	Yes
iOS 7 Cam. Filters:	No	No	No
iOS 7 Photo Filters:	Yes	Yes	Yes
iOS 7 AirDrop:	No	No	No
iOS 8 Continuity:	No	No	No
Still Camera:	5 Megapixels	5 Megapixels	8 Megapixels
Video Camera:	720p	720p	1080p
Model No:	A1332	A1349	A1387/A1431
Intro Price*:	US$199 US$299	US$199 US$299	US$199 US$299 US$399

*These prices all required a two-year contract in the US. Unlocked and contract free models were available at a premium.

For intro pricing in dozens of other countries, see the "Global Prices" on the specs page for each iPhone as well as the "By Global Original Prices" section of Everyi.com.

So, which one is best for me?

When an iPhone is new, the vast majority of the cost of owning the device is tied to the service plan, at least in countries where it is sold locked to -- and subsidized by -- a mobile carrier, as was the case when the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S were introduced in the United States.

If you're considering a now very cheap iPhone 4 or iPhone 4S on the used market to save money, be sure that you have a sufficient budget to cover the carrier costs. Note that if the iPhone 4 or iPhone 4S is locked to a particular carrier, this may limit your options, as well.

Most users on a tight budget likely would be best off purchasing a newer, but still used, model like an iPhone 5, iPhone 5s, or iPhone SE as operating system support is more modern and they likely would provide service for longer if the device is cared for properly. However, for those who are on a particularly tight budget, the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S, particularly the iPhone 4S, remain worth consideration.

Of the two models alone, the newer, faster iPhone 4S is the better choice. It has faster performance, faster mobile data support, a better camera, and support for iOS 9, whereas the iPhone 4 has limited iOS 7 support and no support for later versions of the iOS at all.

Even with iOS 9 (and especially with iOS 7), the latest version of many apps are not compatible, and older versions often are disabled entirely, particularly for communication, chat, and social media. If there are particular apps that you really want to use on your iPhone, be sure to verify compatibility prior to purchasing an iPhone 4 or an iPhone 4S, either one, to avoid potential disappointment.

Also, be sure to verify that your proposed carrier still supports these vintage models as some phone companies have begun to drop support, as well.

Please also see EveryiPhone.com's Ultimate iComparison feature to dynamically compare any iPhone model to any other iPod, iPhone, or iPad.

Also see:

• What are all the differences between the iPhone 4 (AT&T/GSM) and the iPhone 4 (Verizon/CDMA)?
• What are all the differences between the iPhone 3GS and the iPhone 4?