Phone Comparison - Apple iPhone 4S vs Apple iPhone 3GS vs Apple iPhone 3G

general General Info

Manufacturer Apple Apple Apple
Announced October 2011 June 2009 June 2008
Status Available - October 2011 Available - June 2009 Discontinued
Colors Black, White Black, White Black(8/16 GB), White (16 GB)
Form Factor Candybar Candybar Candybar
Dimension 115.2 x 58.6 x 9.3 mm
(4.54 x 2.31 x 0.37 in)
115.5 x 62.1 x 12.3 mm
(4.55 x 2.44 x 0.48 in)
115.5 x 62.1 x 12.3 mm
(4.55 x 2.44 x 0.48 in)
Weight 140 g (4.94 oz) 135 g (4.76 oz) 133 g (4.69 oz)
2G Network GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
CDMA2000 1xEV-DO
GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G Network HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 HSDPA 850 / 1900 / 2100 HSDPA 850 / 1900 / 2100
Messaging SMS, MMS, Push Mail, EMail, IM SMS, MMS SMS, MMS

hardware Hardware and OS

OS iOS 5 iPhone OS 3, upgradable to iOS 5 iPhone OS, upgradable to iOS 4
Processor 1 GHz dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 processor, Apple A5 chipset 600 MHz Cortex-A8 412 MHz ARM 11
GPU PowerVR SGX543MP2 PowerVR SGX535 PowerVR MBX
RAM 512 MB 256 MB 128 MB
Internal Memory 16/32/64 GB storage 8/16/32 GB storage 8 GB/ 16 GB storage
External Memory No No No

display Display

Type LED-backlit IPS TFT TFT capacitive touchscreen TFT capacitive touchscreen
Colors capacitive touchscreen 16M colors 16M colors
Size 3.5 inches 3.5 inches 3.5 inches
Resolution 640 x 960 pixels (330 ppi) 320 x 480 pixels (165 ppi) 320 x 480 pixels (165 ppi)
Screen-to-Body Ratio 53.92% 50.75% 50.75%
Multi-Touch yes yes yes

multimedia Multimedia

3.5mm Jack yes yes yes
Radio No No No
Games Downloadable, incl. motion-bas Yes Yes
Loud Speaker yes yes yes

camera Camera

Rear Camera 8 MP, 3264x2448 pixels 3.15 MP, 2048x1536 pixels 2 MP, 1600x1200 pixels
Flash LED flash No No
Features Auto focus, Touch Focus, Geo-tagging, Face Detection, HDR Auto focus, Touch Focus, Geo-tagging
Video Yes, 1080p@30fps, LED video light, video stabilization, geo-tagging Yes, VGA@30fps, video geo-tagging No
Front Camera Yes, VGA [Similar] No [Similar] No [Similar]

connectivity Connectivity and Data Rate

GPRS Yes Yes Yes
Edge Yes Yes Yes
3G HSDPA, 14.4 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.8 Mbps HSDPA, 7.2 Mbps HSDPA
Bluetooth Yes, v4.0 with A2DP Yes, v2.1 with A2DP, headset support only Yes, v2.0 with A2DP, headset support only
Wi-Fi Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot Wi-Fi 802.11b/g Wi-Fi 802.11b/g
USB Yes, v2.0 Yes, v2.0 Yes, v2.0
GPS Yes, with A-GPS support and GLONASS Yes, with A-GPS support Yes, with A-GPS support
Browser HTML (Safari) HTML (Safari) HTML (Safari)

memory User Memory

Call Records 100 received, dialed and missed calls Practically unlimited Practically unlimited
Internal 16/32/64 GB storage, 512 MB RAM 8/16/32 GB storage, 256 MB RAM 8 GB/ 16 GB storage, 128 MB RAM
Expandable Storage No No No

Apps Sensors

Fingerprint fingerprint not supported fingerprint not supported fingerprint not supported
Proximity Sensor proximity sensor present proximity sensor present proximity sensor present
Accelerometer Sensor accelerometer sensor present accelerometer sensor present accelerometer sensor present
NFC NFC not supported NFC not supported NFC not supported

battery Battery

Type Standard battery, Li-Po Standard battery, Li-Ion Standard battery, Li-Ion
Capacity 1432 mAh
Stand by Up to 200 h (2G)
Up to 200 h (3G)
Up to 300 h Up to 300 h
Talk Time Up to 14 h (2G)
Up to 8 h (3G)
Up to 12 h (2G)
Up to 5 h (3G)
Up to 10 h