iFixit Tears Down iPhone 4 While Critics Build it Up

[Michael Essany]

As many iPhone 4 buyers eagerly await the impending arrival of their new Apple smartphone, the first individuals to savor and soak up the fresh features and attributes of the 4th generation iPhone have already done so. They're the critics, gadget gurus, and other major media titans who have been afforded the opportunity to scrutinize the iPhone 4 ahead of its official release and launch. And so far, the iPhone 4 has thoroughly "wowed" critics in the first batch of reviews we're seeing.

From USA Today to the Wall Street Journal, the heavyweights are weighing in. And there's a general consensus among said critics: the iPhone 4 is pretty wicked cool. According to Walt Mossberg, of the WSJ, the “new iPhone keeps Apple top of class“ despite a few issues with poor signal reception logged in the review. Ed Baig of USA Today joined in the praise by adding that "I was impressed with the quality and ease of FaceTime calling. Josh Topolsky of Engadget has words that will sound like music to the ears of Apple fans hoping the new iPhone 4 battery represents a marked improvement from previous generations. "The battery life on the iPhone 4 has been outstanding thus far," says Topolsky, "exceeding our expectations for longevity during testing."

While thousands upon thousands of Apple customers will be sharing their own experiences and reviews in the hours and days ahead, even the fearless team at iFixit is finding only minimal disappoints with the iPhone 4, which they are thoroughly tearing down. What's one of the minor letdowns you ask? "We'd expect our 32 GB iPhone 4 to fulfill its promise and give us, well, 32 GB," reports iFixit. "Unfortunately it has an actual capacity of 29.06 GB. Given the fact that 301 MB of 'other' data is being stored in memory, this leaves the user with 28.77 GB of free space." For the most part, however, the iPhone 4 is a work of beauty. For example, "In what can only be described as a work of genius, Apple has integrated the UMTS, GPS, Wi-Fi, and bluetooth antennas into the stainless steel inner frame."

Despite what everyone else has said thus far, it's ultimately your opinion about the iPhone 4 that counts the most. And if you're among the fortunate few to receive your device in the hours ahead, there's an excellent possibility you will develop strong opinions and reactions before the day is through. And we invite you to share them with us here.

Image via iFixit

[CrestonzFin3zT]

lets see videos of unboxings not teardowns...even though this is a bit interesting...first!!!!

edit: I will make an unboxing of my iphone...i should be receiving it tomorrow and i'll start recording as soon as I hear the door bell. lol

[sziklassy]

^^^ What good does an unboxing video do? We all know exactly how it's packaged...

[Xadamx1]

Yeah I don't understand the point of an unboxing either.

[badass1469]

very nice

[MPS3]

all this hype makes me want one so badddddddddd

[Mrinfame]

True I'm going to check it out at my apple store nearest me first then I'm going to wait for the guineas to cut their sim cards and see if the unlock developed by the dev team works if that works than i'll upgrade but I wouldn't want to get sticker with a new expensive iPod I'm on t mobile

[p3eps]

There was an unboxing video on engadget about 10 hours ago!
Not very exciting - just a kid removing the iPhone, charger, headphones and USB lead.

[justinpotter81]

Unboxing a brand new iPhone is something I would like to see especially since it seems I won't be getting one anytime soon, thanks to all u nerdlingers :jealous much:

[GellBrake'rrrr]

Right!!! The new members seem to only care about being the first post!!! There's no prize for first people! Just proves that you are new to the community. And we can already tell by the number of posts that you have. Please, please, please, post something of interest and value if you want the real prize.... Knowledge and sharing. Which is why you should be here in the first place.

[Faxmonkey]

Yeah I don't understand the point of an unboxing either.

It's like porn, but for nerds. You're supposed to imagine you're the one doing the unboxing and feel all tingly inside as a result. Unlike porn, however, masturbation is not considered an appropriate response to an unboxing video.

[globol]

Lmao!!!

[capttanhowdy]

^ lmao

[Xadamx1]

It's like porn, but for nerds. You're supposed to imagine you're the one doing the unboxing and feel all tingly inside as a result. Unlike porn, however, masturbation is not considered an appropriate response to an unboxing video.

Okay then in that case, for all you nerds so you can have your 'nerdgasm.' iPhone 4 unboxing set to music | Unboxing

[skatertrash]

so, really, what happened to that 3.23gb of disk space? man, although I am completely sold and I cannot wait to get my new phone, I feel short-changed about there not being a 64gb version. With 28.77gb of space, I will BARELY be able to fit my entire music collection, not to mention apps. Sad...

[n00neimp0rtant]

Awwww, how cute! Who's a good custom-built ARM processor? YOU'RE a good custom-built ARM processor!

But seriously, WOW, I didn't know it was that small. By the looks of Apple's pics, I thought it was about the size of a U.S. Kennedy half dollar.

[snoozkewl]

Yeah I don't understand the point of an unboxing either.

The unboxing is necessary, how else are you going to get at the device?

[sobeniceguy2]

I find this post amazing! I look forward to getting mine.

[BlackHoleSlam1994]

I mite get this but it is so stupid that we have to wait another year to see if verizon gets the iphone >

[Fhadso]

Is that the chipset?! Wow, it's TINY!