It's only been a couple of weeks since Apple's new iPhone 4S was announced, and already two new top-tier Android phones are set to challenge it: the Samsung Nexus Prime, made in cooperation with Google, and the Motorola / Verizon Droid RAZR. Each has several advantages over the iPhone 4S, including much larger screens and 4G wireless Internet connection speeds.
As has always been the case, though, the iPhone 4S has a number of features all Android phones lack ... even its newest pair of challengers.
Siri
Apple's new "intelligent assistant" (which has already inspired at least one love song) brings a groundbreaking natural language interface to the new iPhone 4S. Like the computer from Star Trek, it can understand questions and requests from "Will I need an umbrella?" to "Remind me to call home after work." Android phones have an alternative in the form of Google Voice Actions, and a handful of disgruntled Android developers are working on a competitor called Iris, but there is no real Android alternative to Siri so far.
A smaller screen with a Retina Display
The iPhone 4S' small screen might seem like a disadvantage, compared to larger Android phones in the stores. The iPhone has had the same screen size throughout all of its incarnations, though, and one reason may be because it can be comfortably used with one hand that way. (Another reason: 4G LTE superphones like the Nexus Prime and Droid RAZR require huge batteries, and that means a huge chassis and screen.) The smaller iPhone screen is also a Retina Display, which means it has pixels so small that they can't be discerned by the human eye.
The latest version of iOS
The new version of Apple's operating system for smartphones, iOS 5, comes with a number of new features besides Siri, such as Twitter integration and improved notifications. The new version of Android, called Ice Cream Sandwich, has some new features as well, but is only available on the Nexus Prime at the moment. (An upgrade to Ice Cream Sandwich will be coming for the Droid RAZR "at the beginning of 2012.")
A proprietary operating system
The Android Open Source Project makes the programming code to Android freely available, which has allowed manufacturers like Barnes and Noble and Amazon.com to create their own Android-based e-readers without needing Google's permission. Many hobbyists and other manufacturers benefit from Android's code as well, and Google has committed to open-sourcing Ice Cream Sandwich once devices running it are on the market (meaning November at the earliest). Only Apple is allowed to create devices that run iOS.
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