Last updated April 12, 2019
One of the best things about getting a new cell phone is the chance to try out the latest features. For some cell phone users, however, one of those recent improvements to cell phone functionality is coming at a significant cost. The iPhone 4S features a program known as Siri, which operates rather like a jack-of-all-trades. It does allow users to enjoy their phones hands-free, giving voice commands instead of tactile ones, but it also lets them ask Siri nearly anything under the sun from “What is the capital of Oregon?” to “How tall is Barack Obama?”.
Siri can answer those questions and more, but to do so, the program must access data streams on the internet. The process causes bandwidth consumption, so much so that the typical iPhone 4S consumes double the data that the Siri-less iPhone 4 needs and triple the data used by the 3G model of the phone. All of that data adds up to a heftier cell phone bill, which may make some users start to question if playing with Siri is worth the eventual expense.
Cell phones users who decide that they would rather have a simpler phone that consumes less data should be aware that the iPhone 4S may be worth quite a bit on the recycled market. So if you do decide to make a switch, do not just shove your iPhone 4S in a drawer. Go to Google and type in “How do I recycle cell phones?” to find out how to make the 4S provide you with money instead of the other way around.