Is the new iPhone 3GS worth getting?

As expected, Apple recently announced the next iPhone – the unexcitingly-named “iPhone 3GS”, the “S” apparently meaning “Speed”. Of course, the question on everyone’s mind now is… is it worth getting?

In short, I’m going to go with “no” if you already have the 3G, and “yes” if you still have the first iPhone, or indeed don’t have one at all. Read on to find out why…

Why “no” if you already have the 3G? Well, if you already have the 3G, chances are that you’re on a contract. To get the 3GS you’re looking at around £600, either to pay off your current contract or to buy one on PAYG and swap the SIM. The improvements over the 3G basically amount to extra capacity, a better camera, faster processor and the compass. Since there will, most likely, be a fourth iPhone announced this time next year (see my thoughts on that below), I don’t think the 3GS is worth bothering with – it’s not quite the step up the 3G was compared to the original model. You could probably sell your old iPhone on eBay for £250 or so, so that would bring the final cost down to maybe £350 or so, but I don’t think it’s worth the expense or the hassle.

If you don’t have an iPhone and have been holding off to see what the new one is like, then I’d say it’s worth getting. The iPhone, in my opinion, is the best smartphone around. I’d just say that you should get the shortest contract possible if you’re bothered about upgrading to a probable fourth model in the future – here’s why…

It goes without saying that there will be a fourth model, probably summer of 2010. My hunch is that the 3GS is only a minor refresh because Apple are aware that most iPhone users are on contracts of 18 months or two years, and that if they brought out a significant update to the phone now, a year after the 3G came out, it would be very disappointing to their users (look at all the moaning now, and all they’ve really done is slightly improve the camera and stick a compass in – it hasn’t even got a new shell!).

Instead, by bringing out the 3GS – the name itself implying it’s only an update, not a whole new model – they’ve left the way clear for an all-new iPhone 4G (pure speculation on the name, but it would let them slip back into the nG naming of their iPod models) next summer. Of course, by next summer, all the early adopters will be at or near the end of their 3G contracts and will be easily able to upgrade to the new model at subsidised prices again. I would then expect a 4GS a year later, and a 5G a year after that and so on.

Obviously this is just a guess, and Apple will never confirm or deny it, but it would be a  good way to manage expectations. Even-numbered years = new model; odd-numbered years = model refresh.

In the meantime, of course, we’ve got OS3 coming out soon – built-in support for bluetooth headphones at last!