I first jumped in the iTrain when the iPhone 3gs came out. It’s funny to think that just about 2 years ago iOS finally got copy and paste, the ability to sync Facebook contacts, multi-tasking, and a slew of other improvements with iOS4. Despite iPhone’s constant lag in features it remains coveted by many. All of the above features I had on my Palm Treo 680 with PalmOS and on my Blackberry, which were 4 and 5 years older than the iPhone respectively.
iPhone 5 With DLNA and Micro USB
For me to consider the iPhone5 it would have to start complying to some standards. Two of which being DLNA support and micro USB (preferably with MHL). DLNA in short is a set of standards for wireless media sharing. In other words if your TV, computer, phone, tablet, and refrigerator all support DLNA and you have a wireless network in your house then all of these devices could share music, video, pictures, etc. Apple like’s to do their own thing and force you to buy all Apple products to be able to do this.
The non-standard interface for iPhone might not seem like a big deal to most but I am a techie and I like standards. Every other smart-phone being produced uses micro USB and the iPhone should as well. In some countries iPhones are required to be sold with an adapter to micro USB because the standards are enforced by law.
Apple iPhone 5 4″ Screen And Back Button
The 3.5″ screen on the iPhone is so tiny in today’s smart-phone lineup. The Samsung Focus manages to pack a beautiful 4 inch AMOLED screen while not even being noticeably bigger in your hand than the iPhone 3gs. Watching Netflix on my 4.7″ HTC Titan screen just puts the tiny iPhone screen to shame, but I understand 4.7 inches is a bit much for smaller hands.
Another glaring user interface problem with the iPhone is the lack of a standard back button. You either have to exit the home screen and relaunch the app you want to go back to or double tap the home screen and select it from there. And when it comes to apps that you want to back within the there is either a back button taking up your precious little 3.5 inches of screen real estate or navigation doing the same.
New Operating System for iPhone5
We are going on 5 years of the grid-o-apps feel of the user interface on iOS. Technology moves faster than that. There is little that has really changed on the iPhone since the first gen other than getting caught up with features. The OS is bulky, slow, and very old feeling. Comparing my Titan or my girlfriends Focus to my iPhone is just a joke. The WP7 devices have a nice crisp, clean, new user interface that is extremely fast, fluid, and sexy.
Obviously, Apple can’t take the tile, hub, metro user interface feel that Windows Phone has but they need to come up with something. The interface they have was made for smart-phones 5 years ago. And how we interact with technology is ever changing which means our phones have to adapt with us.
Social Integration on iPhone5 is A MUST
Microsoft hit the nail on the head with the heavy social integration on Windows Phone 7. I do not have to open a Twitter app and a Facebook app to see recent tweets or status updates. I can create groups like “Family” and in one click and a couple of swipes I can see all that is new on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Windows Live, and all of my families new pictures. In the same section I can send a mass text or email out to any of these groups. Simply a must have feature in today’s smart-phone.
Conclusion To iPhone5 Consideration
Well there you have it. One techies look on what the iPhone5 is going to need to get a consideration. And that is just a consideration. The iPhone has grown stale and boring but I think it is mostly because they have been working the past 5 years to catch up with the features the old mobile OS’s had. Now they should really be able to start optimizing their code and changing their UI to suite today’s needs.
Let me know below what you want the iPhone5 to be.