The next iPhone: Why it’s everything we could have wanted and more
By The Prodigal Fool, published on 22 April 2010
We don’t normally write about unannounced products but this week’s media furore over the prototype that Apple left in a bar and was subsequently sold to the tech blog Gizmodo has left us feeling as if the next iPhone has already been announced. We certainly think that we have enough details – both technical specs and photos – to draw some conclusions about this summer’s hottest smartphone.
Now, if you haven’t already done so (if not, why not!? Call yourself a gadget fan!?), they you should check out the full coverage over on Gizmodo: how Apple lost the iPhone, all the details Gizmodo has about it, and why this is definitely not a planned PR leak.
OK, up to speed? Great, now let’s look at the evidence. What have the guys and girls in Cupertino cooked up for us? Simple really: they’ve taken the best smartphone on the planet and addressed every single niggle or issue we had with it. And then they threw in some welcome surprises for good measure. Unfortunately, they also threw in one unwelcome surprise too.
So, let’s have a look at what we know and what it means.
Fixing niggles with the current iPhone
- Multi-tasking and folder support: We learned this from the iPhone OS 4.0 announcement earlier this year not from the lost iPhone but it’s worth re-stating. The next iPhone will be a clever multi-tasker and will give you more control over how your apps are sorted. With the proliferation of apps that most people now store and regularly use on their iPhones, this couldn’t come a moment too soon.
- World-class camera: The current iPhone does a decent job at photos and an excellent one at video but it’s not world-class. It can’t hold its head up high in the company of Nokia’s high-end Nseries devices. Come summer, that’s set to change. Gizmodo says that the lens is quite noticeably larger on the new phone and that it also has a flash. We predict at least a 5 megapixel sensor and photos that will – at the very least – put it on a par with Nokia’s Nseries. Oh, and we’re going to go out on a limb here and predict HD video recording too.
- High-definition display: Gizmodo says “It’s unclear if it’s the 960×640 display thrown around before—it certainly looks like it, with the ‘Connect to iTunes’ screen displaying much higher resolution than on a 3GS.” The iPhone’s display was starting to pale a little in direct comparison with newer HTC models. This will bring it bang up-to-date.
- More appealing hardware: It’s hard to fault the current iPhone’s hardware design. But we’re going to: the curved sides and slippery plastic back make the device a little uncomfortable to hold for long periods during calls and frankly feel just the wrong side of substantial in your hand. The next iPhone fixes that with an entirely flat back made of either glass or ceramic, an aluminium border going completely around the outside and having an overall form factor that is, in Gizmodo’s words, “just a little squared off”. Add to this the new metallic buttons for power, mute and volume and we think Apple has pulled off the impossible: it’s made the new iPhone better looking and nicer to use than the current one.
- Battery life: We don’t expect battery life to ever be the iPhone’s biggest selling point but at least Apple is trying: the new model has a 19% larger battery. This is definitely a move in the right direction.
Welcome surprises
- Additional microphone: This is important for two reasons. It allows for stereo recording of video footage and the implementation of some kind of ambient noise reduction system (like the one in Google’s Nexus One). We predict Apple will deliver both.
- Video calls: Most other smartphones have had the ability to video conference for years and no one we know has ever bothered with it. Honestly, we can’t say we particularly wanted this feature but if anyone has a shot at getting this to take off, it’s Apple. We predict an iChat style interface and their usual ease of use. Who knows? A year from now, we may all be wondering how we ever did without video calls.
The unwelcome, if predictable, surprise
- Micro-SIM: The development community has proved quick to unlock Cupertino’s unlockable phone and this has been a thorn in Apple’s side since the first generation. Apple probably doesn’t care much but it does have a commitment to its carriers to do its best to tie customers to them. Its latest trick to do so – implementing the non-common Micro-SIM standard, like on the iPad – is a new and potentially more effective way. The cloud’s silver lining? In most markets, the iPhone is now increasingly not a carrier exclusive so at least you have choice.
One unfounded, impossible to prove, hunch from us
- Multi-touch enabled back: That “entirely flat back made of either glass or ceramic”, what if it behaved exactly like the back of Apple’s Magic Mouse? What if you could scroll web pages and look through your mail by stroking the back of your phone? Think about it. How great would that be?
Even putting the annoyance of the micro-SIM aside and discounting our crazy multi-touch back idea, we simply can’t wait for the next iPhone. It’s everything we could have wanted and more. What will the amazing new iPhone be called? We’ll throw our hat in the ring and predict “iPhone HD”. It’s only a few months now before Steve Jobs takes to the stage and we find out for sure. Boy is it going to be a long summer…
Photo and video (below) credits: Gizmodo
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The next iPhone: Why it’s everything we could have wanted and more
We don’t normally write about unannounced products but this week’s media furore over the prototype that Apple left in a bar and was subsequently sold to the tech blog Gizmodo has left us feeling as if the next iPhone has already been announced. We certainly think that we have enough details – both technical specs [...]
2 Responses to “The next iPhone: Why it’s everything we could have wanted and more”
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[...] today, the Nokia N8 is all set to provide some healthy competition to the iPhone HD when they’re both released some time in Q3 this [...]
Straight-Six
22 April 2010
This may be the iPhone I finally succumb to. All these people stroking and flicking, and occasionally licking, their slabs o’ glass are getting under my skin. But really.