I know the title sounds vicious and I don’t mean to imply that nobody cares about the iPhone anymore because clearly they do. I’m just asking because it seems to me that Apple has hit a roadblock with their “innovation” ideas. Samsung’s Galaxy S III features technology such as NFC, which allows you to connect automatically to other NFC-capable devices like portable speakers; S-Beam, which allows you to perform data transfers simply by touching your device to another and new motion gestures such as being able to convert a text conversation into a phone call simply by raising the device to your ear. What exactly has Apple improved on iPhone 5 as compared to the iPhone 4S?
Display
From the looks of it, not much. Yes, they finally addressed the size issue that some have been complaining about when comparing an iPhone to just about every Android device. But rather than make the entire phone larger, they simply made it taller. Their reasoning behind this was that a smartphone should be easy to use with just one hand and making a wider phone would limit this. Instead, they’ve added about an inch to the phone’s height which brings the screen size to a total of 4 inches and a 16:9 aspect ratio. This is a 0.5 inch increase over the iPhone 4.
The Retina display remains mostly the same although they claim that the resolution and depth of colors have been improved making the display more vibrant. This is true considering the resolution is now 1136px-by-640px whereas the iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 screens were 960px-by-640px.
Camera
The camera has not changed at all on the spec side, but there is apparently a new type of lens that allows sharper and more vibrant images to be taken. I have a feeling the pictures just look better because the screen has been improved! We’ll have to wait and see. They’ve also added better image stabilization and the ability to take still photos while recording a video.
I’ve never been a fan on cell phone cameras other than their convenience and portability, so for me personally the camera specs aren’t usually what I look for on a phone. Besides, the Galaxy S III also has only an 8MP camera. One change with the iPhone 5 is that the front-facing camera now records video in 720p HD and takes 1.2MP photos, while the iPhone 4 only had standard VGA quality.
Phone
iPhone is now LTE compatible. This makes iPhone 5 the first true 4G phone even though Apple recently touted the iPhone 4 and 4S as being 4G phones. They were able to pull this off by comparing the actual download speeds of iPhone 4 on the 3G network and a true 4G phone, in which they found that they were comparable.
iPhone 5 also now uses the new nano SIM card which makes this phone no longer compatible with the previous micro SIM cards. What this means is that if you buy this phone from a 3rd party and it doesn’t come with a SIM card, you have to go down to your carrier and pick up a new one. This could cost a fee.
My two cents
First of all, if you want to see the complete comparison between the iPhone 5 and and iPhone 4S, check out Apple’s page. Second, I’m not impressed at all. Yes, it looks great (as most Apple products do) but I’ve gotten out of that club…the club of people that will buy anything with an Apple logo on it. To me, the iPhone 5 isn’t much of an upgrade and I would tell any iPhone owner that there’s no real need to buy this phone…unless of course you’re using an iPhone 3G.
Currently, I’m using a Samsung Galaxy S II and I was waiting on getting the S III to see what Apple was planning on releasing. Now that I’ve seen it, I’m getting the S III.
But if you’re an iPhone fan and love what you see, pre-orders start tomorrow and the phone ships September 21st.
Droid is adding bells and whistles because they are throwing everything at the wall and trying to get something to stick. Iphones are already sticking, why change the core values? The features and "lack of innovation" you are talking about are geared towards early adopters, when these features are relevant enough to have I'm sure the iphone will have some variation of them. Apple is not desperate and does not have to say, "hey are phone will toast your bread for you – the iphone wont, please come try it." people are already using them and enjoying them.
I understand what you're saying since I was an iPhone user from iPhone 1 all the way to iPhone 4. The one thing I loved most about it was the ecosystem that Apple has put together with iTunes being the central hub for all things entertainment both on the Internet and locally on your computer. Add to this iCloud and you have a great system that users love and grow dependent on. In that regard, I do not disagree with you.
However, I'm from a different group of users…those that demand new features, faster devices (both with performance and data), somewhat larger screens, etc. What you're describing is perfect for many iPhone users. There are plenty of people out there happily using their iPhone 3G device and couldn't care less about having all the latest gizmos. You're also right about Apple not being desperate, but I don't think this automatically means other companies are. Apple is lucky in that they release products that are awesomely designed and they've developed sort of a cult following over the years. However, at some point the "cool" factor wears off and people are starting to wonder why they paid hundreds of dollars more for something that could be had cheaper and in some cases with better specs.
There was a time in the tech world where you spent money based on what you got out of it. Today, I feel that many people are buying technology like they buy cars or clothing…simply for style. Is there anything wrong with that? Not at all, but as a tech person myself, I can explain why I left iPhone.
First of all it has nothing to do with Apple or any hatred for them whatsoever. I'm writing this comment on my MacBook which I love. I left iPhone because of the limitations with iOS. It doesn't have a true file system and I can't simply hook it to any computer and use it as an external hard drive of sorts. While the majority of users would never need something like this, there are those of us who appreciate a more "open" OS. Android provides this.
As far as the "lack of innovation" I spoke of…this comment is only meant to show that Apple seems to have reached a plateau with what they can really do (or willing to do as you said) with their phone. Of course they don't have to overload the users with features they'll never use, but to sit back and call the iPhone 5 "the biggest thing to happen since iPhone" is kind of a joke to me. The whole point of this article was to pinpoint that fact. There's nothing "big" about this new phone other than they made it with a 4" screen.
I also felt like Samsung actually created a real upgrade to their Galaxy phones when they released the S III. It wasn't just a name or design change.
But like you said, none of what I said matters to those who love their phones. I just feel bad for all the people out there that think that iPhone is the only great phone available. The Galaxy S III is not some third rate device trying to throw useless features at the users trying to win them over. I can't speak for all Android devices, but Samsung sure is giving Apple a fight…which is a good thing.
I agree that competition is a good thing. But I do think that android is desperate. Not in a monetary or on the verge of bankruptcy sense, but as a, dieing to be THE figure head in the industry. To be honest I do see android over taking the iphone in the future as the figure head of the mobile phone industry. They are not there yet, and it will be another release or 3 away. Having an open source allows you to progress quickly but refine and focus slowly.
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You left after the 4 because you're an early adopter: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_adopter. Iphone is mainstream now and your looking for the new innovations before they're cool. The fact of the matter is everyone is in apples wake for the time being on mobile platforms (tablet and phone). People want the easiest quickest experience, even if that means 30% less features. This is the whole concept behind apps – I could go to my mobile web browser and find more details and more features, or I could use a companies app and get instant results on 70% of what it has to offer with little to no effort.
I do agree with that. Thanks for the insight.
It's funny because as a professional and personal "IT guy", people are always asking me what phones and tablets they should get and since I used to be in electronics retail sales for years, I never just jump right out and offer my own opinion. I end up asking people questions first and more often than not, people will end up steering themselves into the device they want. In most cases, the lesser the tech-savvy, the more they want iProducts. This is not to say that Apple's products are for simpletons…it just confirms what you said about the easiest and quickest experience.
I'll even admit when I got my first Android phone, I was at a loss when it came time to figure out how to "hack" it and customize it deep within the OS and I fully understand that there's a very small number of people who would even care to do such tasks.
I've even owned an iPad once and my biggest problem with it was that I was hoping I would have used it as a portable replacement for my MacBook, but the lack of a true file system killed it for me. In all honesty, I even think the Android tablets are far from being true laptop replacements too. I still see tablets as oversized smart phones. However, the Microsoft Surface intrigues me because one of the versions will be running a full version of Windows 8.
But anyway, like you said, many features lacking in iPhone are either not a top priority for most of its userbase OR you can find these features in apps. It's going to be interesting to see what the future holds.
Every time an iPhone comes out, this article appears on the web, written by different people on many websites. iPhone 4 coming out, but does anyone care? iPhone 5 coming out, does anyone care? There’s one now “iPhone 6 coming out, but does anyone care? Every year I have to read this article about the new iphone.
The answer is YES. Ok? YES. Every year you people ask the same question and every year they sell millions of iPhones. The answer is YES. Obviously someone cares. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.
Now. Can we stop writing this article every year?
Thanks.
And to think I thought you liked my article! I understand what you’re saying, but I was just pointing out the fact that yes, a new iPhone does come out every year, but does anyone really care all that much?! In other words, it seems like iPhone’s popularity has waned a bit since the last release.
And BTW; for the iPhone fanboy below saying Android phones have “useless” features. Well. I have an iPhone. And to be honest, the fact I can really multitask with a Galaxy S4, meaning I can have my email and my browser, or a video call and my notes, BOTH on the screen AT THE SAME TIME, to me that’s not useless. I can’t even quick toggle my Bluetooth on th iPhone.
Apple is behind big time. I have an iPhone 4S. The latest ios 6.1.3 is draining my phone in about 4 hours. I’m just one of thousands that fell victim to the latest update from Cupertino.
iPhone sucks. But yes, people still buy them and do care. They still have the best developed apps.