Is the iPhone now obsolete?

[jayenh]

+1

And lets be honest...who's going to need a 1GHz processor in a mobile phone? Maybe a few games will be able to use the power, but appart from that there is no reason to have the most powerful phone, with the most RAM and the fastes processor. It's not like you're going to start encoding movies in your pocket!

For me it's all about the UI...and the iPhone wins this no problem.

so why do you have a 3GS? why not get/keep the 3G?

this is like saying "i only do word processing so i don't really need a 2.5GHz Core 2 Duo". maybe not, but would you not like it if your computer booted up quickly and your word processing app launched in seconds rather than 10's of seconds? how about your browser? wouldn't you like that to open quick and render a webpage nice and fast? the browser is something that the 3GS does much quicker than the 3G. now apply that across the board. everyone has a thing about speed, so internal spec is important. if it wasn't we'd all still be running P3 and PowerPC processors in our PC's and Macs.

i don't really see how the UI wins "no problem" either. yeah, its nice and simple, but poor (understatement alert) notification system, no location awareness on key things like weather apps, toggles for features that drain power being hidden in subsections of settings... all things that apple needs to deal with just to catch up in my opinion.

like someone said a few pages back, apple have trapped themselves by not evolving the OS more than they have since its release, they either make a radical jump forward, or slip further behind the competition. with their set-in-stone yearly updates i'd be very worried if apple didn't make that leap this year...

 

[gnasher729]

What worries me is the Ipad. I don't think Apple wants the Iphone upgrade to be TOO good. If the upgrade is too good, it will deter attention from the Ipad. The Ipad has a 1 ghz processor so the Iphone most likely wont. If the Iphone has a front facing camera, it will make the Ipad look very bad. It's marketing at it's finest.

That may be your opinion, but that is not a game that Apple plays. The rule for long-term successful marketing is "Don't be afraid of cannibalising your products. If you don't, someone else will". And that is what Apple does and has always done. The one thing that Apple _may_ do is wait to release an improvement or reduce prices until just after a competitor tries to catch up and smack them right in the face.

 

[John89]

so why do you have a 3GS? why not get/keep the 3G?

this is like saying "i only do word processing so i don't really need a 2.5GHz Core 2 Duo". maybe not, but would you not like it if your computer booted up quickly and your word processing app launched in seconds rather than 10's of seconds? how about your browser? wouldn't you like that to open quick and render a webpage nice and fast? the browser is something that the 3GS does much quicker than the 3G. now apply that across the board. everyone has a thing about speed, so internal spec is important. if it wasn't we'd all still be running P3 and PowerPC processors in our PC's and Macs.

i don't really see how the UI wins "no problem" either. yeah, its nice and simple, but poor (understatement alert) notification system, no location awareness on key things like weather apps, toggles for features that drain power being hidden in subsections of settings... all things that apple needs to deal with just to catch up in my opinion.

like someone said a few pages back, apple have trapped themselves by not evolving the OS more than they have since its release, they either make a radical jump forward, or slip further behind the competition. with their set-in-stone yearly updates i'd be very worried if apple didn't make that leap this year...

I never had a 3G, I went straight from the 1st gen to the 3gs. Yes the speed difference was noticeable/nice...but I still cant see anyone using a 1GHz processor properly in a mobile phone. As jabingla2810 said earlier...specs of a mobile phone don’t mean much to 90% of the general public. They just want a phone that does certain tasks such as texts, calls, takes photos, plays music etc..... and the iphone does these very well.

Again, in my opinion the iPhones UI is great. I will agree with you on the notifications point though. That could do with some improvements. Apart from that it's brilliant.

 

[jayenh]

...but I still cant see anyone using a 1GHz processor properly in a mobile phone. As jabingla2810 said earlier...specs of a mobile phone don’t mean much to 90% of the general public.

well, since the driving force behind the iphone is the app store and its games i think spec does mean a lot. ok, so saying "this HTC has a 1GHz snap dragon processor" is going to lead to a lot of blank looks, but no one is going to compare phones and say "i'll take the slow one". specs on a spec sheet don't mean much to average joe, but speed does, and to have good speed you need a good spec sheet, even if average joe doesn't understand what any of it means. "it's better to have too much than too little" and all that. its not like you incur much (probably not any) extra cost compared with over speccing a Mac or PC, for example.

 

[kas23]

Of course the iPhone is obsolete. It's release schedule is too longer. Only 1 iPhone is released per year. Meanwhile, it appears about 20 new Android phones are released per year. This release schedule is allowing the competitors to be a lot more repsonse to customer needs. They are able to make small changes and tweaks to their hardware a lot faster. In evolutionary terms, the iPhone is not changing fast enough to survive.

That said, Apple does offer firmware updates. However, as we have seen, these firmware updates are usually very minor. They never offer major changes to the users' experience. The firmware updates of the last year have been mostly non-events, except when they were released to break jailbreaking and tethering.

 

[rerelease]

^ Uhh most people don't buy more than one phone per year. Or per two years. Or three...

 

[ViViDboarder]

^ Uhh most people don't buy more than one phone per year. Or per two years. Or three...

But people's contracts end all the time. Not everyone is up for new phones in July. What does the guy who's contract ends in December do? Buy a 6 month old iPhone that'll be replaced in 6 more? Or buy a brand new, top of the line, Android phone?

 

[bandrews]

Of course the iPhone is obsolete. It's release schedule is too longer. Only 1 iPhone is released per year. Meanwhile, it appears about 20 new Android phones are released per year. This release schedule is allowing the competitors to be a lot more repsonse to customer needs. They are able to make small changes and tweaks to their hardware a lot faster. In evolutionary terms, the iPhone is not changing fast enough to survive.

That said, Apple does offer firmware updates. However, as we have seen, these firmware updates are usually very minor. They never offer major changes to the users' experience. The firmware updates of the last year have been mostly non-events, except when they were released to break jailbreaking and tethering.

Why bother releasing more than one per year? Why not focus on getting something right before sending it out? Cut and Paste, MMS - just two things that weren't released initially until Apple felt that they could do them well - why rush things through and compromise?
I think their sales prove that there is no need for them to release more than one per year - I'd be gutted if I signed up to an 18month contract only to see a new iPhone rushed through a few months later.

And why is everyone still banging on about front facing camera? I've had countless phones with them. Have I ever actually made a (successful) video call? Of course I haven't and I don't think I'm alone. How many people can honestly put up their hand and say they use it regularly?

As for it being too restrictive, I like restrictive. I don't want to go messing with the OS for it to go all buggy on me - like PCs. You think you know what you are doing, fiddle a little here, rewrite something there and before you know it, your system has crashed.

On to multi-tasking.... Again, something that Apple won't commit to until it can find away of implementing it without slowing the system down/making it crash. I went to help my Mum buy a phone a couple of weeks back. The sales guy was telling her why a Blackberry was better than an iPhone. His exact words were "Here's something the iPhone doesn't do - run several applications at once". (tries to launch maps) "Oh, it's crashed, well I haven't restarted it for a few days".

I'm not a massive Apple fan boy but I do love my iPhone. It is the first phone I have had where I actually use email, media player, camera, games and other apps. Sure there might be many things that it doesn't do but for me (a tech lover with no clue about how things work inside) I couldn't ask for more (apart from aluminium body).

Rant over.

 

[Pared]

Are you buying a phone or are you buying a desktop? Usability > Specs.

Apple does need to do some things, like a better screen, a bigger(not more megapixels) camera, redesign the notifications system, maybe even some cloud integration like facebook but completely overhauling the OS is a huge mistake. The last thing you want is the iPhone to blend into the crowd.

Oh and remember Apple has always and will always target the mainstream market. So it is not about doing the most things but doing what it does well.

Great so you can carry two devices on you at once, one that cant even do anything half the time because you don't have 3g.

Holy cow, someone actually gets it.

Everyone is spec-riding pretty hard. Specs are never what have made the device what it is actually. Design and performance.

 

[ViViDboarder]

Are you buying a phone or are you buying a desktop? Usability > Specs.

Apple does need to do some things, like a better screen, a bigger(not more megapixels) camera, redesign the notifications system, maybe even some cloud integration like facebook but completely overhauling the OS is a huge mistake. The last thing you want is the iPhone to blend into the crowd.

Oh and remember Apple has always and will always target the mainstream market. So it is not about doing the most things but doing what it does well.

Great so you can carry two devices on you at once, one that cant even do anything half the time because you don't have 3g.

Holy cow, someone actually gets it.

Everyone is spec-riding pretty hard. Specs are never what have made the device what it is actually. Design and performance.

You guys don't get it...

It's not JUST specs. It's specs with an OS that we like. Android is a good OS and you're naive if you don't think so.

Also, about Apple targeting the "mainstream market"... Seriously? "Think different..." They got their start by NOT targeting the mainstream market. They have been, as far as computers go, an ALTERNATIVE market.

I don't want the iPhone OS to change much. Just some important tweaks.

And by the way, specs drive performance. Faster processors are going to yield faster performance, a flash and higher quality camera sensor are going to yield higher quality pictures.

As far as carrying two devices all the time goes... With the EVO you just need it. You don't need to carry a point and shoot camera or digital camera.

Also, if you DID want to carry a iTouch with you for the MP3 player or for more apps, you can Wifi tether it to your NEO. A feature the iPhone doesn't have even.

So back to the subject of this thread... Umm yea... iPhone hardware and features are all outdated. They have been done on other devices AND improved upon.

 

[kdarling]

At the same time, hardware specs are not to be ignored.

When the iPhone came out, its success relied to some extent on its (at the time) slightly higher resolution screen than most, capacitive touch, and an accelerometer. In other words, it used a mixture of features to make an even greater whole.

Software wise, mobile OSX could've been ported to any old WinMo device, but it would've have been the same.

Technology marches on. Nowadays WVGA screens are pretty common. HD video recording and output are getting that way. If you're used to viewing web pages on a WVGA screen, it's a downgrade to go back to a lesser resolution.

Having enough memory to keep multiple apps is useful, too. Even Apple put in extra memory so their 3GS model could have stuff like voice control always available.

So, as always, it takes a synergy between both good hardware and software.

 

[BergerFan]

I know many members of this forum are technology innovators and as such, relish the latest technologies. There is certainly nothing wrong with that but for someone like me who just bought an iPhone in December to replace a 4 yo LG phone, the iPhone is light years ahead. Everything is relative including the iPhone.

At the end of the day, you're the type of customer, who outnumbers the likes of the average Engadget reading geek, by a factor of 15 to 1(wild guessing there).

 

[cwubbels]

As for it being too restrictive, I like restrictive. I don't want to go messing with the OS for it to go all buggy on me - like PCs. You think you know what you are doing, fiddle a little here, rewrite something there and before you know it, your system has crashed.

Well, that is a choice, to be able to "fiddle" with the OS. If you screw it up that is the fiddler's (get it?) fault. I think most people like choice, choice is good. This of couse goes to the basic point of if you do like to fiddle, Android is probably a better choice, if you don't, the iPhone would be your best bet. Apple isn't a company that offers a lot of choice, which has worked fine for them. Steve Jobs tells you what you will like!

 

[Alchematron]

I would say yeah

Bigger screen
Thinner
Longer battery life
Titanium
No chrome bezel
4G connectivity

 

[Cartoonkid]

Steve Jobs tells you what you will like!

I know you're being sarcastic, but just because more than one model of phone uses Android, you think Google isn't doing the same?? And for that matter, so are Sprint, RIM, etc.

And let's not confuse options with choice.

I chose my current phone because of all the phones I tried at the time, it fit my needs the best. It just so happens that was an iPhone.

 

[cwubbels]

I know you're being sarcastic, but just because more than one model of phone uses Android, you think Google isn't doing the same?? And for that matter, so are Sprint, RIM, etc.

I guess I don't understand what you are trying to say here.

And let's not confuse options with choice.

My point here was, you have a choice in what phone you buy. If you like to customize the look of your phone for instance, Android is better. If not, and you like simple, easy to use functionality, the iPhone does that pretty well.

I chose my current phone because of all the phones I tried at the time, it fit my needs the best. It just so happens that was an iPhone.

Agreed, I think that is most peoples phone choice. It's all about what you want and/or need.

 

[AuburnApple]

There are surely some great phones out there these days, but these people who put down the iPhone and chase the latest and greatest "iPhone killer" crack me up. First it was the Pre, then the Droid, now the Nexus One. How much are all these Apple haters and spec chasers spending on the latest and greatest phones? Meanwhile people that bought the original iPhone 3 years ago still have a very capable smartphone that still gets regular OS updates.

 

[Pared]

You guys don't get it...

It's not JUST specs. It's specs with an OS that we like. Android is a good OS and you're naive if you don't think so.

Also, about Apple targeting the "mainstream market"... Seriously? "Think different..." They got their start by NOT targeting the mainstream market. They have been, as far as computers go, an ALTERNATIVE market.

I don't want the iPhone OS to change much. Just some important tweaks.

No kidding. You're not saying anything new. However, most people that make the argument use specs as proof. In fact, you've proven my point - you simply want some changes to the iPhone OS. Design and performance.

And their "start" means nothing here. Think different... yeah, that's what they used to say. Stop thinking a computer was simply "Windows." Stop thinking music couldn't be completely portable and simple in managing said music. Stop thinking a phone had to be this clunky piece of mobile tech.

People are making comments like they've lost anything. Mostly what you see are people spec-hoarding. Yeah, you want so and so.... that still doesn't mean you don't want better specs.

They don't mean anything. It's bragging rights simply for bragging. If you think any other device is THAT faster, you'd be gone. The 3GS is STILL comparable, with differences in possibly what... a second or two here and there?

"Where is my 1 GHz processor Apple?"

At the same time, hardware specs are not to be ignored.

When the iPhone came out, its success relied to some extent on its (at the time) slightly higher resolution screen than most, capacitive touch, and an accelerometer. In other words, it used a mixture of features to make an even greater whole.

Software wise, mobile OSX could've been ported to any old WinMo device, but it would've have been the same.

Technology marches on. Nowadays WVGA screens are pretty common. HD video recording and output are getting that way. If you're used to viewing web pages on a WVGA screen, it's a downgrade to go back to a lesser resolution.

Having enough memory to keep multiple apps is useful, too. Even Apple put in extra memory so their 3GS model could have stuff like voice control always available.

So, as always, it takes a synergy between both good hardware and software.

Completely agreed. However, specs mean nothing if real world performance is comparable. And no one seems to care about that. They just want Apple to announce they have the fastest processor, the most memory and the highest resolution screen.

 

[ViViDboarder]

No kidding. You're not saying anything new. However, most people that make the argument use specs as proof. In fact, you've proven my point - you simply want some changes to the iPhone OS. Design and performance.

And their "start" means nothing here. Think different... yeah, that's what they used to say. Stop thinking a computer was simply "Windows." Stop thinking music couldn't be completely portable and simple in managing said music. Stop thinking a phone had to be this clunky piece of mobile tech.

People are making comments like they've lost anything. Mostly what you see are people spec-hoarding. Yeah, you want so and so.... that still doesn't mean you don't want better specs.

They don't mean anything. It's bragging rights simply for bragging. If you think any other device is THAT faster, you'd be gone. The 3GS is STILL comparable, with differences in possibly what... a second or two here and there?

"Where is my 1 GHz processor Apple?"



Completely agreed. However, specs mean nothing if real world performance is comparable. And no one seems to care about that. They just want Apple to announce they have the fastest processor, the most memory and the highest resolution screen.

Yet Apple released the iPhone 3Gs. Merely a specs boost over the 3G. That's all they came up with in a year... Phones like the Evo are way more than new specs, they are new specs that drive new features. Features are what people want. Apple is good with features but what they are lagging in now is the specs to support them. I'm sure if Apple did a phone capable of 720p video recording, it would do it really well and make it the feature of the device. I only use 720p video as an example of one of these specs.

As for the rest, 1GHz processors, that's just the standard for smart phones now. No point in going backwards.

 

[Pared]

Yet Apple released the iPhone 3Gs. Merely a specs boost over the 3G. That's all they came up with in a year... Phones like the Evo are way more than new specs, they are new specs that drive new features. Features are what people want. Apple is good with features but what they are lagging in now is the specs to support them. I'm sure if Apple did a phone capable of 720p video recording, it would do it really well and make it the feature of the device. I only use 720p video as an example of one of these specs.

As for the rest, 1GHz processors, that's just the standard for smart phones now. No point in going backwards.

All you're doing is talking about specs and further proving my point. Again, that "standard" doesn't mean much when a 600MHz processor is performing similarly, does it?

It's a phone that can do more. If you want a phone that can replace your laptop, go for it. Doesn't mean the mass does, but again, if you're hung up on specs and features, go for it. Choice is good.

As appealing as that new HTC phone is, it's just going to give a woody to all the spec whores. "Oh, my phone can output 720p video." Congrats, I guess, because that's why I buy a smartphone. It's like complaining there not being an SD card slot in your iPhone.... when it has 32GB's built in memory.

I had an SD card in my PDA many years ago. Don't miss it at all.

 

[Abyssgh0st]

What makes you believe that Apple won't totally redo the hardware/software for the fourth iteration of the iPhone? The design is almost two years old, and the operating system almost three years old. They're both overdue, and I'd bet money that both are due for a big overhaul come June.

 

[corriewf]

What makes you believe that Apple won't totally redo the hardware/software for the fourth iteration of the iPhone? The design is almost two years old, and the operating system almost three years old. They're both overdue, and I'd bet money that both are due for a big overhaul come June.

If they do, it won't be anything like what we thought they would do. The problem is that this years iphone was probably designed last summer. As I posted in another thread, the prototype was probably already done by the first of the year. It takes time to design, build, and test a prototype. It takes time to develop the software. I am willing to bet that the new Iphone was probably already set in stone before any of these Android phones came out. Unless Apple had a corp spy that fed them info on HTC, I doubt they knew what HTC was going to come out with. So with that in mind, I doubt their update will be based on anything to beat the current HTC Android phone specs.

If I had to guess, I bet we see a OLED 3.5 inch screen with hybrid multitasking technology. I also think the cpu will remain around 600 but offer a dual core processor. I VERY seriously doubt a front facing cam will be offered. The problem is that AT&T's network can not handle the bandwidth of such a feature. They could hardly handle MMS with the iphone. Maybe when AT&T comes out with their 4G, we will see a front facing cam.

 

[matttye]

Then your opinion is wrong. As a PURE Phone, as in no location service, no wifi, no web browsing running on 2G and only using the screen when you are scrolling the contact list; the iPhone will most certainly run for half a day.

Firstly, an opinion cannot be wrong.

Secondly, having to turn everything off so that you get reasonable battery life defeats the object of having a smartphone. The phone should get adequate battery life even with all of the bells and whistles turned on.

My Nokia 5800 lasts about a day and a half with push email on, listening to about 6 hours of music on the trains, web browsing, lots of texts, a couple of short calls. On the same trip (I've been doing this for years), my old iPhone used to die on the first day and I didn't have push email or 3G back then.

 

[matttye]

If they do, it won't be anything like what we thought they would do. The problem is that this years iphone was probably designed last summer. As I posted in another thread, the prototype was probably already done by the first of the year. It takes time to design, build, and test a prototype. It takes time to develop the software. I am willing to bet that the new Iphone was probably already set in stone before any of these Android phones came out. Unless Apple had a corp spy that fed them info on HTC, I doubt they knew what HTC was going to come out with. So with that in mind, I doubt their update will be based on anything to beat the current HTC Android phone specs.

If I had to guess, I bet we see a OLED 3.5 inch screen with hybrid multitasking technology. I also think the cpu will remain around 600 but offer a dual core processor. I VERY seriously doubt a front facing cam will be offered. The problem is that AT&T's network can not handle the bandwidth of such a feature. They could hardly handle MMS with the iphone. Maybe when AT&T comes out with their 4G, we will see a front facing cam.

The iPhone is sold worldwide, not just America

 

[kernkraft]

I am so sick of people saying "are you buying a phone or are you buying a desktop?"

I am buying a F***ing computer for my pocket! If I wanted a phone, I would have kept my old V3.

So yes, I am buying a computer.

By computer, do you mean a laptop? Or a netbook? Good for you!

I would also recommend an iPod Touch. It's 10" screen version is just coming out. But it's not a computer, sadly.