A while back I wrote about the possibility that we will reach a stage where smartphone manufacturers can no longer improve on the technical aspects of new phones and that they will have to look at new areas. Is the iPhone 4 proof that we are close to the limits of smartphone specification?
I have an iPhone 3GS and have pondered why I would want to upgrade to the iPhone 4 and the logical reasons are hard to come by. There is not one new feature that I need and the gyroscope is about the only new ‘feature’ in the iPhone 4. My 3GS is quick, stable and does almost everything I need apart from voice calls of a quality I deem satisfactory. The iPhone 4 does bring improved battery life (by about 16% I believe) and a much better screen, but the phone functions are primarily identical to what I have now.
There is little doubt that the iPhone 4 is a better 3GS rather than a completely new device, but that has not stopped 100,000′s of people pre-ordering one. The iPhone 3G was a big improvement on the original 2G iPhone and the 3GS overcame many of the problems on the 3G, but the iPhone 4 does not represent the same evolutionary step. It represents style and a better user experience which will be hard to beat elsewhere, but ultimately it is an iPhone 3GS in more expensive clothing.
We seem to have reached a point where desire is the byword for selling lots of smart phones and as the technical side becomes harder to move ever upwards, this trend will continue. Apple owns computing desire and is thus best placed to move the market forward. The problem comes when the others have to join this trend they all may start to overlook the practicalities for the nice bits that will sell more devices. To be fair to Apple, it is addressing the practical issues with the 3GS and so it is not all about style, but this is not enough to make me jump on the iPhone 4 bandwagon. OK, yes it is…
I think you’re wrong Shaun. The face time feature on ios4 is essentially useless initially unless you have iphone4 friends. BUT, I think this will be one the norm across all devices. I think Apple caught up with other phones initially whilst building in style and useability. They are now pushing the envelope with new features. Now they have a critical mass they can bring new features to the Market place.
I think facetime is unexciting now but in 5 years we will look back at the extraordinary insight Apple showed.
Maybe with the gyroscope too. I’m not sure how that’s going to pan out but potentially itcould be huge for augmented reality.
This is just the beginning.
Sid
For me, it’s the super hi res screen thing, the much better camera and much slimmer profile…all the rest is not that important.
I’m looking forward to the huge step up in processor chip over my iPhone 3G. It might be my imagination because I’m waiting for a new phone, but my old device seems really slow now.
I don’t think I could disagree with the article more.
The 3GS was the evolutionary step from the 3G, and acknowledged by Apple as such. I have the 3GS, and it feels like the original 3G design perfected; just a bit more fluid with spec bump to the dodgy camera.
The iPhone 4 is pretty much a ground-up redesign of the product – entirely new CPU, double the RAM, new graphics hardware, 4 x the screen resolution, better battery life, redesigned case, noise-cancelling microphone, better antenna, new sensor (gyroscope), improved camera, revised OS.
Just what else can you do with a black rectangle? It’s the biggest upgrade since the launch of the damn thing.
Wish they’d launch a second device with a keyboard. That would be nice, but anyone who thinks this is a tweaked 3GS is wrong – it’s an entirely new design.
“I think facetime is unexciting now but in 5 years we will look back at the extraordinary insight Apple showed.”
???
Sorry I don’t get the insight? video calling has been around for years in Australia on mobiles, and we are normally years behind everyone else?
Is the insight to make it proprietary so it does’t work with competitors phones? or to make it only work over wifi unlike other video calling phones that work over 3g?
I’m pretty much with Shaun on this one. The screen is tempting, the upgraded camera sounds nice and it is sleek and lovely. Yes, I know am tempted by the shiny gadget factor.
But I’ve yet to see anything that really exploits the upgrades other than “it’s a bit better at everything” and it’s got facetime. Now, I am extremely unlikely to use facetime at present, the only time I use video calling is skype laptop to laptop over wifi when I’m away from home. My other half is very unlikely to use an iPhone (he likes a physical keyboard) and no one else I might want to call has an iPhone, so skype is a much better option.
I’m sure that apps will start to appear which do exploit the better graphics and the gyroscope but is there much at launch that really makes it a “must have now” device?
I’m surprised no-one has mentioned the other reason for waiting though – to get a white iPhone