15 ms·

My iOS 7 Wishlist

147 points by sciwiz 14y ago

Xuzz 14y ago
What APIs would something like Google Now need that don't currently exist? The only one I can think of is a way to launch it easier, rather than with an icon. But the push and local notifications, geo-tracking, ability to access your Gmail, and even the ability for Google Maps to pre-download map tiles are available to Google on iOS. What else does it need?
- pcl 14y ago
  the ability for Google Maps to pre-download map tiles [is] available to Google on iOS Google Now will automatically pre-download the map vector data before your trip, without you asking it to. For Google to do the equivalent on iOS, they'd need to be able to perform periodic background jobs, which isn't something that iOS supports currently.
  - Xuzz 14y ago
    It wouldn't be perfect, but the Google Now app could recognize that you're nearing an airport — something iOS does support, with background location updates — and then download the map data when it gets that notification. iOS apps can also share data between apps from the same vendor (via the Keychain, pasteboards, or various other mechanisms), so there wouldn't be an issue with passing that data over to the Google Maps app for offline viewing.
- estel 14y ago
  They aren't push notifications, but client-side notifications that respond to the user's learned habits and situation. I guess some of Google Now's functionality could be offloaded to push, but lots of it is based on the user's location, which isn't available on iOS to an app that isn't open.
  - Xuzz 14y ago
    User location is available to background iOS applications; Apple includes two APIs specifically for that purpose: fine and course background location updates. The app will be notified whenever the user's location changes, if it's activated or not.
    - estel 14y ago
      I thought that only worked for apps that were once opened (since the phone last closed) and hadn't yet been killed by iOS's background task management thing?
- marcuschristie 14y ago
  I had a similar thought. Google Now's voice search is already available in the iOS Google Search app, so what would it take to get full Google Now functionality in that app? It seems like Google could get very close with what is already available api wise.
deleted 14y ago
[deleted]
tobylane 14y ago
There's adding enough APIs for google programmers, and adding enough data access for google marketers. I hope we get the first one, but that doesn't mean we'll get Google's apps.
purephase 14y ago
The holy grail for me (and one that keeps me on iOS) is hardware. Apple knows this, which is why they are so aggressive in patent submission and litigation. Android terrifies them. If Samsung/LG et. al. could make a somewhat more affordable handset with the design ascetics of an Apple device that ran stock Android, it would seriously disrupt Apple's position. I had hope for Intel's concept phone [1], but it doesn't look like it manifested in the way it was originally sold. 1. http://www.businessinsider.com/intel-medfield-concept-phone-tablet-2011-12 http://www.businessinsider.com/intel-medfield-concept-phone-...
- stcredzero 14y ago
  > Samsung/LG et. al. could make a somewhat more affordable handset with the design ascetics of an Apple device that ran stock Android, it would seriously disrupt Apple's position. Or, what if Google bought a company with great supply chain expertise? Then they could sell tons of those Nexus phones. What about a Google retail arm? It should probably be a different company entirely that Google owns. It could sell Nexus devices and Chromebooks and have its own version of the Genius Bar.
  - purephase 14y ago
    I've never been a fan of the Nexus product line, so hopefully a company with a better design ascetic. The HTC/Samsung/LG triumvirate clearly focuses on a market saturation instead of flagship products. Frankly, I'm a bit shocked that none of the other manufacturers have tried shifting focus to less, but much better handsets. RIM is trying it now though, so I guess we'll see how that works out for them.
    - 2muchcoffeeman 14y ago
      I really liked the previous Nexus phones with the curved glass. The slight curve feels good in the hand. It also solves the problem of placing the phone face down and getting scratches on the screen without using a raised bezel. Also, why would these companies abandon their currently successful business model? They know it works for them. I am sure they will all start pumping more resources into building a 'premium' brand like Samsung is doing with Galaxy.
martythemaniak 14y ago
Sounds a bit like my wishlist for iOS2 and 3. At the time, I wanted to write an app that analysed my call history and show me interesting facts. There were no call log APIs in iOS2, so I wrote an Android version, which at the time became one of the top Android apps. I kept hoping Apple would loosen up, but of course they didn't. Anyway, I wouldn't hold my breath. Doing this would be a big pivot for them and with the amount of money they're raking in, there can't be many urgent calls for this inside the company.
sergiotapia 14y ago
>Let us do what we want. Pretty much everyone I know who has ditched iOS has done so because of this reason. Seems to me like the author is just a bit behind and finally caught on. I love the Apple hardware, dislike the closed options I get on iOS.
- devth 14y ago
  > Seems to me like the author is just a bit behind and finally caught on. False. It could be that some give more weight to superior hardware, and while Android's openness is great, it still lacks the polish of iOS. I'm pretty much in the same place as the author. The ideal is: excellent hardware, openness (hooks, ability to hack, customize, etc.), well-designed defaults for UX, app-to-app integration, cloud support, features. Android scores low on the first and last.
- prawks 14y ago
  This is what happens when you market a phone as something that "just works". It's great that iOS is able to be used by kindergarten-level children, but at the same time, it's not. My next phone is going to be Android-based, because I believe that I can handle using mobile devices expecting users to be able to think critically.
  - Domenic_S 14y ago
    You might have a perspective problem. A mobile device that expects you to "think critically"? Come on now. Some people enjoy building and tweaking PCs. Most don't. Some people enjoy tinkering on their cars. Most don't. Some people enjoy tinkering with their phone, "thinking critically" while using it; most don't. I enjoy endless tinkering with servers, caches, micro-optimizations, and so forth. But I can't stand tinkering with my tools -- I prefer to tinker with other things using my tools. I consider my phone a tool. Not everyone is like me, and not everyone is like you. There's no right or wrong, just preference.
    - prawks 14y ago
      > Not everyone is like me, and not everyone is like you. There's no right or wrong, just preference. I never said there was. The poster I was responding to said that he disliked the closed environment iOS provides. Perhaps my wording was a bit more confrontational that I meant, but my comment still stands: Apple's products are not marketed to or designed for power users. That's really all I meant by it. I never said that everyone is like everyone else; they're not. Many people who enjoy tinkering use Apple's phones. These people are, as is apparent to me now (hence my buying an Android next), better off using an open platform like Android. As an aside, it's just as easy to classify servers and caches as tools that should "just work". It's about perspective, and preference.
te_chris 14y ago
They need to have a way to set defaults for different types of apps too, coming from android that's incredibly infuriating. Also intents. Oh, and fix the complete mess that is notification centre, it's so cludgy and awful compared to android - e.g why the hell can't I swipe away individual notifications? Why do I have to clear all or none of them * rage *. (I'm a recent convert to a 4S as I'm putting an app into the store and need to use it).
- mikeevans 14y ago
  Not to mention they couldn't make the "clear all" button any smaller.
jonknee 14y ago
I'd love to be able to actually replace Apple's apps with Google's. When I hit a link I don't want it to open in Safari, I want Chrome. Ditto with Map links. I want Siri to be replaced with Google Voice Search (and for there to be APIs that allow Google to fully replace Siri).
- squidsoup 14y ago
  Given that you're primarily wanting Google software, what is it about iOS or the iPhone that is keeping you from switching to an Android phone?
  - purephase 14y ago
    The phones themselves... ?
  - justinph 14y ago
    Not the orignal commenter, but I've tried switching to Android several times so I feel qualified to reply: * Apple hardware is superior to any of the Nexus phones. Buttons don't rock without triggering action, screens are consistent colors, etc. * There is a hardware home button that doesn't change locations. This makes it easy to get 'home' from anywhere, and, most importantly, to orient the device by feel in your hand without looking at it. * The phone in't huge. * Battery life is better on iOS. * There is only one email app, not seperate apps for exchange / imap and gmail. * The quality of apps on iOS is vastly superior to Android. Both in terms of function, but also UI. This is partly because of developers, but also because there isn't the screen size fragmentation issue. I really want google to succeed with Android. I want someone to make a phone that's better than the iPhone. No one is doing it, yet, though.
    - pcl 14y ago
      There is only one email app, not seperate apps for exchange / imap and gmail. The goofy mail experience was a big turn-off for me last time I tried switching to Android. The quality of apps on iOS is vastly superior to Android. This might be true on average, but in my case, I only really use a handful of apps with any regularity, and they all seem to be around parity on both platforms.
RexRollman 14y ago
Personally, the biggest thing for me is file management. I hate it that I can't just connect a device and copy files to and from it via USB. Now, I'm not saying that I need to see every file and folder on the iOS device, but exposing a data folder for each installed application would be a big help.
- freehunter 14y ago
  I was very surprised when I plugged in my Lumia 920 and a data folder popped up. I don't recall this existing in WP7, and it sure didn't exist on the Zune. It really can't be too hard or disruptive to allow this, the biggest reason I like it is for copying pictures from the phone without needing the Zune software or a network connection.
- mixmastamyk 14y ago
  It's getting worse. My Nexus 7 doesn't allow it either, although you can work around it and (use it as a flashdrive at least) by pretending it's a camera. I understand the problem is having a disk mounted by two OSs similtaneously. There is newer protocol called mtp (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_Transfer_Protocol http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_Transfer_Protocol) that is supposed to be the answer, but it isn't supported by older OSs. Feels like they reinvented the wheel though.
  - revelation 14y ago
    MTP is a complete trainwreck. The main problem is that the support in Windows is absolutely useless. Copying a big file and want to continue exploring the contents? Nope. Any kind of simultaneous operation will just plain not work. There is a very odd warning if you copy over plain old data like zip files - it tells you that the device might not be able to play the content. You can still copy them over, at crappy speed. But then trying to read them again will often fail with a weird error that amounts to "The connection broke". Oh, and Explorer constantly locks up when dealing with MTP devices. It either plain crashes or waiting for data that is never coming, no matter, its blocking the GUI interactions for fucks sake, in 2013.
rednukleus 14y ago
Sounds like the author just wants Android in a iPhone form factor.
- ajross 14y ago
  It's more than simple form factor. Apple's hardware integration work too is way beyond what the Android OEMs are doing, too. One of the complaints in the article is battery life, and that's dead on. My wife's 4S routinely lasts all day. Occasionally she forgets to plug it in and in the morning it's crossed 24h of uptime with a little power to spare until she can plug it in at work. My Galaxy Nexus with the extended battery (7.77WH vs. 5.3 in the iPhone) will never make 24h without special attention (e.g. airplane mode, disable sync, etc...). And it's routine on days of slightly-heavier-than-normal usage for it to die before I plug it in at bedtime. Some of that effect is simply the larger backlight (75% more screen area on the Nexus), but surely not all of it. Power management in iOS is just plain better than it is in the Android world, and quite noticeably so. For me, that's an acceptable trade for Android's deeper features and hackability. But I won't say I don't wish it did a little better, and wouldn't begrudge someone making a product decision based on it.
  - aetherson 14y ago
    For whatever it's worth: I got a Motorola Droid RAZR M a few months back, explicitly because it's not gigantic and I don't like gigantic phones. It gets 24+ hours of battery life, even though I play Ingress a few hours a day (though I don't do much else that's heavily battery draining). It is not gigantic. It is presently on Android 4.1, and while it's not the entirely pure Android experience you'd get with a Nexus, it's not that far off. The screen isn't anywhere near as pretty as an iPhone's, and the build quality is probably inferior (but, honestly, plenty high for me). I'm pretty happy with it.
roc 14y ago
Google Now isn't awesome because Google exposed various APIs into their omniscient database. And they're not letting random apps grab 'Now' information for their own purposes either. They haven't played the "Open" card on "Now", at all, that I've seen. So thinking Apple would match it by just opening some APIs is double-unlikely. Particularly not with their reluctance to allow any hooks that third party developers might misuse. If Apple pursued this, they'd develop a first-party solution by more-tightly-integrating the existing first-party apps (Maps/Calendar/Passbook/Siri) and call it a day. A measured step forward on that front is actually more Apple-like and would be less surprising than if they rolled out the more oft-cited requests, like widgets, services, siri API and changeable defaults. Particularly since making Siri "aware" of your immediate future needs/obligations would be a feature multiplier all its own.
- mtgx 14y ago
  Ironically, Apple's services like Maps and Siri are the ones that are not very "integrated" but are quite "fragmented" instead, since they need hooks into different databases from 3rd party vendors of which they have no control on, while Google only uses their own Google search engine for Google Now, and their own Maps database for Maps. Also, Google has already brought Voice Search to the iPhone. I think Google Now is also a service they'd like to bring, since it seems like one of those services where they would benefit if it was on the most popular mobile platforms at least.
  - dsl 14y ago
    Apple pays for Yelp's data, Google scrapes it. Your guess is as good as mine as to which lasts longer.
uptown 14y ago
Yet the problem with your phone doing all of this location-aware intelligence is that you wind up with the dead-battery he started his article out with. Whenever I read articles like this one I'm left wondering whether my life is distinctly different from most. I generally have a pretty good idea about my calendar - where I'll be going that day, and what restaurant I'll grab a bite to eat in if that's part of my agenda. These services built around finding a great noodle shop in some far-flung town are neat demonstration-cases, but to me they're about as useful as "Hotel Tonight". In my life, I don't ever anticipate winding up in a new city without knowing where I was going to sleep that night beforehand. Maybe I just plan differently because I've needed to up until now - or maybe this is the start of an evolution that I'm already beyond - but given the choice of a phone whose battery lasts all day so I can find things when I want them versus a phone that's dead by 3pm because it's been busy coming up with the top 5 museum exhibits I won't have time to go check-out, I'll always pick the former.
- cheald 14y ago
  I'd argue that the existence of "Hotel Tonight" implies that other people lead lives different from yours. :) (Maybe not "most", but enough!)
- bluetidepro 14y ago
  I see both sides. I agree with you, I'm the same in that I plan very accordingly and would probably go crazy if I was in a "Hotel Tonight" situation. However, I like to know that if I was ever (somehow) in a "Hotel Tonight" situation, the app is there and ready to use for my convenience. To add to your battery life point, I wish there was more exposure to how apps eat battery life on your iPhone. It would be nice if Apple somehow exposed that to the user to see where and how apps are eating up your battery life. I know there is some apps out there that sort of tell you, but no where near the level of details I think Apple should expose.
  - cheald 14y ago
    I feel like it's worth pointing out that Android makes this kind of information easy to get to - BetterBatteryStats[1] and GSam Battery Monitor[2] are both amazing in tracking down and fixing power leaks. I think that this is sort of the core of the Android vs iOS difference; iOS says "don't worry about it, trust us to get it right", and Android says "here's enough rope to hang yourself with, but you can also use it to climb out of that pit if you want". [1] https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.asksven.betterbatterystats&hl=en https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.asksven.be... [2] https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gsamlabs.bbm&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5nc2FtbGFicy5iYm0iXQ. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gsamlabs.b....
dmix 14y ago
> Jellybean has been a dream to use. There are some rough edges, but the moments where I wish I still had my iPhone are few and far between. Totally agree. I was scared ditching my iphone 4 for a Samsung S3 but it's been really great. Plus it has lots of nice encryption features.
nicholassmith 14y ago
Here's my feature wishlist for iOS7: - Nothing. I don't want anything new. I'm happy with the current feature set my phone currently has. What I desperately want from iOS 7 is a renewed focus on stability and Not Sucking. There's been a significant amount of additional functionality brought in over the last few releases, but it feels like in terms of stability it's not improved anywhere near as quickly.
- gurkendoktor 14y ago
  I'll go even further and say: I want to be able to turn existing stuff off in Settings. I don't need a Spotlight home screen to the left, I don't want the ugly notification centre that I accidentally trigger and never use, and neither will I ever touch Newsstand or Stocks or Weather or Siri. How hard can it be to present a list of on/off switches - some of them exist already for parental controls.
  - dshep 14y ago
    I think iOS 4.x was the best iOS. I'd probably stay there too if apps didn't start requiring iOS5+. About the only thing I like in iOS5 is the weather app.
- rayiner 14y ago
  Apple Maps is the first time I've ever had a "what the fuck were they thinking" moment on my iPhone. On my 5, it's really easy to accidentally switch it into 3D mode while zooming, which slows the phone to a crawl if you've got an iffy network connection. Like 30 seconds between screen updates. Just absolutely awful.
- anotherbadlogin 14y ago
  Really? Because it's pretty inexcusable that Apple lets this (which shouldn't have existed in the first iPhone OS, let alone years later) continue to plague users: http://goldmanosi.blogspot.com/2012/06/will-apple-ever-fix-iphones-biggest.html http://goldmanosi.blogspot.com/2012/06/will-apple-ever-fix-i...
stickydink 14y ago
A more cost-efficient way of ensuring you're ok in OP's scenario (blown out tyre, phone battery dead), than buying an iPhone? Get a charger for your vehicle.
bborud 14y ago
I have one wish: that the iOS programmers at Apple learn how to write efficient concurrent code and that they stop leaning on the next, faster, generation processor so hard that any phone that is just one generation older than the leatest and greatest becomes slow as shit. My iPhone used to be fast. Most things used to be snappy. Now it is slow as shit. From the address book lookups (which I have timed to usually clock in at 8-9 seconds, but which can take as long as 20 seconds) to the atrocious piece of penguin dung that is the podcast app. Seriously, Apple could not have created a shittier app if they had hired a bunch of Microsoft engineers to bang their foreheads on keyboards for 88 hours. iOS software is fucking slow. (Firing Scott Forstall to stop the skeuomorphic wankery was a good start. Now they need a real software engineering director to beat some sense into the engineers and to make sure they have "Concurrency 101" under their belt before writing another line of code)
- gurkendoktor 14y ago
  Optimising code costs money, may make the code base harder to maintain and does not help much with selling new devices. I really hope there will be a future shift in making money from software, not hardware. Right now the opposite seems to be happening. :(
  - simonh 14y ago
    From my perspective Apple makes almost all their iPhone money from the software. The phones are lovely hardware, but look at the original iPhone and 3GS. They were plastic soap bars. It didn't matter because the software was phenominal. I think their problems with iOS are crucial. If they let the quality of their software slip for too long they'll be in serious trouble. I still think they've got maybe 2 years lead over the competition in their overall OS, services and applications portfolio, but that's less of a lead than they had 2 years ago.
- Me1000 14y ago
  While I feel your frustration with iOS apps in general, concurrency is not a silver bullet. I can't say anything specifically about what's making certain iOS applications slow, but I actually think it's probably more related to Core Data and file IO. I can also say their new concurrency technology (Grand Central Dispatch) is one of the most brilliant pieces of technology I've seen in a while. The reasons why are pretty technical, but I think many people who have experience in concurrency would agree that it's pretty good.
rdl 14y ago
My #1 wishlist item, which would be easy to implement, is "guest mode" -- let me hit a button on the lock screen (or elsewhere) which lets me loan someone my phone briefly without any personalization or sensitive data. A standard web browser, phone app, etc. Maybe let me customize what apps are available in "limited mode". This matters even more on an iPad, which I'm generally willing to share, vs. my phone, which I won't let out of my sight due to fear of missing a call. This would be for: 1) Loaning someone my phone briefly 2) Kids -- you might want to lock the phone down to a single app. (or, for me, lock the phone to a single cat toy application for cats) 3) Theft -- if someone steals my device, it would be nice to remotely drop it into "browser and email only" to keep him online so I can continue to location-track and then order pipehitter as a service to recover the device.
- 0x0 14y ago
  I think you can do the lock-to-one-app in iOS 6 already, random first google hit: http://www.gottabemobile.com/2012/10/01/how-to-lock-the-ipad-to-a-single-app-for-kid-mode/ http://www.gottabemobile.com/2012/10/01/how-to-lock-the-ipad...
  - smackfu 14y ago
    Not too useful when that one app is a browser though that has all your identity in it. It's really only good if you want to let someone play a game and only that game.
    - 0x0 14y ago
      Good point. But maybe you could use Google Chrome for that?
    - btown 14y ago
      But if you use Google Chrome for all your browsing, you can let Safari be a no-identity browser for this purpose.
- schandur 14y ago
  I agree - this is a very useful feature. I've been a fan of Kid's Corner[1] on my Windows Phone since day one. [1] http://www.windowsphone.com/en-US/how-to/wp8/basics/set-up-kids-corner http://www.windowsphone.com/en-US/how-to/wp8/basics/set-up-k...
Void_ 14y ago
Tell me why I’m an idiot for having this opinion by tweeting @tomdale. Off topic, but this is genius. I never understood why everybody copied that "you should follow me" rudeness of a line. Not thinking too high about yourself is how you win people's goodwill.
- MartinCron 14y ago
  I never read "you should follow me" as particularly rude, maybe a little self-important, but not full on rude. Once you start trying to get followers you've pretty much implanted yourself in the realm of self-importance. I do agree that this is just brilliant.
- panacea 14y ago
  It's pretty clever, but if I really wanted to explain why he's an idiot, wouldn't I use the convenient comments form directly under that without trying to do it in less than 140 characters?
jwwest 14y ago
Is there something stopping Google from shipping Google Now for iOS? If you use Chrome on iOS they're collecting all sorts of information, you can also pull GPS data etc from G+ on iOS and associate it server-side. You don't get the cool springboard shortcut though.
jetako 14y ago
Google Now is the one feature that will determine whether I switch from iPhone to Android in the next 6 months. If Apple doesn't come up with something comparable in that time frame, they will lose a customer.
- jasonbarone 14y ago
  Same here, I've been a raving Apple product fan for years but Google Now and app-to-app integrations are just too damn useful to pass up. It's now to the point where it's an inconvenience to use some iPhone apps.
- cdalonzo 14y ago
  Can't agree enough. iOS 7 is the make it or break it decision for me.
thegyppo 14y ago
I've recently moved to an iPhone 5 after being on Android for a few years. I'm a heavy Gtalk user & it pains me that there's no official Google app for it on iOS - something I'd love to see.
saturdaysaint 14y ago
Google Now sounds interesting but when it comes to digital content apps (kindle, audible, etc), I don't see how shopping in your browser is even an inconvenience. If I bring up Siri and say "Google Game Of Thrones Kindle" I can have the book bought and on my screen with a few taps.
dshep 14y ago
Google Now has been pretty useless for me. Its mostly an annoyance, I'm always having to dismiss its place suggestions and "Time to home/work" notifications.
jxdxbx 14y ago
I am worried that so much of the "integration" people are calling for is integration with the services of just one company, Google. And most people that want to replace the built-in iOS app defaults want to replace them with Google apps so they can use more Google services. Is that healthy for the web? Now, Google offers the best-in-class web services in a number of domains. But I've never been very fond of many of them, and where Google apps are less than great I prefer to use the alternative--Yelp instead of Google Local, standard IMAP email instead of Gmail, Wolfram Alpha for some searches, etc. To Google's credit, it is easier to use an alternative search engine with Android than it is to use just about any alternative service on iOS. But I don't think we're going to see Google Now integrating with Bing maps or Duckduckgo or Yelp anytime soon.
- dannyr 14y ago
  "Integration" may benefit Google at first. You have think of the possibilities though if that integration is available to any developer. Google is good at a number of apps but not all. On Android, a lot of core functionalities built by Google can be replaced with a third-party app. You can replace the keyboard, use a different Home screen or Launcher, another app to manage your Contacts or have a different dialer. I think the current situation is worse since only Apple can integrate tightly with iOS. Apple did allow Facebook & Twitter some integration though.
  - jxdxbx 14y ago
    I think this is true as far as iOS goes--and it is more likely that Apple will open up the iPhone to third parties than that Google Now and so on will start working with third parties. My concern is more with how so many very tech-savvy people, usually so skeptical of companies that get a little too ambitious--are extolling the virtues of a system that requires your email, search, maps, and nearly everything else be sourced from a single provider. More on point, even if iOS allows for changing default apps, it should keep system-wide settings as far as possible. For example, the drop-down email sheet that apps can use will probably have to stay Apple, even if you're using Gmail for your mail, at least until there's a more robust contracts-like system. But right now this would mean having to input your email credentials into both system settings, and the gmail app separately.
DigitalSea 14y ago
I think we all need to revert back to the days of 3 sometimes 4 days battery life on old school Nokia's like the Nokia 3315. It's amazing how battery life on phones seems to get progressively worse even though battery technology is better, we're still cramming in battery draining features when all someone needs in an emergency is the ability to make a phone call or send a text, not a web browser, email client and a Facebook app.
- shadesandcolour 14y ago
  Sure making a phone call or sending out a message is all that you need to do in an emergency. But that's not what the cell phone is for anymore. Back when batteries lasted 3-4 days on a charge they were there for when you needed them. Now people feel like they need them all the time. This isn't a failure of hardware or software. A mobile phone isn't a just a phone anymore, so how can we expect it to have the same battery life as something that is just a phone?
- kalleboo 14y ago
  I have a spare Android phone I keep on with a SIM card in so work can call me for server emergencies even when my regular phone is on silent. With 3G, Wifi and data access disabled, it lasts for over a week on standby, even with not-so-great reception. If you're fine with returning to the feature set of that era, modern phones have huge batteries and highly optimized chipsets that exceed the performance of the old phones.
HNLogInShit 14y ago
Really? THAT is what he chose to complain about? How about being notified that you missed a phone call? How much time with family and friends do we need to miss before Apple fixes this bullshit: http://goldmanosi.blogspot.com/2012/06/will-apple-ever-fix-iphones-biggest.html http://goldmanosi.blogspot.com/2012/06/will-apple-ever-fix-i...
jsz0 14y ago
The most interesting thing about iOS7 to me is how Apple will handle the issues around iCloud Documents and data portability between apps. I appreciate they are trying to move away from traditional file systems because I really believe there are better ways of doing things. The problem here is Apple's approach isn't exactly working. In a lot (most?) ways it's actually worse than dealing with a traditional file system. If they can't figure it out for iOS7 I think they need to admit defeat and try something different. A perfect example of this is creating a text document in TextEdit on your Mac. It's utterly useless on your iOS device. You can't access it at all. Sure they could release TextEdit for iOS but that does not solve the real problem or address the problems of portability of data between iOS apps. In my opinion iOS7 is their last shot to get this right. If they can't figure it out dust off iDisk and just go back to the basics. It's annoying to deal with file systems but it works at least.

147 points by sciwiz 14y ago

Xuzz 14y ago

What APIs would something like Google Now need that don't currently exist? The only one I can think of is a way to launch it easier, rather than with an icon. But the push and local notifications, geo-tracking, ability to access your Gmail, and even the ability for Google Maps to pre-download map tiles are available to Google on iOS. What else does it need?

pcl 14y ago
the ability for Google Maps to pre-download map tiles [is] available to Google on iOS Google Now will automatically pre-download the map vector data before your trip, without you asking it to. For Google to do the equivalent on iOS, they'd need to be able to perform periodic background jobs, which isn't something that iOS supports currently.
- Xuzz 14y ago
  It wouldn't be perfect, but the Google Now app could recognize that you're nearing an airport — something iOS does support, with background location updates — and then download the map data when it gets that notification. iOS apps can also share data between apps from the same vendor (via the Keychain, pasteboards, or various other mechanisms), so there wouldn't be an issue with passing that data over to the Google Maps app for offline viewing.
estel 14y ago
They aren't push notifications, but client-side notifications that respond to the user's learned habits and situation. I guess some of Google Now's functionality could be offloaded to push, but lots of it is based on the user's location, which isn't available on iOS to an app that isn't open.
- Xuzz 14y ago
  User location is available to background iOS applications; Apple includes two APIs specifically for that purpose: fine and course background location updates. The app will be notified whenever the user's location changes, if it's activated or not.
  - estel 14y ago
    I thought that only worked for apps that were once opened (since the phone last closed) and hadn't yet been killed by iOS's background task management thing?
marcuschristie 14y ago
I had a similar thought. Google Now's voice search is already available in the iOS Google Search app, so what would it take to get full Google Now functionality in that app? It seems like Google could get very close with what is already available api wise.

deleted 14y ago

[deleted]

tobylane 14y ago

There's adding enough APIs for google programmers, and adding enough data access for google marketers. I hope we get the first one, but that doesn't mean we'll get Google's apps.

purephase 14y ago

The holy grail for me (and one that keeps me on iOS) is hardware. Apple knows this, which is why they are so aggressive in patent submission and litigation. Android terrifies them. If Samsung/LG et. al. could make a somewhat more affordable handset with the design ascetics of an Apple device that ran stock Android, it would seriously disrupt Apple's position. I had hope for Intel's concept phone [1], but it doesn't look like it manifested in the way it was originally sold. 1. http://www.businessinsider.com/intel-medfield-concept-phone-tablet-2011-12 http://www.businessinsider.com/intel-medfield-concept-phone-...

stcredzero 14y ago
> Samsung/LG et. al. could make a somewhat more affordable handset with the design ascetics of an Apple device that ran stock Android, it would seriously disrupt Apple's position. Or, what if Google bought a company with great supply chain expertise? Then they could sell tons of those Nexus phones. What about a Google retail arm? It should probably be a different company entirely that Google owns. It could sell Nexus devices and Chromebooks and have its own version of the Genius Bar.
- purephase 14y ago
  I've never been a fan of the Nexus product line, so hopefully a company with a better design ascetic. The HTC/Samsung/LG triumvirate clearly focuses on a market saturation instead of flagship products. Frankly, I'm a bit shocked that none of the other manufacturers have tried shifting focus to less, but much better handsets. RIM is trying it now though, so I guess we'll see how that works out for them.
  - 2muchcoffeeman 14y ago
    I really liked the previous Nexus phones with the curved glass. The slight curve feels good in the hand. It also solves the problem of placing the phone face down and getting scratches on the screen without using a raised bezel. Also, why would these companies abandon their currently successful business model? They know it works for them. I am sure they will all start pumping more resources into building a 'premium' brand like Samsung is doing with Galaxy.

martythemaniak 14y ago

Sounds a bit like my wishlist for iOS2 and 3. At the time, I wanted to write an app that analysed my call history and show me interesting facts. There were no call log APIs in iOS2, so I wrote an Android version, which at the time became one of the top Android apps. I kept hoping Apple would loosen up, but of course they didn't. Anyway, I wouldn't hold my breath. Doing this would be a big pivot for them and with the amount of money they're raking in, there can't be many urgent calls for this inside the company.

sergiotapia 14y ago

>Let us do what we want. Pretty much everyone I know who has ditched iOS has done so because of this reason. Seems to me like the author is just a bit behind and finally caught on. I love the Apple hardware, dislike the closed options I get on iOS.

devth 14y ago
> Seems to me like the author is just a bit behind and finally caught on. False. It could be that some give more weight to superior hardware, and while Android's openness is great, it still lacks the polish of iOS. I'm pretty much in the same place as the author. The ideal is: excellent hardware, openness (hooks, ability to hack, customize, etc.), well-designed defaults for UX, app-to-app integration, cloud support, features. Android scores low on the first and last.
prawks 14y ago
This is what happens when you market a phone as something that "just works". It's great that iOS is able to be used by kindergarten-level children, but at the same time, it's not. My next phone is going to be Android-based, because I believe that I can handle using mobile devices expecting users to be able to think critically.
- Domenic_S 14y ago
  You might have a perspective problem. A mobile device that expects you to "think critically"? Come on now. Some people enjoy building and tweaking PCs. Most don't. Some people enjoy tinkering on their cars. Most don't. Some people enjoy tinkering with their phone, "thinking critically" while using it; most don't. I enjoy endless tinkering with servers, caches, micro-optimizations, and so forth. But I can't stand tinkering with my tools -- I prefer to tinker with other things using my tools. I consider my phone a tool. Not everyone is like me, and not everyone is like you. There's no right or wrong, just preference.
  - prawks 14y ago
    > Not everyone is like me, and not everyone is like you. There's no right or wrong, just preference. I never said there was. The poster I was responding to said that he disliked the closed environment iOS provides. Perhaps my wording was a bit more confrontational that I meant, but my comment still stands: Apple's products are not marketed to or designed for power users. That's really all I meant by it. I never said that everyone is like everyone else; they're not. Many people who enjoy tinkering use Apple's phones. These people are, as is apparent to me now (hence my buying an Android next), better off using an open platform like Android. As an aside, it's just as easy to classify servers and caches as tools that should "just work". It's about perspective, and preference.

te_chris 14y ago

They need to have a way to set defaults for different types of apps too, coming from android that's incredibly infuriating. Also intents. Oh, and fix the complete mess that is notification centre, it's so cludgy and awful compared to android - e.g why the hell can't I swipe away individual notifications? Why do I have to clear all or none of them * rage *. (I'm a recent convert to a 4S as I'm putting an app into the store and need to use it).

mikeevans 14y ago
Not to mention they couldn't make the "clear all" button any smaller.

jonknee 14y ago

I'd love to be able to actually replace Apple's apps with Google's. When I hit a link I don't want it to open in Safari, I want Chrome. Ditto with Map links. I want Siri to be replaced with Google Voice Search (and for there to be APIs that allow Google to fully replace Siri).

squidsoup 14y ago
Given that you're primarily wanting Google software, what is it about iOS or the iPhone that is keeping you from switching to an Android phone?
- purephase 14y ago
  The phones themselves... ?
- justinph 14y ago
  Not the orignal commenter, but I've tried switching to Android several times so I feel qualified to reply: * Apple hardware is superior to any of the Nexus phones. Buttons don't rock without triggering action, screens are consistent colors, etc. * There is a hardware home button that doesn't change locations. This makes it easy to get 'home' from anywhere, and, most importantly, to orient the device by feel in your hand without looking at it. * The phone in't huge. * Battery life is better on iOS. * There is only one email app, not seperate apps for exchange / imap and gmail. * The quality of apps on iOS is vastly superior to Android. Both in terms of function, but also UI. This is partly because of developers, but also because there isn't the screen size fragmentation issue. I really want google to succeed with Android. I want someone to make a phone that's better than the iPhone. No one is doing it, yet, though.
  - pcl 14y ago
    There is only one email app, not seperate apps for exchange / imap and gmail. The goofy mail experience was a big turn-off for me last time I tried switching to Android. The quality of apps on iOS is vastly superior to Android. This might be true on average, but in my case, I only really use a handful of apps with any regularity, and they all seem to be around parity on both platforms.

RexRollman 14y ago

Personally, the biggest thing for me is file management. I hate it that I can't just connect a device and copy files to and from it via USB. Now, I'm not saying that I need to see every file and folder on the iOS device, but exposing a data folder for each installed application would be a big help.

freehunter 14y ago
I was very surprised when I plugged in my Lumia 920 and a data folder popped up. I don't recall this existing in WP7, and it sure didn't exist on the Zune. It really can't be too hard or disruptive to allow this, the biggest reason I like it is for copying pictures from the phone without needing the Zune software or a network connection.
mixmastamyk 14y ago
It's getting worse. My Nexus 7 doesn't allow it either, although you can work around it and (use it as a flashdrive at least) by pretending it's a camera. I understand the problem is having a disk mounted by two OSs similtaneously. There is newer protocol called mtp (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_Transfer_Protocol http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_Transfer_Protocol) that is supposed to be the answer, but it isn't supported by older OSs. Feels like they reinvented the wheel though.
- revelation 14y ago
  MTP is a complete trainwreck. The main problem is that the support in Windows is absolutely useless. Copying a big file and want to continue exploring the contents? Nope. Any kind of simultaneous operation will just plain not work. There is a very odd warning if you copy over plain old data like zip files - it tells you that the device might not be able to play the content. You can still copy them over, at crappy speed. But then trying to read them again will often fail with a weird error that amounts to "The connection broke". Oh, and Explorer constantly locks up when dealing with MTP devices. It either plain crashes or waiting for data that is never coming, no matter, its blocking the GUI interactions for fucks sake, in 2013.

rednukleus 14y ago

Sounds like the author just wants Android in a iPhone form factor.

ajross 14y ago
It's more than simple form factor. Apple's hardware integration work too is way beyond what the Android OEMs are doing, too. One of the complaints in the article is battery life, and that's dead on. My wife's 4S routinely lasts all day. Occasionally she forgets to plug it in and in the morning it's crossed 24h of uptime with a little power to spare until she can plug it in at work. My Galaxy Nexus with the extended battery (7.77WH vs. 5.3 in the iPhone) will never make 24h without special attention (e.g. airplane mode, disable sync, etc...). And it's routine on days of slightly-heavier-than-normal usage for it to die before I plug it in at bedtime. Some of that effect is simply the larger backlight (75% more screen area on the Nexus), but surely not all of it. Power management in iOS is just plain better than it is in the Android world, and quite noticeably so. For me, that's an acceptable trade for Android's deeper features and hackability. But I won't say I don't wish it did a little better, and wouldn't begrudge someone making a product decision based on it.
- aetherson 14y ago
  For whatever it's worth: I got a Motorola Droid RAZR M a few months back, explicitly because it's not gigantic and I don't like gigantic phones. It gets 24+ hours of battery life, even though I play Ingress a few hours a day (though I don't do much else that's heavily battery draining). It is not gigantic. It is presently on Android 4.1, and while it's not the entirely pure Android experience you'd get with a Nexus, it's not that far off. The screen isn't anywhere near as pretty as an iPhone's, and the build quality is probably inferior (but, honestly, plenty high for me). I'm pretty happy with it.

roc 14y ago

Google Now isn't awesome because Google exposed various APIs into their omniscient database. And they're not letting random apps grab 'Now' information for their own purposes either. They haven't played the "Open" card on "Now", at all, that I've seen. So thinking Apple would match it by just opening some APIs is double-unlikely. Particularly not with their reluctance to allow any hooks that third party developers might misuse. If Apple pursued this, they'd develop a first-party solution by more-tightly-integrating the existing first-party apps (Maps/Calendar/Passbook/Siri) and call it a day. A measured step forward on that front is actually more Apple-like and would be less surprising than if they rolled out the more oft-cited requests, like widgets, services, siri API and changeable defaults. Particularly since making Siri "aware" of your immediate future needs/obligations would be a feature multiplier all its own.

mtgx 14y ago
Ironically, Apple's services like Maps and Siri are the ones that are not very "integrated" but are quite "fragmented" instead, since they need hooks into different databases from 3rd party vendors of which they have no control on, while Google only uses their own Google search engine for Google Now, and their own Maps database for Maps. Also, Google has already brought Voice Search to the iPhone. I think Google Now is also a service they'd like to bring, since it seems like one of those services where they would benefit if it was on the most popular mobile platforms at least.
- dsl 14y ago
  Apple pays for Yelp's data, Google scrapes it. Your guess is as good as mine as to which lasts longer.

uptown 14y ago

Yet the problem with your phone doing all of this location-aware intelligence is that you wind up with the dead-battery he started his article out with. Whenever I read articles like this one I'm left wondering whether my life is distinctly different from most. I generally have a pretty good idea about my calendar - where I'll be going that day, and what restaurant I'll grab a bite to eat in if that's part of my agenda. These services built around finding a great noodle shop in some far-flung town are neat demonstration-cases, but to me they're about as useful as "Hotel Tonight". In my life, I don't ever anticipate winding up in a new city without knowing where I was going to sleep that night beforehand. Maybe I just plan differently because I've needed to up until now - or maybe this is the start of an evolution that I'm already beyond - but given the choice of a phone whose battery lasts all day so I can find things when I want them versus a phone that's dead by 3pm because it's been busy coming up with the top 5 museum exhibits I won't have time to go check-out, I'll always pick the former.

cheald 14y ago
I'd argue that the existence of "Hotel Tonight" implies that other people lead lives different from yours. :) (Maybe not "most", but enough!)
bluetidepro 14y ago
I see both sides. I agree with you, I'm the same in that I plan very accordingly and would probably go crazy if I was in a "Hotel Tonight" situation. However, I like to know that if I was ever (somehow) in a "Hotel Tonight" situation, the app is there and ready to use for my convenience. To add to your battery life point, I wish there was more exposure to how apps eat battery life on your iPhone. It would be nice if Apple somehow exposed that to the user to see where and how apps are eating up your battery life. I know there is some apps out there that sort of tell you, but no where near the level of details I think Apple should expose.
- cheald 14y ago
  I feel like it's worth pointing out that Android makes this kind of information easy to get to - BetterBatteryStats[1] and GSam Battery Monitor[2] are both amazing in tracking down and fixing power leaks. I think that this is sort of the core of the Android vs iOS difference; iOS says "don't worry about it, trust us to get it right", and Android says "here's enough rope to hang yourself with, but you can also use it to climb out of that pit if you want". [1] https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.asksven.betterbatterystats&hl=en https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.asksven.be... [2] https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gsamlabs.bbm&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5nc2FtbGFicy5iYm0iXQ. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gsamlabs.b....

dmix 14y ago

> Jellybean has been a dream to use. There are some rough edges, but the moments where I wish I still had my iPhone are few and far between. Totally agree. I was scared ditching my iphone 4 for a Samsung S3 but it's been really great. Plus it has lots of nice encryption features.

nicholassmith 14y ago

Here's my feature wishlist for iOS7: - Nothing. I don't want anything new. I'm happy with the current feature set my phone currently has. What I desperately want from iOS 7 is a renewed focus on stability and Not Sucking. There's been a significant amount of additional functionality brought in over the last few releases, but it feels like in terms of stability it's not improved anywhere near as quickly.

gurkendoktor 14y ago
I'll go even further and say: I want to be able to turn existing stuff off in Settings. I don't need a Spotlight home screen to the left, I don't want the ugly notification centre that I accidentally trigger and never use, and neither will I ever touch Newsstand or Stocks or Weather or Siri. How hard can it be to present a list of on/off switches - some of them exist already for parental controls.
- dshep 14y ago
  I think iOS 4.x was the best iOS. I'd probably stay there too if apps didn't start requiring iOS5+. About the only thing I like in iOS5 is the weather app.
rayiner 14y ago
Apple Maps is the first time I've ever had a "what the fuck were they thinking" moment on my iPhone. On my 5, it's really easy to accidentally switch it into 3D mode while zooming, which slows the phone to a crawl if you've got an iffy network connection. Like 30 seconds between screen updates. Just absolutely awful.
anotherbadlogin 14y ago
Really? Because it's pretty inexcusable that Apple lets this (which shouldn't have existed in the first iPhone OS, let alone years later) continue to plague users: http://goldmanosi.blogspot.com/2012/06/will-apple-ever-fix-iphones-biggest.html http://goldmanosi.blogspot.com/2012/06/will-apple-ever-fix-i...

stickydink 14y ago

A more cost-efficient way of ensuring you're ok in OP's scenario (blown out tyre, phone battery dead), than buying an iPhone? Get a charger for your vehicle.

bborud 14y ago

I have one wish: that the iOS programmers at Apple learn how to write efficient concurrent code and that they stop leaning on the next, faster, generation processor so hard that any phone that is just one generation older than the leatest and greatest becomes slow as shit. My iPhone used to be fast. Most things used to be snappy. Now it is slow as shit. From the address book lookups (which I have timed to usually clock in at 8-9 seconds, but which can take as long as 20 seconds) to the atrocious piece of penguin dung that is the podcast app. Seriously, Apple could not have created a shittier app if they had hired a bunch of Microsoft engineers to bang their foreheads on keyboards for 88 hours. iOS software is fucking slow. (Firing Scott Forstall to stop the skeuomorphic wankery was a good start. Now they need a real software engineering director to beat some sense into the engineers and to make sure they have "Concurrency 101" under their belt before writing another line of code)

gurkendoktor 14y ago
Optimising code costs money, may make the code base harder to maintain and does not help much with selling new devices. I really hope there will be a future shift in making money from software, not hardware. Right now the opposite seems to be happening. :(
- simonh 14y ago
  From my perspective Apple makes almost all their iPhone money from the software. The phones are lovely hardware, but look at the original iPhone and 3GS. They were plastic soap bars. It didn't matter because the software was phenominal. I think their problems with iOS are crucial. If they let the quality of their software slip for too long they'll be in serious trouble. I still think they've got maybe 2 years lead over the competition in their overall OS, services and applications portfolio, but that's less of a lead than they had 2 years ago.
Me1000 14y ago
While I feel your frustration with iOS apps in general, concurrency is not a silver bullet. I can't say anything specifically about what's making certain iOS applications slow, but I actually think it's probably more related to Core Data and file IO. I can also say their new concurrency technology (Grand Central Dispatch) is one of the most brilliant pieces of technology I've seen in a while. The reasons why are pretty technical, but I think many people who have experience in concurrency would agree that it's pretty good.

rdl 14y ago

My #1 wishlist item, which would be easy to implement, is "guest mode" -- let me hit a button on the lock screen (or elsewhere) which lets me loan someone my phone briefly without any personalization or sensitive data. A standard web browser, phone app, etc. Maybe let me customize what apps are available in "limited mode". This matters even more on an iPad, which I'm generally willing to share, vs. my phone, which I won't let out of my sight due to fear of missing a call. This would be for: 1) Loaning someone my phone briefly 2) Kids -- you might want to lock the phone down to a single app. (or, for me, lock the phone to a single cat toy application for cats) 3) Theft -- if someone steals my device, it would be nice to remotely drop it into "browser and email only" to keep him online so I can continue to location-track and then order pipehitter as a service to recover the device.

0x0 14y ago
I think you can do the lock-to-one-app in iOS 6 already, random first google hit: http://www.gottabemobile.com/2012/10/01/how-to-lock-the-ipad-to-a-single-app-for-kid-mode/ http://www.gottabemobile.com/2012/10/01/how-to-lock-the-ipad...
- smackfu 14y ago
  Not too useful when that one app is a browser though that has all your identity in it. It's really only good if you want to let someone play a game and only that game.
  - 0x0 14y ago
    Good point. But maybe you could use Google Chrome for that?
  - btown 14y ago
    But if you use Google Chrome for all your browsing, you can let Safari be a no-identity browser for this purpose.
schandur 14y ago
I agree - this is a very useful feature. I've been a fan of Kid's Corner[1] on my Windows Phone since day one. [1] http://www.windowsphone.com/en-US/how-to/wp8/basics/set-up-kids-corner http://www.windowsphone.com/en-US/how-to/wp8/basics/set-up-k...

Void_ 14y ago

Tell me why I’m an idiot for having this opinion by tweeting @tomdale. Off topic, but this is genius. I never understood why everybody copied that "you should follow me" rudeness of a line. Not thinking too high about yourself is how you win people's goodwill.

MartinCron 14y ago
I never read "you should follow me" as particularly rude, maybe a little self-important, but not full on rude. Once you start trying to get followers you've pretty much implanted yourself in the realm of self-importance. I do agree that this is just brilliant.
panacea 14y ago
It's pretty clever, but if I really wanted to explain why he's an idiot, wouldn't I use the convenient comments form directly under that without trying to do it in less than 140 characters?

jwwest 14y ago

Is there something stopping Google from shipping Google Now for iOS? If you use Chrome on iOS they're collecting all sorts of information, you can also pull GPS data etc from G+ on iOS and associate it server-side. You don't get the cool springboard shortcut though.

jetako 14y ago

Google Now is the one feature that will determine whether I switch from iPhone to Android in the next 6 months. If Apple doesn't come up with something comparable in that time frame, they will lose a customer.

jasonbarone 14y ago
Same here, I've been a raving Apple product fan for years but Google Now and app-to-app integrations are just too damn useful to pass up. It's now to the point where it's an inconvenience to use some iPhone apps.
cdalonzo 14y ago
Can't agree enough. iOS 7 is the make it or break it decision for me.

thegyppo 14y ago

I've recently moved to an iPhone 5 after being on Android for a few years. I'm a heavy Gtalk user & it pains me that there's no official Google app for it on iOS - something I'd love to see.

saturdaysaint 14y ago

Google Now sounds interesting but when it comes to digital content apps (kindle, audible, etc), I don't see how shopping in your browser is even an inconvenience. If I bring up Siri and say "Google Game Of Thrones Kindle" I can have the book bought and on my screen with a few taps.

dshep 14y ago

Google Now has been pretty useless for me. Its mostly an annoyance, I'm always having to dismiss its place suggestions and "Time to home/work" notifications.

jxdxbx 14y ago

I am worried that so much of the "integration" people are calling for is integration with the services of just one company, Google. And most people that want to replace the built-in iOS app defaults want to replace them with Google apps so they can use more Google services. Is that healthy for the web? Now, Google offers the best-in-class web services in a number of domains. But I've never been very fond of many of them, and where Google apps are less than great I prefer to use the alternative--Yelp instead of Google Local, standard IMAP email instead of Gmail, Wolfram Alpha for some searches, etc. To Google's credit, it is easier to use an alternative search engine with Android than it is to use just about any alternative service on iOS. But I don't think we're going to see Google Now integrating with Bing maps or Duckduckgo or Yelp anytime soon.

dannyr 14y ago
"Integration" may benefit Google at first. You have think of the possibilities though if that integration is available to any developer. Google is good at a number of apps but not all. On Android, a lot of core functionalities built by Google can be replaced with a third-party app. You can replace the keyboard, use a different Home screen or Launcher, another app to manage your Contacts or have a different dialer. I think the current situation is worse since only Apple can integrate tightly with iOS. Apple did allow Facebook & Twitter some integration though.
- jxdxbx 14y ago
  I think this is true as far as iOS goes--and it is more likely that Apple will open up the iPhone to third parties than that Google Now and so on will start working with third parties. My concern is more with how so many very tech-savvy people, usually so skeptical of companies that get a little too ambitious--are extolling the virtues of a system that requires your email, search, maps, and nearly everything else be sourced from a single provider. More on point, even if iOS allows for changing default apps, it should keep system-wide settings as far as possible. For example, the drop-down email sheet that apps can use will probably have to stay Apple, even if you're using Gmail for your mail, at least until there's a more robust contracts-like system. But right now this would mean having to input your email credentials into both system settings, and the gmail app separately.

DigitalSea 14y ago

I think we all need to revert back to the days of 3 sometimes 4 days battery life on old school Nokia's like the Nokia 3315. It's amazing how battery life on phones seems to get progressively worse even though battery technology is better, we're still cramming in battery draining features when all someone needs in an emergency is the ability to make a phone call or send a text, not a web browser, email client and a Facebook app.

shadesandcolour 14y ago
Sure making a phone call or sending out a message is all that you need to do in an emergency. But that's not what the cell phone is for anymore. Back when batteries lasted 3-4 days on a charge they were there for when you needed them. Now people feel like they need them all the time. This isn't a failure of hardware or software. A mobile phone isn't a just a phone anymore, so how can we expect it to have the same battery life as something that is just a phone?
kalleboo 14y ago
I have a spare Android phone I keep on with a SIM card in so work can call me for server emergencies even when my regular phone is on silent. With 3G, Wifi and data access disabled, it lasts for over a week on standby, even with not-so-great reception. If you're fine with returning to the feature set of that era, modern phones have huge batteries and highly optimized chipsets that exceed the performance of the old phones.

HNLogInShit 14y ago

Really? THAT is what he chose to complain about? How about being notified that you missed a phone call? How much time with family and friends do we need to miss before Apple fixes this bullshit: http://goldmanosi.blogspot.com/2012/06/will-apple-ever-fix-iphones-biggest.html http://goldmanosi.blogspot.com/2012/06/will-apple-ever-fix-i...

jsz0 14y ago

The most interesting thing about iOS7 to me is how Apple will handle the issues around iCloud Documents and data portability between apps. I appreciate they are trying to move away from traditional file systems because I really believe there are better ways of doing things. The problem here is Apple's approach isn't exactly working. In a lot (most?) ways it's actually worse than dealing with a traditional file system. If they can't figure it out for iOS7 I think they need to admit defeat and try something different. A perfect example of this is creating a text document in TextEdit on your Mac. It's utterly useless on your iOS device. You can't access it at all. Sure they could release TextEdit for iOS but that does not solve the real problem or address the problems of portability of data between iOS apps. In my opinion iOS7 is their last shot to get this right. If they can't figure it out dust off iDisk and just go back to the basics. It's annoying to deal with file systems but it works at least.