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iPhone 5 Missing Killer Features

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Apple’s new iPhone 5 is certainly an improvement over the iPhone 4S, but it lacks any truly revolutionary feature. At best, the iPhone 5 is now up to speed with the rest of the industry. Thin and light is great, but the iPhone 5 is missing the wow factor.

Apple failed to introduce any killer features that put it ahead of the competition in terms of hardware. Sure, thin is nice, but there aren’t any real differentiators that its Android and Windows Phone competitors don’t have.

Here’s a list of things we wish Apple packed into the iPhone 5.

Wireless charging

IiPhone-5t’d be great to be able to throw the iPhone 5 on a charging station without fumbling around with a docking connector. The feature is present in the newly announced Nokia Lumia 920 and older smartphones. While this might not sound all that exciting to some iPhone users, it makes charging just a little easier on the go.

Best in Class Camera

The new iPhone 5 camera is a slight upgrade to the one found in the iPhone 4S. It may deliver slightly better images, but the truth of the matter is we’ll likely see too many underexposed and blurry iPhone photos shared on Facebook. It’s too bad Apple didn’t pack a Pureview-like camera into the iPhone 5. Nokia’s Pureview cameras are miles ahead the iPhone 5’s camera.

Near Field Communications (NFC)

Apple showed off Passbook, a sort of digital wallet that stores tickets, loyalty cards and gift cards at its iPhone 5 event, but it failed to introduce a Near Field Communications feature. Many Android phones already come with NFC and can be used to pay for products at physical stores. Phones like the Galaxy Nexus come with Google Wallet, an app that stores credit card info and can be used as a true digital wallet. While Apple appears to have some strong partnerships, its Passbook app is missing this critical technology.

Better Battery Life

Apple claims the iPhone 5 will run slightly longer than the iPhone 4S on a single charge. While that’s enough for some users, power users need to plug in midday or use a battery case. Apple wanted the Phone 5 to be the thinnest smartphones though, so it kept the battery slim. Some users would’ve appreciated a bigger battery instead of a thinner design. Thinness doesn’t matter if your iPhone is dead.

iOS 6 Surprises

Apple typically holds back a surprise software feature or two before introducing its new iOS devices. Unfortunately, Apple didn’t reveal anything groundbreaking in terms of software. Sure, iPhone 5 users will get Panorama mode and driving directions, but Apple didn’t have any big software surprises.

Better Siri

Apple sure likes to advertise its Siri feature, but many users gave up on Siri shortly after unpacking their iPhone 4S’ and New iPads. The service simply doesn’t function as advertised. The service can be very frustrating to use and it is temperamental, sporadically refusing to provide responses.

It’s time for Siri to grow up, especially if Apple’s going to continue hammering the feature into potential buyers’ minds on network television.

Accessories

Apple’s made a habit of introducing useful accessories alongside its iOS devices. The iPhone 5 doesn’t even get a simple bumper case. The only accessories Apple introduced for the iPhone 5 are a couple of 30-pin docking adapters. Apple failed to introduce an iPhone dock that keeps the iPhone 5 standing upright.

 

 

6 Comments

6 Comments

  1. John Harold

    09/12/2012 at 2:55 pm

    Seriously, could you complain anymore than you already have? In fact, they are already making several improvements to Siri. Obviously not a neutral opinion.

  2. Aminv

    09/12/2012 at 3:42 pm

    You nailed it Xavier. They will continue to lose market share with this approach. There are a couple of major trends they missed with this launch. Hope they come up with something worthy of attention next time, so that they settle on around 25-30 percent share and don’t go down entirely (Just to keep the competition strong and to benefit the end-user).

  3. Everson

    09/13/2012 at 9:21 am

    I’m glad it’s not revolutionary. I don’t want anyone who isn’t an Apple fanboy getting one! Please stick with your Android or Blackberry…

  4. Junk browser

    09/13/2012 at 12:21 pm

    My 4s is getting upgraded to a Lumia 920. Truely innovative!

  5. AS147

    09/13/2012 at 11:18 pm

    I don’t think it is fair to expect revolutionary changes from Apple all the time however their release is truly lacklustre and doesn’t even meet current levels of capability that has existed in the market for some time. I don’t think it is unreasonable to call out the differences (unfortunately for Apple most of them do not reflect well for them).

    It has an outdated OS on average hardware. There are incorrect pieces of information
    flying around also, for example there are thinner smartphones e.g. Motorola Razr Xt910.

    One of the biggest changes is its’ screen. The speed is slower than the competition, the resolution is lower than the competition, the ppi is lower than the competition, and they flat lied about it being HD because it isn’t and the aspect ratio is not 16:9 as they state and is completely non standard (typical Apple).

    There are incorrect pieces of information flying around also, for example there are thinner smartphones e.g. Motorola Razr Xt910.

    As for the so called HD screen
    —————————————–
    “According to their announcement, the iPhone 5′s screen is 1136 x 640, a true 16:9 experience. I’ll let it slide that it’s actually a 640 x 1136 screen with a 9:16 aspect ratio, but that just seems like a weird number.

    Why? It’s not HD!

    The front-facing camera captures video in 720P HD — that’s higher resolution than the screen can display!

    Sure, it’s got a Retina Display with a super-high PPI (the Nokia Lumia 920 running Windows Phone 8 has a higher PPI!) but video comes in specific formats, games come in the same formats, TVs come in the same formats, computer monitors come in the same formats. Why go with a non-standard resolution, Apple?

    720p is 1280 x 720 (or 720 x 1280 in portrait). Why not make things easier for content providers and be consistent with standards?

    The screen is even outclassed by its’ own front facing camera which can record at a higher resolution than the screen can display !!”
    https://pocketnow.com/2012/09/12/iphone-thoughts

    Apple are really missing Steve. He would have never let this sort of mistake happen.

  6. Lee Saenz

    09/30/2012 at 7:44 pm

    No windowed mode, so a popup video player is not going to happen like in th S3. I would have loved to see a video playing while I browse the web. The way tabbed apps are not rotated like in android, makes the S3 seem more fluid and up-to-date. The apple OS just seems like it needs an overhaul, I would consider iPhone 5 at this time. Android is heading in the right direction, the way you flow from app to app withou pressing a single button is truly clever, unlike double clicking on iOS to get to a backgrounded app, it makes you look like a retard! Apple is scared, and they should be. They are failing in all departments, and the people are taking notice of their lack of planning.
    Jailbreak is the only thing saving apple at this point, how sad is that?

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