Gen 4 iPhone, what do you think?

[bittenapple]

I was wondering whether everyone agrees that we will see a new iteration of an iPhone this year? If so what kind of features do you expect?

I think it will look very similar to iPad with aluminum back which would prevent finger printing and would look so cool (because I absolutly love black Apple logo on aluminum! ). Also, it probably will have same OS as iPad's.

I think it may get a 5MP camera but I don't think it will have a flash purely because it won't fit the design. Though maybe front camera is a possibility for vid chats.

Thoughts? Do you recon there will be more radical cosmetic changes? And why?

 

[osxx]

More ram and a faster processor and possibly longer battery life and I would love to have the aluminum back.

 

[chas_m]

Well, just so this discussion will be more productive, let's clear up what we mean by "Gen 4".

Do I think Apple will update the iPhone's version of OS X to version 4.0 sometime this year? Yes, I do -- but not before summer, and possibly later.

Do I think Apple will launch a new MODEL of iPhone this year? Possibly, but I'm not as confident about this. Maybe a slightly faster/better version of the 3GS, but beyond that I wouldn't expect much.

Do I think Apple will have an iPhone that is compatible with "fourth generation" cellular services like LTE or the other types that are vying for the title "4G" this year? Absolutely not. We'll be lucky to get that compatibility before summer of 2012 if you ask me.

 

[the8thark]

This is not an Apple rumour and should be moved into the iphone area of the forum.

And what would want is a phone + sms + no data or internet plan. The main reason I do not own an iphone is the pricing of the iphone plans. Way way to expensive. If they had a pre-paid version where you got credit for the iphone and this credit did phone and sms/mms only. I'm not interested in getting on the net on it. Actually I really want not to do that. And that was affordably priced I'd get one of those phones tomorrow.

So that is what I want in the 4th gen iphone. I'm sure it's not directly to do with Apple but it's what I want.

 

[SweetCosmicPope]

Sounds like you want to have a cheap cell phone, and then just have an Ipod touch.

 

[XJ-linux]

Sounds like you want to have a cheap cell phone, and then just have an Ipod touch.

Exactly, and an excellent idea. In fact, when my AT&T plan expires in December, my iPhone 3G will become my "Palm Pilot" and my old Motorola RAZR v3 will be getting reactivated on the cheap.

 

[TWM]

No camera flash? HA. Apple really needs to step it up on the next iphone. If you haven't heard, pretty soon a Verizon version of the Nexus one is going to be released soon, and its specks blow the doors off the current iphone. Apple needs to pull out all of the stops on the next one so it will be able to at least compete.

 

[the8thark]

Sounds like you want to have a cheap cell phone, and then just have an Ipod touch.

Ys but I want the two things in the one device. I don't want to have to be foreced to carry around 2 seperate devices. A touch and a phone.

 

[bittenapple]

No camera flash? HA. Apple really needs to step it up on the next iphone. If you haven't heard, pretty soon a Verizon version of the Nexus one is going to be released soon, and its specks blow the doors off the current iphone. Apple needs to pull out all of the stops on the next one so it will be able to at least compete.

Apple has gotten away with these kind of things before. I really doubt they care about Nexus One all that much. They know loyal iPhone and Mac users will buy the next iPhone rather than Nexus One or another Android phone.

I am not an iPhone user but I have a gen 1 iPod Touch and I believe the best touch screen experience is provided by Apple so far (I tried so many other phones most of which are Samsung and LG). So, I want my next purchase to be an iPhone. But there is a huge room for improvement like multitasking (at least allow us to have 3 internet pages open at the same time, real time!) and camera quality. I am sort of over the camera thing for I recently bought a Canon camera. But some other things, mainly software side, are very important for me.

 

[kbOx]

The next iphone must look different. I have bought two iphones which look exactly the same now and im not buying another, and id bet a lot of other people feel the same.

 

[iggibar]

I hope they release the new iphone 4 this year, it will be perfect since my 2 year iphone contract ends this year

 

[TWM]

I think the mass amount of people are going to start getting tired of the dated look of the iPhone. It looks almost exactly the same as when it was released 3 years ago. Side by side against most of the smart phones on the market today, it looks VERY dated.

 

[bittenapple]

I think the mass amount of people are going to start getting tired of the dated look of the iPhone. It looks almost exactly the same as when it was released 3 years ago. Side by side against most of the smart phones on the market today, it looks VERY dated.

That's why I was quite shocked and disappointed by iPad's front look. It looks so much like iPhone, though I love the back of it. As I mentioned, aluminum and black apple logo is a killer for me I am sick of metal frame though! I am actually huge fan of the front looks of the 1st gen iPod touch. The black frame>>> shiney chrome!

 

[Zoolook]

No camera flash? HA. Apple really needs to step it up on the next iphone. If you haven't heard, pretty soon a Verizon version of the Nexus one is going to be released soon, and its specks blow the doors off the current iphone. Apple needs to pull out all of the stops on the next one so it will be able to at least compete.

With the phones, as with the computers, it's about the software. Who cares abot Snapdragon or 1ghz chips, if you can't listen to you iTunes music or play Street Fighter II. Any of us could buy an Alienware laptop that would "blow the doors" off the current MacBook Pro. It doesn't matter, it's still running Windows.

In OS 4, I'm hoping for:

- Wireless syncing
- Scheduling of downloads (like NYT or Podcasts)
- Rotation lock (for reading PDFs!)
- Fix the syncing with multiple computers, it's currently awful

 

[clayneal]

oops nevermind !

 

[kbOx]

In OS 4, I'm hoping for:

- Wireless syncing
- Scheduling of downloads (like NYT or Podcasts)
- Rotation lock (for reading PDFs!)
- Fix the syncing with multiple computers, it's currently awful

Wireless syncing would be great. When i got my air i was amazed that the iphone didn't come up in the bluetooth device list.

While apple excel in most areas they seem to be lacking in many of the simple things. We have only just got MMS for christ sake.

It's like they have build the delorean from BTTF and had to be reminded to put the wheels on.

 

[TWM]

With the phones, as with the computers, it's about the software. Who cares abot Snapdragon or 1ghz chips, if you can't listen to you iTunes music or play Street Fighter II. Any of us could buy an Alienware laptop that would "blow the doors" off the current MacBook Pro. It doesn't matter, it's still running Windows.

In OS 4, I'm hoping for:

- Wireless syncing
- Scheduling of downloads (like NYT or Podcasts)
- Rotation lock (for reading PDFs!)
- Fix the syncing with multiple computers, it's currently awful

Don't get me wrong, I am a big fan of the iphone. I agree that it does things that some phones will never do. But i am just looking at the masses and what people are looking for. I think apple needs to step it up on the hardware aspect. Also, they need to allow more user settings (such as custom txt message sounds!). I think it really benefits people like you and me when there is some good competition between the makers (Apple, Blackberry, Android etc.). It means more technology for the end user! It would just be nice to see an iphone at least come out with hardware that is close to the competition, and a flash on the camera is one of those things!

 

[XJ-linux]

One iPhone thing that drives me nuts, and maybe I just don't know where the setting is... my iCal alarms audibly go off one time. Not a peep from them ever again. My old PalmTT allowed me to set an alarm to repeat every x minutes for y iterations. Where I work is noisy at times, so it is nice to have an alarm that repeats. Like I said, maybe I'm just missing some hidden setting. Perhaps is I "shake" it something "magical" will happen?

 

[iggibar]

Don't get me wrong, I am a big fan of the iphone. I agree that it does things that some phones will never do. But i am just looking at the masses and what people are looking for. I think apple needs to step it up on the hardware aspect. Also, they need to allow more user settings (such as custom txt message sounds!). I think it really benefits people like you and me when there is some good competition between the makers (Apple, Blackberry, Android etc.). It means more technology for the end user! It would just be nice to see an iphone at least come out with hardware that is close to the competition, and a flash on the camera is one of those things!

What do you mean by, "But i am just looking at the masses and what people are looking for."?? According to the masses, the iphone sells like hotcakes! The iphone's image sells itself pretty much! I have flash on many other smart phones, and I could care less about it from my experience. I have yet to see a *REAL* camera flash on a phone! Compared to other phones, the iphone has aged incredibly well! Just look at the prices of used ones, they still sell easily for over $300.

 

[chas_m]

What do you mean by, "But i am just looking at the masses and what people are looking for."??

He means "this is what I and perhaps a couple of people I know want." Huge market.

I've actually DONE market studies. For a living. People who say they know what (name of big company) should do to REALLY sell (stuff) are doing what psych professors call "projecting."

It's fine to have a theory, but nobody is going to take you seriously until you can produce some evidence that your personal fantasy is shared by a sizable market that's ready to buy.

I have yet to see a *REAL* camera flash on a phone!

And you won't until someone comes up with one that a) doesn't kill the battery and b) actually complements the picture being taken rather than just blowing out the whiter end of the spectrum on the photo. It helps to keep in mind that, as cameras go, phone cameras (all of them) are pretty crappy.

I can certainly understand the desire to have a good camera built into your phone -- one less thing to carry around -- but the truth of the matter is that physics, not incompetence, is what's keeping phones from being good cameras. The limitations of size, weight, ecomonics and mechanics prevent it being possible to get a really decent camera into a cell phone.

Sure, there are some out there that have more pixels than the iPhone one, and take marginally better pictures -- but you can ALWAYS spot a cameraphone pic compared to a proper-camera pic. Pick up one of your point and shoot cameras sometime and compare it to the weight, thickness and build of your cell phone. Yeah, that's the problem right there.