I don't think so. Apple has never really played the specs game, and I don't think they'll start now. Of course, it may add increased pressure on their release schedules etc, but I don't think they'll change what's in the next iPhone.
Interesting. Especially considering the 'speed' of the A6 and it's associated GPU.
It crushes the competition...if its only specifications you're concerned with, the i5 and iPad 4 are currently top of the heap...and will be until Tegra 4 units are in the pipeline. Keep in mind, iOS doesn't have that deep layer of sludge (Java) to dig through any time your want to do ANYthing on your phone.
I think that Apple still has a smug attitude and will get steam rollered this year by the Galaxy S4. Apple corporate culture is that everything they design is "perfect" and they are slow to adapt to rapid changes. Witness the large number of defectors from this forum, there has been a cacophony of posts about dissatisfaction with Apple and people switching to Android or will be switching when the Galaxy S4 comes out.
Witness the continued success of the iPhone. Each iteration outsells the last. 5 million on opening weekend? Possibly 50mil in 4th quarter? Who gives a flying F about the 'defectors' on this forum...a true microcosm of the actual buying public. In the US, iPhone is the number one selling smartphone right now. The funny thing is---this 'cacophony of dissatisfication' you speak of, more often than not come right back to iOS after experiencing Android. I'm one of them. As an iPhone owner since day one...I've also purchased the Xoom, SII, SIII---and brought the SIII back 28 days in to exchange for the 'OG' Note...a handset I can't get rid of quick enough....as I STILL WAIT for a Jellybean update. WTF?
I predict the iPhone 5S will just be another minor update and cause more people to defect. Users have come to expect more out of their $700 purchase and a small screen and stagnant iOS is not cutting it anymore. Times have changed and people have changed. However, Apple can't see the changing tide and even former Apple execs like Steve Wozniak say the competition is innovating more than Apple is.
There's a reason Woz isn't with the company. The 5s a minor update? Are you implying the '5' was minor? If so, it truly shows how incredibly ignorant you are to engineering...R&D and electronic design. Users vote with their wallet. The iPhone 5, from ALL indicators is not just the fastest selling iPhone of ALL time, but the fastest, highest quantity selling smartphone in history! The iPhone itself is worth more than Microsoft and Google together! The funny thing is...while Samsung outsells actual devices (collectively)---Apple is making all the cash! You so called tech pundits on MR really make me laugh...and hopefully your appreciation for Android will start to thin the herd at MR sooner than later. As an Android owner myself, I'm well aware of the stagnant, inactive forums available for your devices....hence the need to plague an Apple forum
We all are used to the small screen size of apple but once you get used to the Note 2 screen size then you won't look back & then your next upgrade will be of the same size or much bigger. I have heard people saying note 2 is really huge are mostly apple fans including me ...
I have the Note. I also own the iPhone 5. My Note rarely sees the light of day anymore. Not only is it ridiculously big for a cell phone, the battery is absolutely aweful, browsing speed on LTE is a joke....regardless of browser (Dolphin, Chrome, FF, stock---they're all slow as molasses). I carry an iPad and use it when a bigger screen is desired. I've owned the Note since last March. I put three months into it of constant use. It never, ever felt as fluid as iOS. Even with the ICS update. The GSIII which I returned for the Note was even 'stickier' and I'm clueless how others find it to be a decent phone! Yuck!
As long as Apples sales volume remains high, they will continue to remain conservative. However they've kept this look for so long it could be said they're milking it for profit. At some point the well worn slogan "Apple doesn't compete on specs" will be uncovered as the lie it is. Witness the fact that "retina" is touted as the advantage no one else has. Yet the counter attack in the works by several other companies is to simply use a display of 400 or higher. This year will be the year Apple's retina will no longer be "magical".
Wow! Took them what...almost three years to 'catch up'? Didn't see that coming. I think it's been three years since Apple marketed retina as magical...in the phone. Meanwhile, they've now moved to retina (HiDPI) displays in their laptops. This IS magical! I'm typing this on a 15" retina MBP. Absolutely Amazing!
If their sales have taken a hit (as many suspect due to the absence of sales figures being released), then they will be worried I think and might change tack.
If their sales are as good as usual, I don't think they'll bat an eyelid.
Apple NEVER releases sales figures before quarterlies. Are you new to Apple? From EVERY prediction I've seen, the iPhone 5 is the fastest selling iOS device in history...and YES! They're a business...ultimately a successful business is based on increased sales...no need to bat an eyelid if you're still number 1!
Galaxy S3 supports MicroSDXC (64GB only at present but the standard supports up to 2TB) and MicroSDHC (2-32GB), and most likely plain old MicroSD (< 2GB).
You can buy UHS-1 cards ('ultra high speed 1') but as far as I know it doesn't fully support the speeds, so you might be wasting your money.
Don't let that fool ya though. I've found the micro SD card in both my wife n I's Notes to be next to worthless. You can't put apps on it...it's a pain in the ass to move anything from internal to the SD card and I have had to reformat the cards three different times for some silly reason. The NAND, on board storage is where your apps will reside so buy and pick your storage wisely. Don't rely on the SD storage for anything other than media (ymmv and I may be doing something wrong....but in the beginning I spent an entire weekend trying to figure this out). The 64gb phones have always held a special place in my heart. Especially considering the size of some of these new Apps...up to 2GB. Magazines are sometimes as big as 300mb. Movies, a GB+!
No I don't think Apple is concerned per se. However I think the 5 was playing it too safe while the competition has moved forward at a faster pace with respect to hardware. I do believe that a lot of potential iPhone 5 buyers in 2013 will instead opt for a 5" Android device. The massive success of the SIII is proof that there is a strong market for smartphones in the 4.7"-5" range. The success of the Note II is proof that there is a growing market for 5.3"+ screens too.
I wouldn't declare the Note a success. SIII, yes. For Samsung anyway. 30 million units in a year is good....but Apple is looking at 50mil iPhone 5s in three months (2 if you consider availability factors). I think the original Note was around 5mil. Note 2 seems to be selling better, quicker. But no where near the levels of the SIII or iPhone 4/4s/5
Really? You think the iPad Mini is a profit leading product?
Yes. Absolutely. Again, pure ignorance if you think otherwise. It came out November 2, right? Still hard to get one...with one week lead times direct from Apple almost three months post release. And it's more than 50% more than it's only competition. KFire/Nex7
You mean like an iphone 4, which is free or an iphone 4S, which is only $99?
In 4 days I hope Tim Cook reports specific sales numbers for the iphone 5 and ipad mini. If he doesn't, and only gives us a "combined" sales number and YoY percentage growth, then we will know that neither product has sold particularly well.
Lol. You must be new to Apple too.
Apple doesn't warehouse their gear. Tim has and was hires to be the mastermind of supply chain management. It's always cool getting a new iOS device. Turn it on and it's got 80-90% charge on it. They don't sit. Read my replies above about its popularity and availability. Apple always talks specific unit numbers. It's Samsung that does NOT, nor ever has.
Meh, it's your choice to buy whatever you want. But your post came across the same way to me. You were glowing over the fact you use your phone more now than customizing it, so you definitely were implying that it was a negative that you spent more time customizing it than actually using it. Or else why would you even mention that you now use your phone more than customizing it. Yes you were making a point. But let's be reasonable with our points. Customizing and the time one CHOOSES to customize their Android phone is in one's complete control. The TIME one DECIDES to spend/waste customizing one's phone should never be mentioned the way you have when it is in complete control of the user.
Who made you the forum police? His point was well made, easy to read, and justified. I feel EXACTLY THE SAME! Part of the allure to an iOS use to jump ship is the customization of Android. That. Gets. Old. FAST! From there, there's nothing else....it becomes...get this...a plain ol' smartphone. Nothing more. Nothing less...basically nothing different than an iPhone
It kinda makes me wonder what you guys are doing for your desktop or laptop OS. Win XP was around 12 years. Looked the same! OSx the same. With refinements and updates, they became more stable, more efficient, and added little doo-dads...but nothing over the top. An OS is an OS. A springboard to launch the software necessary to make your device more than a phone/texting device. When it comes to software and apps...iOS just can't be beat. Talk with ANY Developer. That's where the money is. iOS customers buy and use apps. Android customers, not so much....must be because they're still ***** with their customization of their phone? Not so sure what the deal is....but those web numbers at Christmas were staggering, especially considering Android's market share lead. Apple completely OWNS online impressions, online shopping and photo sharing....Apple customers have money. Hence, the developers follow. Google makes nothing in the Play Store. I feel like that's a problem. Google should clamp down a bit. Take ownership of Android. Force the carriers hand and improve the delay time for updates. Eliminate the Java layer that mandates big grunt from the engine just to perform, and entice developers with a decent SDK.
Ahhhh, if you haven't noticed, smart phones have neither changed the way we live or work. I still do the same things before modern smartphones were around. I still have two legs and two arms and two eyes and use a computer like before.
Your definition of "innovation" is absurd. There is innovation going on all the time. What do you think all the new technologies that go into smartphone components that Samsung creates are? Chicken?
Lol...this takes ridiculous to a brand new level. If you're a 13 year old, I suppose I can understand. I'm 41. Smartphone and tablets have revolutionized my business, my social life, my personal life...and useless trivia while shooting pool over suds. Easily THE biggest revolution since the Internet. And if you call Samsung's throwing crap to the wall to see what sticks (and copying everyone else in the industry) innovation...you should not only look up the word but learn about the Apple v Samsung case---realize that Samsung makes refrigerators and clock radios...TVs and microwave ovens...and at any given time, worldwide---over two dozen cell phones. This isn't innovation. Half of the suggestions for innovation that you and others have mentioned are a joke. The other half are pure copy cat maneuvers. I like NFC. But for me, it's all but worthless. I'm in America....so it's not heavily used by merchants. Perhaps over seas it's different. Me...and my Note find it to be useless. Keeping the screen on when you're looking at it??? Really? I've never had that issue with my iPhone. The SPen sucks!!! It's nearly worthless with the exception of signing contracts for us with our clients. Siri is getting better all the time....but beta is beta. I'm a heavy Google user....and I've found the iPhone to be the absolute BEST Google phone on the market...between G+, Maps (better in iOS than Android now!), gmail, and docs with Google drive, I'm missing nothing!
I know you will deny this because of your bias, but how about the mass production of high resolution Super AMOLED displays. Or all the high density flash memory in your smartphone? Or how about smartphone radio technology? Samsung has innovated in all these areas and more.
AMOLED is a joke. Oversaturated colors, battery draining, and absolutely AWFUL in any kind of daylight. IPS blows AMOLeD out the window. As does Sharp's IGZO technology. I'll give you NAND (flash storage) though I believe Broadcom is making their cellular radios.
I don't know sales appear to be down lately and more are buying galaxy phones that ever before.
Just the opposite. Home sales don't appear to be down at all. In fact, all indicators are that they are through the roof. Never have they sold this many iOS devices in a single quarter. iPhone is the number on smart phone in the US. It's been a monster in China as well. Not sure how you came up with that
As far as galaxy phones....yes, the GSIII is the biggest selling item Samsung has ever sold. Period. It's a monster for them...and I do look forward to the GSIV. I'm just hoping they switch from AMOLED to IPS.
Smart stay.
Motion control (wave hand over the device when off and it comes on to show notifications).
Smart rotate.
S Pen
Best Shot
Best Faces
The camera features alone give me little hope of Apple equaling let alone surpassing them.
Michael
Except the iPhone's camera takes better photos. The App Store offers far, FAR more third party camera and editing options. iPhoto and photoshop are incredible. Best faces is a joke! Seriously....have you actually tried to use it? It's a train wreck! Best shot? Really?? You can't figure that out yourself? The SPen was terrible in the original Note...I'm not familiar with the updates to the Note II but I've heard it's been significantly updated. I've no idea what smart rotate is, but waving my hand over my phone to retrieve notifications seems silly. Ymmv
If there is a diminishing return, it would be with the iPhone. With the iPhone 5, they once again increased the power under the hood, but due to the OS' lack of sophistication, the end user doesn't see any real benefit from it. On the other hand, with Android there is a tangible benefit as the OS is doing a lot more, and thus is advantageous to have the additional horsepower.
S-Pen
S-Beam
Face Unlock
Smart Stay
Google Voice
Google Now
Google's Cloud services (which has been a part of Android for years)
NFC based mobile payments
NFC data transfers
NFC based device automation
Data Usage management
Wifi Direct
Photosphere
By the way, the "retina display" wasn't an innovation as there had already been other devices out with a higher ppi.
See the above lists...
Really? I'm all ears....what smartphone on the market had higher PPI than the iPhone 4 pre release? Wifi direct? There's an app for that. Bump allows instant file transfers. Google services are almost all available on iOS as is their cloud and drive service. Photosphere? Really??! Come on man...I'm sure you use it as much as I use panorama. Face unlock is an absolute joke...TOTAL Joke. Other than NFC payment (not in the USA yet....at least prominently)---there's literally an app for that!
And honesty, that is the bottom line. The software. The apps. Video and photo manipulation. Productivity and utilitarian apps (I'm a pilot in Alaska and the iPad mini has all but replaced my knee board Jep charts and owner/SOP manuals)...actual applications and software to 'create' vs just 'consume'. Especially in the tablet/phablet front. Even the apps with parity....most just 'look' cheap on my Android devices vs my iOS units. The top 10 'paid' apps in the Play store consist of 7 'tools’. ROM managers, developer and rooting apps, and tools to tinker with. I think there are two games in the top ten. Scroll through the top 500 and you'll quickly see the number one area that Android still lags (severely) behind iOS. Perhaps that's why Android fans are so giddy about what their phone does on it's own....because like the old days of Apple, third party software is lacking something terrible. I think it's only a (short) matter of time that the Windows phone platform builds up their app base and surpasses Play Store's options wih viable, usable software for the masses.
J
