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skellener

macrumors 68000
Jun 23, 2003
1,786
543
So. Cal.
I hope the iPad 5 does take a few cues from the mini. Rounded edges like the mini would be welcome. The edges on the iPad 2,3,4 have all had these ridiculous sharp edges that dig into the the grooves of your finger joints. The rounded edges of the mini are much welcomed. Make the iPad 5 light! I know everyone wants longer battery life. But the lightness of the mini makes it a pleasure to hold. If the larger iPad can be made lighter, it is would also much welcomed. As for the bezel...not so sure I agree with a smaller one. As it is now, I find that the bezel is probably the right thickness. You really do need a good chunk of surface to hold the darn thing (again because of it's weight). I guess if it can be made lighter, maybe less bezel would be necessary. But the current design of the larger iPad is not in any way shape or form very ergonomic. Anything that can be improved for holding it in one's hand - again, much welcomed.
 

jrswizzle

macrumors 603
Aug 23, 2012
6,107
129
McKinney, TX
These hardware updates sound pretty good (especially for the iPad 5 - wasn't planning on doing an update to my regular sized iPad, but I may sell it and go with just my mini until Oct!).

Given the obligatory internal updates - faster GPU, CPU, maybe added RAM, IGZO, etc. - innovation will come in the software over the next few years. I wouldn't expect to see anything radically different in hardware save for the spec bumps in the areas above and IGZO, but iOS 7 and 8 will drive Apple's fortunes over the next few years and either keep them up at the top where they are, or begin to hasten a decline.

I'm wondering - given the change in leadership - if we'll see a different release timeframe for iOS this year - with iOS 7 coming earlier while they simultaneously work iOS 8....reason being Ive and co. wouldn't have had enough time to put their stamp on iOS 7 and as much as I think Apple is still on top, they DO need a very solid iOS release this year after the somewhat underwhelming iOS 6 release.

Excited for Apple in 2013!
 

Timzer

macrumors 6502
Nov 10, 2011
334
0
Couldn't you say any company will claim their latest and greatest product is the best, or perfect? Even if it changes down the line based on market dynamics or whatever.

Actually No. Let's look at the two giants. Apple and Samsung.
Apple just point blank says things like, ".. if you see a stylus, they blew it."
Or they'll tell you that no one is going to buy a 4 inch phone. Their advertisements emphasizes using a phone with one hand. So when you go on and on about the importance of being able to use your smartphone with one hand, you're closing the door on a bigger screen. Samsung has never advertises that 4, 4.3, 4.8 inches are the perfect size. Because they don't limit themselves to this ridiculous one handed use claim. As if all hands are the same size.
 

likemyorbs

macrumors 68000
Jul 20, 2008
1,956
5
NJ
6.1 isnt even GM yet :(

And they wonder why the stock is going to hell. iOS is very dated. I'm a fanboy but it's getting ridiculous. Apple is dragging their feet. Their coolness won't help them out of this, it's actually gonna require work on their part.
 

nagromme

macrumors G5
May 2, 2002
12,546
1,196
The force needed to hold an object comfortably by one end/edge is based on both its weight and its length--leverage.

If the iPad loses most of its side margin, then it had better be astonishingly light (which would be awesome) or it may become harder to hold, not easier! I think I'd want a margin larger than the mini's side margins.

Plausible rumors, in any case.
 

Rogifan

macrumors Penryn
Nov 14, 2011
24,084
31,015
It seems to me that it was Steve Jobs who came up with many or most these new product ideas and drove them home to perfection.

Is there anyone left at Apple who has any new ideas???

In the meantime let's hope that the Steve Jobs treasure trove of new ideas which he left with Apple before he died will be game changers too.

How do we know it was Jobs alone who came up with all these ideas? The media might have painted it that way, and might be pushing that meme now as they're kicking Apple while its down but it seems to me that's very unfair to everyone else at Apple.

Also it was 6 years between the iPod and iPhone and 3 years between iPhone a d iPad. It's not like Apple was kicking out groundbreaking stuff every year when Jobs was around.
 

Rocketman

macrumors 603
When Apple releases a TD-LTE compatible phone for China Mobile the sales will substantially increase. There may be 2-3 price points like now in the USA and a plastic phone may actually be both lower priced and better in terms of reception. What will be interesting is to watch if it still uses voice frequencies at all or it it integrates VoIP into TD-LTE via data only signals. That would substantially lower the access cost.

Rocketman
 

tCruzin4lyfe

macrumors regular
Jun 23, 2010
132
0
I would love to hear about some iOS 7 news. I think the 5 is fine the way it is design wise.
Screen wise, I think 4.5" should be the max. I know people have different preferences but these android phones are getting HUGE! Some already look silly holding it up to your ears. Reminds me of old house phones (thought that's what we were trying to stray away from).
Honestly, like others have stated, I think they really need to take bigger risks with the iOS. Sure those who want bigger screens will leave but I think even more people are getting bored with the iOS in general.
 

JoshMKB24

macrumors 6502a
Jan 5, 2013
520
44
Midwest

Man, believe me if I had ideas I wouldn't be posting on an internet web forum......I'd be out making it happen! :D

I'm just saying it seems that they haven't had any real "innovative" products as they like to say in quite awhile. Don't get me wrong I love their stuff, but it just seems like in the last year or so they are just rehashing the same stuff

----------

It seems to me that it was Steve Jobs who came up with many or most these new product ideas and drove them home to perfection.

Is there anyone left at Apple who has any new ideas???

In the meantime let's hope that the Steve Jobs treasure trove of new ideas which he left with Apple before he died will be game changers too.

Thats kind of what I'm wondering. I think in 2 years will be very telling as to what type of creative talent is at Apple still and how much of it was Steve himself.

----------

Like what exactly? And how do you know they're not working on some of that stuff right now? :confused:

I don't know, I wish I did! I hope they are working on something new........but in this day in age with how information is spread.......even when the iPhone made its debut in 2007 people still knew of it, or had a good idea it was coming before it was released.
 

ShamrockSolace

macrumors member
Dec 4, 2010
63
2
Need new sensors for the products

To get ahead of the game, why not offer more user interoperability with the device. Adding new sensors that enhance an individual's capability is what will set the tool ahead of the market. Need to have features and functionality that no one else can provide and will set the competition back.

Why not have sensors to engage the other senses? Touch, Smell, Taste?
There are other types of senses such as sensing balance, temperature, acceleration, time, or pain. There are more than this, but if the product opens new User interactivity, that will differentiate your product.

Should look beyond and think of giving "Ability" a bonus for your product.
 

TMay

macrumors 68000
Dec 24, 2001
1,520
1
Carson City, NV
Of course there will be a bigger iPhone. Apple didn't even want a 4 inch screen, but they were pushed by the market. Just put an iPhone 4 next to the current batch of high end Android phones and see how pathetic that screen size holds next to those gorgeous 4.7-4.8 screens. Keeping 3.5 inches would have been a complete joke. So 4 inches they went. Apple even had to saturate the colors on the iPhone 5 screen from previous screens just to show better on the sales floor against the vibrant SuperAmoled Screens. On the sales floor, the vibrant colors of the SuperAmoled just pop and look amazing. Nobody is doing any major photo editing on their puny 3.5-4 inch skinny smartphone screen to require accurate colors.
Tim believes they have the perfect screen size at 4 inches. So what about all those past years at 3.5 inches which they professed was the perfect size. What a joke.

SuperAmoLED screenss are oversaturated, and the iPhone 5 is near color accurate is what you meant.

As far as size, Apple design, aka Jony Ive, probably has created and tested hundreds of iPhone variations. I expect Apple NOT to add a big(ger) screen until there is enough performance for a fully composited vector graphics UI for screen independence, same as with Mac OS X.

Not this year, but probably next when Apple can get to 16nm die at TSMC and give the necessary graphics boost; let's call that time frame iOS 8.

More likely, there will be a Skype-like add on with blue tooth connection in the iPad Mini 2, for all of us that aren't talkie talkie all day.
 

Stuipdboy1000

macrumors 65816
Jun 30, 2007
1,286
739
Glasgow, Scotland, UK
This is how I can see this years Apple events panning out.

Spring - iOS 7 beta and OS X 10.9 beta released at software related event. This will replace the annual iPad event they have held in Spring the past few years. If Apple are releasing a new iPhone in the summer then they want iOS 7 polished in the months leading up to the launch.

June - WWDC. Public launch of iOS 7, OS X 10.9, new iPhone and possibly Macs (Mac Pro?).

September/October - iPad event. Possibly a music theme thrown in (iPods, iTunes) and maybe a new Apple TV, whether it be another set-top box or an actual television.
 

jonnyo

macrumors newbie
Jul 30, 2003
28
55
Chicago, IL
Bigger Isn't Necessarily Better

Nobody is doing any major photo editing on their puny 3.5-4 inch skinny smartphone screen to require accurate colors.

Let's be honest: nobody is doing any major photo editing on a cell phone of ANY size. Even a Galaxy Note 2's screen isn't big enough, and I say that speaking as an owner. Any needed editing is gonna take place on my Retina MBP, where I have plenty of screen real estate and a proper arsenal of tools at my disposal.
 

commander.data

macrumors 65816
Nov 10, 2006
1,056
183
Moving the release schedule so that the iPhone is released before the iPad makes sense. With the vastly different screen resolutions, the iPhone and iPad can no longer use the same SoC like in the iPad2/iPhone 4S/A5 days. If the iPad's "X" chips are based on the iPhone SoC with an expanded GPU, then it makes sense to have iPhone launches in June to introduce the base chip, the A7 in this case, and then an iPad launch in September/October to introduce the expanded "X" variant, in this case A7X. I think this will be the schedule moving forward.

In terms of larger iPhone screen sizes, I think 4.5" is the most sensible screen size for any potential future increase. A 4.5" screen with a 1280x720 resolution allows Apple to maintain the same 326 dpi while claim "HD" without having an overly large device.
 

Amazing Iceman

macrumors 603
Nov 8, 2008
5,244
3,988
Florida, U.S.A.
October? I didn't want to wait so much for it, but I guess an October release comes right on time for the holidays.
I do not want a new iPad release every 6 months or so, as it causes the previous versions to lose resale value more quickly.

Well, more time to save up some money. I need a new Mac too.
 

OafTobark

macrumors 6502
Oct 24, 2011
349
94
Focus on improving iOS.

I'm more interested in iOS7

This all seems very reasonable and therefore believable.

But the focus this year needs to be iOS 7.

just revamp iOS, which is so damn stale

I don't effing care. iOS 7 NOWWWWW!!!! And make it good.

I would love to hear about some iOS 7 news...

I'm glad to see some of us are on the same page. Hardware is superior, Software is dated and yes, stale.

Common Ive. :p
 

mobilebuddha

macrumors regular
Jan 31, 2008
222
25
Unlike other companies, Apple has the size, human resources, capital to improve BOTH hardware and software. It is inexcusable for Apple to only focus on the software.. not that it shouldn't. There are many things that I prefer on Android over iOS.

this is seriously what apple needs to be doing right now. Take a break on hardware and improve the performance of your OS, patch bugs, etc.
 

ThisIsNotMe

Suspended
Aug 11, 2008
1,849
1,062
March please :(
And I don't want another redesign. I have accessories coming in for when I buy the iPad 5 :( :( :(

Ya, it sucks but people need to use logic when purchasing devices.
It was clear that the next iPad is going to be redesigned when they released the iPad Mini.

Reminds me of people who complained about when the current iPad was released. It was VERY CLEAR after the introduction of the Lightning port on the iPhone that there was going to be a spec bump to include the Lightning port on the iPad product line before Christmas.

Use logic people!
 

Renzatic

Suspended
"only enough space above and below the screen to accommodate the mandatory camera and Home Button elements."

Does this mean the bottom bezel (with the home button) will be thicker than the top?

Either that, or you'll have a smaller home button.

Though why all the hate for bezels? It's not like I'm bothered by the one around my iPad right now. Sure, it could make for a potentially smaller device if the front is mostly screen, but it'll also make it that much more difficult to hold.
 

matthijst

macrumors 6502
Jun 8, 2009
264
242
Cant believe they will only release their stuff all at once, once a year.
Now they have the usual hype year round; ipads in march, iphone in october, macs and macbooks...
 

Mac-Mariachi

macrumors regular
Jan 29, 2002
172
0
Monterrey, Mexico
iOS 7

If Apple is deciding to continue with the iPhone 5 form factor I´m quite sure they´re betting heavy on iOS7 to kick all our collective asses.

I wouldn´t like to have last year´s design with last years iOS, but if the new OS is something spectacular, well...
 

SockRolid

macrumors 68000
Jan 5, 2010
1,560
118
Almost Rock Solid
Re: iPad 5th gen design:

... it will have the same chamfered edges and curves ...

That's the best way to can reduce the width of the bezels without increasing the risk of users dropping it.
Try this: hold your iPad mini over a pillow or some other cushion, screen facing up, with your thumb on top,
and see how far you can move your thumb off the edge without dropping it. (Hence the pillow or cushion under.)
Pretty far, I'd guess. Right? I can do it with less than 1 cm of thumb on the bezel.

Now try the same thing with the screen facing down. You'll need to keep a whole lot more thumb
on the top (the aluminum case, since it's upside-down) because the curved edge provides far less
grip than the two relatively sharp edges provided by the chamfering. The two edges around the screen
"bite" into your thumb and create a lot of friction against your thumbprint texture.

I wondered why Apple would bother to add a manufacturing step just for a seemingly cosmetic
detail like the chamfering, but I think it actually enables the use of a narrower bezel. Just my 2 cents.

(Oh, and the chamfering on iPhone 5 also help increase friction while holding it, but for different grips.
A bezel isn't actually needed on iPhone, or any other phone for that matter. I'd expect Apple to reduce
the width of the bezel on the "long edge" of the iPhone as soon as screen technology allows it.
Can't do that with LCD.)
 
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