To everyone complaining that iOS is stale and hasn't changed since 2007...

[DodgeV83]

[Beeplance]

Same can be said for windows 1.0 all the way until windows 7?

In certain cases, it may be because the other competitors are bringing in serious updates to their operating systems over the years that made them advance way ahead of iOS. In 2007, Steve said that iOS is 5 years ahead of any mobile operating system. Back then, I agree. But now in 2012, the static look of icons still remain there, the only VISIBLE change is the presence of the background wallpaper. Launching apps is still the same way after 5 years.

Comparing to the rate at which Android and Windows phone (Forget about BB..) are producing innovative features and updates, iOS is really lacking behind. And the super hot sales of the iPhone 5 has done nothing to trigger any motivation to continue innovating in their operating system; as a matter of fact, the sales may even make them think they're taking the right approach with this stale OS, which in fact, THEY'RE NOT.

Just my 2 cents.

[DodgeV83]

Originally Posted by Beeplance

Same can be said for windows 1.0 all the way until windows 7?

In certain cases, it may be because the other competitors are bringing in serious updates to their operating systems over the years that made them advance way ahead of iOS. In 2007, Steve said that iOS is 5 years ahead of any mobile operating system. Back then, I agree. But now in 2012, the static look of icons still remain there, the only VISIBLE change is the presence of the background wallpaper. Launching apps is still the same way after 5 years.

Comparing to the rate at which Android and Windows phone (Forget about BB..) are producing innovative features and updates, iOS is really lacking behind. And the super hot sales of the iPhone 5 has done nothing to trigger any motivation to continue innovating in their operating system; as a matter of fact, the sales may even make them think they're taking the right approach with this stale OS, which in fact, THEY'RE NOT.

Just my 2 cents.

You are correct, the same could be said of Windows.

When I look at Windows, OSX, and even Linux (I'm a long-time Ubuntu user), the OS is largely used as a portal to my applications. The more the OS gets out of my way and let's me use my applications, the better. Why do some people view mobile operating systems differently?

[siiip5]

Besides trying to create flame bait OP, OSX and iOS are not the same, nor were they designed to be. While I do agree that iOS is boring and stale with a grid of dead and uninformative icons that has remain unchanged for half a decade, OSX has changed quite a bit. Just from Leopard to Mountain Lion, there was significant changes.

I am no fan of Apple's mobile products, but their Mac's with OSX is just a better experience over anything else. I will continue to buy Mac's until i see something better come along.

[Beeplance]

Originally Posted by DodgeV83

You are correct, the same could be said of Windows.

When I look at Windows, OSX, and even Linux (I'm a long-time Ubuntu user), the OS is largely used as a portal to my applications. The more the OS gets out of my way and let's me use my applications, the better. Why do some people view mobile operating systems differently?

Well, everyone has different taste and preference. Some people like to have widgets for them to view the weather, mail and all that, because they may need to do so very often. They don't want to open the same app 23 times just to check 23 emails each time they come in.

I guess it has to do with what you want the smartphone to do for you. I think Android offers more ease of use as compared to iOS due to the availability of widgets, which may be useful for many people.

[Tulani]

And when they try to update like what they did with iTunes 11 people complain and say they want to roll back to the previous software?

[Beeplance]

Originally Posted by siiip5

Besides trying to create flame bait OP, OSX and iOS are not the same, nor were they designed to be. While I do agree that iOS is boring and stale with a grid of dead and uninformative icons that has remain unchanged for half a decade, OSX has changed quite a bit. Just from Leopard to Mountain Lion, there was significant changes.

I am no fan of Apple's mobile products, but their Mac's with OSX is just a better experience over anything else. I will continue to buy Mac's until i see something better come along.

Agree. OS X is alot better than iOS in terms of innovation and breakthrough features.

[F123D]

Cell phone technology, hardware and software are accelerating and progressing at a significant rate.

You don't compare iOS with OS X. You compare it to other phone OS's, with the other standout being Android. When compared, iOS has become stale and boring, lacking features and options.

[DodgeV83]

Originally Posted by siiip5

Besides trying to create flame bait OP, OSX and iOS are not the same, nor were they designed to be. While I do agree that iOS is boring and stale with a grid of dead and uninformative icons that has remain unchanged for half a decade, OSX has changed quite a bit. Just from Leopard to Mountain Lion, there was significant changes.

I am no fan of Apple's mobile products, but their Mac's with OSX is just a better experience over anything else. I will continue to buy Mac's until i see something better come along.

Has it? I just got my first Mac and it already had Mountain Lion on it, but it doesn't look like it has changed much superficially to me. If I compare OSX from 2007 to today, they both have docks, they both have Spotlight, and they both have the menubar up top that never moves.

Windows 7 still has the Start button (ignoring Windows 8 for the sake of this conversation), and it still has the taskbar down below.

When I really look at how people use these operating systems, 99% of its use is as an app launcher/window manager.

Do you disagree? I am open to being wrong on this, I enjoy the discussion

----------

Originally Posted by F123D

Cell phone technology, hardware and software are accelerating and progressing at a significant rate.

You don't compare iOS with OS X. You compare it to other phone OS's, with the other standout being Android. When compared, iOS has become stale and boring, lacking features and options.

I don't doubt that you feel that way, my question is why? Why do you personally expect such changes from a mobile OS, but not a desktop/laptop OS? Ubuntu Linux has offered much more customizability and features than Windows/OSX for years now, but has never taken off.

Beeplance's reasoning makes sense, you bring your mobile with you everywhere and check things very often, so widgets are useful for her on a cell phone where they wouldn't be as useful on a laptop/desktop.

Assuming you aren't a Ubuntu user, what makes you choose Android as a mobile OS, but not Ubuntu as a desktop/laptop OS?

[rocknblogger]

Originally Posted by DodgeV83

Has it? I just got my first Mac and it already had Mountain Lion on it, but it doesn't look like it has changed much superficially to me. If I compare OSX from 2007 to today, they both have docks, they both have Spotlight, and they both have the menubar up top that never moves.

Windows 7 still has the Start button (ignoring Windows 8 for the sake of this conversation), and it still has the taskbar down below.

When I really look at how people use these operating systems, 99% of its use is as an app launcher/window manager.

Do you disagree? I am open to being wrong on this, I enjoy the discussion

----------



I don't doubt that you feel that way, my question is why? Why do you personally expect such changes from a mobile OS, but not a desktop/laptop OS? Ubuntu Linux has offered much more customizability and features than Windows/OSX for years now, but has never taken off.

Beeplance's reasoning makes sense, you bring your mobile with you everywhere and check things very often, so widgets are useful for her on a cell phone where they wouldn't be as useful on a laptop/desktop.

Assuming you aren't a Ubuntu user, what makes you choose Android as a mobile OS, but not Ubuntu as a desktop/laptop OS?

With desktop OS's you can customize your OS of choice however you want. Whether Windows, OS X, Linux or anything in between you can add, or not, anything you want to your desktop workspace. You can also do it with Android and to a lesser degree WinPH8 but with iOS your stuck with what Apple gives you.

My point is that even though theses OS's may look the same for many years they are a lot more open and customizable and hence don't necessarily feel stale.

[throAU]

The touch UI is a solved problem.

Sure, android has widgets or whatever, but my experience with widgets on every other OS (Windows, OS X Dashboard, etc) is that they are just novelty crap.

[Night Spring]

I, for one, have no complaints about iOS's look and feel. I do wish Apple would make the weather icon show the current weather, like the calendar icon shows the current date, but the grid of icons work to organize and launch apps, and I don't feel any need to change that.

The thing about widgets or live tiles is I have no use for them -- I tried a preview version of Windows 8, and it quickly became apparent that the live tile functions were of no use for me, because I had no app that took advantage of them.

I just think that in forums like this, you get a lot of people who are interested in the latest and greatest, and want something new all the time. Meanwhile, the iPhone continues to sell strongly, suggesting that the general public just wants something that works.

[matttye]

Originally Posted by F123D

Cell phone technology, hardware and software are accelerating and progressing at a significant rate.

You don't compare iOS with OS X. You compare it to other phone OS's, with the other standout being Android. When compared, iOS has become stale and boring, lacking features and options.

Once you get over the play phase (where you're constantly picking up your phone to play with it) and want something that just works well, the iPhone is a clear winner. It's smoother, faster, battery lasts longer than most Android phones, iMessage/text message integration is seamless, it syncs with other devices using iCloud, you have access to the iTunes store, more apps are available, software updates are available to all immediately.

Need I go on?

[AQUADock]

Originally Posted by F123D

Cell phone technology, hardware and software are accelerating and progressing at a significant rate.

You don't compare iOS with OS X. You compare it to other phone OS's, with the other standout being Android. When compared, iOS has become stale and boring, lacking features and options.

I'm curious, what are these features that Android has that makes iOS so boring?

[F123D]

Originally Posted by DodgeV83

I don't doubt that you feel that way, my question is why? Why do you personally expect such changes from a mobile OS, but not a desktop/laptop OS?

Most people don't carry a desktop or a laptop with them 24/7 like they do with a smartphone. Because of this, there needs to be more freedom and flexibility with such a device. Google and other phone manufacturers understand this so you'll see them continually add new features and functions to adapt to the way people use their smart phone. The way people used their devices in 2007 has changed compared to way they use them today. So why shouldn't the OS change to reflect this.

----------

Originally Posted by matttye

It's smoother, faster, battery lasts longer than most Android phones, iMessage/text message integration is seamless, it syncs with other devices using iCloud, you have access to the iTunes store, more apps are available, software updates are available to all immediately.

Need I go on?

Thinner, lighter, faster..

Please, do go on.

----------

Originally Posted by AQUADock

I'm curious, what are these features that Android has that makes iOS so boring?

It's not what features android has but what features iOS lacks. You can check all the, "What features do you want in the next iPhone / OS" threads for that.

[Dr McKay]

Originally Posted by DodgeV83

Has it? I just got my first Mac and it already had Mountain Lion on it, but it doesn't look like it has changed much superficially to me. If I compare OSX from 2007 to today, they both have docks, they both have Spotlight, and they both have the menubar up top that never moves.

Windows 7 still has the Start button (ignoring Windows 8 for the sake of this conversation), and it still has the taskbar down below.

When I really look at how people use these operating systems, 99% of its use is as an app launcher/window manager.

Do you disagree? I am open to being wrong on this, I enjoy the discussion [COLOR="#808080"]

Well if you look at it like that, Android hasn't changed since version 1 much. It still has a status bar at the top, still has a drag down notification drawer and still has an app launcher, but compare them and they're actually worlds apart in usability.

[theluggage]

Originally Posted by DodgeV83

(Pretty Pictures of Mac System Software 1.0 vs OSX Mountain Lion)

Well, for one thing, somewhere between Mac OS 1.0 and 10.8 they've added full multitasking and Widgets

(Does anybody actually use Dashboard...?)

Also note that, even in 1984, on a computer far less powerful than an iPhone and with a smaller screen than an iPad, you had a customisable home screen and could keep less frequently-used apps off-screen.

[onthecouchagain]

People are fooling themselves if they think the slow game Apple is playing isn't going to nip them in the long run.

Just sharing: http://www.phonearena.com/news/Analy...e-over_id37743

----------

And there are very real and significant differences between how Apple manages OSX and how they manage iOS. Aesthetically, you can argue OS versions look similar, but Apple's been at OSX for decades. It's fine tuned to perfection.

MOre importantly, it allows third party apps to be set as default and freedoms that iOS should have. I can make Chrome my default browser, for example. Cannot do the same for iOS. Imagine if Apple played that same game plan with OSX, not allowing MS Word to be the default writing program, or Photoshop to be the default photo editor, etc.... many people would be up in arms and discontinue using Macs. iOS would be glorious if it shared the same freedoms that OSX had.

You're playing a dodgy (heh) game if you draw up a few comparison pictures of old and new OSes and then say, see, nothing else is really changing therefore iOS doesn't need to either. The consumers lose when you pretend the path iOS is on now is perfectly okay.

[onthecouchagain]

Furthermore, isn't Apple the leader in innovation? OP, are you telling me Apple isn't an innovator? That's essentially what you're saying to me with your screen caps.

----------

Originally Posted by F123D

Cell phone technology, hardware and software are accelerating and progressing at a significant rate.

You don't compare iOS with OS X. You compare it to other phone OS's, with the other standout being Android. When compared, iOS has become stale and boring, lacking features and options.

Boom. There you go. +1

Also this:

Originally Posted by kdarling

As a side note, it's interesting to see even oldtime Apple fans moving to Android. Obviously there's Woz, who uses both because he likes everything.

The most surprising is Guy Kawasaki... the former Chief Evangelist for Apple who was responsible for promoting the Mac, and pretty much invented Apple cultism... has moved completely to Android:

"To me the great irony is that Apple's slogan was 'Think Different,' but today if you think different you're looking at Android." - Kawasaki

[MonkeySee....]

Originally Posted by onthecouchagain

People are fooling themselves if they think the slow game Apple is playing isn't going to nip them in the long run.

Just sharing: http://www.phonearena.com/news/Analy...e-over_id37743

----------

And there are very real and significant differences between how Apple manages OSX and how they manage iOS. Aesthetically, you can argue OS versions look similar, but Apple's been at OSX for decades. It's fine tuned to perfection.

MOre importantly, it allows third party apps to be set as default and freedoms that iOS should have. I can make Chrome my default browser, for example. Cannot do the same for iOS. Imagine if Apple played that same game plan with OSX, not allowing MS Word to be the default writing program, or Photoshop to be the default photo editor, etc.... many people would be up in arms and discontinue using Macs. iOS would be glorious if it shared the same freedoms that OSX had.

You're playing a dodgy (heh) game if you draw up a few comparison pictures of old and new OSes and then say, see, nothing else is really changing therefore iOS doesn't need to either. The consumers lose when you pretend the path iOS is on now is perfectly okay.

I feel iOS is getting "fine tuned". You're hatred for iOS is laughable.

We get it. you don't like it.

[tomjleeds]

Originally Posted by onthecouchagain

People are fooling themselves if they think the slow game Apple is playing isn't going to nip them in the long run.

Just sharing: http://www.phonearena.com/news/Analy...e-over_id37743

----------

And there are very real and significant differences between how Apple manages OSX and how they manage iOS. Aesthetically, you can argue OS versions look similar, but Apple's been at OSX for decades. It's fine tuned to perfection.

MOre importantly, it allows third party apps to be set as default and freedoms that iOS should have. I can make Chrome my default browser, for example. Cannot do the same for iOS. Imagine if Apple played that same game plan with OSX, not allowing MS Word to be the default writing program, or Photoshop to be the default photo editor, etc.... many people would be up in arms and discontinue using Macs. iOS would be glorious if it shared the same freedoms that OSX had.

You're playing a dodgy (heh) game if you draw up a few comparison pictures of old and new OSes and then say, see, nothing else is really changing therefore iOS doesn't need to either. The consumers lose when you pretend the path iOS is on now is perfectly okay.

What twaddle is this?

iOS is not OS X. They serve two different purposes. If you can't see that you're not going to be able to understand the rest of the debate.

[throAU]

Originally Posted by onthecouchagain

Furthermore, isn't Apple the leader in innovation? OP, are you telling me Apple isn't an innovator? That's essentially what you're saying to me with your screen caps.

A major thing with engineering is not how much crap you can add.

It's how much you can strip away.

Widgets, in every form I've ever used them (i'm not an android user but i would wager this holds true) - have been novelty crap.

Garbage that you install, play with for 5 minutes and then forget about.

And i"m counting:
Windowmaker widgets under Linux
OS X dashboard Widgets
Windows Vista Gadgets
Windows tray icons from pre-vista

[Abazigal]

Furthermore, isn't Apple the leader in innovation? OP, are you telling me Apple isn't an innovator? That's essentially what you're saying to me with your screen caps.

IMO, Apple's innovation seems to lie in discovering new markets, releasing new products and creating insane demand because competition for that product is practically non-existent. And Steve Jobs seemed adept at churning out new product ideas ever so often, so by the time the competitors come anywhere near to catching up with the previous iteration, he is ready to move on to the next big thing.

Or in cases like the ipod, it seems like they have pretty much given up on said target market altogether.

Yet once that product has been released, improvements seem to come at a glacial pace. I remembered when I was watching the 2007 iphone keynote, and what struck me was how similar the IOS1.0 was compared with IOS5!

[onthecouchagain]

Originally Posted by MonkeySee....

You're hatred for iOS is laughable.

It's easier to claim someone hates iOS than it is to admit iOS needs improving.

Originally Posted by MonkeySee....

We get it. you don't like it.

Incorrect.

[siiip5]

Originally Posted by matttye

Once you get over the play phase (where you're constantly picking up your phone to play with it) and want something that just works well, the iPhone is a clear winner. It's smoother, faster, battery lasts longer than most Android phones, iMessage/text message integration is seamless, it syncs with other devices using iCloud, you have access to the iTunes store, more apps are available, software updates are available to all immediately.

Need I go on?

IPhone just works well? Well, except for the light bleed issue, that pesky pixelization issue with the keyboard, the maps fiasco and of course bending easily and cracking screens. In fact, it is such a clear winner that Apple refuses to give out sales figures on the [phone 5.

Oh and by the way, your info about Apple having more apps and being able to sync with other devices via iCloud are wrong. My Nexus device won't work with iCloud. Hower, Google's cloud service will work with anything.

It is obvious that the iPhone is Nothing more than a has-been product, getting left further and further behind.