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iPhone OS 4.0 Preview Event Scheduled for This Thursday
- Thread starter mcdj
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Yes it is. I think Apple put the iPad out to meet deadlines and the software wasn't ready.
Tell them about this great app on the iPhone called Ping!. It is our equivalent of BBM. There is a free version too.
You're talking as if this comment were made in a public place. The comment was made at an internal meeting so who exactly was he trying to impress? What CEO in his right mind would stand in front of a bunch of employees and make a statement like that when many of those present probably know what's in the 4.0 upgrade? He'd look like a fool. Why would he have made that comment if it weren't true? He sure in the hell wouldn't exaggerate to his own people. What would be the point?
Having gone from a 3G to a 3GS the difference in speed is not marginal. Most of the time it is at least half as quick again as the 3G.
I think any cosmetic changes in 4.0 will come to the 3G, like if they change the home screen to mirror the iPad and allow custom backgrounds. I don't see the 3G multi-tasking, but I also don't see the older devices "holding back" anything in 4.0.
The iPhone 3GS is about to become obsolete this year when the fourth generation iPhone launches, so while it's faster than the 3G it still "only" has 256mb of memory. If the new iPhone were to launch with twice that RAM again, people could easily argue that the 3GS with half the RAM is holding back the new iPhone, much like 3GS owners currently like to lambast the 3G.
It depends what Apple can squeeze out of the 3G, they may well be able to optimise the OS entirely, but I don't expect to be multi-tasking on my iPhone 3G.
Using both before purchasing, I had to say I didn't find general operation on the 3GS to be blazingly quicker than the 3G.
Loading times on apps is dramatically reduced and loading times on web pages is shaved by a couple of seconds, but it wasn't enough for me to shell out extra when I was buying the phone outright at full price.
I have to say, I can't wait for the new iPhone to launch, and provided it delivers the supposed "A+" update, blow the 3GS out the water. It's going to be superb to read the new iPhone owners constantly talk down the 3GS to those who still own it and are happy with it.
The 3G is not a bad phone, and the 3GS was a relatively poor successor in terms of what it can do. I can record video on my 3G at 20fps in good lighting conditions with a £2 app called iVideo Recorder, and can trim those videos using the same interface as the 3GS. That's the only feature I actually missed out on, and while it's not as fluid at the 3GS, it's superb for capturing footage of my dogs on the beach!
It will be interesting.
It is without doubt the most important update Apple have to make. The release took the world by storm but the others have really caught up by copying apple's system.
Apple really needs to raise the bar with the OS 4.0 as well as a new iPhone model. They need something yet again to capture people's attention and differentiate themselves from the rest. Being the first is no longer anything important.
One of the things they really need to look at is integration. At the moment I have an iphone, an apple tv, an imac, ipod, mac mini and a macbook pro. I am thinking about an ipad.
If apple really wants people to stay in the ecosystem they need to find a way that these devices can seamlessly work together. they each work well on their own, but together it is a bit of an issue.
I would like to be able to stream and sync content between them much more easily. Especially photos. When I do a photo shoot out on the road I would like to be able to download them wirelessly to my ipad or macbook pro (using eye-fi card) which could then sync the library with my apple tv, imac or mac mini.
Accessing digital content content as well. Should be able to sync automatically and access it from whatever device I am using.
It is without doubt the most important update Apple have to make. The release took the world by storm but the others have really caught up by copying apple's system.
Apple really needs to raise the bar with the OS 4.0 as well as a new iPhone model. They need something yet again to capture people's attention and differentiate themselves from the rest. Being the first is no longer anything important.
One of the things they really need to look at is integration. At the moment I have an iphone, an apple tv, an imac, ipod, mac mini and a macbook pro. I am thinking about an ipad.
If apple really wants people to stay in the ecosystem they need to find a way that these devices can seamlessly work together. they each work well on their own, but together it is a bit of an issue.
I would like to be able to stream and sync content between them much more easily. Especially photos. When I do a photo shoot out on the road I would like to be able to download them wirelessly to my ipad or macbook pro (using eye-fi card) which could then sync the library with my apple tv, imac or mac mini.
Accessing digital content content as well. Should be able to sync automatically and access it from whatever device I am using.
1. Multitasking. I think this is now very likely. Partially due to the fact there has been a lot of talk about it being missing. Apple doesn't like these long running negative topics - I believe they were forced into creating the SDK and forced into adding Copy and Paste. Multitasking is next. I don't need multitasking - most of the important apps already maintain their state very well when jumping between them. However, I am intrigued to see what the community will come up with once they have the ability to keep an app running in the background. For example, I could imagine that developers would come up with innovative ways of using the connectivity, the accelerometer and the GPS.
2. Notifications. The current way that notifications are handled is poor. In my opinion it is one of the very few remaining areas of functionality where the iPhone performs badly. At the very least I need a list of notifications that doesn't get forgotten once I dismiss a popup. Think along the lines of the recent calls log. At the moment, I receive a push notification from an app, but once I unlock the phone, the notification has vanished. Forever. If a notifications screen was added, it would need to be housed somewhere - some possibilities: (a) as a new homescreen ala search (b) via an icon in the top status bar (c) via a guesture (d) via a home screen icon. We have seen a good notification platform in Android. Web apps such as Facebook handle notifications elegantly. This isn't rocket science.
3. Display resolution. The next iPhone will probably have a different display resolution to the current generation of devices. Apple will need to inform developers of this early so that they can prepare their apps. Interestingly, this will mean that developers will need to consider three display resolutions in the development of their apps - iPhone (480x320), iPad (1024x768) and now, new iPhone (presumably 960x640).
4. User Interface. The iPhone OS is now pretty mature. There are not many major capabilities that are missing. So this leaves we wondering what else Apple might do. There might be new APIs - but developers are already pretty well catered for. I would hazard a guess that parts of the iPhone user interface may be modernised. The home screen and lock screen seem to the the two obvious candidates for improvement.
5. Widgets. I am not a fan of the concept of 'widgets' but you have to wonder what happened to those missing Apple apps from the current build of software on iPad. Doesn't Apple need to figure out how to get the clock, calculator etc. on iPad? The concept of a dashboard for widgets does make sense. It could be launched via a home screen icon and could operate similarly to the Mac OS X equivalent. This might be an iPad only feature as the concept doesn't translate quite as well to the iPhone's smaller display.
Those are my five predictions. I wonder how much of this will turn out to be true later in the week! ;-)
2. Notifications. The current way that notifications are handled is poor. In my opinion it is one of the very few remaining areas of functionality where the iPhone performs badly. At the very least I need a list of notifications that doesn't get forgotten once I dismiss a popup. Think along the lines of the recent calls log. At the moment, I receive a push notification from an app, but once I unlock the phone, the notification has vanished. Forever. If a notifications screen was added, it would need to be housed somewhere - some possibilities: (a) as a new homescreen ala search (b) via an icon in the top status bar (c) via a guesture (d) via a home screen icon. We have seen a good notification platform in Android. Web apps such as Facebook handle notifications elegantly. This isn't rocket science.
3. Display resolution. The next iPhone will probably have a different display resolution to the current generation of devices. Apple will need to inform developers of this early so that they can prepare their apps. Interestingly, this will mean that developers will need to consider three display resolutions in the development of their apps - iPhone (480x320), iPad (1024x768) and now, new iPhone (presumably 960x640).
4. User Interface. The iPhone OS is now pretty mature. There are not many major capabilities that are missing. So this leaves we wondering what else Apple might do. There might be new APIs - but developers are already pretty well catered for. I would hazard a guess that parts of the iPhone user interface may be modernised. The home screen and lock screen seem to the the two obvious candidates for improvement.
5. Widgets. I am not a fan of the concept of 'widgets' but you have to wonder what happened to those missing Apple apps from the current build of software on iPad. Doesn't Apple need to figure out how to get the clock, calculator etc. on iPad? The concept of a dashboard for widgets does make sense. It could be launched via a home screen icon and could operate similarly to the Mac OS X equivalent. This might be an iPad only feature as the concept doesn't translate quite as well to the iPhone's smaller display.
Those are my five predictions. I wonder how much of this will turn out to be true later in the week! ;-)
It was made in front of thousands of employees. That's pretty public, when you consider the likelihood that they would all keep their mouths shut.
First of all it is quite likely that very few of those present would know what would be in 4.0. Some may be working on features but the go/nogo on those for 4.0 is made pretty high up at Apple.
Secondly, CEOs say all kinds of things to employees. It is part of the leadership role. I'm not talking about blatant lies, but how can the term "A+" be objectively measured? It is far too vague to mean anything.
Have you actually read much about Steve and the way he works? I suggest reading some of the biographies or even just google him.
I think he was implying that basic functionality should be free, and installed by default.
The stocks app is a waste of space.
Well, I also don't see them breaking up development cycles with the mobile OS. It's going to be hard keeping the touch/iphone on the same cycles as the ipad in the coming years with hardware refreshes being a few months apart. If they have a yearly refresh on the ipad, which device gets to bring in the new OS. Where in the years past the new iphones have come in the software. It is one of their major selling point to their new devices. What are they going to do with the ipad? "Hears the brand new ipad! With many new features in the OS update in a few months!"
While it shouldn't matter, Apple knows that features are what sells. If they can't offer major OS improvements in with new hardware on release, sale will be hurt.
Assuming you mean running multiple user apps at the same time, then I disagree. It has been been rumoured, but is it known?
If you mean multitasking as the OS already does then we are just talking semantics. I'm lazily using the term multitasking to mean "running multiple user apps concurrently" as most are doing, even though of course the OS is already multitasking and runs a variety of tasks and applications simultaneously; just not App Store ones.
I must be watching the wrong channels. All I see is "Droid" commercials asking if my phone does things.... and my iPhone does all of them, every single last thing they ask if my phone does... it does, a year ago!
Oh, and to quote a comp sci. prof, "if you have a single processor, you're never really multi-tasking, you just don't notice the switch."
Your proof? and don't give me a rumour site. Show me where either Steve, big Phil or Scott Forstall has said it...
There's the difference.
I've already had 18 months with the 3G, and in my short time with the 3GS using it comprehensively I find the general operation much quicker. If you had used an iPhone 3G with OS 2.x and then moved to OS 3.x you would have noticed a slowdown. iPhone 3GS is faster IMO than iPhone 3G running 2.x I wasn't bothered by the new features (except the better resolution camera) as I have little need for a compass or video recording. I did want the speed, and boy do I notice the difference.
Petty, but..
Want to know what I'd love more than multitasking? More than a new UI?
The ability to remove Apple's stock apps without jailbreaking. You could always put them back on with iTunes if you deleted anything you really needed.
Do I ever use Photos, Weather, Clock, or the iTunes app? No. Are there better alternatives in the app store? Certainly for Clock and Weather - the other two are useless to me. Would I love to get them the hell off my Phone? Yes!
In a second minor tweak, I'd love to be able to use iPhone's Spotlight as a calculator like I can on desktop OS X. If that happens, you can add Calculator to the list above..
Want to know what I'd love more than multitasking? More than a new UI?
The ability to remove Apple's stock apps without jailbreaking. You could always put them back on with iTunes if you deleted anything you really needed.
Do I ever use Photos, Weather, Clock, or the iTunes app? No. Are there better alternatives in the app store? Certainly for Clock and Weather - the other two are useless to me. Would I love to get them the hell off my Phone? Yes!
In a second minor tweak, I'd love to be able to use iPhone's Spotlight as a calculator like I can on desktop OS X. If that happens, you can add Calculator to the list above..
i can see 4.0 taking the iPad's colour scheme and dock style, ie:
and the reflective dock found in leopard, then 1.0-1.1.3 of the ipod touch, and now the iPad
and the reflective dock found in leopard, then 1.0-1.1.3 of the ipod touch, and now the iPad
I still don't understand how the flash in the iPad/iPhone etc can be seen as SSD. I was under the impression that SSDs use many (read more than two) flash chips to achieve the crazy speeds they are capable of.
i can see 4.0 taking the iPad's colour scheme and dock style, ie:
and the reflective dock found in leopard, then 1.0-1.1.3 of the ipod touch, and now the iPad
That looks awesome. *hopes*
It's a similar style to the metallic gradient style of iTunes 9.
What I'd like to see in ver. 4 iPhone & iPhone OS
- better homescreen UI
- better notification UI
- custom SMS ringtones
- ability to remove default apps
- search in Safari
- unlocked bluetooth
- unlocked FM radio
- limited multitasking (i don't see it in 3GS if the new iPhone is going to have Apple CPU)
- unlocked disk mode
- at least one new native app
Talking about hardware:
- improved battery time
- new CPU, but it will top max 700MHz, there is no need for more.
- better camera
- multitasking (with Apple CPU it should be still good for the battery)
- better res. , maybe
- facing camera, maybe (in another model?)
- better homescreen UI
- better notification UI
- custom SMS ringtones
- ability to remove default apps
- search in Safari
- unlocked bluetooth
- unlocked FM radio
- limited multitasking (i don't see it in 3GS if the new iPhone is going to have Apple CPU)
- unlocked disk mode
- at least one new native app
Talking about hardware:
- improved battery time
- new CPU, but it will top max 700MHz, there is no need for more.
- better camera
- multitasking (with Apple CPU it should be still good for the battery)
- better res. , maybe
- facing camera, maybe (in another model?)
If they add any significant new features (e.g. multitasking) ... then the iPhone would be capable of more than the iPad, wouldn't it?
So I'd assume those same features (if they exist) would be rolled out to the iPad also; but the iPad doesn't need a monthly contract, does it? So how does that fit in with all that Sarbanes-Oxley crap about adding new features to a product?
Would they charge iPad users to upgrade their firmware a couple of weeks after buying a brand new device? I doubt it, but I don't know how they'd reconcile it with past statements.
So I'd assume those same features (if they exist) would be rolled out to the iPad also; but the iPad doesn't need a monthly contract, does it? So how does that fit in with all that Sarbanes-Oxley crap about adding new features to a product?
Would they charge iPad users to upgrade their firmware a couple of weeks after buying a brand new device? I doubt it, but I don't know how they'd reconcile it with past statements.