Is iOS reaching it's expiration date?

[JD914]

It's a three year old OS with minor tweaks. Looks like Apple also has fallen into this rehash OS formula like Blackberry. Is it time for Apple to go another direction? Android is the 800 pound gorilla and IMO Apple needs to step up thier game once again. What say you?

 

[cootersgarage6]

No

Umm... Where are you? Lol.. just to let you know... where do you think those android like phones and the androids came form? The copied the Iphone. They are simply cheap knock offs, and they cost more. Also, hey wana play this app I just bought? Ops... Sorry... your running android.. you can't play online games or Nazi Zombies from Game Center... sorry..... Also, wana face time? Damn, sorry not a chance with your cheap android phone (not saying this about you, just androids).... Really, think about it.. there are thousands of phones that look like the Iphone, and we don't give them a second look, but when you see an iphone 4, yes, there is always a second look and you know it. Same for Ipad.
And what is the THINNEST, best selling smart phone? IPHONE running IOS... duh.
WHo has the most apps and the best ones, and FREE ones, that are actually good.... and also WHO does everyone want.. The Iphone

Do you have retina on you Droid. NO because they are to stupid to put that one there, only the Ipod/Iphone 4 with IOS has that right? Exactly. Get your stuff straight.

 

[vant]

Umm... Where are you? Lol.. just to let you know... where do you think those android like phones and the androids came form? The copied the Iphone. They are simply cheap knock offs, and they cost more. Also, hey wana play this app I just bought? Ops... Sorry... your running android.. you can't play online games or Nazi Zombies from Game Center... sorry..... Also, wana face time? Damn, sorry not a chance with your cheap android phone (not saying this about you, just androids).... Really, think about it.. there are thousands of phones that look like the Iphone, and we don't give them a second look, but when you see an iphone 4, yes, there is always a second look and you know it. Same for Ipad.
And what is the THINNEST, best selling smart phone? IPHONE running IOS... duh.
WHo has the most apps and the best ones, and FREE ones, that are actually good.... and also WHO does everyone want.. The Iphone

Do you have retina on you Droid. NO because they are to stupid to put that one there, only the Ipod/Iphone 4 with IOS has that right? Exactly. Get your stuff straight.

You definitely don't sound like an Apple fanboy. Props for staying neutral.

Seriously though, asking if the iOS is 'reaching it's expiration date' is kind of like asking if Windows is reaching 'it's expiration date'. No one knows, and as far as we can tell, NO.

 

[firewood]

It's a three year old OS with minor tweaks. Looks like Apple also has fallen into this rehash OS formula like Blackberry. Is it time for Apple to go another direction? Android is the 800 pound gorilla and IMO Apple needs to step up thier game once again. What say you?

Android is based on Linux, which is over 19 years old. So is webOS. It is true that iOS has roots in BSD Unix which is over 30 years old, and NextStep which is over 20 years old.

However, all the newer, non-unix based OS's seem to have fallen by the wayside (PalmOS, Windows CE, etc.)

 

[polishmacuser]

idk where windows had to come into all this, but referring to the op's question, the answer is yes. iOS is dated, it cant even have optional text tones and other simple things. However its more advanced when it comes to other things

Simply nothing is perfect and all we can do is wait or go buy an android phone be happy for an hour or two and cry that it doesn't do things like the iPhone does.

 

[The General]

Android isn't an 800 pound gorilla. It's for 800 pound gorillas.

 

[macfan881]

Android isn't an 800 pount gorilla. It's for 800 pound gorillas.

wait i thought Balmer uses Windows mobile phones

 

[fortunecookie]

In my own experience IOS is the best mobile phone OS and has a lot of potential and possible add on in the future. Besides, it will only expire when they stop developing it.

 

[rayleterleir]

I don't believe iOS has reached it's exp. date. If anything, it's just starting to take off. There are so many future possibilities and technologies Apple could implement, and I truly believe Apple should adopt this as their flagship OS. That being said, Microsoft is catching up. Windows Phone 7 is actually a decent platform to play with. But iOS has an advantage in maturity and a company with a tried and tested ethic and mindset. I'm currently selling iOS devices to 70 year olds who walk in my store. Why? Because they work. They're simple. I've given each user a few lessons on the basics, and they work the rest out themselves. Because they work. No mess, no fuss, they just work.

So no, I believe iOS has a LOT to still come, and I for one am looking forward to it.

EDIT: Spelling. Never try to write while talking to customers.

 

[sniffies]

Wiat, is'nt their a simillar thraed with an simillar title already???

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1056074/

 

[VulchR]

In any case, it astounds me that anybody could think that iOS is dead. Right now Apple is focused on mobile consumer devices but I expect that we'll soon see iOS embedded in all sorts home appliances and equipment. Using iOS and an iPod to control scientific equipment, for instance, is a cheap way to add one of the best user interfaces to an existing system.

It also astounds me that Apple fans can be so negative about Microsoft. Apple would have never survived if Microsoft had not supported Mac products. Even now MS could lay waste to the Mac market share by withdrawing support for the Mac version of Office. And it doesn't matter if a Mac user thinks that Windows sucks* if they're running Mac OS X and iOS.

@OP: Geeks built the computer industry - show some respect.

*Actually, I like Windows 7.

 

[smiddlehurst]

Can I just ask... where does this idea that OS's need to radically change every couple of years come from? For the general public (i.e. non-techie user) this is a TERRIBLE idea as it completely destroys their comfort level with the device. Assuming the core concepts and abstractions behind the OS are sound (and in the case of iOS they are) there's no need to do radical changes. Far better to make slow, gradual changes that build on existing concepts and introduce changes slowly over time.

In the case of iOS Apple have been gradually changing the OS and interface elements with each major release, sometimes in minor ways (tapping the top bar scrolling to the top of the page) and sometimes in more noticeable ways (folders and multitasking). The core concept is rock solid and in use across multiple platforms (android, webOS and Symbian all have a variation on the theme) so why change it? There's some obvious areas that need work (notifications being chief amongst them) but there are VERY few complaints from the mass market about the interface or OS.

 

[milamber]

I have to say although the topic of the thread could potentially be flame bait, I'm impressed that the ridiculous fanboys have been shot down not by trolls or whatever but by people have common sense!

To answer the OP, I feel iOS is dated in a way I used to feel about XP (after all the patches). Fairly stable yes, comfortable to use? Yes. Getting slightly bored? Yes.

But just because something is getting boring doesn't mean it's the worst.

 

[andrewsd]

It's a three year old OS with minor tweaks. Looks like Apple also has fallen into this rehash OS formula like Blackberry. Is it time for Apple to go another direction? Android is the 800 pound gorilla and IMO Apple needs to step up thier game once again. What say you?

Well I know it really stinks having a super smooth, seamless OS to navigate through. Also I love how choppy and out of date some of the icon graphics look on andriod. Some look as if they gave up on making a nice icon.

 

[w00t951]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8C148 Safari/6533.18.5)

It's a three year old OS with minor tweaks. Looks like Apple also has fallen into this rehash OS formula like Blackberry. Is it time for Apple to go another direction? Android is the 800 pound gorilla and IMO Apple needs to step up thier game once again. What say you?

Exactly why iOS share is increasing and Android's share is decreasing. Exactly. If you have actually bothered to give Android a spin, you know that it is the worst, most poorly programmed OS in mobile history. It's like Linux, Chrome OS, and another Linux installation taped together. To get rid of the bugs it took me an hour. To setit up, it took me another hour. Why the hell does it show texts five hours off? Why does it lag like hell? Exactly.

 

[Phil A.]

It's a three year old OS with minor tweaks. Looks like Apple also has fallen into this rehash OS formula like Blackberry. Is it time for Apple to go another direction? Android is the 800 pound gorilla and IMO Apple needs to step up thier game once again. What say you?

iOS is actually built on an OS that's much, much older than 3 years (as is Android, albeit from a different flavour of *nix), but I guess you are talking about the interface rather than the OS?

Personally, I think the notification system needs improving but beyond that I don't feel it needs wholesale updates just for the sake of it: OS X is pretty much the same today as it was almost 10 years ago and I don't think that reached its expiry date either...

 

[MacHamster68]

ok have to give my 2p to the thread
i mainly use my mobile phone since years for only one purpose and that are emergency calls and for nothing else , so most time its spending in the glove box on the charger in my car , actually i cant see another purpose a mobile phone should have other then doing emergency phone calls on them when no landline phone is in reach , and i find it a total waste of money to spend £400 + on something like a mobile phone , thats half the price you pay for a brandnew iMac 21.5

so i do not care if either iOS or android is better or worse or at the end of its life , i just cant see the point of having a half computer in a phone , maybe its a age thing and i am just too old to get that idea, as i hate mobile phones ringing all around me if i want to go in any public place or at work its annoying to say the least , and if it was for me i would ban mobile phones in any public place and destroy any phone used in a public place on the spot if its not used for a absolute emergency so people get a life again

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

In a way, iOS is so simple it's almost timeless. Way back, Blackberry was the first smartphone I used and besides the color scheme they basically kept the same icon layout. It was consider up to date until the iPhone debuted.

IPhone just needs a few added functions(like statusbar notifications) not a complete overhaul.

 

[TruckdriverSean]

As far as the grid UI goes, yes iOS could be changed to a more Android looking homescreen look but I'm not sure that would honestly move with consumers. Remember, with a phone the key is "quick in, quick out".

As for what iOS lacks (like custom text tones, fine grained customization, etc.), that isn't due to some inherent weakness in the OS, but due to Apple's decisions not to make it a part of the OS.

Lastly, let us keep in mind that most smartphone users are just that, tech USERS, not tech geeks. So while there may be more techy ways to do X,Y, and Z, most folks just want it done. They don't really care "how" it's done. And the more transpearent the steps are to do it, the better.

 

[0098386]

I would say so, yes.

Windows 7 Mobile is quite snazzy but I believe that Android and iOS is looking a little stiff and dated. I really do love my iPod and chances are I'm never going to buy anything else, which is why I'd rather Apple update their OS than buy another product.

Why can't iOS display information on the hold screen? Weather/date, itemised missed calls, itemised notifications... or just how many of each new notifications I have.
Why can't I place icons exactly where I want them?
Why can't all apps be placed in standby mode?
Why can't I select an MP3 for the notification sound and why can't I change the email sound?
Why can't orientation lock lock the current orientation, not the default portrait orientation?
Why do I have to slide to unlock, why can't I just double tap home from sleep mode?
Why can't I select triple-tap home to bring up iPod controls?
Why are all my fully tagged TV shows listed as episode 0?
Why can't I select my own icons for homescreen web links (for sites that haven't made their own)?

 

[tunerX]

What can actually be done to any OS to make it not dated?

Change the buttons, icons, and background? Basically customize the layout to something that is different than what it was. So people are so lazy, they want a provider to customize their look and feel to something they like instead of doing it themselves. Wow, younger people are getting used to being spoon fed until they reach adulthood.

 

[OneMike]

It's a three year old OS with minor tweaks. Looks like Apple also has fallen into this rehash OS formula like Blackberry. Is it time for Apple to go another direction? Android is the 800 pound gorilla and IMO Apple needs to step up thier game once again. What say you?

iOS is NOT reaching it's expiration date.

Hardware and 3rd party apps have always been more an indication on how the OS is doing rather then the OS alone.

Your post would've been better if you at least indicated what you consider a minor tweak. Other than the "theme" looking about the same, there have been several major updates since the OS came out.

 

[andrewsd]

Also back on topic yes a few different tweaks to the home screen would be appreciated but iOS flies past any other phone I've toyed with in comparison. Wonder how gingerbread is going to be? Also everyone w/ the weather go out side and figure that one out for yourself. Fist it starts out with a better notifications then people will want a radar map on it for the weather and so on.

 

[MacDawg]

Please keep your posts on topic and refrain from personal attacks and insults
Whether you agree or disagree, the OP has a valid question

The last thread of this type ended up in the Wasteland
It would be a shame for this one to share the same fate

Thanks!

 

[Sptz]

I would say so, yes.

Windows 7 Mobile is quite snazzy but I believe that Android and iOS is looking a little stiff and dated. I really do love my iPod and chances are I'm never going to buy anything else, which is why I'd rather Apple update their OS than buy another product.

Why can't iOS display information on the hold screen? Weather/date, itemised missed calls, itemised notifications... or just how many of each new notifications I have.
Why can't I place icons exactly where I want them?
Why can't all apps be placed in standby mode?
Why can't I select an MP3 for the notification sound and why can't I change the email sound?
Why can't orientation lock lock the current orientation, not the default portrait orientation?
Why do I have to slide to unlock, why can't I just double tap home from sleep mode?
Why can't I select triple-tap home to bring up iPod controls?
Why are all my fully tagged TV shows listed as episode 0?
Why can't I select my own icons for homescreen web links (for sites that haven't made their own)?

That's a few of the many reasons I sold my 3G... I loved it, but it's really a love hate thing. There are SO many things that are so annoying, but annoying because you know that they're locked just because apple wants to, not because it's not possible. This is proof that Apple dictates the trends within the Apple community and customers follow it, even if you whine about lack of flash for example, you are still buying it, so Apple wins regardless, they pretty much do anything they want at this point which I think it's not a healthy take on technology progression.
I've been looking into changing to Android, but then again, they look pretty nice and all but there's something about the iOS that when you use it, it just grabs you... I think they insert tiny molecules of crack on the touch screen haha
But I definitely think the iOS desperately NEEDS a revamp to stay on top of the game and beginning with more customization would be a step in the right direction. But we all know that's not gonna happen, but we're still buying it anyway..