The iPhone and iOS both are in desperate need of an upgrade

[Tinmania]

First of all, based on this review it sounds like the app pauses the export after 10 mins and then simply continues where it left off when the app is reopened:

Second, the app hasn't been updated in 2 yrs and has terrible reviews in the app store.

Again, no. I have had it render for over an hour in the background.

You also ignored the fact that iMovie does the same thing. And it is an app store app--not a preinstalled app, such as Mail (which has had background operation since the iPhone 1 was first released).

I honestly don't understand the relevance of the "terrible reviews" comment. It has 3.5 overal rating. More good than bad. But again, irrelevant to the point at hand.



Michael

 

[Daveoc64]

Again, no. I have had it render for over an hour in the background.

I'd like to see your iPhone's logs to prove that.

You also ignored the fact that iMovie does the same thing. And it is an app store app--not a preinstalled app, such as Mail (which has had background operation since the iPhone 1 was first released).

We've already explained that this is because Apple can break the rules. They do this with several of their Apps.

Notice how iBooks has a brightness setting, yet there's no API to do that?

 

[Tinmania]

When an app is in an idle state on Android it's using almost zero CPU and RAM. I used to use GChat on my Galaxy Nexus and if I left it on but didn't use the app over the course of a day, battery statistics would show that it used less than 1% of it's overall life. It has almost zero affect on battery life when not in use so your point is moot.

OK now you are just talking nonsense.

I didn't even mention battery life so... WTF? I mentioned CPU and RAM. Both of those are of course used by an app running in the background. Both of those are limited on mobile devices.

You have ignored the fact that IM apps ALREADY WORK on iOS. Yahoo, Skype, you name it: they work fine without needing to run 24/7. Even if they are not loaded at all. Even after a reboot. That is a workable solution.

Asking for a solution to a non-problem is ridiculous.




Michael

 

[Tinmania]

I'd like to see your iPhone's logs to prove that.



We've already explained that this is because Apple can break the rules. They do this with several of their Apps.

Notice how iBooks has a brightness setting, yet there's no API to do that?

Brightness setting? Seriously? Go download the newly updated and rebranded Pocket app. It's free. See that pretty brightness slider when you tap the Tt icon?

As for Reel Director, please. Advertising background operation with a 10 minute limit for something as intense as video rendering wouldn't have lasted a day. Then, for sure, the reviews would have been horrific. Again, I have seen it and it was actively discussed when the app came out how background rendering was a very useful feature. I don't know you nor do I care if you choose to not believe it. <shrug>





Michael

 

[El3ctronics]

As a user of both iPhone and Android, I would hate to see widgets and the ability to move icons anywere on the screen on the next ios upgrade. It's what makes the Android screen a mess, and I'm glad Apple doesn't put up with that.

But I do agree, on some of your other points.

Ummm you do realize that moving apps anywhere on the screen and using widgets are optional for the user, right? If you like a grid of apps in order you could simply have that too. Not sure why you wouldn't want this.

 

[Daveoc64]

Brightness setting? Seriously? Go download the newly updated and rebranded Pocket app. It's free. See that pretty brightness slider when you tap the Tt icon?

I'm sensing that you're not a developer from your posts.

What some App makers have done to get around the brightness restriction is to put a transparent rectangle at the front of the display in their reading apps. When you use their brightness toggle, the properties of the rectangle are altered to make the content appear differently (i.e. brighter or darker).

It an ingenious solution really. Apple doesn't normally allow developers to interact with the hardware.

As for Reel Director, please. Advertising background operation with a 10 minute limit for something as intense as video rendering wouldn't have lasted a day. Then, for sure, the reviews would have been horrific. Again, I have seen it and it was actively discussed when the app came out how background rendering was a very useful feature. I don't know you nor do I care if you choose to not believe it. <shrug>

I don't believe it. That's why I've bought the App and I'm testing it at the moment.

In about 20 minutes 30 minutes!? (it's going to take a while to get the render set up), I should be able to upload a log from my iPhone showing that it terminated the app after 10 minutes of it being closed.

If it is true, I'd be very interested to see how they've done it - purely because the only options opened to them should have been detected by the App Store's automated checking tools when the App was submitted.

If there is a way to do it within the App Store's rules, then a lot of applications would suddenly be possible on iOS that haven't been until now.

 

[El3ctronics]

OK now you are just talking nonsense.

I didn't even mention battery life so... WTF? I mentioned CPU and RAM. Both of those are of course used by an app running in the background. Both of those are limited on mobile devices.

You have ignored the fact that IM apps ALREADY WORK on iOS. Yahoo, Skype, you name it: they work fine without needing to run 24/7. Even if they are not loaded at all. Even after a reboot. That is a workable solution.

Asking for a solution to a non-problem is ridiculous.




Michael

LOL!! If they were using CPU & RAM they'd obviously be using battery life!! The point is that they're idle so they use almost NO system resources.

Also, IM apps work but extremely poorly. As already mentioned numerous times, the messages need to load after you open the app and push notifications are nowhere near as clean, reliable and intuitive as having the notifications delivered in real time and not have to be reloaded when you open the app.

 

[benaq]

When I got the iPhone, I wasn't in this boat, but I am now. I would like to see some of the things from OP happen, but I really want the overall experience quality to remain the way it is now. For instance, App multitasking is not worth the terrible battery life.

I somewhat agree with you, but they could always just have a toggle for multitasking. Also, the current queue system is tedious to clear out.

 

[El3ctronics]

Also, the current queue system is tedious to clear out.

+1 PLEASE have one button to clear all my notifications!

 

[terraphantm]

OK now you are just talking nonsense.

I didn't even mention battery life so... WTF? I mentioned CPU and RAM. Both of those are of course used by an app running in the background. Both of those are limited on mobile devices.

You have ignored the fact that IM apps ALREADY WORK on iOS. Yahoo, Skype, you name it: they work fine without needing to run 24/7. Even if they are not loaded at all. Even after a reboot. That is a workable solution.

Asking for a solution to a non-problem is ridiculous.




Michael

Active CPU cycles and constant ram refreshing are acts that both consume energy. When a phone isn't plugged in, that energy comes from the battery. If over the course of a day the battery only drops 1-2%, then the CPU and RAM are not being used very extensively.

I'm not a fan of car analogies, but your statement is analogous to saying "I didn't even mention gas mileage, so WTF" when comparing a car that lets you run the AC all day in with one that only allows you to run the AC for 10 minutes at a time for the sake of eliminating horsepower losses.

I would gladly accept real multitasking. These phones are almost as powerful as laptops were not too long ago. They can handle multitasking (and flash... but that hope is gone) now. Let the behavior be configurable; power users can multitask all they want regardless of the consequences, and laymen can have the OS manage applications for them.

Apple also needs to implement some sort of swap file on the phone. It's really frustrating when Safari crashes after running out of memory. There's no reason that background pages and tasks can't be committed to a swap file, leaving the main memory for the active process and a few system processes.

 

[entatlrg]

Telling people that the world should revolve around YOU and not to whine in the same post?

Unbelievable arrogance!

lol, thank you for highlighting your inability to comprehend what's written.

Revolve around me? Absolutely not.

Revolve around making products for the 'majority of consumers' absolutely. That's what Apple does. They're laser beam focused on the user experience, not satisfying whinny techies.

How does that imply the world should revolve around me? Quite the opposite, I love tech, tinkering with smart phones in particular. You name the latest Android phones and I've owned them, and either returned or sold them all. That includes the SGII, Nexus, and Droids.

I'm just saying it like it is, from the average users standpoint.

That hurts the fandroids feelings. So sorry. But why are you all trolling on an Apple forum anyway? It gets a bit sickening, reading **** mouthing everything iPhones, iPads, Steve Jobs, now Schiller ... Apple is not going to change, their sales prove they're heading in the right direction, go with it or hop over to a droid forum, just think how popular you'll be!!!

 

[onthecouchagain]

If the next generation iPhone will feature LTE... toggles for 3G/4G, or turning on/off 4G, WiFi, etc. would be really helpful for the battery conscious. We shouldn't have to navigate through multiple Settings menus to achieve this.

Heck, we shouldn't have to do that now.

I'd also love for a lock screen toggle. Turn it on when going outdoors for the security, but be able to turn it off when indoors to easily access the phone.

Come on, iOS6.

 

[El3ctronics]

lol, thank you for highlighting your inability to comprehend what's written.

Revolve around me? Absolutely not.

Revolve around making products for the 'majority of consumers' absolutely. That's what Apple does. They're laser beam focused on the user experience, not satisfying whinny techies.

How does that imply the world should revolve around me? Quite the opposite, I love tech, tinkering with smart phones in particular. You name the latest Android phones and I've owned them, and either returned or sold them all. That includes the SGII, Nexus, and Droids.

I'm just saying it like it is, from the average users standpoint.

That hurts the fandroids feelings. So sorry. But why are you all trolling on an Apple forum anyway? It gets a bit sickening, reading **** mouthing everything iPhones, iPads, Steve Jobs, now Schiller ... Apple is not going to change, their sales prove they're heading in the right direction, go with it or hop over to a droid forum, just think how popular you'll be!!!

You do realize that Apple completely reinvented and advanced the cell phone with the introduction of the iPhone in 2007, right? That's WHY they are where they are today in the marketplace. If they don't continue to innovate, they will quickly become irrelevant (ex: RIM, Nokia). They can't just sit on their laurels and the list in my OP wouldn't even be significant or innovative changes...it would just bring their platform in line with their competition.

Obviously, ease of use is very important to Apple (and one of the reasons they're so successful) so I expect their design team to implement said features in a way that wouldn't intimidate the 'average consumer'.

 

[entatlrg]

You do realize that Apple completely reinvented and advanced the cell phone with the introduction of the iPhone in 2007, right? That's WHY they are where they are today in the marketplace. If they don't continue to innovate, they will quickly become irrelevant (ex: RIM, Nokia). They can't just sit on their laurels and the list in my OP wouldn't even be significant or innovative changes...it would just bring their platform in line with their competition.

Obviously, ease of use is very important to Apple (and one of the reasons they're so successful) so I expect their design team to implement said features in a way that wouldn't intimidate the 'average consumer'.

Unbelievable. Don't spin my posts or put words in my mouth. Exactly where in my posts as I have I implied innovation wasnt important or Apple doesn't need to innovate?

What do you think Apple can't innovate without manufacturing or prereleasing hardware or software flawed or not consumer ready?

The fact Apple does wait with their innovations until they are polished enough for consumer use makes them a leader, not a rush to market follower like the android clan.

Apple is and has been a leader in innovation. As I said they are laserbeam focused on the user experience. How does that imply they don't innovate or suggest innovation is not important.

 

[onthecouchagain]

The fact Apple does wait with their innovations until they are polished enough for consumer use makes them a leader

Siri.

:cough:

 

[El3ctronics]

Unbelievable. Don't spin my posts or put words in my mouth. Exactly where in my posts as I have I implied innovation wasnt important or Apple doesn't need to innovate?

What do you think Apple can't innovate without manufacturing or prereleasing hardware or software flawed or not consumer ready?

The fact Apple does wait with their innovations until they are polished enough for consumer use makes them a leader, not a rush to market follower like the android clan.

Apple is and has been a leader in innovation. As I said they are laserbeam focused on the user experience. How does that imply they don't innovate or suggest innovation is not important.

You're missing the point. I'm not asking Apple to be innovative or make drastic changes with the things I asked for...it would simply catch them up to their competition! In today's market, high end users are doing more and more with their devices and the way iOS currently works prevents them from using the iPhone to it's true potential.

It's up to Apple's design team and engineers to implement these features in a user friendly way that will not scare away the average consumer. But the point remains that the features should still be there and in the current state of iOS, they're not available.

EDIT: And b/c of how much more advanced Android is in its current form, I'd LOVE to be able to switch to it full time. Unfortunately, as previously mentioned, I'm so invested in the Apple ecosystem at this point that it would be too much of a hassle to do so. At one pt, I said the same thing about switching from my Blackberry too. But once they got too far behind their competition, even my investment in BBM and the ecosystem couldn't keep me from switching. Apple has to make sure they don't get to that point.

 

[onthecouchagain]

Just to speak generally...

It's amazing to see, time and time again, on this forum when people are punished for being intellectually honest.

To see fellow Apple fans speak out against people who are asking, requesting, and hoping that Apple advances improvements to an operating system they want to do more with is mind blowing to me.

Why would anyone not want improvements, under the guise of "it's already perfect"?

Kudos to the OP.

 

[chrono1081]

So, do we really need another thread on this? Wouldn't it be sufficient to post this in one of the preexisting threads?

This.

I personally am happy with my iPhone just the way it is. I don't need extra features and fancy gimmicks. I want a phone that works well for my needs.

 

[foodog]

Ok, I'll make sure to tell that to my 80 yr old grandfather who just got an iPhone 3GS on AT&T for $0.99. If what you were saying is true then everyone would be using a dumbphone.

So him buying a 3 year old phone instead of a new one is an argument against grandpa wanting a stable consistant experiance?

 

[El3ctronics]

So him buying a 3 year old phone instead of a new one is an argument against grandpa wanting a stable consistant experiance?

No but he was following his tech enthusiast grandson (and even some friends) to move from a simple dumbphone to an iPhone at all! The point of me bringing that up was addressing the fact that "tech enthusiasts" are usually the early adopters and then the average consumer follows.

 

[yegon]

My experience of android multitasking, with Honeycomb and Gingerbread, is complete gash. After hearing so much for so long how multitasking is so much better on android than iOS, I was pretty horrified to learn how quickly it flushes stuff out of memory on the Galaxy Tab 7.7 (1gb ram). I know iOS is more savestates (usually) than actual multitasking, but my crusty old iPhone4 with 512mb handles app switching a million times better than the 7.7, despite the latter absolutely smoking the former specs wise. Browser tabs, rss reader, podcast player, gmail app, kindle app, all these are swiftly shut down when you dare to switch from a->b->c then back to a. It's pathetic. Conversely, my old iPhone instantly resumes in similar use cases.

Same applies to the Note, maybe it's a TouchWiz thing? I hope it is for android's sake. Equally, I hope ICS solves this.

Otherwise, the 7.7 is an awesome piece of kit, much prefer it on the road than my iPad 3 by virtue of size. It isn't retina, but the 1280x800 Super Amoled+ is second only to the iPad's ime.

 

[El3ctronics]

My experience of android multitasking, with Honeycomb and Gingerbread, is complete gash. After hearing so much for so long how multitasking is so much better on android than iOS, I was pretty horrified to learn how quickly it flushes stuff out of memory on the Galaxy Tab 7.7 (1gb ram). I know iOS is more savestates (usually) than actual multitasking, but my crusty old iPhone4 with 512mb handles app switching a million times better than the 7.7, despite the latter absolutely smoking the former specs wise. Browser tabs, rss reader, podcast player, gmail app, kindle app, all these are swiftly shut down when you dare to switch from a->b->c then back to a. It's pathetic. Conversely, my old iPhone instantly resumes in similar use cases.

Same applies to the Note, maybe it's a TouchWiz thing? I hope it is for android's sake. Equally, I hope ICS solves this.

Otherwise, the 7.7 is an awesome piece of kit, much prefer it on the road than my iPad 3 by virtue of size. It isn't retina, but the 1280x800 Super Amoled+ is second only to the iPad's ime.

After using a Galaxy Nexus for a month, I can tell you 100% that I did not have ANY of those issues that you did. Multitasking on Android ICS blew away anything I ever experienced on iOS.

That being said, the apps for Android are still nowhere close to as good as on iOS and the Apple ecosystem has me gripped pretty tightly.

 

[foodog]

No but he was following his tech enthusiast grandson (and even some friends) to move from a simple dumbphone to an iPhone at all! The point of me bringing that up was addressing the fact that "tech enthusiasts" are usually the early adopters and then the average consumer follows.

early adopter <> driving force.

Tech enthusiasts generally jump from the last new thing to the new, new thing. The general population doesn't follow that. The reason the iPhone has taken off is because it is easy to use. Even my mother could work it when she bought one. She bought hers because a couple nurses she works with had them.

 

[yegon]

After using a Galaxy Nexus for a month, I can tell you 100% that I did not have ANY of those issues that you did. Multitasking on Android ICS blew away anything I ever experienced on iOS.

That being said, the apps for Android are still nowhere close to as good as on iOS and the Apple ecosystem has me gripped pretty tightly.

That's good to hear. As I say, Ive no experience of ICS, hopefully it will improve once updated.

While generally preferring iOS, I'm fairly platform agnostic. Still content with my iPhone 4 for now, but if Apple don't up the screen size significantly might be tempted by android again. It'd have to be stock, 64gb and/or micro SD card slot though. Maybe the next Nexus? If the current Nexus had a micro SD card, or much bigger onboard storage, I would possibly have already jumped.

 

[El3ctronics]

early adopter <> driving force.

Tech enthusiasts generally jump from the last new thing to the new, new thing. The general population doesn't follow that. The reason the iPhone has taken off is because it is easy to use. Even my mother could work it when she bought one. She bought hers because a couple nurses she works with had them.

I recommend you read Geoffrey Moore’s "Crossing the Chasm"