The next iPhone and iOS - Is this what you want to see from it? (POLL)

[wordoflife]

With iOS 5, I want Apple to refine the OS. They don't need to throw in a bunch of features while everything else is mediocre.

For one, group the notifications. If you can't completely revamp it, at least make it so I don't need to click "OK" for my 7 missed alarms when I wake up in the morning.

Make some way to leap across home screens. I've been feeling the urge to be able to do this.

When I click outside of the keyboard on Messages, make the keyboard go down like it does in every other app.

Improve the way multitasking is displayed. WHen you click the home button twice, I want to see that "Tab Page on Safari" , but with the different apps. That way you can actually see whats open

 

[Jayrcee]

I hope they implement many of these suggestions.

 

[redtape]

Regarding notifications, how about something like this:
http://vimeo.com/21208357

http://iosnotifications.wordpress.com/2011/03/18/ios-notifications-concept/

 

[iPad 2]

The opening post did a great job. EVERY SINGLE THING on the Hardware side of the wishlist in the OP will likely come true.

As far as software goes, I do think that the most awesome new feature in iOS is....

"A filesystem is the biggest want for the next iOS. Not like on a Mac where you see system files and other stuff, but just a users home folder. A place that all apps can access and load and save files from/to. That way if I have a document it doesn't have to exist inside of each app in order to access it. (1 copy in DropBox, 1 in Pages, 1 in DocsToGo, etc.) Also it means that Apples apps would be able to share files with DropBox or any other file syncing service. Then get rid of the file sharing in iTunes and instead just have the disk show up as an external drive. And please let us drag and drop videos and photos from any PC directly into the iPhone's video/photos folder without having to go through iTunes and syncing everything. It sucks that we can't just simply drag and drop a photo from a friend's computer into the Phone. When plugged in, allow W7/OSX to recognize and use the iPhone as a 32GB/64GB Mass/USB Storage Device with access to the file system. "

Regarding notifications, how about something like this:
http://vimeo.com/21208357

http://iosnotifications.wordpress.com/2011/03/18/ios-notifications-concept/

iOS notifications concept
by Andreas
March 18, 2011

There are a lot of really great concepts for iPhone notifications, but they all seem to stray away from what is the look and feel of iOS. So my idea is pretty simple, I have created a concept using only the existing graphical resources of iOS, short of a few few exceptions. But I still feel that they are in bounds of the visual philosophy.
Notifications

Let’s get the obvious out of the bag first, the notification system in place today is kind of intrusive. The popups are so in my face that I have pretty much opted out of every notification I can. There is however another way to inform the user of an event such as an incoming message. The app switcher popup isn’t quite as intrusive as the current popup. It would be great to use for notifications.

Note that this popup is smaller then the app switcher and it doesn't grey out the rest of the interface

Today apple use it to display active applications and if you scroll left they show controls for the iPod app. I think there is room for the last notification you received also.

The app icon is basically a mash up of the settings icon and the current notifications symbol in settings. The reason for this that I feel that notifications is system service.

When I started thinking about how to improve the notification system I felt almost immediately that Apple is all about apps, so why not make an app that handles this task.

Take Settings for example, one would think that the entrance to this would be more integrated into the system, but in Apples case they view it as just any other app. Therefore you as a user can choose whether this is important to you or not, i.e. noteworthy of a first page placement or even quick launch bar.

Having one app that handles all notifications also reduce the time you have to spend hunting them all in various apps.

iPhone with notifications

Notice that it summarize all the notifications and then present them in the red indicator badge. The great thing about having notifications in an app is that you can move it around just as you can with all other standard apps.

The app itself is very straight forward. Your notifications is structured in three simple views. The first is a list view in order to get an overview. The second is an extended view where you can read the full messages just like in an RSS news feed. And the third is notifications grouped by app, this way if you get 10 mails and 15 Facebook wall posts you can still find your 2 SMS messages quickly.

In all views you can also clear all notifications. Note that this only clears the notification, the actual messages is still there. You can also choose edit and delete specific notifications or groups.

When you press (or touch) any of the specific notifications you will automatically activate the appropriate action. For example:

A message will show you the message.
A missed call will call the recipient.
A program update will bring you to the program page in the Appstore.
A wall post in Facebook will bring you to that specific wall post thread.

You can’t answer a message directly from the app, because that would simply destroy the purpose of every other communication app and it would also add to complexity of this app.
Settings

Settings for notifications is located inside the Settings app where it currently resides. I have a few additions, first of all, better security with the option of not displaying notifications on the lock screen. Right now (4.3), if you get an sms message it will show up on the lock screen in the form of a popup for all to see (if they have direct access to your phone).

Note that Angry birds is the beginning of your app list

I’ve also included the setting of turning off popup notifications for full screen apps. I define a “full screen app” as an app that covers up the operator bar. This usually means games, but could be others also. You can also turn of notifications on a app to app basis, as you can today.
Lock screen

I thought long and hard about notifications on the lock screen. Apple is doing it already, only it’s one at a time and you can’t really act on it (that I know). I felt that the space between the clock and lock bar could be used more effectively. So I started adding more notifications in almost the same style as the app. I took away the time and date to clean up the impression a bit. It’s just glanceable information, and it’s also in chronological order.

These are the four latest unattended notifications.

I was looking at the lock screen and felt that you simply had to be able to act on the individual notifications, but how? Just enabling the ability to click a notification seems dangerous. Pocket calling would increase ten fold Then it dawned on me, why not slide the app icon in the same way you slide to unlock. This way it’s a reduced risk of accidentally calling your boss at a Friday night.

Damn, what a fantastic idea and implementation. That would be absolutely perfect.

Apple should seriously do this.

 

[BigQid]

Apple should seriously do this.

Being realistic. Apple is only going to 2/3 to 3/4 of what people want them to do because they believe if they leave us dissatisfied we'll all come eback next year and buy up more phones.
That said, this is an awesome idea. They are probably already working on notifications for this one since Android is already kicking their ass. That said this is more reason why there should be a modification market in the App store that lets you change your experience with the phone and not just add apps. Waiting on Apple to make the phone better once a year is aggravating and stifling innovation. I believe that its not enough that these modifications exist, but that there is a ecosystem that gets them to compete to be the best at what they do because who intentionally sets out to by an app that is less than the best app for whatever their price point is? This is an awesome idea, and if well executed would be something I was willing to pay for.

 

[Reach9]

Being realistic. Apple is only going to 2/3 to 3/4 of what people want them to do because they believe if they leave us dissatisfied we'll all come eback next year and buy up more phones.
That said, this is an awesome idea. They are probably already working on notifications for this one since Android is already kicking their ass. That said this is more reason why there should be a modification market in the App store that lets you change your experience with the phone and not just add apps. Waiting on Apple to make the phone better once a year is aggravating and stifling innovation. I believe that its not enough that these modifications exist, but that there is a ecosystem that gets them to compete to be the best at what they do because who intentionally sets out to by an app that is less than the best app for whatever their price point is? This is an awesome idea, and if well executed would be something I was willing to pay for.

I agree.
Honestly, if Apple fails iOS 5 wise then i'm hoping to see this Notification app in the Cydia store.

 

[BigQid]

If the screen isn't 4" or bigger on iphone 5, I'm not buying a new phone. If they don't address notifications, GPS, and the lock screen they really screwed up. Google is already outselling them. Next most important but simple thing is being able to sort the photos on the phone. Last year was about the Facetime, multitasking, folders, and the hardware. The screen, the processor, the cameras, the sleek new design. Most of that list are the things that had people shaking their fists. Facetime, the screen, and the camera were the only leaps forward for the industry. The one thing I don't understand, Android 3.0 looks really good. Apple has more money than Google, but Google basically gives Android away. With all that money, Apple makes from iOS, why is it too much to expect that iOS push meet more of people's expectations than just last year's list of weaknesses.

 

[iPad 2]

If the screen isn't 4" or bigger on iphone 5, I'm not buying a new phone. If they don't address notifications, GPS, and the lock screen they really screwed up. Google is already outselling them. Next most important but simple thing is being able to sort the photos on the phone. Last year was about the Facetime, multitasking, folders, and the hardware. The screen, the processor, the cameras, the sleek new design. Most of that list are the things that had people shaking their fists. Facetime, the screen, and the camera were the only leaps forward for the industry. The one thing I don't understand, Android 3.0 looks really good. Apple has more money than Google, but Google basically gives Android away. With all that money, Apple makes from iOS, why is it too much to expect that iOS push meet more of people's expectations than just last year's list of weaknesses.

I feel the same way. However, I don't think Apple will let us down. They know what their customer base wants. I fully expect a 4" iPhone with notifications, an A5 and hopefully drag and drop this year, and a Retina Display iPad 3 next year.

 

[iPad 2]

So it looks like we have to wait this fall for the next iPhone.

But it also looks like we are going to get an A5 powered iPhone 5 with a 4" screen, 4g, better voice controls, cloud storage and drag and drop support.

Basically, every major thing on the opening post is about to come true.

I suppose I could live with that.

 

[Alaerian]

Please let this post die. It's full of silly demands, and the OP was banned.

 

[Reach9]

Please let this post die. It's full of silly demands, and the OP was banned.

Do you know why?

 

[iPad 2]

Going off all the rumors so far, here is everything from the OP in terms of hardware that seems to be on the verge of coming true with the next update...

Dual Core Cortex A9 CPU + SGX543 Dual Core GPU powering the iPhone 5 (rebranded the A5) for the iPhone 5

64GB and the option to use iPhone as a mass storage device in a pinch

LPDDR2 RAM - Much faster than the LPDDR1 ram currently being used. Preferably 1GB.

4" inch 960x640 screen

4G/LTE Antenna

Proximity Sensor and Antenna Fix

Anti-Glare Matte Gorilla Glass (This is why... http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/29/dell-streaks-gorilla-glass-screen-torture-tested-for-your-amus/)

Bigger Camera Lens and possibly a CCD sensor to allow better low light performance,

Even Better Cameras (8MP, 1080P Video etc) featuring options such as ISO

Bigger Battery

RFID aka. Near Field Communication to let us use it as a credit card, pay toll machines, to let employers use it as an id badge etc. RFID is a really cool tech. I'm sure app developers, given the api, could think of much cooler ways to use it as well.

What do you guys think?

I think if 4G/LTE pans out as well, this could easily be the biggest update of any iphone generation in terms of hardware.

 

[jfc123]

Texting

There should also be able to make a signature that goes after every text message you send.

 

[HMFIC03]

How about a alarm that actually goes off - I've had the 3GS, 4 on AT&T and 4 on Verizon - the alarm failed on all.

 

[HMFIC03]

IR Remote

Wow - lot of really good ideas

I would also like to see a IR blaster/remote to universally control your electronics from one sexy Apple Universal Remote app.

 

[BarelakedNadies]

An updated notifications system is probably the most important thing to me. I really want them to do it well though. Simply shoving in some kind of Notifications portal (app/page) where everything gets dumped isn't really going to cut it I don't think. I'd like to see some way of previewing stuff easily on the homescreen. I think a swipe down would be a great idea to get all of the notifications up.

Also something I haven't seen many people asking for yet (although I could just be missing it all the time) is a way to quick reply to sms. It would be nice if you could just type a quick message directly in the notification popup instead of having to go all the way into the app to type. An API for this so that you could quick reply to IM (and others but IM's are the main problem for me at the moment) would be awesome. It's annoying having to constantly switch back to the IM app just to say a couple of words.

 

[iApples]

Please let this post die. It's full of silly demands, and the OP was banned.

Not all demands are silly. A lot of them are reasonable and should be implemented. At least if Apple wants to take a step forward in the phone market.

 

[Sedrick]

Going off all the rumors so far, here is everything from the OP in terms of hardware that seems to be on the verge of coming true with the next update...

Originally Posted by wikoogle View Post
Dual Core Cortex A9 CPU + SGX543 Dual Core GPU powering the iPhone 5 (rebranded the A5) for the iPhone 5

64GB and the option to use iPhone as a mass storage device in a pinch

LPDDR2 RAM - Much faster than the LPDDR1 ram currently being used. Preferably 1GB.

4" inch 960x640 screen

4G/LTE Antenna

Proximity Sensor and Antenna Fix

Anti-Glare Matte Gorilla Glass (This is why... http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/29/d...for-your-amus/)

Bigger Camera Lens and possibly a CCD sensor to allow better low light performance,

Even Better Cameras (8MP, 1080P Video etc) featuring options such as ISO

Bigger Battery

RFID aka. Near Field Communication to let us use it as a credit card, pay toll machines, to let employers use it as an id badge etc. RFID is a really cool tech. I'm sure app developers, given the api, could think of much cooler ways to use it as well.

What do you guys think?

I think if 4G/LTE pans out as well, this could easily be the biggest update of any iphone generation in terms of hardware.

I find it kind of hard to believe that Apple would trash the iPhone 4 design by making the new phone bigger (they would be admitting it wasn't good enough). A 4" screen and larger battery would almost necessitate it be a larger shell.

I hope the hell they do, though. I think if Apple continues with the 3.5", the iPhone will become a niche market because everyone else will have moved ahead. Can you imagine any other company putting out a 3.5" phone as their flagship phone?

Of course, Apple likes to stick to their guns and usually comes out on top either way. But as polls here suggest, the vast majority wants a 4" screen along with all the other expected upgrades.

 

[maflynn]

There's a difference between should and will. Should they add a filesystem yes will they no. Will they hire lots of developers to "fix" iOS? No

I don't see iOS being changed massively but one would hope they overhaul the notification system

Edit: whats with the public poll it makes seeing the results unwieldy

 

[Sedrick]

There's a difference between should and will. Should they add a filesystem yes will they no. Will they hire lots of developers to "fix" iOS? No

I don't see iOS being changed massively but one would hope they overhaul the notification system

Edit: whats with the public poll it makes seeing the results unwieldy

But we do know the red line..thing.. is winning.

I agree with you on the OS not changing that much. Maybe some live icons and widgets for the lock screen and of course notifications. And even with that, they'd be seen as copying everyone else at this point. Of course Steve will say "I think we nailed it, though".

 

[Tito Georgie]

I feel like you want an iPhone android, yep.

 

[iPad 2]

Not all demands are silly. A lot of them are reasonable and should be implemented. At least if Apple wants to take a step forward in the phone market.

Exactly. I don't get all the hate this thread brings out in some people honestly.

iOS desperately needs a file system that you can use to drag and drop media into. Not like on a Mac where you see system files and other stuff, but just a users home folder. A place that all apps can access and load and save files from/to. That way if you have a document, it doesn't have to exist inside of each app in order to access it. (1 copy in DropBox, 1 in Pages, 1 in DocsToGo, etc.) Also it means that Apples apps would be able to share files with DropBox or any other file syncing service. Then we can rid of the file sharing in iTunes and instead just have the disk show up as an external drive. And users would be free to drag and drop videos and photos from any PC directly into the iPhone's video/photos folder without having to go through iTunes and syncing everything.

It sucks that the users can't just simply drag and drop a photo from a friend's computer into the Phone. It's also a shame that when plugged in, W7/OSX do not recognize and use the iPhone as a 32GB/64GB Mass/USB Storage Device with access to the file system. Adding a file system would let users add files (via Bluetooth, iTunes apps, Dropbox and other Apps), delete and rename music, videos from their iPhones directly. It would let users download files from Safari(or other apps) and store them on the phone in a centralized location, then be able to access them without Safari on my Mac/PC for easy file sharing/swapping. And it would let us organize the 100+ photos and videos on our iPhones into separate folders/albums. It would even let people delete individual text messages and phone calls. And most importantly it would let people organize videos, music, photos (into albums), and documents (PDF, DOC, PAGES), and other files and easily add them as email attachments on the phone itself.

 

[BlindMellon]

Adding a file system would let us Add (via Bluetooth, iTunes apps, Dropbox and other Apps), Delete and Rename Music, Videos from our iPhones directly. It would let us download files from Safari(or other apps) and store them on the phone in a centralized location, then be able to access them without Safari on my Mac/PC for easy file sharing/swapping. And it would let us organize the 100+ photos and videos on our iPhones into separate folders/albums. It would even let us delete individual text messages and phone calls. And most importantly it would let us organize videos, music, photos (into albums), and documents (PDF, DOC, PAGES), and other files and easily add them as email attachments directly on the phone itself.

believe me, if you saw the horrid music file structure itunes puts on your phone, you wouldn't go within a mile of it. everything is completely renamed and reorganized. you can't tell what the hell is in there.

i'm with you, though, on file system access.

 

[iPad 2]

I just noticed a cool coincidence...

The next iPhone looks to have

4" Inch Screen
4 Cores (2 a9 cpu cores, and 2 sgx543 gpu cores)
4G Antenna (every new highend smartphone is offering 4G, Apple will follow suit)
4x the speed (the same speed increase advertized from the iPad 1 to the iPad 2)

It's a shame the name iPhone 4 is already taken. It would be perfect for the upcoming iPhone.

-----
And the cool part is, those specs are pretty much exactly what the iPhone needs hardware wise, in order to be the perfect smartphone.

Software wise, it still needs revamped notifications, wireless/ota itunes, and a file system that you can use to drag and drop media into. Not like on a Mac where you see system files and other stuff, but just a users home folder. A place that all apps can access and load and save files from/to. That way if you have a document, it doesn't have to exist inside of each app in order to access it. (1 copy in DropBox, 1 in Pages, 1 in DocsToGo, etc.) Also it means that Apples apps would be able to share files with DropBox or any other file syncing service. Then we can rid of the file sharing in iTunes and instead just have the disk show up as an external drive. And users would be free to drag and drop videos and photos from any PC directly into the iPhone's video/photos folder without having to go through iTunes and syncing everything.

It sucks that the users can't just simply drag and drop a photo from a friend's computer into the Phone. It's also a shame that when plugged in, W7/OSX do not recognize and use the iPhone as a 32GB/64GB Mass/USB Storage Device with access to the file system. Adding a file system would let users add files (via Bluetooth, iTunes apps, Dropbox and other Apps), delete and rename music, videos from their iPhones directly. It would let users download files from Safari(or other apps) and store them on the phone in a centralized location, then be able to access them without Safari on my Mac/PC for easy file sharing/swapping. And it would let us organize the 100+ photos and videos on our iPhones into separate folders/albums. It would even let people delete individual text messages and phone calls. And most importantly it would let people organize videos, music, photos (into albums), and documents (PDF, DOC, PAGES), and other files and easily add them as email attachments on the phone itself.

 

[XboxEvolved]

I think the OP had a great post and eventually probably most of what you wish will happen, but Apple is all about incremental improvements. Below is a quick list of what I think is likely what will happen. Before I get to that let me say, I have a friend that works in the industry at RIM who is very knowledgeable about the ins and outs of the industry. When I asked him a few months ago if 4G was possible by June on iPhone he kind of laughed it off and said "Yeah maybe if they waited until this fall but summer it would make them look stupid." Sure enough a few months later we are getting a lot of these rumors that Apple may actually be waiting until September which makes more sense. Here is just my quick list of predictions:

-iPhone "4G" or "5" as the likely branding.

-4G capable with a base price of $200

-Comes in 2 main flavors on Verizon, AT&T, possibly Sprint (as could be another reason waiting until fall) at $200 32GB, $300 64GB (or 16/32 I say the memory bump would be a 50/50 thing honestly) with black or white

-iPhone 4 now only 16GB (or 8GB) at $100 on both Verizon and AT&T

-Cosmetically little will change

-Main feature Apple will focus on most is the camera, 4G, and Facetime over network, and the fact that it will do it over any network and device. Due to 4G they may raise the fees again.

-The camera on the back at least will greatly improve being the 9MP Sony sensor rumored/confirmed possibly with 1080P

-4' screen could happen but it would have to not sacrifice the industrial design, and would have to scale in accordance with applications from developers.

-Innards will consist of the same graphics and cpu as iPad 2 with a 1Ghz dual core. Memory however will be bumped to 1GB (just as was the case with iPad 1 being 256MB ram, iPhone 4 being 512MB, etc)

As for iOS5 I dunno. I would suspect something to do with the cloud, better push, better notification system, a "personalized" Home screen similar to Android but done in a very Apple way. Perhaps more improvements towards true multitasking, I would suspect an "Apple TV app" could be in the works. An adapter and/or compatibility with Thunderbolt as well.

As for the OPs hopes of it comparing spec wise with Sony's NGP/PSP2 there are key differences in how each business works, and likely Sony will take a profit hit the first year or two the NGP is released due to how expensive it will be and Sony cannot sell it subsidized. Technically, the graphics in both aren't much different from a technical stand point of view:

NGP: SGX543MP4 (four cores) 134M polygons/s, fill rates in excess of 10Gpixels/sec @200 MHz


iPad 2 (presumably iPhone 5): SGX543MP2 (two cores) 67M polygons/s, fill rates in excess of 2Gpixels/sec @200 MHz

Not only that, the iPhone has a 3.5' screen @326ppi while the NGP has a 5' screen @220ppi, meaning a NGP game would need more power just to make the bigger area have near PS3 quality visuals at a lower ppi than iPhone has.

From the tech specs side, presumably the CPU is a four core 1Ghz Cortex A9 but who is to say it isn't underclocked or just 800Mhz to begin with? Not only that, unlike Apple's dual-core architecture, Sony intentionally will lock out one of the cores making for the same awkward (but not nearly as frustrating) asymmetrical design challenges found in PS3.

I would say it is a safe bet though that within the next two years, iOS devices far outperform the NGP.