As an Android site, we mainly report on Android news, but that doesn’t mean we can’t get a good look at our upcoming competition. After numerous iPhone 5 part leaks, we finally have a photo of an iPhone 5 fully assembled. The big question now is: How will it compete with Android for the next year?
Considering that this is the legitimate photo of the next new upcoming iPhone, there’s some controversy concerning Apple’s next new handset. I have both an iPhone 4S and Galaxy Nexus, and after using them both for a prolonged period of time, these are my thoughts.
Fragmentation
Yes, Android is fragmented like hell. Jelly Bean has already been released and some devices are still playing catch-up with Ice Cream Sandwich. The iPhone 5 is reportedly to finally bring a bigger screen since 2007, somewhere along the lines of 3.8-4.0 inches. This means that developers will have to update their apps to support the new screen size (and possibly resolution), which will definitely take a while. Apps like Tiny Wings weren’t updated to iPhone 4/4S Retina quality until this year, and some major apps such as Pocket God are still not updated to support Retina.
iOS 6 presents Apple’s turn-by-turn navigation, which I have to admit, look pretty good. However, Fragmentation will again exist, as Flyover and 3-D maps will only be available for iPhone 4S, iPad 2, and newer devices. Older devices such as the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4 will still receive iOS 6, but they won’t get the full feature pack.
And then we have that 19-pin dock connector. While Apple will probably create an adaptor for you to use your existing accessories, the new 19-pin dock connector will surely raise some eyebrows. For those of us with multiple Apple accessories, doesn’t this mean that we will have to buy a large amount of adaptors? Will it sync data faster? How much will these adaptors cost? For years Android has stuck by the same micro-USB connector for manufacturers all over the world. I’m not saying that the new 19-pin dock connector is bad, as Apple desperately needed to upgrade their existing connector cable, but this will certainly create some problems.
That’s not to say Android doesn’t have its problems with accessories. Since there are a ton of Android devices out in the wild, manufacturers have to create specific accessories for each device. With the iPhone, manufacturers can just pump out one design and call it a day. This new dock connector won’t really affect manufacturers, but consumers who have bought expensive accessories such as Bose dock stations.
Design (Hardware and Software)
In my eyes, the overall design of the device looks the same as the iPhone 4 and 4S, with some minor tweaks here and there. The two-toned backing, new 19-pin dock connector, centered Front Facing Camera, and larger screen are all something that we’ve seen with the Android industry. If Apple continues their tradition, the iPhone 6 will have the same screen size as the iPhone 5, as well as that same old physical home button. Who knows what kind of fancy form factors we’ll see with Android then? I mean, Android already got rid of hardware capacitive keys starting with Ice Cream Sandwich.
Android has gone through many UI/UX software changes over the past couple of years. Android 4.0 brought the most radical new experience, with Android 4.1 bringing even more “butter.” However, iOS has mainly stayed the same over the past few years, bringing some changes such as Camera accessibility through the lockscreen. iOS still uses that 4 x 4 page layout in iOS 6, and there’s no news as if Apple will allow 3rd-party developers to build custom widgets for Notification Center.
That’s not to say that iOS 6 isn’t smooth. It’s smooth, even in beta. The UX still kills Android 4.1, but that’s because it has much less features compared to Android. You don’t have the option to customize your homescreen as well as Android, and you don’t have the option to use an alternate launcher. There’s too much to list. Of course you can accomplish this by jailbreaking your iPhone, but you can also accomplish these tasks without rooting your Android device.
However, the iTunes ecosystem is something that is too big for Google to overcome (for now). Apps optimized for iPad severely outnumber the number of Apps optimized for Android tablets (including the Nexus 7), and the Nexus Q…well I’ll just leave it at that.
Apple will still have a record-breaking Q4 this year, and for years to come. Why? Their devices just work. A major disadvantage about Android is that there are an unlimited amount of crappy, laggy, devices out there that can’t complete everyday tasks without crashing or randomly rebooting. This frustrates people, and they look towards the iPhone because it does what they need to do throughout the day. As recently reported, the iPhone seems to be the higher pick for businesses, and that’s because of what I just said: it works. But for us power users, the iPhone is like wearing a diaper while having a toilet in front of you. (Wow, did I really just type that?)
Apple will need to introduce a killer new feature with the iPhone 5, just like it did with Siri for the iPhone 4S. Although most people don’t use Siri in their everyday life, it’s the reason Google Now exists today. Siri presented the technology world with something new, something that people haven’t seen before. Apple makes great products, and I respect that.
AndroidSPIN readers, what are your thoughts on the iPhone 5? And don’t just say “iPhone Sucks.”
This article is purely my opinion and thoughts. This is just a discussion.
Images from BGR
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About the Author
Im a massive android fan and own an S3, i was expecting the iPhone5 to be “the S3 killer” as it was stated but this, this is a disgrace.
HAHA top notch. It looks like every other ipieceofshit. Such innovation!
Crap…apple probably has the word innovation patented.
Agree with Jack. Completely unimpressed. Let’s hope iOS 5 has more new features than just the government alerts ha!
I don’t know why but when I looked at the phone I thought of the Evo
Apple seriously needs to revamp their UI to have any success of converting Android fans over to an iPhone. There’s no personalization, which equals freedom. And once you get a taste of that freedom, you’ll be an Android convert.
Agree with Jack. I have an s3 too and apple need to come out with something special to compete with the market and so far (at least from these images we see) they barely changed anything at all.
Maybe Iphone will come with a faster CPU and GPU, more RAM, better camera and maybe with some good stuf like siri… BUT Apple won’t change how dependent of Itunes it is and how closed it is. I like Android for may things, for example I can change home screens, default apps, install from different sorces, I can just drag and drop content without problems, make video calls with other phone brands, etc. Sometimes I think my S3 is more usefull than my PC.
Apple, I just don’t like your Fisher-Price products.
I have to say that hardware wise, in my opinion iPhone5 is going to hit the sweet spot for many, many people with 4 inch size. Lately, new hi end Android phones are hitting such ridiculous sizes, that it actually discouraged me from getting a new device. I have SGS2, which is reaching the upper limit of where I’m willing to go with my phone.
I wouldn’t want to comment on new version of iOS before we can get our hands on final version…
BTW: headphone jack on the bottom for the win, I wish everybody was doing that. Never understood the reasons for moving the jack on the top of the device, where it causes the cable to hang awkwardly whenever you’re using device with headphones plugged in
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I agree with Payaxy on the size issue bigger doesnt equal better always. that being said i now own a one s and at 4.3, it seems to be the perfect size and i cannot say enough good things about the phone. The blogs just dont give it enough credit.
Now, the new iphone… yup, they make products that work… as long as you work they way they want you too. I have hated apple for a while, but lately with all the litigation, my hatred has gone from mild to i want to smack people when i see them with an iphone.
However, i am not beyond reason, apple has its strengths, however, innovation hasnt been one of them since 2007. IN a word, what i think about the new iphone… meh. Looks like the old iphone. IOS 6 or not, its just dated software wise and they just cant seem to ever WOW me with hardware design (quality is great though).
@ payaxy: I prefer that the headphone Jack is at the top of the phone. I’m a person who uses belt holsters and having the Jack at the top is better for me. If it was on the bottom I would have to turn my phone upside down in the holster to use the port. Headphone Jack on top is a win for Me.
- Scott
My comment was regarding usage of the phone with headphones connected, you can’t deny that if you have jack at the bottom, the cable flows alongside your arm which is much better then the alternative I think. Regarding holster usage, surely that is the problem that could be solved using a different holster? Maybe one that stores phone in landscape orientation
That 2nd & 3rd photo look pretty fake. If not fake, then the build quality of that phone has gone way down. In the car business, it is always said: If your body panels lines don’t align, that’s really bad. Really bad. That back panel on this phone, if you look at it closely, it’s either overlayed using photoshop, or they really hacked it together by just slapping that pack panel on there as an after thought. It looks pretty bad. For apple, and I hate apple, but I also know that they wouldn’t build something like that.
I totally agree with your article. I own a Apple 3G3 and now broken 4s ( screen had a “problem” with last winters temperature) and several android based phones from Htc and Samsung.
Both platforms have their pro’s and con’s. My main reason for choosing Apple is the third party accessories and prepaid Itunes cards. Many times my old 3gs accessories fits on a 4 / 4s. So a plus to that. I expect that vendors will come quickly with lots of new 5 accessories. We use our Phones with many diffident outdoor activities such as Triathlon training, Canoeing etc and their are a lot of waterproof casings available with or without ant+ connectivity and extra battery power.
You can of course buy a waterproof Android phone but until now it’s always a lesser powerful and strip down version . I can’t wait to try out the brand new Sony xperia Go that is waterproof and has Ant+ build in ( for my garmin heart rate monitor) …. but still with the old 2.3 on it and Bluetooth 3.0. They say that their will come a 4.0 upgrade but as I found out on previous occasions this will not happen (last my old Desire hd)
But I have also a couple of android phones ( and Samsungs original 7 inch and 10.1 tablet) ….. one is my work phone (samsung S2) and the other 2 are just older Htc models. The pro is the Android UI and the fact that I can choose what to install en where I want it. And the other thing is because of their many models their is always a model specially for you. And don’t forget until now the expendable sd memory.
Further more I can choose if I want to use the vendors programs or not and by Apple I always have to use Itunes. But sad that …. its so easy to buy anything using Itunes even without a credit card and that is my main problem with Google’s play.
I am missing prepaid Google play cards in my local shops for buying online products.
And so I think the new Iphone 5 will be a great success and again hard to beat by any android or Windows phone. They offer a complete package and almost no fuss to use. Maybe the Iphone 5 will be not as groundbreaking as before but still the best deal for many people.
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Apple call themselves innovators… they can’t even innovate the designs of their phones.
RE:headphone jack on the bottom for the win, I wish everybody was doing that. Never understood the reasons for moving the jack on the top of the device, where it causes the cable to hang awkwardly whenever you’re using device with headphones plugged in.
It would be nice to see that in every devise.
Apple didn’t create Siri they bought it and made it an iPhone exclusive much like Nokia just did with scalado. I hate when companies who can’t innovate just buy a small company who can and ruin it.
Great article. Very factual as opposed to some very biased articles (or comments, *looks up*) you will see these days.
I’m glad they don’t veer too much from their designs each year. Instead of completely changing the look every year like some other phones. And because they only focus on one phone a year, you know they will be quality. Other manufacturers should take a play from their book.
The 19-pin dock will be interesting… Some rumors that it might be compatible with micro-USB but it’s up in the air until they announce it on Sep 12th…
And the bigger screen is cause for concern. The iPhone’s screen size has gotten tiny over the years with Android manufacturers trying to blend the line between tablet and phone. Let’s hope they don’t ruin things too much by increasing the screen size. That will be the biggest fragmentation issue for users.
the iphone is just simply gay. its made for women cuz sooo many women have it. its small,compact,feminine,for the “look”, etc. and for people complaing about the size really 4 inch is the sweet spot? if u think that then u must really have a small weiner
…iPhone Sucks.
(Sorry, had to do it.)
Seriously though, they’re not really introducing anything unique. Nothing they’re doing is even a game-changer. Siri itself was just a knock off of various android apps that functioned the same way in the Android ecosystem. All Apple did was refine it and then claimed they reinvented the wheel. Anyone remember Cyberon Voice Commander? Apple makes PRETTY products, that’s all. Then they sell them and market them to people’s sense of exclusivity. That’s the honest truth. I saw a comment somewhere that made perfect sense to me. I wish I could remember the guy’s SN, but it went something like “Apple should just call iOS6 by its real name – ANDROID.”
Looking at the hardware, Samsung beat them at their own game. Nothing unique here and it’s being done better by the Android competition. Even Siri is old and busted compared to Samsung’s equivalent. Their marketing is better, but that’s all. As far as Windows goes, they lost too much market share with poor products in the past and consumers usually will not come back once the well has been poisoned.
Nexus…It Just works!
Is Apple serious? Really? It looks no different from the previous models and to think that people actually waited outside for days to get this piece of @#$%*&^…. Really! The Samsung Galaxy S3 blows this trash away by leaps and bounds aesthetically. Now I see why Apple had to take Samsung to court and is now trying to have their products taken off store shelves. It’s apparent that they know they have an inferior product. The folks over at Apple should be truly ashamed to have released such garbage and to also have had the nerve to sue claiming theft of patent!!! Ooops I just threw up in my mouth…Viva Samsung and all the other companies that embrace the open source community that Android has heralded. I’m glad the hype is over and I hope that when the appeal is complete and the smoke and mirror trick called Apple topples like the tallest tree in the lumber yard.