What's Next for Future IPhones?
As impressive as the iPhone has been since its debut two years ago, the device has never been without its flaws. Apple's regular updates to the software have polished some of these rough edges, while other needs were addressed when Apple opened the platform up to third-party developers in 2008. But much of what makes the iPhone such a revolutionary mobile device is more or less the same today as it was two years ago.
Mon, November 16, 2009
Macworld — As impressive as the iPhone has been since its debut two years ago, the device has never been without its flaws. Apple's regular updates to the software have polished some of these rough edges, while other needs were addressed when Apple opened the platform up to third-party developers in 2008. But much of what makes the iPhone such a revolutionary mobile device is more or less the same today as it was two years ago.
During that time, we've also seen increased competition from other players, such as Google's Android platform and Palm's webOS. While both platforms have some catching up to do, they've also introduced some original features along the way. And with software updates and new models of their own, they aren't sitting still any more than Apple is.
Calling any of these devices an "iPhone killer" would be simplistic--not to mention silly. Still, Apple clearly can't afford to rest on its laurels. With more competitors like the Motorola Droid appearing what seems like every week, somewhere in the sanctum sanctorum of Infinite Loop Apple is surely hard at work on the next version of the iPhone.
Of course, any major revision to the iPhone is certain to bring features cooked up by Apple's engineers that we can't anticipate, but we tapped our own staff of experts to speculate on what kind of capabilities could help the iPhone maintain its pole position.
Hardware wars
To date, Apple has only rolled out major hardware changes to the iPhone once per year since the device's original release. But each version has brought significant improvements and, if Apple's going to keep up with the Joneses, it should be looking in a few specific directions for its next model.
New screen The latest and greatest iPhone competitor is the Motorola Droid and most who have seen it agree that its 3.7-inch, 480-by-854 resolution screen puts the iPhone's to shame. Of course, there's nothing to stop Apple from incorporating a higher-definition display in the iPhone and, if the costs become competitive enough, we might even see a low-power OLED screen, such as the one in Microsoft's Zune HD.
Better camera Apple took a big step forward with the iPhone 3GS's camera, not only increasing it to 3 megapixels, but also adding a host of software features, such as auto-focus, macro mode, and improved low-light performance. Though not universally acclaimed as superior to the iPhone, the Droid does sport a 5-megapixel camera and also adds a few features the iPhone doesn't have, such as image stabilization and--most important--an LED flash. Right now, the iPhone's camera gets used because it's the one most people have with them, not because it's the best they own, but paying it some attention could make that built-in feature much less of a compromise.
