Next iPhone?
September 30, 2011 at 8:56 pm | 1 Comment »I know the next iPhone will be announced on Tuesday and probably available in a few weeks. Will I buy one? It’s certainly time. We’re both still on two-plus-year-old 3GS models so AT&T will pony up.
Still, it’s far from a done deal. I avoided the iPhone 4 because I hate the industrial design—Apple’s worst since the PowerBook 5300 debacle. And storage tops out at 32GB—exactly the same as the 3GS that no longer holds my entire iTunes music library. I had to sacrifice music videos last month in order to keep all my songs in my pocket.
Not that anyone cares but here’s what I need to see if I’m going to replace my iPhone 3GS before it stops working:
-64GB storage, minimum. The iPod Touch has offered that capacity for years. Come on Apple; it’s not a matter of fitting the chips into the case. iCloud seems sexy and garners headlines from the tech-blogger sheeples but real people still listen to music in areas where data coverage sucks. I will happily hand you the needed premium over today’s lame 32GB models if you’ll just take my money.
-New form factor. Actually, I’ll settle for a back to the future approach here. The original iPhone with its finely-pebbled metal back looked and felt great. I still regret giving mine up. Apple knows they got it right the first time since they designed the iPad by essentially putting iPhone original on a Xerox and pressing enlarge a bunch of times. In comparison, iPhone 4’s right angles, round volume buttons and glass back are dopey. (And that’s without bringing up the antenna issues.)
-A5 processor and more RAM. Faster=better. Always.
Faster data connection would be nice but full LTE support seems premature given AT&T roll out practices. (Don’t even mention brand V; its coverage at my house blows.)
So-called features that I could give a fuck about include NFC, improved camera (forget bullshit megapixels that haze-magnet plastic lens keeps photo functions in the toy category compared to my Nikon DSLR) and voice recognition.
There you have it. Will I take the plunge or not? Check back next Wednesday. But you can be sure, I’m not standing in a fucking line.
I love the 4, personally. I don’t think the new one will be a lot different — a 4S, not a 5, but speculating what apple’s going to do is always a losing proposition. Whatever they release will have been tested more thoroughly than the 4, and it will work great. I’m more excited about iOS 5.
As far as the look? I don’t like the round plastic 3G, and I do like the first and the 4’s look (and it’s miles easier to open up and replace the battery). But take that with a grain of salt, because the 4 is the first iPhone I’ve had, and the first good (not shitty) phone I’ve had since my old nokia 3390.
I know that I’m not upgrading anytime soon, though. It’s not time, and I’ve got a year left with this one anyway, barring any unforeseen circumstances.
And don’t even get me started on the “4G” carriers are peddling (or the carriers themselves).