iphone 5 speculation thread 413

[MrX8503]

While hostage my be a bit extreme, you understand what I mean. I've already got the accessories, docking station, apps & contacts shared between my phone & iPad, iCloud setup between my phone, iPad, Apple TV and Mac. Ect. If I stay it's not because it's the phone I really want. It's because it just drops into place with everything else I have.

If everything drops into place with everything...why wouldn't you want that? I have a Mac and an iPhone, which iCloud and other services work together really well. There are also certain universal apps on the desktop, iPad, and iPhone that plays together well too. For example SkyDrive from MS.

On the desktop to tablet to smartphone is awesome integration.

My music/ebooks are drm free, so that's the only thing I care about to have that's unrestricted.

 

[Eug]

So, in other words, you appreciate Apple's model of integration of all the devices into a coherent overall environment, as opposed to just having individual devices that don't function well with one another. Well, I agree.

In my case, the iPad does not function well in my setup and my preferences. I find it too large and awkward to carry around, it doesn't natively play back high bitrate MKV, and only has 16 GB anyway. So, my next tablet may just be a 7" Android model with external flash media support. It won't have the same integration as my other hardware, but I'd use it more than my iPad because the iPad just isn't appropriate for me.

My iPhone has some of the same limitations as my iPad, but I don't care, because the iPhone serves an almost completely different set of purposes than what I'd like my iPad to serve.

 

[MrX8503]

Even if the iPad played mkvs natively, you'd need external storage of some sort and only an Android tablet would provide that.

 

[Red Storm]

Even if the iPad played mkvs natively, you'd need external storage of some sort and only an Android tablet would provide that.

GoodReader/Dropbox takes care of that, but for me it's easier to do local transfers, which for the iPad means iTunes.

 

[MrX8503]

Air disk pro is a great app that allows you to drag n drop to your iDevice via browser or FTP wirelessly.

 

[pm]

Even if the iPad played mkvs natively, you'd need external storage of some sort and only an Android tablet would provide that.

There's apps out there that play MKV's and then you can get them onto the iPad using jailbreak+Camera Connection Kit+Cydia's iFile, or else, SSH and then use scp over WiFi, and there's probably even more elegant ways using some app that I don't know about.

Edit: elegant... like Air Disk Pro. And, yeah, high bitrate MKV... yeah, that probably doesn't work... can the new iPad do it? They added in more graphics and CPU capability.

 

[Eug]

Even if the iPad played mkvs natively, you'd need external storage of some sort and only an Android tablet would provide that.

Yeah, as I mentioned I'm interested in 7" Android tablets with external flash media support with good MKV playback.

I found a really inexpensive model a while back with Android 4.0 ICS, and it even played my 1080p MKV files up to 4GB perfectly, but unfortunately, the flash support was only with FAT32 up to 4 GB. The screen was mediocre too, but for that purpose it was fine. Android out of the box only natively supports FAT32 on external media it seems, although some have extended ext2/3 support to it. However, ext2/3 is fairly useless for us with Windows and Mac computers. (I can format to ext3 with my NAS, but obviously that's a pain.)

Anyways, it seems Asus had added this functionality to Android, through 3rd party licenced drivers for both NTFS and exFAT. I look forward to Asus & Google's rumoured 7" tablet joint venture.

 

[bearxor]

There's apps out there that play MKV's and then you can get them onto the iPad using jailbreak+Camera Connection Kit+Cydia's iFile, or else, SSH and then use scp over WiFi, and there's probably even more elegant ways using some app that I don't know about.

Edit: elegant... like Air Disk Pro. And, yeah, high bitrate MKV... yeah, that probably doesn't work... can the new iPad do it? They added in more graphics and CPU capability.

No, the new iPad doesn't play higher bitrates any better than the first two. Apple doesn't allow hardware acceleration through 3rd party software.

But honestly, I'm so over the mindset of 'I have to copy it to my device!'. I have 2 NAS boxes now. One downloads everything on Ubuntu and the other runs AirVideo/Plex/Boxee. I stream everything. When I go on a trip, I just redownload whatever I want to take in divx format so OPlayer will play it, but that's typically only for the plane ride. When I get where I'm going I just stream what I want over the internet from my house.

I am almost so over local storage.

 

[epidemis]

I think it's fairly established by now that Apple will mimic Samsung and go for a larger display/teenier bezel this time.

 

[Eug]

This is sort of what I was envisioning with the 3.83" to 4" iPhone 5, although my prediction included a 2 mm increase vertically and horizontally as well.

Note the decreased bezel sizes on the left and right, and on the top and bottom. There is no need for the screen to overlap the home button or the earpiece grill, since there is so much extra space there. Furthermore, this is esp. true if you add 2 mm to the height. Note also the increased text size (because of the decreased pixel density).

Also, a c|net poll indicates that 3/5ths of their readers want a bigger iPhone screen. 30% say it's just right, and only 2% say they want a smaller one. (8% don't care.)

 

[NaOH]

You're preaching to someone who hates big phones.
An EVO is 4.3" not 4".
With all the bezels on the current 3.5" iPhone, a 4" would only be a tad bigger.

I was commenting on your statement saying people will always want the bigger phones. Not whether 4" is big or not.

 

[Mopetar]

After seeing the latest sales figures from both Verizon and AT&T where the iPhone was about half of their sales, I almost question if they're going to redesign it. It's still a possibility, but it's also fairly obvious that they don't need a larger screen to do well.

Their next phone will probably tick the LTE checkbox, but beyond that they might not need additional hardware features, especially if they come out with some compelling software updates. It almost seems like the best argument for a bigger screen is so that the device can be physically larger and accommodate a bigger battery.

 

[NaOH]

When apps freeze (yes, even on iOS they do) that physical home button is more assuring than relying on software gestures that may also be unresponsive.

agreed, there will always be a need for some physical button. It just doesn't have to be the home button. It can be designed around just the power/volume rockers (doesn't the new galaxy s 2 have a similar design).

 

[Sid59]

As previously said .. for me to think about an upgrade to the new iphone:
minimum 4" screen
LTE

Until about two weeks ago, I'm still using my iPhone 3GS. Not nearly as fast as the 4s but i didn't see a need to upgrade. I was given a Motorola Atrix2 and I've almost made the move to it full time. The 4.3" screen is awesome and HSPA+ is nice, again compared to the 3GS.

 

[vshah]

This is sort of what I was envisioning with the 3.83" to 4" iPhone 5, although my prediction included a 2 mm increase vertically and horizontally as well.

Note the decreased bezel sizes on the left and right, and on the top and bottom. There is no need for the screen to overlap the home button or the earpiece grill, since there is so much extra space there. Furthermore, this is esp. true if you add 2 mm to the height. Note also the increased text size (because of the decreased pixel density).

Also, a c|net poll indicates that 3/5ths of their readers want a bigger iPhone screen. 30% say it's just right, and only 2% say they want a smaller one. (8% don't care.)

you need a larger bezel on the sides to prevent against accidental touches registering when the user is cradling the phone / curving their hand around it to hold it, and to have space for the button mechanisms for the volume up/down buttons

 

[vi edit]

you need a larger bezel on the sides to prevent against accidental touches registering when the user is cradling the phone / curving their hand around it to hold it, and to have space for the button mechanisms for the volume up/down buttons

Plus it would be almost impossible to get a case to stay on there without having room for the lip to wrap around the edges and still have enough room to get a finger to edge.

 

[Eug]

you need a larger bezel on the sides to prevent against accidental touches registering when the user is cradling the phone / curving their hand around it to hold it, and to have space for the button mechanisms for the volume up/down buttons

Well, that's partially why I think to accomodate my 3.83" screen, the phone would get 2 mm wider.

However, the button mechanisms can be underneath the screen.

After seeing the latest sales figures from both Verizon and AT&T where the iPhone was about half of their sales, I almost question if they're going to redesign it. It's still a possibility, but it's also fairly obvious that they don't need a larger screen to do well.

Their next phone will probably tick the LTE checkbox, but beyond that they might not need additional hardware features, especially if they come out with some compelling software updates. It almost seems like the best argument for a bigger screen is so that the device can be physically larger and accommodate a bigger battery.

I don't think an LTE iPhone will need a much bigger battery, if it's built using a 28 nm process.

However, a larger screen would still allow a wider battery, and thus a thinner iPhone.

 

[poofyhairguy]

There's apps out there that play MKV's and then you can get them onto the iPad using jailbreak+Camera Connection Kit+Cydia's iFile, or else, SSH and then use scp over WiFi, and there's probably even more elegant ways using some app that I don't know about.

Edit: elegant... like Air Disk Pro. And, yeah, high bitrate MKV... yeah, that probably doesn't work... can the new iPad do it? They added in more graphics and CPU capability.

On my Wife's Jailbroken iPad 2 I can play very high bitrate mkv files from a USB drive or SD card via XBMC and the camera connection kit. XBMC can also play these same files over 5ghz 802.11N.

 

[bearxor]

XBMC does work well if you go the jailbreak route. Even my wife's JB iPad 1 plays every mkv I have in my collection just fine.

 

[pm]

On my Wife's Jailbroken iPad 2 I can play very high bitrate mkv files from a USB drive or SD card via XBMC and the camera connection kit. XBMC can also play these same files over 5ghz 802.11N.

I'd never heard of XBMC. Thanks for mentioning it, Poofy and Bearxor

 

[Eug]

Liquidmetal inventor says Apple is years away from using alloy

Dr. Atakan Peker, who discovered and developed the formulation that later became Liquidmetal, said in an interview with Business Insider that Apple is most likely years away from using the alloy in large-scale projects, noting that there is "no suitable manufacturing infrastructure yet to take full advantage of this alloy technology."

The former Vice President of Technology at Liquidmetal estimates that an investment of $300 million to $500 million and three to five years would be needed before the metal finds its way into the hands of consumers.

"This is a technology that has yet to be matured and perfected both in manufacturing process and application development," Peker said. "I should note that this is a completely new and different metal technology."

It is unlikely that MacBook casings will be made from the material in the near future, however there is a possibility that small operational parts such as hinges and brackets can be produced. Nokia and Samsung phones have employed Liquidmetal previously, though not as a main design or structural feature.

Apple currently has exclusive license to the technology which has been rumored to play a part in the upcoming next-generation iPhone, however the company has so far only implemented the metal once to make a SIM card ejection tool for the iPhone and iPad.

 

[Steelbom]

This is what I think:

• 4-4.6 inch 1440x960 IPS display
• 1GHz Dual-core Cortex A9 at 32nm
• PowerVR SGX543MP2
• 1GB LPDDR2 RAM

This is what I want:

• 4.6 inch 1440x960 IPS display
• Dual-core or quad-core Cortex A15
• PowerVR SGX600 series GPU
• 1GB LPDDR3 RAM

 

[runawayprisoner]

And like I tried to explain a good while back, 1136 x 640 makes sense:

http://www.theverge.com/2012/5/22/3035958/next-gen-iphone-higher-resolution-new-dock-connector-rumor

Also in tow is a new dock connector.

 

[vi edit]

Also in tow is a new dock connector.

That pisses me off. Hopefully there is some kind of simple adapter that will be developed. The prior format has been a staple of connectivity for almost a decade.

 

[runawayprisoner]

That pisses me off. Hopefully there is some kind of simple adapter that will be developed. The prior format has been a staple of connectivity for almost a decade.

I would think that if they are changing the dock connector, then perhaps there might be some sort of adapter for backward compatibility.

It seems very silly to not allow backward compatibility considering how many accessories make use of the old dock connector.