Apple FanBoys and interested pundits now look ahead at what Apple might have in store for the future. Here are some of our best ideas on the subject.
iPhone 5S
There are some that suspect Apple will repeat what they did with the iPhone 4 and bring out an S updated edition. There is some possibility of this, but the situation is unclear because there is confusion whether Apple has adopted a six month new product cycle or only updated several products in their range recently to convert them all to the new Lightning port.iPhone 5 Emerging Market Edition
There continues to be rumours that Apple may be working on a cheaper version of the iPhone for less developed markets. This may still be a possibility, but would mobile phone buyers want an iPad mini-like iPhone with a two year old display resolution, less storage and an old, slow A5 chip? It seems unlikely.iPhone 6
Apple's A7 or A8 chip needs to have 8 cores in order to match what will be on offer in smartphones released in the next 2-3 months. The camera size for the 2013 slate of smartphones is likely to go up to 13 megapixel as standard for top end phones. |
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NFC is a type of short range wireless communication that can be used for quick payments and a multitude of other types of transactions. Apple has their own version of wireless payments with Passbook, but unlike NFC it is unable to send information and can only receive it.
It is also restricted to only being able to communicate with devices showing a QR code. It would be better if Apple offered both NFC and Passbook so that consumers have an interoperable system. There is a new 802.11ac wireless standard coming for Wi-Fi that boosts connection speeds up to a theoretical maximum of 500 Mbps.
This will permit wireless transfers at speeds far greater than current wired connections like the Lightning connection and make media transfers from/to PC or Mac easier and much quicker. Wireless charging that is Qi-compatible is all the rage after Nokia turned out the FatBoy and other charging pads. The pads themselves still have to be plugged in (so this is not a completely wireless system), but it saves having to plug the phone in to charge it.
iOS is becoming old hat. The simplicity of the system also creates issues where users wish to add widgets like they can do with Android home screens, add second users with their own home screens and improve the notification tray with more options.
With Apple you can bet that the company will keep innovating and trying to outdo the competition. At times their proprietary ways leads to a less open and more competitive situation, but hopefully they will find ways to work together with other technology leaders when it is necessary to do so.
Peter MilesAbout the Guest Author:
Peter Miles likes to check out new apps to try on his trusty iPhone 4 .
