Apple : In Depth: iOS 5: 12 things Apple needs to fix |
| In Depth: iOS 5: 12 things Apple needs to fix Posted: 07 Feb 2011 04:30 AM PST  While flawed, AirPlay and AirPrint in iOS 4.2 showed Apple continues to innovate regarding features for its mobile operating system. However, with competing mobile systems rapidly evolving, Apple can't afford to sit still. And while it's great to see big new features arrive, there are plenty of other things we dearly hope Apple sees fit to fix for iOS 5. Here are the 12 fixes we most want to see… 1. Wireless sync They might be mobile, but iOS devices need wires to connect them to a computer whenever you want to sync newly bought apps and other media. An over-the-air option would be useful. Also, Apple encourages consumers to buy multiple devices, but cross-device data sync (for apps and games) is almost non-existent. 2. Notifications system The current iOS notifications system is intrusive and sub-optimal. Something more akin to the call bar would be more suitable for notifications, and Apple should take a cue from Boxcar and provide a single location for exploring recent notifications. 3. Configurable lock screen Most of the competition is making a big deal about the immediacy of information, and yet the iOS lock screen is a configurable photo, the time and the date. A few optional extras - new emails, social network notifications, missed calls, even the weather forecast - would make all the difference. 4. Single-app back-up Games for iOS are growing, and device capacity isn't keeping pace. If you suddenly need the space your latest 1GB blockbusters are hogging, you must delete them and their data. Apple should provide the means to optionally reinstate data when you reinstall an app - at least when doing so from iTunes. 5. Better folders Folders are fine, but they're limited and fiddly. Since Apple's happy with you scrolling panes in apps, there's no reason why you shouldn't be able to store more apps in a folder, scrolling them vertically as necessary. 6. More multitasking options The multitasking bar and the few widgets accessible when you swipe it are handy, but we'd like more options: quick access to a brightness slider on iPad; single-tap toggle of airplane mode on all devices; and a 'quit all' option for running processes. Some kind of quick app-switching gesture would also be lovely (much like the one now confirmed removed from iOS 4.3, in fact).
MORE OPTIONS: The multitasking bar is useful, but it could offer power users fast access to far more settings 7. Superior data sharing There's something to be said for sandboxing apps (in it enhancing stability), but developers increasingly grumble that isolation stops data being easily shared, meaning small, focussed apps often balloon to deal with this shortcoming. Apple in part addressed this by enabling some apps to open certain file formats in specific other apps, but this is currently limited and limiting. 8. Installed apps list Everything was simple when you had 20 apps, but now you've hundreds installed, you forget what you've got available. We'd like to see an additional swipe past Spotlight that presents an alphabetical list of apps that can be filtered by typing characters (as opposed to a list gradually being populated as you type, which is only useful if you know what you're looking for). 9. Default apps toggle Sure, you can dump Apple's default apps into a folder, but you shouldn't have to. We get why Apple won't let you delete default apps (otherwise there'd be people freaking out when they 'lost' Safari), but power users should be able to at least hide them via options in the Settings app.
HIDE AWAY: You can bung default apps in a folder, but you should be able to hide them entirely 10. Editable dictionary and auto-correct To be fair, the iOS auto-correct is pretty smart and it's good for assisting typing on a virtual keyboard, but as blog Damn You, Auto Correct shows, it regularly messes up. If Apple enabled you to edit the dictionary and set custom auto-corrects, these problems would disappear. 11. App Store multitasking Apple wants you to buy apps, but, seemingly, only one at a time - and slowly. We're not sure why the App Store kicks you out to a home screen every time you download something, but we wish it wouldn't. 12. Guest mode We'll never see multiple user accounts on iOS devices. However, we hope Apple will soon provide some kind of 'guest' mode, so someone can mess about with a device without wrecking your settings (although the recently added restrictions options in the Settings app are a decent start). |
| Updated: iPad 2 rumours: what you need to know Posted: 07 Feb 2011 02:31 AM PST  The internet loves Apple and it loves ill-founded speculation, so it's hardly surprising that iPad 2 rumours were flying before the first iPad even reached the UK. With only weeks to go before its expected unveiling the iPad 2 release date, specs and price are still closely guarded secrets, but that doesn't mean there aren't some juicy rumours, inspired guesses and possibly even Apple leaks to consider. Reports suggest Apple is also expecting massive demand for the new device and has ordered six million units per month. Here's our pick of the latest iPad 2 rumours. UPDATE: iPad 2 has apparently been spotted. Reuters reports on a "source with knowledge of the device" who spotted the new iPad at the launch of News Corp's The Daily. iPad 2 specs: cameras and a gyroscope Gizmodo reckons that FaceTime support's a given, and that means a front-facing camera like the iPhone 4. BuzzBizzNews echoes the camera story, suggesting twin cameras. It also suggests that there'll be a three-axis gyroscope like there is in the iPhone 4. EETimes says Apple has been testing gyroscopes but decided not to put one in the original iPad. On 10 December 2010, images of a new iPad case appeared online, suggesting that the iPad 2 will feature a rear-facing camera. On 17 January 2011, we heard word of not only a rear camera, but a front one too... it seems more likely that FaceTime will be coming to the iPad 2 as well. iPad 2 specs: a USB port and SD card slot Rumours suggest that the iPad 2 will have a USB port, which BuzzBizzNews says will enable users to "upload movies, documents and photos". We're not convinced it's for that, because Apple is moving increasingly to wireless. The iPad prints wirelessly. The iPad streams media wirelessly. Why add USB? More likely, we think, is a MicroUSB port or adapter so the iPad meets new EU regulations on mobile device chargers. Images of a new iPad case have appeared online that seem to show space for an SD card slot. On 17 January 2011, we also reported on said SD clard slot - it would be a dramatic move for Apple to go with such expandable memory, but a clever one if true. iPad 2 specs: GSM and CDMA AllThingsDigital quotes analyst Brian Blair, who says that Apple may be readying a "world iPad" that uses both GSM and CDMA networks, enabling it to get online anywhere in the world. CDMA, incidentally, is the technology used by Verizon in the US. iPad 2 case: thinner and more like a MacBook Brian Blair also says: "the new iPad is thinner than the existing model and is essentially made from one piece of metal with no pins needed. We understand it requires a new type of manufacturing process as a result, similar to the company's unibody approach seen in MacBooks." iPad 2 specs: retina display Will the gorgeous screen from the iPhone 4 make its way to the iPad? The Apple Blog thinks so: "You can be sure that Apple's Retina Display, or something very close, will make its way to iPad". Then again, such a screen would massively increase the number of pixels, increasing the demands on both the iPad's processor and its battery, so a nine-inch Retina Display is a challenge. If Apple's solved it we'll see you down the Apple Store the second it goes on sale. iPad 2 specs: a seven-inch screen? All of Apple's rivals have plumped for 7-inch displays, which means their tablets are lighter than the iPad. Will Apple follow them into seven-inch territory? iLounge says prototypes exist, while earlier this year DigiTimes predicted not just a seven-inch iPad 2, but a 5.6-inch iPad 2. Apparently the smaller iPads would target ebooks while the current iPad would target multimedia entertainment, "sources stated". We're doubtful. Apple already does a mini-iPad with a retina display. It's the iPod touch. The idea of a smaller iPad 2 took another knock in November, when 9to5Mac reported that the iPad 2 adverts have already been shot - with current-generation iPads playing the role of iPad 2s. The iPad 2s will be digitally added nearer the time, and of course that's much harder to do if the iPad 2 is smaller than the iPads the actors are actually holding. iPad 2 specs: a faster processor KitGuru "has been hearing rumours from the Far East" that the iPad 2 will be a seven-inch job with a 2GHz processor and an HD video camera. It reckons the processor will be based on ARM's Cortex A9, the 1GHz dual-core processor that you'll find in the BlackBerry PlayBook. On 18 January, we also reported the iPad 2 will have a boosted dual core GPU, based on an upgraded graphical core from Apple. This will allow better pixel management, lending weight the theory that the iPad 2 will have a much higher-res screen. iPad 2 specs: more memory This is a no-brainer: the iPhone 4 has twice the memory of the iPad (512MB compared to 256MB), largely because the iPhone does multitasking. Since the iOS 4.2 release, iPads do multitasking too. 256MB already seems a little bit stingy. iPad 2 specs: no home button Boy Genius Report says a source has told it that Apple has employees testing iPads with no home buttons, but we're inclined to agree with ZDNet, which says "don't bet on it". iPad 2 features: Find My Friends On 13 January 2011 we reported that Apple seems to have a location-based tool called Find My Friends in the works for its iOS 4.3 iPhone and iPad update. The iPad 2 release date is probably in the Spring Rumours suggested that the iPad 2 would be rushed out in time for Christmas, but if that's Apple's plan they're being awfully last-minute about it. Early 2011 seems like a much better bet, and it fits with Apple's annual product cycle: the first iPad was announced in January and shipped in the spring. On 7 December we reported on rumours that Apple would be shipping iPad 2 units out to warehouses in February 2011. If that date is correct, it suggests an iPad 2 release date of some time around April. This has been corroborated by our report on 17 January, with the April UK release date backed up by 'insiders'. On 20 January 2011 we reported that the iPad 2 release date could be 9 February, after images leaked showing that date on the home screen (the original iPad launch promotional material had a 27 January 2010 date on the home screen - the date the first iPad launched). On 7 February 2011, Elton John, speaking on BBC Breakfast, said he is looking forward to buying an iPad 2 in April so he can make video calls using Skype. Did he just out the iPad 2 release date or has he been hearing the same rumours that we have? The iPad 2 price won't change much Unless there's a new seven-inch model we'll be amazed if the iPad 2 price is dramatically lower than the model it replaces: Apple isn't struggling to shift units and rivals are charging similar prices. Cheapo tablets do exist, but they're rubbish. |
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