Let's Talk iPhone: Will the 5th Generation Device Bring Apple to Next Level

This time is for real, the next generation iPhone is about to come, Apple has finally begun sending out invites for its upcoming press conference, which will be held on October 4, as the invite says: let’s talk iPhone. We don’t know whether it will be iPhone 5 or the long-rumored iPhone 4S, but we are still looking forward to it, not only because of the amazing new iPhone hardware, but also the official edition of iOS, the soul of the next generation iDevice. It could be said that, without OS, the hardware is absolutely nothing, the question is, will iOS 5 or the new iPhone do a better job than the other smartphone OS like Android and Windows Phone 7, or will iPhone still be the killer smartphone through next year?

People all care about what’s new features and updates on iOS 5, but after knowing, they will realize that the inspiration of the new stuffs are actually from the third-party developer or the other mobile operating system as Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 and Google’s Android, the question is, will Apple do a better job than the origin?

As a common knowledge, iOS devices are known as “easy to use”, no matter for children or elder, everybody can grab an iPhone or iPad and operate by not reading the instruction book, as the iOS was designed to be as a product which doesn’t need users to spend their times on researching how to use, like all Apple’s products, just to keep it as simple as it can, unlike Google’s Android, that is a little bit comlicated, you have to work on it for a while.

However, “to keep it as simple as it can” attitude has a big problem, which is, lacking of functions. Besides, some of apps are limited by the lack, then they become very hard to use, users have to take many steps for using an app, like the camera, we need to unlock the screen, flip over pages, tap the icon, and then here we go. The simple makes the usage even more harder, and this problem can directly cause iPhone users switch to Android, which is currently ranked number one in mobile operating system market, and it’s quite often when people said “Android is for my phone, and iOS is for my tablet”, but if Apple can address these issues with iOS 5 those users might be able to make the switch back, it’s Apple after all, it’s more fashionable than any other devices. Fortunately Apple has finally realized how important those features are, and for proving a better user experience, Apple decides to learn for the third-party developers, and its rivals, to absorb their essences.

The first significant feature in iOS 5 is Notifications, which is actually inspired by Android. As its weakest part, Notifications in iOS are downright awful compared to Android, compared to even the weakest competitors, iOS’ current notification system is absolutely nothing but a piece of freaking crap. Back in the days, when there were not thousands of apps, the only notifications iOS really had to worry about were incoming text messages and the occasional alarm. But now is different, when people use their iDevice, they will feel  disconnected from email and communication tools because users have turned off all the notifications they could. It’s very terrible, and as a user, I would rather miss out on a notification than get a popup while I am working, reading or playing. This works fine on the iPad, but on an iPhone this solution to horrible notifications won’t work.

It has to say that Apple did a better job, in iOS 5, a brand new Notification Center aggregates all user’s notifications into one and is accessible by swiping down on the mobile device screen, it reveals alerts, messages, tweets, and apps downloads.  Each can be removed from the list individually or by groups organized by applications. Even though Android devices have integrated the similar notifications system since its first device the HTC G1, Apple makes a big step forward, rather than directly copy for Android, Apple adds its own “micro-innovation” into it, to make it become a better feature. Small X buttons alongside each note allow you to dismiss it, though there's no "clear all" option for the more decisive among us. Notifications are also making their way onto the lockscreen, where swiping across a text message takes you right into it.

In addition, Apple has improved the above-mentioned camera problem in iOS 5, the old issue will not longer exist, there's now a camera button right on user’s lockscreen. The volume-up button is also doubling up as a physical shutter release key when user’s in the camera app. Pinch-to-zoom is said to be available right in the app, while holding your finger down on a particular area will lock down exposure to optimize the shot for its particular lighting. Some new in-device editing options have also been added, including cropping, rotation, red-eye reduction, and a one-click enhance option. That improvement has just make iDevice become the sharpest weapon for photo shooting by providing a more professional shooting experience than any Android devices as the most welcomed camera on Flickr. And a good camera is a very important part for being a successful smartphone.

Another pretty significant novelty: iMessage. It's a messaging service exclusively for iOS users, which comes with delivery and read receipts, an indicator for when the other party is typing, and the ability to push messages to all your devices. This feature might be inspired by Microsoft’s previous announced Windows Phone 7 Mongo, that SMS, Facebook chat and Windows Live Messenger are integrated together into the same conversation window, and you can group contacts together to pull their status updates into one place, and then send a message to the whole group. It sounds like Mongo is more attractive, but the current situation is, SNS service is used more often than SMS, and Apple smartly focus on that part. As for which operating system will do a better job, we will find out later this fall.

Finally, no more cables required for syncing. Now we're talking. Setting up and activating a new iOS device can be done right on the device itself, and syncing will be wireless too, there'll be no need to tether to a computer anymore. I’m tired to say, but Android has already done that, a very long time ago, but again Apple did a better job than the origin by launching iCloud. The service allows users to store data such as music files and automatically sync between multiple devices such as: iPhones, iPods, iPads, and personal computers. It also replaces MobileMe, acting as a server for email, contacts, calendars and other data. This idea was actually inspired by Google’s Chrome OS, somehow Apple just “steal” the concept, and make it to be used in mobile operating system, that was brilliant.

Ones can say that there are not actually a single new feature in iOS 5 is Apple’s own concept. But, a creator doesn’t always make his creation successful, as a matter of fact, Apple is not the first one to create tablet, Microsoft is, however it didn’t make it, but Apple did, and make its iPad become the most popular and best selling tablet of the whole world, that is the power of micro-innovation. As a mobile operating system, iOS might not be considered revolutionary, but it will be interesting to see how Apple plan to creatively execute the OS features for enhanced usability over their rivals.  Based on the company's successful track record, this must be something that can place Apple at the top again.