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What we want from the Apple iPhone 5

What we want from the Apple iPhone 5

We take a look at the top 10 features that we think the Apple iPhone 5 should feature

The internet, as per this time of year, is ablaze with rumours, speculation and conjecture surrounding the soon-to-be-announced iPhone 5.

This is to be expected though with June/July (AKA iPhone announcement season) fast approaching. Thing is, Apple never lets anything slip – the company is on lockdown 24/7 365 days a year.

So, rather than attempting to guess what the iPhone 5 will feature (as we’ve already done here) we’ve decided to compile a list of our must-wanted features for the iPhone 5 instead.

This way, we can say what we want and when Apple fails to deliver it we can write lots of horrible stuff about it. Perfect.

So, get your salt at the ready and prepare for Know Your Mobile’s iPhone 5 wish list.

A5 dual core processor

Apple upped the ante with the iPad 2 introducing its dual core Apple A5 chip into the mix. It’s been whipping Nvidia’s Tegra 2 CPU in benchmarks the globe-over since it launched and brings up to nine-times better graphics processing. In short, Apple’s A5 chip is immense – hence why we want it in the iPhone 5.

Obviously, a CPU is only as good as a device’s RAM and we also hope that Apple ups the iPhone 5’s to the 1GB mark too. Not only would this bring the iPhone 5 inline with the current front-runners of the smartphone market, but it’d also ensure that the iPhone 5 is blisteringly fast.

4-inch Retina Display

One of the big things that people, including us, love about the iPhone 4 is its Retina Display, which is one of the best mobile displays currently on the market – and that’s nearly a year after it first landed.

Our only real gripe with the iPhone 4’s display is that it’s a little on the pokey side. Granted, 3.5-inches used to cut the mustard back in 2009, but things have changed somewhat and with all the media, games and apps that are now available we think it is a necessity that Apple ups the iPhone 5’s display to the 4-inch mark.

And if the current crop of leaked images and information is to be believed, it looks like we’ll be getting our way as the majority of sources point towards at least a 3.7-inch display.

64GB SSD

Apple has been getting away with 32GB versions of its iPhone for quite sometime now but 2011 is looking to be the year that all this could change.

There’s been online chatter about a 128GB SSD iPhone 5, although this seems quite unlikely to us, as well as an alleged 64GB iPhone 5 that was caught on video. Personally, we don’t think 64GB is a big ask, especially since Apple is seemingly so averse to supporting microSD cards.

Whether more storage will materialise remains to be seen. We might just have to settle for better cloud facilities in the end, which would be slightly irritating as you’ll have to cut into your data plan to utilise this on the move.

Come on Apple, give us more storage – 64GB would be fine.

Better call quality

Speak to any iPhone user and they’ll tell you the iPhone is great, it’s just not that good at making and receiving calls. Specifically, the call quality isn’t particularly good.

This is something we’d like to see Apple remedy with the iPhone 5 because the device itself, regardless of what else it does, is a phone first and foremost. So, come on Apple, sort it out this time round.

Better battery life

Apple made some massive improvements to the iPhone 4’s battery life, but it still wasn’t enough – we want more. 12 hours, 24 hours or even 72 hours – it really doesn’t matter. Battery life is the one constant in the mobile phone world where users will constantly demand more and more until, well, you don’t have to charge your mobile device for months on end – this is the dream.

And while this ‘dream’ may be a long way off, we’d certainly like to see Apple make an improvement of around 20 to 30 per cent on the iPhone 4’s battery life. Such an improvement would give Apple yet another USP and improve the device’s reliability ten-fold. So yeah, get that battery life ramped up Apple.

MicroSD support

This is a big ask and one that in all likelihood will never be fulfilled. Apple won’t use microSD storage on its devices. We’ve been asking for it since the iPhone 3GS to avail – not that Apple actually listens to what KYM says.

Couple this with the distinct lack of microSD support on the iPad 2 and the probability of having microSD support on your next iPhone 5 device is extremely low – we’re talking ‘Scotland winning the World Cup low.’

So in the microSD-stakes, it’s probably best to not get your hopes. Just assume that Apple won’t include it on the iPhone 5 and if it does, and the universe doesn’t implode, you can act all pleasantly surprised.

HDMI out

The iPad 2 features HDMI-out, meaning you can send 1080p quality video and media from your iPad 2 to a compatible TV – always good for family gatherings.

This means the likelihood of the iPhone 5 featuring HDMI-out is pretty strong too, as Apple likes to keep its latest features unified across all of its new products – just look at FaceTime.

That said, Apple’s version of HDMI-out does come at a cost – roughly £40 for the cable.

Yes, this is pure Apple, and very annoying as it’s simply just another cost strapped onto Apple’s already expenisve hardware that didn’t need to be there. It didn’t cost anything on the Nokia N8, for instance.

But, on the bright side, if you’ve already bought the iPad 2 and got the cable you’ll probably just be able to use that one on the iPhone 5, just don’t hold us to that – this is Apple we’re talking about after all.

Thinner and lighter

Samsung claims its Galaxy S II is the thinnest mobile phone on the planet. We’ve seen it at MWC 2011 and can attest to its claims – the Galaxy S II is stupidly thin.

And as you’ll know, Apple doesn’t take to well to other company’s getting one over on it, so expect the iPhone 5 to be a lot thinner and lighter than its predecessor.

We’re not talking anything drastic, but Apple will no doubt shave off a few grams here and there like it did with the iPad 2 – at least, we hope it will.

No one wants an iPhone 5 that looks exactly like the iPhone 4, that’d be stupid and counterproductive.

8-megapixel camera

Apple famously got its act together with regards to cameras on the iPhone 4 and while we’d like to believe that it’ll up the stakes with the iPhone 5, we’re having a hard time believing it will.

Having said that, recent news has Sony’s CEO on regard spilling the beans on a deal that will see it supplying imaging sensors (i.e. cameras) to Apple for its iPhone 5 device.

To be honest, having an 8-megapixel camera isn’t really that much of a big deal to us, we don’t tend to take that many pictures on our phones. But this isn’t the case for a lot of users, many hold a device’s imagining capabilities in very high esteem.

So it’s for this reason that we’re wishing for an 8-megapixel camera on the iPhone 5. It’s not for us mind, it’s for you – our dear readers.

You can thank us later.

3D-enabled display

3D maybe a massive hype created by Hollywood marketing people to get more people into cinemas to watch drivel like Night at the Museum 2, but it’s also now a firm feature in the mobile space too.

Both HTC and LG have got 3D-enabled devices coming to the UK market and there’s serious talk amongst Android developers about 3D gaming and the possibilities it presents. In short, 3D displays, at least in the mobile sector, looks like its set to stay – even if it does give you a headache.

For this reason, we’d like to see a 3D-ready display on the iPhone 5. Not one that is constantly 3D mind, but one that can be switched to 3D as and when you need it for movies and games etc.

This is unlikely to happen as Apple doesn’t tend to follow fads. And if there’s one thing you can say about 3D mobile displays, it’s that they’re pretty damn faddy.

Still, an 3D-enabled iPhone 5 would certainly be cool.

[Thanks: http://www.knowyourmobile.com]

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