What the next iPhone needs

March 14th, 2009

Whatever Apple unveils in their iPhone 3.0 presentation on Tuesday, it’s clear that new hardware is on the way, most likely in June or July. The question is: what could be added? The leap from EDGE to 3G was obvious, but there’s no clear path for the next upgrade. 4G technology is not going to be ready. Here’s where there is some room to grow:

  1. Faster processor – You can do a lot with the iPhone, but it can get sluggish when you’re switching apps rapidly, and background processing isn’t going to help.
  2. Better screen – This is also a fairly easy upgrade. Higher resolution? A possibility, though it’s not really essential.
  3. Digital compass – I’d be surprised if this G1 feature wasn’t also in the next iPhone – this will really boost the practicality of GPS functions.
  4. Better camera – The lack of significant change in the camera from the original to the 3G iPhone was truly disappointing. I don’t care about more megapixels, but a better lens would be nice, as would true autofocus capability. Autofocus also adds practical new features, like the ability to read barcodes.
  5. More storage space. I’d expect to the see the standard storage go to 16GB, with a 32GB option. Alternatively, the price could drop, but that’s not like Apple.

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  • Jon Z

    I like your list dude.

    The lack of compass has really been bothering me. Not so much because I need it now, but as a developer I know that the compass is the missing link. Once they incorporate it, some really awesome things can happen.

    The screen is kind of a touchy issue (no pun intended). I would like to see a higher res screen, but it could lead to some backwards compatibility issues with some current apps. If apple can get around this and incorporate an even slicker screen into Iphone generation 3, then hats off, and wallets to them.

    There has to be something else though, something physically obvious. See people just got their 3G iphones a year ago, and they spent a lot of money to do it. Beyond function, the new iphone has to be noticeably different from past generations if Apple wants people to upgrade. I think that in keeping with their current direction the new iPhone may have a brushed aluminum casing.