The next generation iPhone, better known as the iPhone 5, is the sixth iPhone to be released by Apple computer since they've started making iPhones, will be released tomorrow. Now, I can't help but say that I'm utterly bored by it.
Don't get me wrong, I love the iPhone much more than any Android device. It wasn't always like that. Prior to the boom of mobile computing and smartphone technology, I had found smartphones to be ridiculous. I believed that a touchscreen really lacked a lot of necessary tactile response and feel. With that, the innovations grew. The number of applications ballooned. Not only that, the phone got better.
However, this latest iPhone seems like Apple is playing catch up yet again. The iPhone 4S seemed like a patch to cover up the flaws of the iPhone 4. It felt like that Apple tried to do everything that Android is succeeding for, and the introduction of Siri was still much to be desired for.
This latest generation finally has some of the things that an average smartphone has, like LTE, but it also marks the dawn of a very tough age for the iPhone 5 and iOS6. iOS 6 marks Apple's official departure from using Google maps as the default map application. This is a rather bold move, as Google maps is a nearly ubiquitous application that is known to be one of the best mapping applications in the world. Not only does it provide accurate and fast maps and directions, but it was simple to use, and helpful in many ways that people never realized.
However, to make a map application is not simple. It requires loads of data, complete with complex algorithms and different behaviours and parsers that recognize what the user is referring to. None of this can be done overnight, and surely, none of it can be fixed overnight either. Therefore, to take that jump from Google maps, while risky, can be dangerous.
To this date, people have done many side-by-side comparisons, and while far from promising, the new iOS6 maps application is a rather interesting take on maps, as it is very aesthetically pleasing, but unfortunately, is rather slow. Apple does deserve props for how good it is, considering I was expecting total failure.
Next there's Passbook, an absolutely ridiculous app that really doesn't help much to non-Americans. Go figure, because everyone can access these American establishments to use their coupons and cards. Everyone was hoping for NFC to exist on the iPhone5, but once again Apple has backed out.
It's probably a good that a new iPhone can still show up without the leadership of Steve Jobs. However, at the rate Apple is going, they fear being beaten by their competitors due to this constant need to play catch up, rather than being the pioneer in technology.
