The lack of any iPhones for sale by Apple or its carrier partners, along with the daily torrent of press releases and rumours, all point to a new iPhone being announced at Steve’s Job’s keynote speech at WWDC on June 9th. Apple was panned by many for releasing a device whose hardware didn’t match up compared to other top-flight smartphones, and are sure to address some of these deficiencies. So what sort of phone are we likely to see there?
Without a doubt, 3G
With every other manufacturer having 3G phones on the market in June 2007, I never bought Job’s statement that it was “battery life” keeping 3G out of the first iPhone. This lack of connectivity speed is sure to be rectified. But, carrier annoucements indicate that Apple are moving from exclusive agreements, and vastly increasing the number of markets they will be selling into (including Japan and South Korea).
So they’re going for a worldwide release, but will they support more than just UMTS and HSDPA/HSUPA? Or Will Apple release multiple, localised versions of the iPhone? Maybe, but this doesn’t seem to me to fit with Apple’s way of doing things. Yet the alternative is to either only support certain types of 3G, or try and squeeze more radio hardware into the iPhone’s already large form factor. My guess is that – in keeping with Apple’s design philosophy – less is more, and that only UMTS/HSPA will be supported.
A better camera
The iPhone camera is currently 2 megapixels. Yes, camera fans, I know it’s not all about the megapixels, and I’ve had some really good snaps from my iPhone camera. But 2MP is old hat, and I would expect a bump to at least 3.2MP, although most other top-flight smartphones are now sporting 5MP.
The other thing the iPhone does not have is a flash. I’ve found that the low-light photos are ok, although not as good as my old Nokia N70. A flash would be very welcome.
A front-facing camera
Video calling over 3G networks isn’t exactly widely popular, and is particularly lagging in the US. But with the nearing completion of AT&T’s 3G network, the inclusion of a second camera that allows video calling could act as a real differentiator for the new iPhone in the USA (let’s not forget this is Apple’s main market). But, it would be worldwide winner if Apple enabled seamless video conferencing between mobile and desktop clients using iChat. They have the skills to do it, and it’s the sort of thing that Steve Jobs loves to showcase.
GPS
I’ve written about the pseudo-GPS on the iPhone before, which doesn’t work that well in my experience. I’ve used Nokia Maps with GPS on an N95 8GB, and it was superb. Proper GPS with the large screen would make the iPhone an excellent SatNav replacement for most people, and I would really like to see Apple deliver this, integrated with Google Maps.
Physical keyboard
Haha. Next.
Higher capacity battery
Disassembly has shown the iPhone to have a 1400Mah Li-ion battery. 3G is more of a battery drain, but I can’t see them squeezing in a fatter battery that would bulk up the form factor. Software tweaking is more likely to provide power optimisation here.
Increased storage
I could see them fattening up the iPhone for more storage. The existing model has already received a boost to 16GB since the June ’07 release. Extra storage depends on two things – the increase in the bill of materials vs. profit, and whether the increase in space required for the components will unduly alter the form factor. I’m sure it’s a compromise Apple will manage, so hello 32GB iPhone!
A faster processor
Again, disassembly has shown a 400Mhz chip is used. I don’t really care if Apple bump the chip speed, so long as power consumption is not increased and user experience is not compromised by reducing battery life. You’re certainly not going to shift many units pointing out a 50Mhz increase. What is this, the 90s?
New design
The main elements – the large touchscreen, the hardware keys – will stay, but the design is likely to be cosmetically altered. After all, why buy this year’s model if it looks like last year’s? 😉
An “iPhone black” has already shown up on AT&T’s website, so it could be that iPhones will have different colour choices. I’m sure that Apple will look to differentiate the iPhone line and broaden their appeal, as they did with iPods, but it may not be this time around. I do think the headphone jack will change from bring recessed to flush with the body, though.
Wrap-up
Whether or not some of these features are included will only become apparent after post-release tear-downs. All of the above is predicated on Apple just releasing one new iPhone. There could be more models that really shrink the form factor (an iPhone nano), or keep the existing 2G connectivity but slightly slim the device down. What is certain is that Apple’s new iPhone(s) will shake things up once again.
Next week, I’ll take a look at iPhone OS 2.0 and its upcoming software enhancements.