Moto X

Introduction

It's been a while since Google bought Motorola but it's only now that we finally see the fruits of that cooperation. By this point, we were already overly excited because we couldn't wait to see what rabbit would come out of Google's and Motorola's proverbial hat.

After weeks and weeks of rumors, leaks, assumptions we're now finally here, looking at the Motorola Moto X and taking in its quality finish, sleek display and seamless construction, the colorful interchangeable back cover and the whole shebang.

The Motorola Moto X doesn't premiere with promises to be the most powerful device on the market. Instead, it strives to attract the most attention, relying on several intriguing assets. First off, it comes with nearly completely stock software on board. Unfortunately, it's not the latest Android Jelly Bean 4.3. The Motorola Moto X has Jelly Bean 4.2.2 on tap instead.

Beyond everything else, our inner (and outer!) geeks find the camera the most interesting. The camera uses a clever technology, dubbed Clear Pixel, which lets up to 75% more light to the camera sensor, compared to regular smartophone cameras. But more on that later.

The device is powered by a custom-built Motorola X8 Mobile Computing System, which is based on a Snapdragon S4 Pro chip with two Krait cores, clocked at 1.7 GHz each, but adds extra processors for various specialized tasks. The Adreno 320 handles graphics and there are 2 gigs of RAM to carry out the heaviest of loads.

Motorola Moto X at a glance

• General: Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE, quad-band UMTS/HSPA, 100 Mbps LTE with a second LTE antenna
• Form factor: Touchscreen bar phone
• Dimensions: 129.3 x 65.3 x 10.4, 130 g
• Display: 4.7" 16M-color 720p (1280 x 720 pixels) capacitive touchscreen RGB AMOLED display with curved Gorilla Glass and ~316 ppi
• CPU: Dual-core 1.7 GHz Krait
• GPU: Adreno 320
• Chipset: A custom-built Motorola X8 Mobile Computing System, based on a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro chipset
• RAM: 2GB
• OS: Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean
• Memory: 16/32GB storage
• Cameras: Primary 10 megapixel auto-focus Clear Pixel camera with 1.4 µm-sized pixels, f/2.4 aperture, native 16:9 aspect ratio, face detection, HDR mode, panorama, geo-tagging; Full HD (1080p) video recording at 30fps with HDR, Secondary 2MP front-facing camera with FullHD video capture; Quick capture allows you to activate the camera with a double twist of your wrist;
• Connectivity: Dual-band Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth 4.0 LE, standard microUSB port with MHL and USB host, GPS receiver with A-GPS, GLONASS, 3.5mm audio jack, NFC, wireless screen sharing (Miracast protocol)
• Misc: Composite plastic materials - surrounding back panel and curved edge-to-edge Gorilla Glass front; dual-mic setup for noise cancellation; water-repellent coating on electrical components for trouble-free operation in the rain; some 50 GB worth of extra free Google Drive storage for 2 years (on top of the usual 15GB); Active Display system, showing notifications on a fraction of the screen size when the screen is off; Touchless control - voice control capabilities in standby (with the screen off).
• Battery capacity: 2200mAh.

The Motorola Moto X is more than camera prowess and software trickery, though. The housing is just as appealing as the innards. For one, there's a new type Gorilla Glass on board, which is curved towards the edges and covers the whole front.

   
Moto X by Motorola

The back panel is made out of high-quality plastic and is available in 18 color options. The primary Moto X variants, which you will be able to buy in store are the Woven Black and the Woven White colors.

Categories: 4.2.2, 4.3, Android, camera, design, display, hands on, india, moto, moto x, motorola, news, phones, review, rumour, sales, smartphone, specs, x

Budget iPhone 5C

The budget iPhone is likely to launch as a mid-range, plastic-bodied alternative to the upcoming iPhone 5S. If the rumours are true, its launch date could be rapidly approaching. 

Although Apple’s Senior Vice President, Phillip Schiller, rebuffed claims of a cheaper iPhone model, it hasn’t stopped the rumour mill from generating a lot of gossip about a budget iPhone launch, complete with pictures of the plastic body.

“Despite the popular of cheap smartphones, this will never be the future of Apple’s products,” said Schiller. “Every product that Apple creates, we consider using only the best technology available.”

To whet your appetite pre-launch, we’ve rounded up everything we know so far about the heavily rumoured budget iPhone.

Budget iPhone Release Date

The latest rumour suggests the budget iPhone could be with us on September 18, touching down with the iPhone 5S. According to the source cited by CurrentEditorials, the mid-range smartphone will be a refresh of the existing iPhone to complement the iPhone 5S, but with a new plastic case and a reduced price tag.

Previously tipped to make an appearance in September, the leak was the first to give a specific launch date for the budget iPhone. The rumour also suggested that the launch would be coupled with a September 27 release date.

These launch and release dates sit well with previous iPhone release dates, in that the iPhone 5 was launched on September 12 2012 and then released to the public on September 21 just over a week later.

Budget iPhone Design

The budget iPhone will target the mid-range market currently dominated by Android smartphones, attempting to broaden Apple’s user base. It will do this by using a plastic case rather than the aluminium of the iPhone 5 and iPhone 5S.

Taking design cues from the 5th generation iPod touch and iPhone 3GS, the body of the budget iPhone is said to be a little wider and thicker than the iPhone 5 due to its curvy plastic body.

According to a hands-on video posted on YouTube where the budget iPhone is compared to the iPhone 3GS and iPod touch, the cheaper model has a unibody plastic casing that is made from polycarbonate.

The volume buttons, mute slider, SIM tray and hold buttons will apparently all be made from the same plastic material to keep a cohesive design and reduce costs.

From the leaked rear cases for the budget iPhone it is evident that the cheaper model will have the new lightning connector and a headphone jack on the bottom of the device. It will also have similar speaker grills to the iPod touch 5th generation and the iPhone 5.

The plastic body will reportedly be available in six to eight colours, with five of those already popping up in leaked images – white, yellow, red, green and blue.

Budget iPhone Specs

Potentially launching as one of the first devices running the new iOS 7 due this autumn, the latest budget iPhone rumours suggest that the device will be a reinvented iPhone 5.

“Instead of adding another iPhone to its line-up, Apple has decided to refresh the soon-to-be mid-range iPhone 5 with a selection of colours and a reduced build cost, thanks to some well-placed plastic,” said the source.

This means the budget iPhone could have the same 4-inch 1136 x 640p resolution screen with a 326ppi image density. This could be powered by an Apple A6 processor with the option of 16GB, 32GB and 64GB internal storage options. However, Apple has a history of restricting storage options in its lower-end phones.

On the rear there’s an 8-megapixel camera coupled with a 1.2-megapixel front-facing FaceTime camera.

However, originally the budget iPhone was rumoured to pack a bit of a spec downgrade to reflect the mid-range price, with one source even suggesting that the device could launch in two different price bands due to slightly varying innards.

Rumoured to be codenamed Zenvo and Zagato/Bertone, the two budget iPhone models may well have different processors to mark their differing price tags.

Zenvo is reportedly the cheaper of the two with a Samsung-made H5P dual-core processor with 1GB of RAM, 4G LTE and Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity.

The dearer model, Zagato or Bertone, will have another Samsung-made processing chip, the H6P with the same 1GB of RAM and connectivity options.

Budget iPhone Price

Although widely accepted as a cheaper alternative to the iPhone 5S, there hasn’t been any news as to how much the budget iPhone will actually cost.

If you look at the prices of other recently released mid-range handsets from rival manufacturers like Samsung and HTC, you can probably expect the budget iPhone to be priced around £350. The HTC One Mini is £380, the Samsung Galaxy S4 mini is £350 and the Nokia Lumia 820 is £320 in comparison.

Budget iPhone Name

Of course, we don’t actually expect Apple to call their cheaper device the budget iPhone, but with no official name to go by as yet, this will have to do for now.

Other names that have been bandied about include the iPhone mini, following the naming scheme adopted by the 7.9-inch iPad mini, or the iPhone Lite.

In July, a picture of budget iPhone boxes emerged online, revealing the name iPhone 5C in a rather convincing Apple font.

Similar to the S added to the iPhone 3G, iPhone 4 and potentially the iPhone 5 as well, standing for “speed”, the iPhone 5C may represent the word colour, seeing as the smartphone is tipped to launch in a variety of colour options like the newest iPod Touch.

It may also relate to the mid-range pricepoint for the iPhone 5, with the C perhaps standing for “cost” or “cheap”. However, we highly doubt that Apple would want the word cheap associated with any of their products.

Budget iPhone Pictures

A huge number of budget iPhone pictures have leaked online, although so far all we’ve seen is the back panel of the device complete with the component chassis.

Check out the first snaps of the budget iPhone below.

Early Impressions

We’d like to think that Apple could release a viable mid-range option for its iPhone range, but until the specs sheet and pricing details are released, we’re not holding our breath.

Categories: 5c, apple, camera, design, display, hands on, india, iphone 5, iphone 5c, phones, profit, review, rumour, sales, smartphone, specs

Micromax Canvas 4

Micromax has forever been associated with cheap and budget phones, earlier with feature phones now with budget Android phones. With the Micromax Canvas 4 A210 the company tries to find a balance between the desires of the market and a stable ecosystem. The Micromax Canvas 4 A210 has been perceived a big negative mark on the company’s ever tarnished reputation, So is the Micromax Canvas 4 A210 the marvel of innovation Micromax claims it to be? or is it just another attempt at making more money, lets find out.

Build Quality and Hardware

The Micromax Canvas 4 A210 is exceptionally well built, it uses the two elements found in the worlds most popular handsets, the steel bezel and frame of the iPhone and the plastic back panel of the Samsung Galaxy series. The end result is a beautiful looking device that fits well in the hand and feels great to use. The plastics on the Micromax Canvas 4 A210 are cleverly used and remain at a minimal, whereas no serious strengthening has been utilized to the glass. 

On the inside of this phone is a Mediatek 6589 chipset that offers up 1.2 GHz on Quad cores and a sufficient Power VR SGX GPU. On the inside is 16 GB of Storage and 1 GB of RAM, whereas the cameras are fitted with a 13 MP BSI Sony Sensor with full HD capabilities and a front facing 5 MP shooter also with 1080p capabilities. The display is a 1280 x 720p 5 inch display and the overall device offers quite a balanced mix of hardware and build quality. Although many companies are offering higher specs with similar handsets, the build quality on the Micromax Canvas 4 comes out on top. 

Display

Unethical Journalism Aside

The Micromax Canvas 4 A210 uses a new type of display, unseen on any of the company’s earlier devices, the display has a serious blue hue imbalance, but is exceptionally visible outdoors compared to the previous Gen display. The 1280 x 720p resolution was a major let down for many a buyers because of many rumors that pitted the phone equipped with a 1080p display. All “unethical journalism” aside the display is great for almost all requirements including gaming and multimedia, however it never hurts to get more resolution even if you don’t need it. 

The touchscreen is very responsive and the display is perfectly fused into the body of the device, a lower resolution display also ensures better battery life considering that this device only has a 2000 mAh battery which you can read more about in the battery section below. 

Multimedia, Gaming and OS

The Micromax Canvas 4 A210 is based on Android 4.2 and is mostly a vanilla interface, some basic customizations have been added to give additional UI features. “Blow to Unlock” for one is and example of a feature that has been added which may actually be liked by some, we personally feel that it is a waste of battery and a serious red flag to safe mobile phone usage. 

Micromax has also added some features like smart pause on Samsung devices, a software feature which uses the sensors and front camera to detect when a user looks away, while watching a video , and pauses the video. Some fun UI elements like bouncing notifications and alerts in the lock screen add to the user experience.

We feel that Micromax now needs to work on a proprietary UI for Android on their devices, much like TouchWiz or Sense, they need to develop a UI which will truly make their devices unique. For now the Micromax Canvas 4 is based on vanilla android and mostly third party modifications which may or may not be activated.

If you aim to do some gaming on the Canvas 4, you will be happy to know that most games work out of the box and work well. On the occasion some heavy spec’d games will hang or crash, which can only be expected. 

Watching videos and movies is great especially thanks to the great display and loud speaker, but you do start to miss a full HD experience if you have had one. 

Camera

One thing which really changes the perception of the Micromax Canvas 4 A210 is the camera with its f2.2 lens equipped Sony BSI 13 MP sensor. The camera is the same unit used in the Xperia Z and performs exceptionally well. The camera also works great in low light conditions and captures great videos. The front facing camera is a bit of overkill, unless you do a lot of self portraits. The front camera is great but only if you have ample lighting, and honestly we don’t deny that sometime soon in the future front cameras may also start to get a dedicated flash diode. 

The camera module is far too advanced for the software that has been included in the Canvas 4, and if you manage to root your device using our method, you can easily install the camera app ported from other devices. Any camera app that will give you additional manual controls is the app you are looking for. 

A word to the wise, if you plan on doing macro photography with this camera, Autofocus will not be your friend. An add on lens might also be helpful.

The camera has great image composition ensuring great color reproduction and great crisp focus. If you intend to use auto mode the included app works fairly well and will not disappoint. Wait for our detailed camera review.

Performance

if you are looking for extreme performance on this smartphone you are actually looking in the wrong place, you are better off buying a Nexus or HTC One if that is your objective. The Micromax Canvas 4 A210 aims to achieve a few things and extreme performance is not one of them. The phone is pretty good for what its worth, gaming is decent, day to day usage is excellent, multitasking works great and for once the OS is quite stable. 

The Micromax Canvas 4 A210 will get you through most of the tasks you can put it through and then some, but it will not satisfy the tweak hungry junkies. The chipset has its limitations and they can’t be witnessed in the day to day usage of an average user. 

Micromax as a Company

We take off from the regular review process to point out a couple of things to our readers, The Micromax Canvas 4 is very identical to the Blu Life One, in fact it may as well be the same phone. Both companies Micromax and Blu have many things in common, they are both young companies and they both have the same vendors. But, Blu handsets will never come to India, because the company is presently focused in the Americas, just like Micromax’s main focus is in India. Even though we got many requests to compare the two handsets we feel it is unnecessary at the least. 

Micromax has taken a bold step and tried to take care of the biggest concern of users with the improved build of their handset, in doing so the cost of their handset has gone up considerably . That tied with the inflated cost of the US $ made it a pricing fail for the company, and we feel Micromax is a bit premature to be entering the sub 20k market with handsets based on Mediatek chipsets in fact the same chipset that goes in sub 10k handsets. But, what most people are neglecting is the use of quality materials and components is bound to raise costs, the Sony 13 MP sensor itself justifies such a bump in pricing. 

Micromax is no Samsung when it comes to customer satisfaction, hell even Samsung are not that great. The company aims to become a big mobile brand, but it is presently far from that goal simply because of their dependence on readily available products and components. 

Battery Life

The Canvas 4 has slightly low battery life and the constant use of included apps does not help. On average you will get 3-4 hours of continuos talk time. Features like smart pause and blow to unlock will really mould your battery life usage and are best avoided. Real Life Tests:

• Talk Time : 4 Hours on 3G / 6 Hours on 2G
• Internet : 3 Hours on 3G / 5 hours on Wifi
• Music : Upto 12 Hours 
• Video : 3 Hours

 The Good

Micromax has for once tried to focus on the user experience more than the specs, the Micromax Canvas 4 A210 is extremely well built when compared to competition and even their own previous phones. The warranty for the Canvas 4 ensures that if your phone is damaged or defective (within warranty guidelines) you instantly get a replacement phone. Software elements like smart stay and smart pause that usually require expensive devices to begin with. 

The cameras are also an advantage on the Canvas 4 and those with a taste for mobile photography will truly come to appreciate the device for that. The phone achieves what most phones by sector 2 manufacturers dont, premium feel. 

The Bad

The price for one is a little off the mark, a 15k price point would appear to be a more worthy option for the Canvas 4. The OS is still mostly stock and with the added bloatware and software gimmicks, we are not impressed.  

Conclusion 

There is no doubt that the Micromax Canvas 4 A210 is the best Canvas / Micromax phone till date, but with the impending release of iBerry Nuclea N1 and a series of devices already in the market. The decision is truly in the hands of the buyer, the company is attempting to change its ranks in the smartphone market and the Micromax Canvas 4 A210 may be that very device. Once Micromax realizes the market status and drops the price by 1500- 2000 this very well may be the best smartphone in the market in the Rs. 15000 price bracket, but until then this seems like an investment which may not yield a return worth of value. 

Categories: 4.2.2, Android, camera, canvas 4, design, display, dustproof, hands on, india, micromax, news, phones, review, sales, smartphone, specs

Nokia Lumia 520 Review

Nokia Lumia 520 is the Windows Phone 8 version of the highly successful Nokia Lumia 510 which was the cheapest Windows Phone 7 device. The Lumia 520 continues that moniker for the Windows Phone 8 series buy brings about major changes in the mix. Here is our review of the Lumia 520;

Build and Design

Designed for energetic youth

One of the best things about Nokia’s Lumia 520 is the design and build profile. Nokia has been ever known to build high quality phones and the 520 is no less. The wonderful use of colors in the entire range also falls down onto the 520, the price bracket where the most playful market space of the energetic youth exists. 

Of course in comparison to the higher ups the Lumia 520 feels a tad bit less refined, almost nimble, in front of the higher ups in the Lumia lineup. But it is comfortable to hold, and feels very sturdy in the grip of your palm. The back curves out softly into the edges ensuring a more cosy fit and feel also ensuring that the phone appears to be a lot slimmer than its 9.9 mm profile. 

The buttons are kept black on all colors keeping a keen sense of contrast alive on the handsets. The phone weighs in at 124 gms and hence is not  the lightest phone available, but is well within the small category.

Display and Hardware

The Display on the Lumia 520 is a 4 inch 480 x800 px IPS LCD display making it extremely pleasing on the eyes, fairly bright outdoors and good at color reproduction. The display also has excellent viewing angles, which ensures the maximum use of the larger 4 inch display. 

The innards are a mix of a dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Plus processor, clocked at 1GHz, along with 512MB of RAM and expandable storage ( upto 64 GB) along with the fixed 8 GB of inbuilt space. You will also get 7 GB of Skydrive storage with each Lumia phone. The Graphics are handled by a capable Adreno 305 GPU.

A few things that might bother users is the lack of a front facing camera and the missing LED flash on the rear  5 megapixel flasher. The 1430 mAh battery will remind you of the olden Nokia days due to its looks and removable nature.

Windows 8 and Smartphone usage

Nokia has really helped Windows grow as an ecosystem. With the Lumia 520, Nokia has once again got the Windows Phone experience close to the masses. Nokia adds a lot of custom apps and enhancements to make the Windows experience a lot better with their navigation, music and camera filters appealing truly to the masses (especially in India) . With the amber update due soon users will be able to use the FM radio on these phones, making them truly one for the masses, additional features including smart camera will also be released with the Amber update.

In its current form Windows Phone 8 is a somewhat adolescent OS, maturing two folds from its initial years, we still wouldn’t call it a fully mature OS. Many users will miss the customizations and the liberties enjoyed with the likes of Android. Those upgrading from Symbian, Java or even Blackberry 7 OS will really appreciate it for its worth. 

Office on the no-go

The size of the display is good enough but not big enough to get real office work done. Office integration exists and can be accessed on this phone, but the Nokia Lumia 520 seems cramped, especially when comparing it with slightly bigger Windows phone hardware. 

The application base is growing on a daily basis, and even though developers prefer Android and iOS because of sheer market size, the ease with which apps can be made for Windows Phone encourages a lot of developers. 

Camera and Multimedia

free unlimited Music

The included Nokia Music service giver users access to free unlimited Music for upto three moths, after which they have to opt in for a pricing plan. With this service users can literally listen to any kind of music and even create offline playlists to listen to later on. The screen is slightly dim, but bright enough for enjoying videos and images, audio playback is great as is video streaming and playback. Music through headphones is loud, but the included earphones are disappointing. 

The camera is a pretty basic 5 megapixel snapper, with a lot of noise and disturbance is low light images, affected more so by the lack of a flash module. The response from the camera is a little delayed, so you will need to steady your hand after you click a picture and wait for the preview to appear before you can move ahead. This will also be a problem if you have fast-moving subjects like kids or even pets. You still get camera lenses, so you can add filters or stylize your images, and the upcoming Smart camera will also be a great addition to the camera.

Phone, Networks and Battery

The phone call quality is solid, and networks are strong. With little or no disturbances on either end, you can hear callers great and the microphone picks you up for the person on the other end of the high bid spectrum.

Battery life will be a concern for users. With lost of features constantly asking for connectivity the Nokia Lumia 520 barely gets on through the day. Talk time is established at around 4 hours with Nokia’s claim of 9 hours nowhere near it. The 1430 mAh battery seems a little small for the hardware on the inside of this phone honestly and with apps like Nokia music constantly pinging servers, battery life is a big worry. 

Verdict

Nokia has yet again made it possible for almost everyone to own Windows Phone 8, the hardware is good, responsive and well-built. Nokia  also ensures that users throughly enjoy the Windows Phone experience with their Lumia 520, thanks to the included apps and services, with more to come in the Amber update. However cost cutting measures are clearly evident, the lack of a front camera and LED flash for the rear camera, a strangely small battery and the lack of support for NFC, which even though is not a big deal today, comes in each of the other Lumia hardware via external covers if not natively. But considering the price of Windows phone devices, at its current price, the Lumia 520 offers a lot more than owners can bargain for. 

The Nokia Lumia 520 is a great all round package for people on the go, and people online, those who don’t delve too much into apps and customizations and don’t fear trying something new. The Nokia Lumia 520 is also a great switch from a cheaper Android device and also a good upgrade to the older Lumia 510 incase you plan it.

Categories: design, display, hands on, india, news, nokia, phones, review, sales, smartphone, specs, windows

Qualcomm Announces New Snapdragon 400 Chip (PR)

Qualcomm’s announced the new Snapdragon 400, a low-power processor aimed at mid-range smartphones and tablets.

Quaclomm detailed the 8926 Snapdragon 400 processor, a new quad-core chip with integrated multimode 3G/4G LTE. That’s in addition to support for TD-SCDMA, 42Mbps HSPA+ and dual SIMs. Rounding out the 8926′s list of features is QuickCharge 1.0, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC, FM radio and compatibility with both Android and Windows Phone 8. The 8926 Snapdragon 400 processor is expected to be available starting in late 2013. You can expect it to launch late this year along with their new, and much more sleek, Reference Design tablet.

Additionally, the chip-maker also announced that it is working with Microsoft in order to bring Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processors to Windows RT 8.1 devices. The chips will support the new platform in addition to integrated multimode 3G/4G LTE modem. The CPU clocks at speeds of up to 2.2 GHz per core and also offer USB 3.0 and support for Windows RT 8.1 features and services. Later this year is when you should expect to see devices powered by the new chip and Microsoft Windows RT 8.1.

Categories: apple, blackberry, hands on, htc, india, ipad, iphone 5, iphone 5s, mini, news, nokia, phones, review, sales

iOS 7 Features Conceptualized

Apple’s upcoming iOS 7 unveil will be hugely important. With Scott Forstall no longer asserting his skeuomorphic ideals upon Apple’s ecosystem, Jony Ive has been put in charge of completely revamping the OSes look and feel. That’s a lot of pressure, and many onlookers will be expecting an entirely fresh—yet familiar—experience.

So far, we know iOS 7 will be flatter than previous iterations. That means less gradients and shading replaced by more functional, digital designs. Apple’s analog preference was charming—for awhile—but companies such as Google and Microsoft have proven that a flatter approach is much more flexible in the longterm. A total shift for iOS 7 isn’t in store, but more likely a cleaner, simpler, more minimal looking mobile OS than you’re used to staring at already—maybe something like these.

But aside from rumblings of deeper Vimeo and Flickr integration, what can we expect beyond a simple facelift? The flatter UI is an exciting prospect, but certainly not enough by itself to keep iOS on the same level as Android. Sure, Apple’s fanbase will still faithfully stick by iPhones and iPads even in the event of minor OS changes. But for many, the small nickel and dime additions aren’t satisfying enough.

Something bigger needs to happen.

There are many areas where Apple could improve iOS, and a lot of what we’ll cover have carried over from previous versions. Either Apple doesn’t think they’re valuable suggestions, or the company is completely ignoring customer complaints. Either way, we’re going to reiterate and rehash features we feel Apple should introduce in iOS 7. Simple stuff, stuff that wouldn’t alienate or confuse even the most illiterate tech user.

For a long time iOS was an impregnable force that competitors were trying to catch up with. But that armor is noticeably kinked, and vulnerabilities are revealing an OS that, for that most part, still looks and acts like it’s running on excitement left over from 2007. This year needs to be different.

Quick Settings

It would probably take an Apple engineer an hour to properly implement an easier way to access important phone settings. Put it in the pull down shade, or through a double or triple tap. Put it in a screen beyond Spotlight. Something.

The settings app itself is solid, and offers a nice centralized location for accessing and changing everything. But that ease and simplicity is often sacrificed for convenience. Instead of being able to very quickly turn on something like Airplane mode, or even adjust brightness, users are required go to the app, jump into a menu, and then make the adjustment. It’s not quick, nor is it very functional.

You could argue that settings aren’t toggled very often—maybe once or twice a week. But keeping important ones at the forefront, where you can toggle something at a moment’s notice, isn’t asking much. Frankly, the lack of a more elegant option makes iOS seem elementary almost to a fault. Navigating and getting around the OS is still dead simple, the top of its class. But even the most basic functions aren’t immediately available, which is an embarrassing stain in the Apple ecosystem.

In stock Jelly Bean, settings are available by clicking on a menu toggle in the pull down shade. It’s unobtrusive, and offers quick access you can change from anywhere on the phone—you don’t have to exit the app you’re in, jump into the settings app and then into more menus just to change something super simple. There are concepts and ideas out there for Apple to get inspiration from, and it needs to happen.

Improved iMessage

iMessage is great, but there’s plenty of room for improvement. We’d love improvements in group messaging, particularly by quickly adding a user to an existing chat or letting someone leave a group chat with ease.

Like FaceBook Chat Heads, we would love the ability to reply to a message from within any application. So maybe we could answer an iMessage while playing a game, or from within Safari, for example. It would prevent having to leave an application every single time we just want to provide a quick answer to a friend, and it could, again, make the entire operating system feel much more alive.

iMessage could also take a page out of the MessageMe playbook, which is an amazing third party chat application. You can easily send your location, sketches, previews of iTunes songs, audio clips and more. For now, iMessage allows you to send photos, but the platform has the power to enable so much more.

What about group FaceTime, too? iMessage should allow users to initiate a group FaceTime video chat, sort of like Hangouts, where those who want to participate in the group video call can quickly join in. It seems a bit strange that this isn’t already enabled, and we wouldn’t be surprised to see it added in the future.

Proprietary Google Now

Google has already introduced one of its biggest services to iOS, and it’s great. But it would be even better if Apple developed something of its own. Predictive intelligence is a huge market rife for the taking right now, and Apple already has an enormous userbase to reach with its own home-cooked service. Think of the marketing opportunities. Combine that with Siri and the personal assistant might actually become useful.

If Apple created something of its own, something deeply integrated with stuff like Calendar, Passbook, Weather, Mail and Maps, users on iOS could get info before they even actively ask for it. That’s exactly how it works on Android, and it’s an enormously convenient feature that makes a smartphone, well, smart. A Google Now-like feature won’t be a new concept in the mobile world, but that’s not the point. Google out Apple’d Apple with Google Now—the Cupertino company should swallow its pride and drum up its own solution.

We haven’t heard any reports that Apple is planning on introducing such a feature, and it’s unlikely the company will this generation, or even next. But it’s certainly something Tim Cook should consider. With Google Now only available for a minority of Android devices (but growing everyday), Apple could reach iPhone 5, iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 devices with its own service—not to mention the many iPod touch and iPads on the market. That’s a lot of data collecting.

One possible way Apple’s own predictive intelligence could work is if it takes over the real estate currently dedicated to Spotlight. Quick poll: how many of you actually use Spotlight? I do not, and never have. If you look at the mockup above, Spotlight would still be there, but the screen would be filled with information you could look at quickly, including weather, calendar appointments, Passbook information, traffic, etc. And you can see all that by simply swiping to the left from your home screen.

Better Notification Center

I rarely, if ever, rely on iOS’s Notification Center when using my iPhone. And it’s not because it doesn’t provide the information that I want. But a lot of times the amount of information coming in just becomes too overwhelming, and doing something like X’ing out of the notifications is a huge labor. Notification Center has become more about managing incoming notifications, really undermining the actual functionality.

Apple needs to introduce more granular control by letting users swipe away specific notifications—a perfect example of how Apple could handle this is how the Mailbox app handles email. Instead of getting rid of app notifications in bulk, it would be helpful to be able to swipe away certain ones by themselves. It would make for a cleaner experience, and give much more control back to the user.

If anything, it would be incredibly useful for users to be able to expand and minimize app notifications by clicking on that app’s header (where the small X button is). That would at least make the stream of email, texts, calls and everything else more manageable and easier to address. As it stands, Notification Center isn’t particularly elegant in its current iteration, but making even these minor changes would make it infinitely less frustrating.

One of the other things Apple should fix in Notification Center—and this one would rely on iCloud—is multiple device syncing. If I swipe away or respond to a notification on one device, it should be dismissed on all other devices. From a user perspective, notifications persisting even when it’s dealt with is enormously irritating—you’d think in this day and age Apple would have a solution by now.

Improved Camera App

Apple’s Camera app interface has always been simple, but it’s about time users were given more control. At the moment, the only flexibility the app offers is HDR, a Grid option for better framing and Panorama, which was only just added in iOS 6. Seriously, that’s it—about as bare bones as camera app experiences get. The camera has become one of the iPhone’s most widely used features, yet Apple continues to ignore additions that could make the experience—and results—even more coveted.

Take an app like Camera+ for example. Now I’m not suggesting Apple add built-in filters to its default camera app. But it would be nice if users were given the option to set the exposure and focus independently of each other. In Camera+, it’s super easy to lock the exposure and focus by tapping on the little plus button on the focus square. How hard would it be for Apple to implement something similar?

Beyond that, Camera+ has features like a handy Horizon Level, Live Exposure menu, Stabilizer, Timer and Burst Mode. Those simple additions can add a lot of value to the experience, especially if Apple plans on making the camera such a talked about feature on each successive iPhone. There are countless apps outside of the default Camera app, sure, but Apple’s tight control over iOS means the default is the only one you can launch from the lock screen.

I suppose the amount of third-party options lessens the need for Apple to introduce new features of its own, but that’s not the best excuse in the world for a company as big as Apple. When companies such as Nokia, Samsung and HTC are making the camera software a priority as much as the hardware, it becomes hard to forgive Apple for relying so much on outside developers.

Better Lock Screen

Save from being able to quickly launch the camera or change the background, Apple’s iOS lock screen is incredibly bland, and hasn’t changed much at all over the years. Apple should open it up, make it more flexible—right now, all that space is just being wasted. With a few simple additions, the entire experience can be completely changed for the better, giving users more information and control over what they want to see and launch without having to unlock their phone and then jump into a specific app.

Before we get too far into improving the lock screen, there are obvious privacy concerns when putting more information on a locked device—it’s difficult to get around that. Let’s suspend that for the sake of suggestions. It’s unlikely Apple will ever introduce anything that would compromise a user’s security, so I wouldn’t expect much to change when iOS 7 is unveiled next week. But even adding a simple weather widget would be nice, or getting at-a-glance calendar information.

Beyond making information more immediately available, users should be able to respond to an email or message right from the lock screen without having to completely jump into that app. In Notification Center, Apple gives users the ability to Tweet and post to Facebook without completely jumping into those apps. Why not give that same treatment to messages and email right from the lock screen? Apple could implement a Facebook Home like UI that could overlay and let people see the entire convo while also being able to respond.

If people are concerned with privacy, Apple could simply give users the option to opt out of the additional lock screen features. More than anything, the lock screen needs to feel more alive, like an actual space that is useful rather than just there—a frustrating wall that stands between a users and their device. And, please, if Apple does add quick settings as mentioned above, make them available from the lock screen, weather it be in a screen you swipe in from the side, or an icon you press to bring them up.

Better Multitasking

Apple already allows for easy switching between applications, but right now iOS 6 only shows you an icon representing the application that’s running. There’s a lot of room for improvement in this space.

First, I think Apple should enable live previews of the application that’s running, almost similar to what webOS once offered and what’s available in the Auxo jailbreak tweak. You might be able to see the current track that’s playing in your music player, or the website that’s open in Safari, for example.

We imagine being able to use the current system, but with a tile format. So, basically, we’d like to see a small thumbnail of the open applications, sort of like cards in Safari. Perhaps an easy swipe upward, again similar to webOS, could close out a given application.

iOS doesn’t feel particularly “alive” and we think that live previews in multitasking could help bring a fresh breath of life into the operating system, if even in a rather minimal way.

Open API for Applications

This is a smaller wish, but it’s an important one nonetheless. We’d like to see Apple make it easy to switch the default calendar, email and browser applications. Sure, it means leaving Apple’s ecosystem, but users will love iOS even more if they have more granular control of the operating system.

Google Maps, for example, is far superior to Apple Maps, but if you click a link in a web browser it still opens Apple Maps. We should be able to use Google Maps by default. Same goes for other applications: what if we click a phone number inside of a website? Why can’t we default the phone to use Google Voice or Skype to place the call instead?

The notification shade also needs an open API, as we’ve sort of already discussed, so that other app developers can add widgets. Right now we can only see the weather and a stock ticker, why can’t we see the latest Facebook updates, FourSquare check-ins or sports scores?

Wrap Up

When Apple exists the stage next Monday, and we have time to reflect on the changes to iOS, I really hope the company addresses some of these issues. I’m not asking much, and these ideas really add a lot of value to the platform, especially when a lot of fans are growing tired of the look and feel of the aging OS. Apple will no doubt say iOS 7 is improving in 200 or so different ways, but those improvements need to be tangible—things that will remind people why they loved iOS in the first place.

Really, we’re not asking a lot of Apple’s engineers—all of these ideas have been floating around for awhile, whether in the Cydia community or over on competing platforms. So the company has certainly had a lot of time to consider and figure out ways to make iOS better. Last year didn’t exactly blow people’s hair back, and this year is particularly important since Jony Ive is now in control. We don’t expect an enormous tectonic shift, but we want assurance the platform is headed in the right direction.

Regardless of what’s announced next week, Apple will continue to attract new and returning consumers because of hardware alone. But how long can it sustain that momentum? iOS is still a wonderful platform that offers some of the best—and often exclusive—apps in mobile. But there are obvious areas for improvement, big and small, and these are just some minor adjustments we’d like to see next week.

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