Five do’s and don’ts for Apple’s next iPhone

It’s only February, but the iPhone rumours are already flying.

The latest, according to several analysts and supposed leaks, is that Apple will release three models this fall.

The alleged iPhone 7S and 7S Plus might feature incremental improvements over the current iPhone 7, as well as the same basic design, while the iPhone 8 – perhaps to be named iPhone X to mark the device’s 10th anniversary – would be quite different. It could feature wireless charging, an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display and a curved screen.

Oh, and all of those extra goodies would push the flagship device’s base price up over US$1,000.

As with all Apple rumours, it’s a good idea to take these titbits with a grain of salt. Until the chief executive Tim Cook officially introduces the device – or devices – it’s just speculation.

That said, there are a few things that Apple really should do with the next iPhone, whatever it’s called, and a couple it should avoid.

Do: Fast charging.

Wireless or not, Apple really needs to put rapid charging into all of its iPhones. Several Android devices, including Samsung’s Galaxy line and the Google Pixel phones, already beat the iPhone hands down in this department.

Testers have found it takes the iPhone 7 Plus more than three hours to get a full charge, or more than double the time of some of its closest competitors. Wireless power is nice to have, but faster overall charging is no longer a luxury.

Don’t: Curved screen.

Speaking of competitors, there’s talk that Apple is considering following Samsung’s lead with a screen that curves on both sides. Let’s hope it doesn’t happen.

Curved screens take away valuable display real estate for no good reason other than a bit of aesthetic pizzazz. Samsung has developed a whole slew of specialised apps for its “Edge” phones, most of which no one uses.

Don’t: Repositioned fingerprint sensor.

There’s also speculation that Apple will move the home button fingerprint sensor from the bottom of the iPhone to the back of the device, again for aesthetic reasons.

It’s no secret that the design chief Jony Ive is obsessed with making Apple devices look slick, but a back-situated fingerprint sensor – like some LG phones and the Google Pixel have – is a pain to use.

Sure, it makes the phone easy to unlock if you’re holding it in your hand, but you also have no choice but to pick if up if it’s lying face up on a table. It’s worse in a car mount, where you’re forced to fumble around with the unlock when you really should be concentrating on the road.

Apple is probably smart enough to leave the home button alone. Then again, this is the same company that inexplicably put a charging port on the underside of its wireless mouse.

Don’t: Multiple devices.

One of the biggest reasons for the iPhone’s success is that it has given app developers a single, mostly unified platform to design for. They’ve been able to make one version of their respective apps and generally have them work across the zillions of iOS devices out there.

Android developers, on the other hand, have had nothing but headaches in dealing with the numerous versions of the operating system all working on hardware with a vast array of different specifications.

Apple has already introduced some of these headaches with capabilities that aren’t available across all devices, such as 3D Touch, so it really should stay away from creating further branches for developers to worry about.

Do: eSIM.

Once upon a time under Steve Jobs, Apple wasn’t afraid to challenge the status quo in the name of pushing progress.

Mr Jobs disrupted the music business with his insistence on selling single songs rather than whole albums through iTunes. With the first iPhone, he also forced wireless carriers to dramatically lower their data rates. It’s easy to forget that gigabytes used to cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars a month before Apple kicked that door open.

Mr Cook could usher in similar change by putting embedded subscriber identity modules (eSIMs) into the next iPhone, which would let users switch service providers with the tap of a button.

By permanently unlocking phones and removing the need for users to acquire new physical SIM cards if they want to switch, Apple would force carriers to compete more, which could lead to lower monthly subscription prices.

An iPhone that saves you money? That sounds way more appealing than a curved screen.

The tech week’s winner and loser:

Winner of the Week: Prince fans. The dearly departed Purple Highness' catalogue is finally available on streaming services, including Apple Music and Spotify. This is what it sounds like when doves cheer.

Loser of the Week: Alphabet. Google's parent has lost a number of key people in its self-driving vehicle division because it paid them too much, according to a Bloomberg report. The high pay meant the individuals in question were free to quit and pursue other opportunities.

Peter Nowak is a veteran technology writer and author of Humans 3.0: The Upgrading of the Species

business@thenational.ae

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