iPhone Hardware Wish List
posted in Apple, Technology |Now that the iPhone 3.0 software is introduced, its time to start dreaming about what the next hardware might bring. My assumption at this point is that Apple is going to refresh the hardware every summer, and that if they do a good enough job that I (and tons of other suckers) are just going to buy the new one every year like clockwork.
So given that I’m overall pretty happy with my iPhone, certainly more happy than I have been with any phone 9 months into ownership, what are the top things I would improve?
- 64GB storage. 32GB seems like an easy bet given that there is an iPod Touch with it, but with USB drives out in the market with 64GB, is a 64GB option too much to ask? The fear is it would push the price point out to $399 (64GB USB drives are still a bit more than $100 right now). My 16GB has done pretty well so far, but I’m starting to push on its limits.
- Better wireless circuitry. Of course its hard to tell how much is AT&T, how much is the phone hardware, and how much is software issues, but it certainly feels like I occasionally have a harder time connecting, especially for data connections than makes sense.
- Better GPS. It seems like the micro GPS chips have been improving rapidly and having a GPS chip that syncs faster would be very nice.
- Better camera. I find myself taking a surprising number of photos using my phone now since I always forget my camera. Its actually not that bad for a “paste a quick snap on Facebook” scenario, but 4-5MP and less grainy would be really nice.
- Standard USB port for charging. This one I assume I’m not going to get unless the pressure from the EU forces them into it, but being able to use a standard micro-USB port to charge the thing would be great.
Given that you pay almost $1000/year for service, Apple really does have a good business model on their hands if they can come out with an incrementally better device every summer for $299. Just with normal wear it can make sense to get a new one every year or two and Apple needs to keep pushing just enough improvements to get people into the new model. The 3g refresh last summer appears to have done the trick for most people, and frankly if they can do 3 out of the 5 things above, it will be a pretty easy decision for me.