pseudoswede

I've asked this in another thread, but what is that "something"?

HDQDD

Most phones can be converted to wireless charging. The reason it hasn't "caught on" is because wireless charging is terribly inefficient (i.e. it uses significantly more current and takes longer)

AnalogMan

I don't own an iPhone yet (have had other iOS devices for several years) but am interested. They seem to have a little more international flexibility by supporting more frequencies. Unfortunately, the prices seem a bit unfair, especially for the larger memory capacities.

I think wireless charging is a must-have. It is so convenient I added it to my 1st Gen Nexus 7 tablets Maybe it's my toddler and his affinity for the iPad Mini, but lightning cables don't last long in my household. He grabs it and pull the cord however to get it to unplug. No such issues with wireless charging.

I am quite interested in the speculation of sapphire glass and the resultant impact resistance. After all, most smartphones die with a broken screen than taking a bath (from my non-scientific observation of eBay phone listings).

Not an iPhone only thing, but I wish Apple would substantially improve iTunes. It is a horrible piece of software. It locks up on me constantly while syncing and doesn't seem to be multi-threaded. Playing a SD movie in iTunes while syncing causes my Core i7 PC with 12GB of memory and SSD to stutter and drop frames which is ridiculous.

I am not sure about the rumored 5.5" screen size. That seems too big. I can barely use my Nexus 4 with the 4.7" screen one hand, and I have reasonably long fingers. So the other rumored screen size of 4.7" should be just fine.

I am not much of a gamer, so am sure whatever CPU/GPU/DRAM combination Apple offers will suit me just fine.

I am also really interested in an iPod Touch 6th Gen based on the iPhone 6; I hope there will be one anyway

ScottC

Sorry, but current generation devices with wireless charging built in (like on my LG G3) are extremely efficient. I can charge my phone in about the same time as when plugged in.

I don't want to convert my phone, as it means bulky plugs and weird cases. In my phone, I want it fully integrated. Until scientists invent batteries that can last as long as I can in a day, I need simple topups.

ScottC

If I knew that:

1) I wouldn't tell you here
2) I'd be posting this from my 200ft yacht off the coast of France.

They have some of the best brains in the world - let them come up with something. When the retina display came out, people went WOW! When they showed the iPhone 4, people went WOW. But that was years ago.

AnalogMan

Conversion without changing the size of the device is not so easy (I also don't understand why people buy a minimalist phone like the iPhone and then double its volume with something like an Otter Box).

Wireless charging is inefficient, it is a relative small amount. We are talking about maximum of 10 watts for a few hours (Qi standard turns charging off once at 100% and then periodically top off) at the most. That is less power than most light bulbs (even CFL or LEDs, which are ~13 watts for a 60-watt equivalent). Leaving a light on uses more energy than charging the phone. Keeping a Li-Ion battery topped off also prolongs longevity.

I am a big fan of wireless charging. I suspect Apple hasn't included it yet due to the device thickness penalty and it constrains them on choice of phone case material.

CPRich

No, it's still ridiculously huge. One of my coworkers forgot his BT device and had to use it holding it to his ear. I should take a pic and post it in the "Photos to make you smile" thread.

It will be interesting to see if anyone has any "Wow" releases any more - sapphire, image stabilization, faster processor, 0.1" thinner, etc. are incremental improvements. As with DSLR's, things have matured and there's not much obvious to do that would be considered groundbreaking. Let's see if they surprise me.

I've told my kids they can finally graduate from their dumb, er... "feature", phones, and we can finally run away from Sprint. So I'll be on a TMo 7-day trial soon to make sure I have coverage where I need it, and 3 iP6's will probably be on order from us by COB 9/9.

nkedel

Odd; in general I noticed consistent improvements to my Note II when it got updates (especially the big 4.1 -> 4.3 update which increased my battery life from "just barely gets through the workday + evening" to having 40%+ of my battery let at the end of the day.

Granted, that's T-Mobile not AT&T, and who knows what apps we each have.

--

As for the iPhone 6, I'm very curious how Apple is going to choose to market it given the rumors of a larger phone -- is there going to be a current-size or smaller model as well, and if so, which one is going to be the 6 and what will the other one be called?

Have you ever seen any of the pictures of people using 7" or larger tablets as phones? THAT looks silly to me, but frankly, if I could get a decent phone built into my 8" (likely to be replaced with 8.4" soon) tablet, I would totally ditch my phone and deal with looking silly or even mandatory headset/speaker use. I use my phone for text/email, as a PDA/organizer, and as a small web terminal WAY more than I use it for voice calls.

Having used a 1st-generation Nextel phone, and an almost-as-chunky Motorola analog flip phone (WAY before Razr; see picture below) for work back in the 1990s, and remembering what a traditional phone handset was like, a relatively thin 5.5"-6" phablet doesn't feel ungainly at all.

YKF

I have a BlackBerry 10 device and I look forward to purchasing another in the future. iOS 8 looks interesting.

Need

The next big thing would be a google glass type of device that could last 24 hours+ in one charge; it records 4K video; it projects multiple large screens in front of you and only you can see; it tracks your eyes and use that to move the pointer; it will accept voice input and hand gestures (swipe/sign language).

Introduce Apple iEyes

Need

Yup.. 4.1 to 4.3 was mostly good. I know it fixed my Auto Rotation problem. During the summer AT&T pushed out 4.4.2 to my Note II and it is not good. My phone now randomly freezes for like 30+ sec. I am reading a lot of people got the same problem on AT&T forum so it is not just me.

I really don't see any benefit from Kit Kat.

nkedel

That post-dates my Note II being stolen. I don't see any benefit to Kit Kat over 4.1 or later on either of the Samsung phones I've owned; the specific 4.3 push on the Note 2 was beneficial, but the overall UI changes are dwarfed by the Touchwiz changes such that I can't really tell what's different.

Now, on tablets multi-user mode is has been a huge plus to KitKat -- means I can hand my tablet to my daughter or wife and actually share it without my daughter effing something up or my wife getting snoopy.

boberonicus

Saw this dude having a long conversation on his big Lenovo Smartphone at SFO. Sure hope the iPhone 6 is smaller...

HDQDD

You may call it efficient, but it's still less efficient than charging with the contacts.

HDQDD

My iPhone 5 uses exactly 5.8-6.0W (measured at the wall outlet) during the main charging phase (until about 80%, then it drops down for battery conditioning). If it takes another 10W to accomplish the same, that's 267% more power. I think most people would consider that significant. And my LED bulbs only pull 7W.

Also, my iPhone can go from 1% to 100% in about 80 minutes. With wireless, that will almost always be longer due to loss.