Don’t mess with a good thing. And the iPhone is definitely a good thing. Most iPhone users will tell you they can’t imagine living without it, but how much better can it be? How could Apple pack another 100 features into the already amazing software included in iPhone SDK 2.2.1? Well, this is what Apple developers tell us to prepare for. . .and leaves us begging the question, “How advanced is ‘advanced’ when it comes to new iPhone software?
As always, Apple has revealed enough about the new software to leave us impressed but wondering just how good it will be. Sometimes Apple “raises the curtain” to reveal something truly innovative and spectacular, and other times all the hype results in something so-so. Where does OS 3.0 fall on this spectrum?
Hailed as the “world’s most advanced mobile platform,” the anticipation for OS 3.0 is certainly raising expectations. Among the top 100 touted new features are the ability to send files via MMS, including contacts, photos, and audio files; the ability to search your iPhone; cut, copy and pass functions; and (drum roll…) you’ll be able to use the landscape feature to read and compose emails and text messages.
Wait a minute. These are all great things, and something that will bring the iPhone one step closer to being a replacement for our laptops, but is it really a spectacular reveal? Either Apple is saving the best for the actual release of OS 3.0, or this is really it. In a sense, it seems like these are things that should have been included in earlier versions already. This is the picture in my head: one bespectacled geek turns to another and says, “Hey, wasn’t Larry supposed to do copy-paste programming? Oh shit, I guess we’ll have to do it next time.” . And, to the average user who takes iPhone technology for granted, these new features seem like a bit of an afterthought.
Perhaps the people who will be the happiest are the developers. The new software will include 1,000 new APIs just for them, allowing them to create applications that will amaze the world. After all, they’re the ones who create the apps that make the iPhone what it is. Apple claims that the new SDK will allow developers to enable in-app purchases for new content, games, subscriptions, etc. and to create applications that allow peer-to-peer connections via Bluetooth. The push notification service will also provide alerts.
Aha, now we’re getting to that. Apple has focused on new features that will make apps even better, and after all, isn’t that what we’re all most interested in? Better apps = better iPhone as far as most of us are concerned. So what does the new iPhone software mean? Personally, I don’t think we’ll be disappointed, but there’s just one really important question to ask: It’s not how much better the new iPhone will be, but how great the new apps will be once developers get their hands on them. operating system 3.0?
