The iPhone 5 is incredibly boring, but...
Tuesday, October 9, 2012 at 2:59AM It has been 2 weeks since I received my iPhone 5 and I am bored. It just works and does what I need and without any major failings in performance. I guess I could count the fact it cannot connect to any WPA2 Wi-Fi connection as a major failing, but at least that offers me some excitement when trying to figure out how to fix it. The phone was exchanged 2 days ago and I still cannot connect to my WPA2 network despite the fact that my iPad can and my son’s iPhone 3GS (also on iOS 6) has no problems. It has been suggested that it is a problem with my network, but this is a network that has had no problems at all with any iOS device or any product of any other brand previously so I am putting this one on the iPhone 5, as are many others with the same complaint.
Anyway, yes I am bored for a number of reasons. The phone doesn’t do anything more than the iPhone 4S and so I am not seeing a huge benefit. The new App Store design is so poor that I can’t work out what is new and what isn’t, and the number of taps required to find anything is a huge retrograde step. The speed is unnoticeable because it never, ever slows down and everything works perfectly.
It’s daft I know and this is the smartphone I always wanted; copious amounts of memory, amazing speed, a great screen in all conditions, good battery life (about 25% better than the 4S with my usage), excellent camera and every possible task covered with ease via a number of third party apps and the built in software.
I can’t fiddle around with the home screen, add widgets or change icons. I can only tap icons, pull down the notification center and do everything I want in under a second. There is so little interaction to get things done that the phone is almost anonymous at times. I never think about it, even when I am using it, and so the childish boredom kicks in as I wonder where my smartphone has gone, the smartphone that is in my hand.
The iPhone 5 is incredible. So good that most of the experience has gone and you just don’t notice it. Everything seems easier, quicker and is accomplished in the blink of an eye. It is by far the best smartphone I have ever used and it isn’t going anywhere. It is what I always wanted, but it’s also maybe gone a step too far and I can see some people I know losing interest very quickly. I may wobble from time to time, but seriously- it is an amazing smartphone.
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Reader Comments (41)
I think what you've described there is an appliance. Does its job and only requires any thought when it doesn't work.
And if that's what you want, which it seems to be, then more power to you.
I still get excited by a new gadget, new OS version, often even a new app version. I'm rather looking forward to playing with my gf's Note II when it arrives. I like that feeling, and I want to keep it.
"appliance" - Brilliant! What a great way to describe the iPhone.
Just like a toaster, you can't customise those either...
David, you obviously haven't seen my toaster.
"I think what you've described there is an appliance."
No at all. I have described a smartphone.
"Does its job and only requires any thought when it doesn't work."
For most people, this is what they want from any product- computer, tablet, phone, washing machine and everything else.
Appliance sounds right to me too and, currently, that makes a lot of sense to me, as it lets me get done what I need to get done without much, if any, fiddling.
That being said, the new App Store design is atrocious, and Maps is very poor. I also don't see why the 4 can't support FaceTime over cellular, like the 4S/5, and I'm thinking - rather cynically - that it is just a ploy to get me to upgrade...
I can honestly say I'm not wobbling. That's despite my awe at the new Samsung Note 2, despite reading about the 101 new things on the horizon. I had the Note and S3. They were great. But going back to an iPhone has been wonderful. I just works. It just integrates so beautifully into all my apple gear. My wife and I communicate so well with our iPhones.
And then there is the actual iPhone 5. It's incredible. There is nothing wrong for me with it. Sound quality. EarPods I adore their sound signature. Camera is quick and simple. No farting around with so many settings. With the iPhone it's snap. Photo done. I also prefer the way Apple do the AF/AE and you can lock this too.
And. I'm sorry to admit this but I really thought android and apple apps were pretty much the same. Having gone back to the iPhone they are pretty much the same but actually they are not. Apps on my iPhone look better, work smoother and the variety is better. Whilst I can't customise as much I have bought more apps in the AppStore. Even though I have over 1000. The quality and range is fantastic. And apps get released first on iOS.
And then there are cases. iPhones get catered for in the most incredible way. However I am using a black Trident Aegis. This is like a Otterbox Commuter but looks better finished, is slimmer, and looks mean and agressive. I wouldn't normally use a case like this, but as the iPhone 5 is so slim, the combined look isn't that big.
The iPhone and Apple experience allows me to enjoy life, enjoy using the apps without thinking about anything. My brain seems to know what's happening with the iPhone more. I also feel secure in that my iPhone is backed up by iTunes and can be restored just like that! And then there is iTunes to keep all my apps, photos, podcasts, music, videos, books, docs etc all synced however I want. I like that a lot.
Change my phone. Not for at least another few years or so.
Peter and David. You haven't seen my hoover ;)
The PC running MS operating systems never achieved the status of appliance and I think it is great that we getting there with Smartphones. I think ease of use and persistent content will be very important as we store more of our content in the Cloud.
I'm very happy with my iPhone 5. Quite an improvement over my old iPhone 4, which was already quite a good smartphone. But I know that app developers will make apps that push it's power and so the next iPhone will run them faster.
Is it an appliance to me? Not yet but getting there.
I can understand the ecosystem point, but this one surprised me a bit — you and your wife communicate between when you have iOS devices than with Android?
Yep, me too. I guess that's why I keep jumping the fence and trying android over and over again even though I never leave android particularly impressed. I must say the line is blurring more nowadays. Will be interesting to see if samsung release an S3 mini, might be tempted to play again
http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/mobiles/samsung-set-to-unveil-a-galaxy-s-iii-mini-with-4inch-screen-20121004-270t6.html
However I agree, I am *pleasantly* bored, as Shaun says I find the iphone 5 such a breeze to use it's boring...
If one gets bored with iOS/iPhone5, maybe he/she should try the Android side. Here are the main reasons in my opinion :)
- In Android there are real problems to solve and everyday. Not mere simple issues like not being able to connect to WPA2 wifi or getting wrong directions on the map.
- Android crashes constantly while iOS never.
- Android has no ecosystem, so it makes a real pain to use and that keeps you sharp looking at solutions every hour.
- Android has widgets and you can customize about everything which takes loads of time from your life and gives you hardwork
- Android has panels and the apps drawer with icons, which is a huge confusion for users and only gives you headaches.
- Apps in Android are crap and so is the Google Play.
- Android devices fall and brake as much as the iPhones.
And so on... eh eh. Lots of excitement on the Android side :)
Seriously, Android is now solid and with a huge potential to grow. I keep saying iOS will put people away just through its boredom and by being so perfect. Humans need challenge and need goals in life, we need obstacles to overcome them and feel realized. Sitting on a sofa is OK for a few months, but then we need to get up and stretch our legs, do something. Like Shaun says, it's almost a blessing when the iOS has an issue. iOS has reached the limit and is perfect. People can live with that but not for long IMO.
I really wonder what people using the iPhone5 now will say in 2 years time when the competition releases new devices, with new systems.
OK, just to completely disagree with Rui's worldview...
The 'appliance' thing is a canny comment.
That's why I recommend iOS to my non-techy family. Whilst back in Scotland a week ago, I watched my mother, now in her 60s, Facetime her grandchildren, note down restaurants to go to, use the *iOS5* maps to check them out, rent a film, listen to music, crop and print photos, take videos, shop at Marks and Spencer, browse the web and play Million Pound Drop live as she watched it on TV.
All on her beloved iPad, which never leaves her side.
Before the iPad, she had a laptop and used it for web browsing and nothing else. Ask her to move a file between folders or install Firefox and you might as well have asked her to fly to the moon - it would be just as impossible.
That lack of freedom that people perceive in iOS is as much a strength as it is a weakness - it brings with it a focus on simplicity that enables someone like my mother, who is not IT literate, to do so much more that she could previously have achieved.
She does so much with it, spends so much time using it, that it's almost dizzying. But, oddly enough, she's never asked me if she can change the stock icons to look like Simpsons characters...
Has anyone noticed that at no point did I mention any other phone or other platform in the iPhone article above, yet Android pops up a lot in the comments.
"Humans need challenge and need goals in life, we need obstacles to overcome them and feel realized. Sitting on a sofa is OK for a few months, but then we need to get up and stretch our legs, do something."
So to clarify, I need to be fiddling about with widgets and dealing with all sorts of minor niggles that cause problems on my phone. While ironically sitting on my sofa?
I know where people are coming from on this (I think), but put this in another context.
Say you've just bought a new car. Would you be bored after two weeks because it just works and hasbn't gone wrong? Are you hoping for your car to go wrong so you can lift the bonnet and tinker with the engine?
I guess that's where the appliance bit comes in - repalce "care" with any other appliance.....
I can't understand it myself. I've had my iPhone 4 for over 2 years and I'm still not bored with it. I lust after other gadgets and smartphones (inc the iPhone 5 and SIII) but that lust doesn't mean I'm bored with what I've got.
I accept that the iPhone is a wonderful device for those who are non-techy but I think that it comes at the expense of over simplification in certain places. I've said this before but the notification system sucks and still hasn't improved with iOS 6. By contrast, Google have put a massive amount of thought and work into Jelly Bean notifications. For me it's a no-brainer: although the iPhone is a great device it just cannot do what I want, even when jailbroken. The frustration is that there are no technical barriers but rather it is because of seemingly arbitrary restrictions imposed by Apple. If they opened up the system to developers a bit more then new features could be added without making it more complicated for those who are happy with iOS as it is. I just don't understand the Apple mentality at all.
"I accept that the iPhone is a wonderful device for those who are non-techy..."
People say that a lot on LIM, but I am a geek and so are many people I know who own iPhones. There is a perception that the iPhone is for people who are not technical at all or who don't understand what a 'proper' smartphone is. That perception is wrong. It's as wrong as those who say that Android is for teenagers who just love to play around with their phones and do nothing of any value with them.
I agree about some of the Apple barriers, which are often ridiculous, but some of us choose to live with that. We will still moan about it, I do often, but at this time it's a price worth paying.
I'm not saying it isn't a good device for techies as well. What I meant was was that it is particularly suited to non-techie people in a way that Android isn't. My bro-in-law is a hardcore techie who programs in C and is always trying to convince me that the iPhone is the best.
I think that for those techies who want more control over their devices, iOS can be really frustrating.
"So to clarify, I need to be fiddling about with widgets and dealing with all sorts of minor niggles that cause problems on my phone. While ironically sitting on my sofa?"
Shaun... yes ;-) If you want to have the best in the world, yes ;-)
I consider myself a geek and I like playing with tech toys. But there comes a point where a device is too useful or essential to be a tech toy. The example of a car is a good one. There are car fanatics who fiddle all the time. But, hopefully, they're not surprised if something isn't right. I don't fiddle with my car, I just enjoy it. Likewise my smartphone. I rely on it too much to want to fiddle a lot.Having fiddled with Windows for many years, I know what fiddling can do.
"I know what fiddling can do" - Bob, I can say that 90% of all my knowledge about IT comes from fiddling. I see fiddling as a means to enhance my knowledge and innovate. I don't feel bored, I love to learn. That's why for me it's a no brainer to go for Android - the openness is really great.
An hour ago I just finished an app (android) for a client and sent the file by email. I just needs to tap it and it installs instantly and is up and running - how flexible is that?
Hugely! Although restricting the ability to receive via email and then run executable code is perhaps a sensible safety feature for some, too.
@Neil with my wife and I both on iTunes life is a lot easier. Emoji icons. iMessage with attachments, photostream. Sharing apps. iTunes home sharing. And so on.
Anyone who thinks iOS is child's play is right. But it also is complex. Just start delving deeper and more is possible. My sister who is in her late 30s has a windows xp laptop. She never knew that right clicking on start menu icon brought up the file explorer. In fact she had never seen the file explorer or even knew it existed. And my point is there are millions like her.
Rui makes a point about the app stores. Google Play is vastly improved even in the 9 months I moved across to android. I found no issue with it. I do believe the Apple AppStore is ahead still especially with games, less so with apps.
Nobody can match the apple Eco system yet. Nobody has come close to iTunes. iTunes is a godsend. Total backup of all devices. My 30,000 songs beautifully organised. Playlists as I want. My apps all organised between type and or devices. Photos too, books too etc etc
The S3 which I owned last is the worlds best spec phone. But it always felt incomplete. The 5 gives me comfort. And that's a strong thing.
The great news is we as consumers are fantastic choice. iPhone, Galaxy S series, Note series and Windows Lumix.
My mum who is nearly 70 wanted a new phone. My dad uses an HTC ChaCha which he loves. They couldn't afford an iPhone, or more like my dad thought my mum would break it too quickly, although the iPhone would be the best option, however, she got a Samsung Galaxy Ace. Cost £100. Total bargain. She has to a stylus to tap the keyboard as she can't do it with her fingers due to arthritis. She took a week before she realised how to answer a call but she has got there in the end. My sister also got a new android phone for about £130. This is where choice matters.
My sister was over the moon with her phone. She now has ICS. Previously she had android v1.5.
Choice is important. Different phones for different people. Neither is wrong or right. Well the iPhone 5 is the best :) for me :)
Last point. If you are disabled the iPhone is the phone to have. Watching my blind friend use his iPhone is incredible. Apple have really stolen this part of the market.
"Hugely! Although restricting the ability to receive via email and then run executable code is perhaps a sensible safety feature for some, too." - yes, it's true.
But that's the beauty of being more open: it's up to you to use it rightly or wrongly (again, if you don't specifically change the option in Android to do so, it won't let you install external apps - but there is an option!, this is what I love about Android - it always gives you an option, unlike iOS) - we can all talk about homescreens, panels, widgets, etc, etc, but what I really mean about Android is that it gives people the option to use or not - iOS simply won't let you do anything it doesn't want - to me that's priceless!
It's a bloated behemoth that needs stripping down and rebuilding as separate programs :)
Ah — that's quite important!
Just for the record in reference the new car analogy by Statto.
For my car, now 3 year old, I have added a new air box, upgraded the inter cooler, has been chipped, has a new exhaust down pipe, etc :-) And it'll have some more stuff next year. Yes I like to play with all my gadgets to see what more you can get from them...
I wasn't so much thinking about adding things to a car but more along the lines of being bored with the car I'd bought because it hadn't broken or failed yet - as per Shaun's original comment that "It just works and does what I need and without any major failings in performance" (where to my mind he sounded almost disappointed that there were no major failings - I'm sure that's not actually what he meant though).
But as I said, I can see where he (and others) are coming from. You're either a tinkerer or you're not. But if you are - and a lot of you are, then clearly there's only so much tinkering you can do with an iPhone that's not jailbroken - you know what you're getting. To keep with the car analogy, you wouldn't buy a Ferrari and put a boot rack on it then hang a set of furry dice from the mirror....would you.....?
A few months ago I bought a hand blender. Stay with me...
If it had been an ordinary hand blender it would have been good for making soup. Excellent in fact, and I wouldn't have given the hand blender any further thought.
But this wasn't an ordinary hand blender. It was a Bamix, the most powerful hand blender in the world (possibly). And it comes with a variety of blades and attachments that do a variety of cool things.
So the first thing I made wasn't soup, it was snow. I just put in a few ice cubes and got instant snow.
Useful? Not particularly. Fun? Definitely!
And as it happens blitzing ice cubes is something I do daily making myself a mochaccino. Not what I bought it for but very nice nonetheless. I saw them doing it in Costa with full-sized belnders and figured my bamix could do that, and it could.
And it has a frother blade which, amongst other things, can turn skimmed milk into a thick foam. Add a little cocoa and you've got a very low calorie dessert...that's so full of air it makes you burp and fart all day (might save that one for April 1st).
And there's a lot more this hand blender can do that I haven't even explored yet.
If I was only ever interested in making soup then the ordinary blender would have been perfect for me. I wouldn't have had to worry about changing blades or using different attachments, and cleaning would be a little easier. However I'd have missed out on all those delicious mochaccinos and never even realised.
Hmmm, I fancy a decaf mochaccino now; back in a mo... ;o)
Interesting reading there, Bug... ;-) Well... next time I use mine, I'll remember you that's for sure. But soup is a main course here in Portugal. Part of the everyday meal.
@Neil
Yes, in fact without rooting a device (option here too) and without specifically allowing the install from other places except the Google Play, the Android is pretty safe. And sometimes I read people getting scared when they download an app and it gives you a list that it will access all your device before downloading.
2 things on this:
- Actually is good that Google is so transparent to people. Apple is not and you download and install without knowing anything the app will do and in fact the app does reach your contents. It's just that, you don't know, you think it's safe. I think it's why Apple filters the apps so much before releasing them. I remember last year when the iPhones were secretly collecting people's habits of wifi networks and it was storage on a secret file that was later sent to Apple. Purpose: collect info to build the now famous Map application. Some guy discovered that and Apple was forced to make an update on the iOS to solve that. Did it solve that? Maybe, looking at the Map app...
- Secondly I have build a couple of apps for Android (just a few text infos and web addresses, nothing much) and I was surprised to see the list stating that it would need access to many things in the device. I guess there is the option to use those features but in fact my apps will never do that, to my knowledge.
So, there is safety in the Android environment. But just like on ebay with the Chinese sellers, just don't install those strange Asian apps and you will be safe ;-)
I like this very much - it's one of the things I particularly like about Android / Google Play.
I have a slightly different recollection - my feeling is that Apple said it was not transmitted to them, and wasn't used to build maps - it wasn't Wi-Fi either; that was Google ;)
Personally, I loved it - I was annoyed when it was switched off, as I liked being able to see where I had been over time!
@All - not sure what android devices you guys are using and what you are doing, but mine must be like an iPhone. I have set it up the way I like to have my homescreens and then my phone just runs. It doesn't crash, I don't need to make adjustments etc - it just works (except for copy and paste - Samsung issue with the rom - fix supposed to be coming in 4.1 - annoying yes but not massively so, and even the iOS has issues eheemm Maps).
Maybe it is because I don't rely on the manufacturer skins, but rather a stable alternative launcher, and maybe its because I haven't bother rooting and tend to stick to stable apps that other people have tested.
However even though my phone just works for me, doesn't mean I am bored with it, why would I be considering it does so much for me and the options to experiment are virtually unlimited. So how am I keeping things interesting:
1) checking out new and alternative maps - thanks to Mapsaurus.
2) NFC tagging - and no I am not interested in paying for stuff, and I am more interested in what NFC and tags can do to make my system work for me, rather than the other way around. And I am finding it really interesting being able to set up tags with custom features and settings, and then using that to change and set up my phone for different profiles just by tapping the tag. i.e. put one in my car that switches my wifi off, changes brightness to autobright, switchs on drive mode (so will read out texts etc), turns on S voice and navigation. Tapping the tag again switches this all off and reverts the phone back to where it was before I got in the car. This is what I mean about making a phone work for you, rather than the other way around.
Jaam, it's a myth saying Android phones are complex. No, they are not.
You can buy a phone, just insert the sim card and it works perfectly and intuitively. The problem is that it has so much potential that people start poking around and then can run into issues. But basically it's like the iphone, simple to use.
Received the Xperia T for review yesterday. 69 apps installed on it out of the box. Complex?
Here you go Shaun: http://www.trustedreviews.com/doro-phoneeasy-612_Mobile-Phone_review ;o)
Sony's always been one for bloatware, but yes it's a general problem on Android.
How much does an iPhone have pre-installed on it?
23 apps which include the phone , text, email, contacts, calendar , settings apps.
Why do we love technology so much , argue over what's better , when in fact it costs jobs and affects people's lives so much.
Gavin if we didn't there wouldn't be much on the site.
And the lack of bloatware is certainly an advantage of the iPhone. Android devices get the double-whammy of bloatware from the manufacturer and from the carrier.
There are a number of areas where I'd like to see Google set more requirements of the manufacturers and carriers, and this is one of them.
@ Shaun "69 apps installed on it out of the box. Complex?" - I do agree Android comes with loads of apps from carriers, etc, etc and that's a shame and that I hate deeply.
But what I really mean is: power up the Xperia, unlock and what do you have on your homescreen? how many apps? Actually I find it less complex than the iPhone homescreen. You have the call, messages icons, play store and 3, 4 multimedia icons, is it not? That's simple and you can do the basics on the phone - that's what I mean. You have 69 apps/services if you go to the apps drawer, but not crumbling the users screens/panels.
(I may be being dumb as I'm using as basis internet data and you may have it different from a carrier)
The Samsung S3 had so many apps, Samsung felt bad and didn't install then all, made you go to More Services app so you could download another 20 free apps of theirs. So is that good or bad?
I visited an apple store yesterday to take my first look at the ip5.
The first thing that struck me was it felt lighter than the i4/i4s yet still felt solid
Apart from that I didn't really observe much difference in the few minutes use I gave it from the previous models.. same screen layout, same icons, same ui really.
I had expected Apple would have had NFC and their Passbook
stuff really perfected with deals with credit card companies, as
Maybe only Apple are powerful enough to force Visa,
Mastercard and Amex to cooperate in this.