Five features the iPhone 7 needs to stay ahead of Android
Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 7 in a couple of months, and the rumor mill is already churning out new guesses and "exclusives" from "sources" on a daily basis.
Rather than endlessly debate whether Apple will or won't remove the headphone jack, let's look at where Apple is lagging behind flagship Android handset maker Samsung, and what features it needs to add in order to keep up.
See also: Apple should codename iOS 10 'Twinkie' because it's full of fluff and filler
Wireless charging
Yup, it's 2016 and I'm still having to plug a cable into my iPhone to charge it when there are plenty of smartphones out there that make use of wireless charging solutions. Sure, a wireless charging pad is more expensive than a cable (even the megabucks Apple Lightning cable), but the improved convenience is well worth it.
I'm amazed Apple hasn't gone down this route if only for the opportunities it opens up for the money-hungry company to sell more accessories.
A new and unique gimmick
As much as I think that the Edge feature of the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge is a gimmick, it's a gimmick that users tell me is useful, and sets the handset apart from the crowd, both in terms of looks and usability.
The iPhone, on the other hand, while unique in being an iOS device, is pretty generic. It looks like pretty much any Android handset, and it operates pretty much like every other handset. It's been copied and cloned so much that it now feels awfully generic.
It really could do with something to set it apart from the rest.
Essential Android and iPhone accessories
Waterproofing
It seems to come as a bit of a surprise to Apple that people want to take their iPhones into the outdoors, where it sometimes rains.
Please Apple, can we have an iPhone that is waterproof? Samsung has it, and while it might not be perfect, it's better than nothing.
Shatterproof screen
There's no doubt that Gorilla Glass is tough, but as the name suggests, it's still glass. And glass has a habit of shattering.
A sapphire display would be awesome, but a tough display such as that fitted to the Motorola Droid Turbo 2 would do fine.
Drop the 16-gigabyte storage option
It's not going to happen because Apple uses the 16GB of storage as a way to upsell a more expensive iPhone, but it certainly would be nice, and welcomed by those who don't have $100 to splash out on the more expensive model.
Of the things I've listed, dumping the 16-gigabyte starting point seems like the most likely to happen during this current round of upgrades.
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