iPhone 5 wish list - 20 new features we want the most (photos)
by CNET | August 17, 2011 9:36am PDT | Image 1 of 21
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As usual, Apple is keeping the iPhone rumor mills working at a fast and furious pace. Some new features we know from details of iOS 5, many are based on wide-spread rumors, and others are just fantasy. So here we go with this list of what the ideal iPhone 5 features we'd like to see, as compiled by David Carnoy of CNET's Fully Equipped. Also see CNET's iPhone 5 rumor roundup.
Credit: MacRumors commissioned this mock-up based on alleged iPhone 5 case schematics. MacRumors.com
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@mrdelurk@...
I keep seeiing this on lists -- I have had my iPhone 3Gs for two years now with AT&T and have one dropped call so far. The guy on the other end went through a tunnel where there was no reception. What gives? I do not understand.
I keep seeiing this on lists -- I have had my iPhone 3Gs for two years now with AT&T and have one dropped call so far. The guy on the other end went through a tunnel where there was no reception. What gives? I do not understand.
@oterrya I agree! I have a 3Gs and never have problems with it.
@oterrya
Had the 3G, 3GS and i4.
I travel all over the US, Canada and Caribbean.
Call quality is poor and dropped calls are the norm.
This is on any gsm network, not just ATT.
I will say the i4 is an improvement over the 3G/3GS for drops, but the quality is still sub-par.
Had the 3G, 3GS and i4.
I travel all over the US, Canada and Caribbean.
Call quality is poor and dropped calls are the norm.
This is on any gsm network, not just ATT.
I will say the i4 is an improvement over the 3G/3GS for drops, but the quality is still sub-par.
@oterrya
Totally agree, I've had a 3GS for 2 years (and still have it today) and have yet to experience a dropped call when I have at least 1 bar of reception; usually have 3-5 where I live/work
Totally agree, I've had a 3GS for 2 years (and still have it today) and have yet to experience a dropped call when I have at least 1 bar of reception; usually have 3-5 where I live/work
@oterrya Springfield Illinois, Chicago, and St Louis MO and have a few family who are required by their employers to use at&t, I have uscellular and virgin mobile, and often take trips to the aforementioned cities, I never lost data through virgin mobile hotspots, and am often on the phone the whole time, I have never lost a call, exception is the bluffs along Mississippi basin where no device gets reception. My family member's at&t phones, razor, iPhone, Droid global(?) Would often drop calls and the call quality is questionable only opinion. Their data was unreliable also the phone might say it has 3g but any browser within the phone or any device using it's data would show an empty network response or server timeout. BUT what many people don't take into account is that all carriers cover different areas better, when on longer trips I've noticed that at&t were better than uscellular or sprint or both, in Nevada at&t was best, in Sebastian FL virgin mobile(sprint) was the best with at&t about the same quality as uscellular. I wont be buying an iPhone unless its offered on uscellular or sprint and their affiliates, or if I move to an area where at&t is better
@mrdelurk@... The Verizon models doesn't have this issue.
@Champ_Kind
Oh, yes, it does. The problem just hasn't been written about as much as dropped calls on AT&T.
Oh, yes, it does. The problem just hasn't been written about as much as dropped calls on AT&T.
@Champ_Kind
Only the Android user version really has this issue. I get the occasional dropped call but it does not seem any higher than it did with my RAZR/Verizon VS Sprint/StarTac VS iPhone 4/AT&T.
Only the Android user version really has this issue. I get the occasional dropped call but it does not seem any higher than it did with my RAZR/Verizon VS Sprint/StarTac VS iPhone 4/AT&T.
@mrdelurk@... Dropped calls is not just a phone problem but also the coverage of the provider. The number of dropped calls is quite negligible for me.
So what you are saying is that you want the new iphone to be an Andriod phone?
@armageddon6
If it cannot at least match Android phones capabilities, it will be even further behind next year.....
For me 4+" screen and 4G minimum if I'm doing a 2yr contract.....
If it cannot at least match Android phones capabilities, it will be even further behind next year.....
For me 4+" screen and 4G minimum if I'm doing a 2yr contract.....
@armageddon6
exactly what I thought when i read this. Apple should go Android then they would be leap and bounds ahead of what they have now
exactly what I thought when i read this. Apple should go Android then they would be leap and bounds ahead of what they have now
@armageddon6 I don't think iPhone needs android, I think it needs OSX or at least a fully functional OS that allows to share data without charges(why pay for the service twice just phucking stupid gouging) allow flash(full not just ported) expandable storage, I don't want to buy a new phone for more space, a replaceable battery, a few times I have had to go more than a day in poor signal area while using GPS(+AGPS) without the ability to put in one of my fresh batteries and charge the dead with solar no phone would last more than a day like that. I am sticking to android for now, though a friend just started testing a modified JUlinux on hummingbird and snapdragon processors, if it works well and is able to still be a phone then I might switch to that, or windows 8 if I can get it on my phone
This is Mr. Rourke calling come back to Fantasy Island! Doubtful but good to dream
[sigh] wish there was a slide-out keyboard in the works to enjoy the entire screen.
@astrogeek
I have had one and like the on-screen keyboard much better. It saves a lot of weight and when I am typing, I am not looking anyway.
I have had one and like the on-screen keyboard much better. It saves a lot of weight and when I am typing, I am not looking anyway.
@astrogeek Ditto that. I'm still on a Torch because I'm not yet ready to part with the keyboard. It's much easier to do the no look typing when there are real buttons to push.
Customisable sms tones, and ability to directly use a song on my playlist as ringtone.
@joyeux0
You can even on a 3Gs -- I amusing a song on my playlist as my main ringtone. You have to import it from your computer as a ringtone but that was not a big deal. As I recall, ther is a small program you run on your computer (not an app) that helps you do this.
You can even on a 3Gs -- I amusing a song on my playlist as my main ringtone. You have to import it from your computer as a ringtone but that was not a big deal. As I recall, ther is a small program you run on your computer (not an app) that helps you do this.
@oterrya
But you can't just pick and use....
You have to go thru the following steps......
But you can't just pick and use....
You have to go thru the following steps......
@joyeux0 You gotta free your phone from sj to get such basic functionality 
I already do that on my freed 3GS using a Cydia app called AnyRing
I already do that on my freed 3GS using a Cydia app called AnyRing 
I wish iPhone 5 (and all future releases) would come with a much lower price tag. Another wish list item is a much improved launching scheme so peopele don't have to line up in the street for it. The current ways of making the new devices available market by market and region by region only benefits the scalppers and hurts the real consummers.
@Techtoo
What is their incentive to lower prices when they have a waiting list for each new model as it hits the stores?
What is their incentive to lower prices when they have a waiting list for each new model as it hits the stores?
I suppose 4G would be nice. I now use WiFi when I can because it is faster than 3G but live with 3G when I must. I am not a heavy data user at all (in spite of having an unlimited plan) but I do not see 4G as being a deal breaker. If they offer 4G, I hope they provide a switch to turn it off to preserve batery life.
@oterrya A smart phone without such switch would be considered dumb 
there must be a similar switch like the 3G one on the current and past iPhones
there must be a similar switch like the 3G one on the current and past iPhones 
@oterrya - I'd like to be able to choose the applications that can use 4G automatically. Web, Google, Navigation, email, etc. 3G is fine for the rest.
"Users want a larger screen but they don't want to pay the price - a bigger product with a shorter battery life."
Well, a wider case also means a bigger case for a bigger battery. It actually might mean more battery life, as I doubt a slightly larger screen will really use that much more battery.
Well, a wider case also means a bigger case for a bigger battery. It actually might mean more battery life, as I doubt a slightly larger screen will really use that much more battery.
@CobraA1
My son's Captivate has better battery life than my i4 and that is a nice screen, bigger too......
My son's Captivate has better battery life than my i4 and that is a nice screen, bigger too......
I m expecting more a cloud revolution, with a new way to use iPhone
Wow Video calls on 3G???? Cool!!! Welcome to "all other phones as of 10 5 years ago". Oh no wait. I forget. "Face Time" is different to video calling.
Add to the wish list "less marketing BS" please :P
Add to the wish list "less marketing BS" please :P
@eLearner It's always been available on the sj free iPhones
@eLearner - I'm pretty sure that cell phones weren't around 105 years ago...are you caught-up in an Android distortion field?
I currently have a Thunderbolt and would consider a switch to iPhone only if i can keep my 4G. I didn't think I would appreciate it much when I first got it but now I can?t live without it, when I use the mobile hotspot feature with my laptop my download speeds are faster than my home cable modem. Gives me a whole new level of freedom and allows me to work from virtually anywhere in town without needing to find a WiFi hotspot.
Check out www.bio-key.com, as they have an add-on fingerprint scanner for the iPhone and iPad, and it can be used for web and app authentication, not just locking and unlocking the phone.
They reportedly have a consumer version coming with a swipe reader built into the back of a slimline case. This is cool!
They reportedly have a consumer version coming with a swipe reader built into the back of a slimline case. This is cool!
@SecurityThroughObscurity
Kind of like on the Atrix?
(which btw is very "touchy")
chuckle
Kind of like on the Atrix?
(which btw is very "touchy")
chuckle
@rhonin Exactly what I had in mind 
I would love voice to text. That is the one thing I miss from my previous phone. Just give me voice to text
@nbkz81f
Check out the Dragon Dictation app. It's free and does a pretty good job. You can then send the newly created text as an sms, email, facebook, twitter or copy it for later use.
Check out the Dragon Dictation app. It's free and does a pretty good job. You can then send the newly created text as an sms, email, facebook, twitter or copy it for later use.
@TTSchorr This is one of the main reasons I love my Android so much. The voice-to-text is ridiculously accurate.
I wish for dual SIM cards so that when you're traveling overseas, you could pop a local SIM in and use this for local calls & data, but still keep your home SIM so you can receive calls. Then you would avoid those outrageous $1,000+ phone bills people rack up while traveling!
@jgrob3 I like this idea a lot, but the way I see it, WiFi hotspots are everywhere and most people do have Skype accounts, so why not just rely on that. Hell when I am overseas I don't want to talk to anyone from home anyway lol.
@Bates_ "most people do have Skype accounts" not credible. See: www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1498209/000119312511056174/ds1a.htm
for Skype's official report to the US Securities Exchange Commission: "From the three months ended December 31, 2009 to the three months ended December 31, 2010, we grew our average monthly connected users from 105 million to 145 million and our average monthly paying users from 7.3 million to 8.8 million." Worldwide...
for Skype's official report to the US Securities Exchange Commission: "From the three months ended December 31, 2009 to the three months ended December 31, 2010, we grew our average monthly connected users from 105 million to 145 million and our average monthly paying users from 7.3 million to 8.8 million." Worldwide...
Drum roll.................
Less smugness on the part of iPhone users
Less smugness on the part of iPhone users
If they can't figure out how to preserve battery life in 4G, then they should allow for a removable battery.
looks like it's going to be a long wait for me if they're not going to make the 5 a 4G phone.
I bet if Apple came announced that they had 20 new features and included the 20 new features you suggest, you would be screaming that 15 of these new "Features" were "upgrades" and only 5 were new.
A "New" feature I would like to see would be an optical zoom lens. Another would be a mechanical "port" and other ports that would allow the iPhone to connect to external devices and let the user have the use of the iPhone's display. Some examples would be a really good camera that the iPhone could plug into, the iPhone would be the display and hold/transmit the images. A bike control panel that would show route, time, distance, cadence, track speed, gear used and show temperature, grade etc. Just allow the iPhone to be the display of choice for any device that needed to show results or control something else.
A "New" feature I would like to see would be an optical zoom lens. Another would be a mechanical "port" and other ports that would allow the iPhone to connect to external devices and let the user have the use of the iPhone's display. Some examples would be a really good camera that the iPhone could plug into, the iPhone would be the display and hold/transmit the images. A bike control panel that would show route, time, distance, cadence, track speed, gear used and show temperature, grade etc. Just allow the iPhone to be the display of choice for any device that needed to show results or control something else.
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