As a long-term iPhone user (since the iPhone 2, in fact), I’ve become quite attached to my iDevices. I have owned BlackBerry and Android phones and tablets, but I’ve always come back to iOS for the easy integration.
Recently, I’ve started to feel my loyalty is misplaced.
Cracks started to appear with Lion Server, easily the worst piece of software I’ve bought from the app store. Configuring it is a pain, setting up simple shared folders is a horrendous process, and as for VPNs – well, we gave up on that on day one. Likewise, on the iPad and iPhone, the basic iMessage service is a complete nuisance. Messages regularly disappear, go to the wrong address or get split up into multiple message threads for no reason. I don’t expect perfection, but I expect better than this.
But my real problem is the Apple TV, a fantastic device which is needlessly under-utilised and under-promoted by Apple. Up until this year, I’m not sure that anyone in the UK actually knew what to do with this cute little box, but the launch of AirPlay was the Apple TV’s saving grace. Users can now stream anything on the iPad or iPhone to the TV, giving them a solution to the rather embarrassing lack of content. The new Google TV box from Sony could be a genuine worry for Apple. Picture-in-picture, reverse mirroring from TV to phone, built in browsing – these are basics. Fundamentals, even. OK, the box may cost twice as much as the Apple TV, but it’s unfair that reviewers have written off the whole thing as being too complicated for the average user to handle. I honestly feel that people are savvy enough to persevere if the features are there.
In short, other manufacturers are taking risks that Apple refuse to take. The new Samsung and HTC Android phones make Apple’s sluggish uptake of new features all the more obvious. New Android phones have bigger screens, NFC capability, better processors, more storage… the experience may not be as slick, but Google are addressing inconsistency. (From what I’ve seen, it’s working, albeit slowly.)
Critics may say that I’m comparing Apples and oranges. I know that’s true; if nothing else, Google have a range of hardware manufacturers pushing Android forward. But Apple have had the chance to regroup. One year after the iPhone 4S, their flagship feature is still Siri, the personal assistant who can’t tell UK users where they are until they leave the country.
The pressure is on for Apple to deliver something amazing: an amazing iPhone, a souped up iPad or a more capable Apple TV. Until then, I’ll look on enviously as my friend shows off her SIII.
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Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Claire
12/07/12
