The biggest criticism of the iPhone is that it plays catch-up to Android phone makers when it comes to features. Until recently, you couldn’t even “natively” use a custom ringtone on your iPhone… Ringtone! Apple, Ringtone! (this was possible on a mobile phone as far back as the good old days when our eyes were on our knees and “Java” feature phones were the rave). Apple is a perennial late-comer! ***clears throat***, in their defence, when they come around to implement a feature, they do it with finesse, panache, and an outstanding optimisation level. The best example is arguably the FACE ID. As far back as 2013, the Samsung Galaxy S3 already spotted Face Unlock. Still, the implementation was mediocre and not secure (our hearts go out to all the relationships destroyed by this tech fail). With the introduction of the Face ID in 2017 following the launch of the iPhone X ( it’s pronounced iPhone 10, by the way), Apple revolutionalised “face unlock”; with a dedicated True Depth camera and Machine Learning technology that mapped faces and couldn’t be spoofed by pictures (it now works even when you have a face mask on), the competition had no answer (they still don’t).
The iPhone 14 series were released last month; well, Apple has removed hands from anything that has to do with innovation now. I like to think of their approach as refinement as opposed to innovation… Because why does the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus feel like the 13? The iPhone will probably never fold until most of the current fold-phones producing companies fold (sighs)… While Apple wants us to live on the Dynamic Island, and to be frank, that seems relatively innovative; they came late with some other new features on the new iPhones.
Always on Display is a staple of phones with OLED screens (Xiaomi, Oppo, Huawei, and One Plus churn out phones with OLED and Always on Display every other week). Samsung has had Always On Display as far back as the Samsung S7 in (wait for it… ) 2016. Six years ago! Even more baffling is that Apple has switched to OLED technology since iPhone X but Always on Display was a pipe dream until now! Well done, Apple; better late than never! Apple’s implementation, however, is unique as the screen doesn’t have to turn off completely before the ”always on“ comes on.
My first phone with a 48MP camera was the Redmi Note 8; while it could be considered class-leading for its price in 2019, iPhones that were 3-4 years older, spotting 12MP shooters, performed significantly better. iPhones have had 12MP cameras for almost a decade (Samsung fixed a 108MP camera on the S20 in 2020!) An iPhone with a large sensor offers a vista of possibilities and would be a go-to option for content creators. Just have more than N1,000,000 to purchase the 14 Pro and 14 Promax (admission to the 1% of the 1% doesn’t come cheap).
iPhone is the class leader in videography, the Pro-motion feature introduced in the iPhone 13 Pros last year further created a distance between the iPhone and its closest rivals. Still, Samsung had a dedicated stabilization feature eons ago, meaning in extremely shaky scenarios, videos look relatively better on Samsung’s flagship phones. The iPhone’s new stabilization feature, styled Action Mode, is about to level the playing field or even create a bigger wedge… Fingers crossed!
Multi-window? Split-screen? USB Type-C, under-display fingerprint scanner? What features do you look forward to on the next iPhone? Tell us in the comment section.
