Apple Event Wishlist: September 2015
Lets take a deep breath from the all consuming Apple rumor mill for a moment. The constant siren that is the collective voices of every single tech blog on earth collectively shouting for your clicks has been in full swing like always. “Sources say”ing their way into making grandiose predictions day after day so they can show off their most recent Draft Kings adverts has gotten past obscene.
Instead of making money from making predictions, I want to share a wish list. I’m more interested in making requests than hoping someone’s insights are right ahead of the event that I’m going to watch anyway.
Apple TV
FaceTime
Its time to bring video chat to the boardroom from an end to end Apple solution. The tech exists, put the damn camera on the box already.
Also, I’d like sharing content and using picture in picture to talk about it with a friend or family member on whatever device they have.
Steam
Lets get real about games and bring popular titles to the box. I don’t want to just see an unconverted experience for Fruit Ninja. Buy Steam and bring real gaming franchises to the platform from jump street.
Live Programming
Well, Apple didn’t take my advice on buying DirecTV which is unfortunate. AT&T now sits with two live TV options including UVerse. If they’re going to be serious about TV then we can expect streaming services to be automatic — live events is the game changer here.
Sling Content
Watch aforementioned live content on any iOS/Mac device connected through the Apple ID or Family Share.
HomeKit
The AppleTV really needs to go beyond television. It should be as much “TV” as the iPhone is “phone”. The ecosystem is the killer advantage and has been for years. Review your calendar, status updates, news items, and interact via voice (Siri). The list of voice commands and interaction amongst other Apple devices needs to grow deep roots. Converting non-Apple consumers to the AppleTV via the above advancements leads to slipping them into iOS devices when they find they’re missing out on the ecosystem. Bonus.
Continuity
The same feature that allows you to iMessage/SMS and make/receive phone calls on your Mac devices needs to carry over as well. This should drive more FaceTime video calls because of the available handsfree convenience and large screen viewing.
iPhone
Its expected that the processor be faster, etc. etc. This iteration will likely focus on the camera as previous S models do so…
Camera
Front and rear cameras need to jump ahead big time. 4K recording on the rear camera can help usher in the newest viewing technology available. Up to now the available media is very limited which isn’t getting consumers to purchase the new jaw dropping screens.
Less Physical Buttons
ForceTouch can enable the phone to remove volume and wake buttons. Using ForceTouch and dragging up and down can adjust volume with this new gesture. Allowing the screen to sense a ForceTouch to wake would eliminate that piece as well. The less buttons, the less hardware, the better our chances for a real edge to edge display. Perhaps a little ahead of schedule here.
Compromise: Rear Wake
Ok, so perhaps removing the buttons is early for their iterations. Lets move the wake button and TouchID to the back of the device. Again, this leaves frontal space for more screen.
Rear Gestures
Scrolling up and down using the phone’s rear panel by allowing gestures through the back of the phone leaves the entire screen exposed and feels natural. They could even have a setting to let you see a semitransparent blip for where your fingertips are on the screen. Better visibility using the screen dimensions that are already available.
USB-C
Combine power, data transfer, and sound into one cable. Again, probably early — may be iPhone 7 iteration, but makes a ton of sense. Should carry over to the other iOS derivatives as well.
iPad
Interaction
Truly share content by allowing iPad to iPad simulcasting of streaming video and live event services. Combine FaceTime video calls with watching a YouTube video together — remotely. Google’s doing this via Hangouts… lets go. Remotely turn pages while you read a book to your child or lecture a class.
Wireless Monitor
The Pro sized 12.9" screen may work in some ways as a wireless monitor. That is to say, a laptop broken into pieces: display/CPU, wireless keyboard, and …. mouse driver? If this is the case then the new iPad Pro could be the old docking station without a dock? Take your display home, place on a stand, and resume work.
Real-Time
Use as an input device (full-sized touchscreen keyboard) and second screen to AppleTV. This could easily include keeping up with trending hashtags and interacting in Twitter and Facebook while watching the big screen. It’d be a cool feature to allow the iPad to be a touchable representation of what’s on the television. This could allow someone to ForceTouch an item on the screen which pauses programming and brings up an info box. You could also use this second device to change cameras during live broadcasts.
Miscellaneous
I’ve been calling for the end of the iPhone for years now and still think its the right decision. Its not a phone any more and has long transcended that label. Include an LTE antenna in all iOS devices and make them all iPods or iPads, whichever seems to be more marketable.
You’re still using a phone? All devices with the same Apple ID should use the same caller id, iMessage, and FaceTime settings. Whichever device you have nearest you becomes the one you use. Relegate phone to an app and be done with it.
Constant connectivity takes all devices to the next level. They shouldn’t require WiFi to communicate, especially in this social age. If one device is in use then the others are unable to communicate until that phone call has ended. I’d still have more than one device.
Portability has its place so an iPod sized device makes sense when on the move. When planted then the MacBook or iPad comes into play at that time. The key is to make these various sizes uniquely valuable over the others for certain use cases. Using the above wish list, I would use Real-Time and Interaction on iPad instead of iPod/iPhone platform. When it comes to coding or heavy writing, I’d still prefer the MacBook.
To all the tech blog click baiters out there, keep your repetitive predictions and your anonymous sources. Lets push the conversation forward by collectively talking about what we want these devices to do instead.
