We're on a countdown until the inevitable Next iPhone, a moment that feels far less anticipated than last year. In 2012 we had the iPhone 5 casting a shadow of mystery: a rumored design revamp, the curiosity surrounding the first post-Steve Jobs iPhone, plus overdue features, namely, LTE and a larger screen. This year, we have rumors of slightly better cameras, colored cases, and maybe a fingerprint reader.
So what can Apple do to make the next iPhone a huge hit?
Simple. Give it killer battery life.
The phone market is suffering a bit of ennui mid-2013. "Peak smartphone" has become a repeated phrase, and I've heard my fair share of, "Phones are boring." It reminds me of laptops: those also-useful, also-commodified products that nearly everyone has but nobody feels all that compelled to immediately replace.
My wife does one thing with her iPhone more than anything else: she charges it.
I've been using an iPhone 5 for nearly a year, and its overall performance has been excellent -- except for the battery life, which can range from OK to downright challenging. I keep cloud services on and Bluetooth active, and I do my fair share of streaming, but I need to top off the charge at least once a day.
Is that fair to judge my iPhone based on my heavy usage? Well, it's a part of the new phone landscape. There are more gadgets to pair with via Bluetooth and AirPlay, more high-bandwidth streaming services, more location-aware apps. Making a battery great enough to handle the load is a tough task, but Apple has been battery-minded about its laptops and tablets. It's time for the iPhone to make a great leap forward in battery life. On my "what I want on the next iPhone" wish list, it's the only piece in the puzzle that I really need.
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