This commitment to updates means that if iPhone buyers purchase a flagship iPhone when it first comes out, they can usually expect three or so years of new software updates. Apple is firmly in the driver's seat, which is refreshing compared to the tangle of OEMs and carriers who all have a say about branding, updates, and pre-loaded applications on the other platforms. This applies whether you have an old iPhone 4 or a new iPhone 5S, whether you're using T-Mobile or Verizon. This consistency extends to the software update process-iOS continues to be unrivaled among the major mobile operating systems in its ability to push out major and minor updates to all supported devices simultaneously. However, they make it so that picking up and using one iOS device is the same as picking up and using any other iOS device. For some power users, these limitations will continue to prove irksome. To that end, you won't be able to replace your app launcher or software keyboard, you can't sideload applications, and you can only share things via Apple-approved channels. Apple values the consistency of its user experience above all else, and it doesn't want people to be able to break the operating system by accident. iOS 7 still has rough edges, and many third-party applications are in an awkward transition period as they straddle the old UI and the new one, but the newest iOS is in large part the facelift the operating system needed.įor all the external changes, underneath the shiny new facade beats the heart of the same iOS we've been using for years (not that that's a bad thing). The latest version of the OS introduces a bunch of new features (the indispensable Control Center among them), but it's more notable because it completely rethinks the look and feel of both the operating system and its applications. We commented last year that iOS 6 felt a little long in the tooth, and modern iPhones got a substantial facelift in September courtesy of iOS 7. We'll then take a look at the best handsets money can currently buy and put them through their paces for a variety of different use cases. Few of these events drastically alter the state of the smartphone today, but they all have interesting implications for 2014 and beyond.Īs we did a year ago, we'll be taking a quick look at the three major mobile platforms (iOS, Android, and Windows Phone 8) and evaluating how they've changed in the last year. Microsoft bought the part of Nokia that makes its Lumia smartphones. BlackBerry (née RIM), which at this time last year was pinning all its hopes on the then-forthcoming BlackBerry 10, is circling the drain. Alternative operating systems like Ubuntu and Firefox OS are trying new things, even if they're strictly for hardcore early adopters as they currently stand. The Motorola division is still a big money-loser for Google, but the Moto X is a surprisingly good, usable phone that has been very well-reviewed. That doesn't mean there aren't interesting things happening at the margins. All of this is more or less as it was a year ago. Microsoft is still struggling to improve Windows Phone 8's standing with consumers, developers, and hardware partners. LG is still taking pages from Samsung's playbook, trying lots of odd ideas in an effort to differentiate. HTC continues to be down on its luck despite the critical darling that is the HTC One. The intervening months have brought us the expected annual hardware refreshes and software updates, but it's striking just how similar things are at a high level.Īpple and Samsung are still standing at the top of the field, and at the moment there's not a strong third-place contender in sales or in reach. It's been just under a year since the last time we examined the state of the smartphone.
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