iPhone 5s and iOS 7: Forward Looking or Just Change?
There are quite a few clichés about change. The one in my mind most recently is the old adage that the only constant is change. Long time GBM readers know that Ive been absent from these pages for quite some time. Those who took the time to ask know some about the saga I experienced with my former job at Wayside Theatre. Im no longer employed there after being resigned. And, that theatre, sadly no longer exists as it closed down just a few short weeks after I spent my final day trying to keep it open. That change resulted in my moving from Virginia to Chicago, and transitioning from a life running a theatre to a free-lance career in the same art form. But thats a saga best told on another blog. Change is also a constant when it comes to mobile tech. There is constant pressure to innovate, to create something new. If a company doesnt meet that demand, well then the conventional wisdom deems them tired and withering. With a thirst for the latest and greatest as insatiable as any that plagued Tantalus, the world of mobile tech always seems to be in search of rehydration. This cycle eventually brings about change in and of itself. Sometimes change is abrupt and sudden. In some instances it takes time.

The iPhone 5s
Since my last blog post here there have been many changes in mobile tech. Steve Ballmer finally threw in the towel (or had it thrown in for him), and Microsoft looks like it hasnt learned any of the lessons from its first Surface launch as it prepares to bring forth round two. Nokia and Blackberry have moved closer to their inevitable ends. One day Google looks to continue its ascension and the next not. (Although the stock price keeps moving North.) All of which can be mostly attributed to how fast, or not, players work to keep up with the rapid pace of change now demanded by a mobile market place that seems inexplicably intent on turning the latest incarnation any new product into a hit or a miss on day one.
Change when you plan it is hard to accomplish. Change when forced upon you hits you hard in the face and is even tougher to pull off. In either case, judging the impact of change is never easy. Unless of course the bottom falls out and you cant meet even the most well managed or well-intentioned expectations.
To a certain degree, Apples way of changing things has created is an expectation cycle of its own making. The list of exciting game changers Apple introduced beginning with the iPhone and evolving into the iPad changed an industry. It can also be argued that it changed the way we do things on a daily basis. Smartphones, and to a lesser degree, tablets, have become the weapons of choice for us to spread ourselves socially around the web (and in the databanks of the NSA), get some work done, relax and entertain ourselves, and, of late, look to these devices to discover how fit (or unfit) we are. If you pay attention beyond the headlines and rumor posts about this Apple thing or that Apple thing, you can easily see that Apple is content to keep gradually innovating and not rush things to market. But does that gradual (and profit making) pace satisfy the insatiable market thirst for another game changer? Does it matter? For some, Apples pace is just fine and dandy. Im in that camp. As, apparently, are many others who have tried to purchase Apples latest iPhones, and brought the Internet to its knees with the release of iOS 7. So, in that context, and with Apple about to drop more big news on Tuesday, I want to share some impressions about the iPhone 5s and iOS 7.
The iPhone 5s
The iPhone has been my go to weapon of choice since the iPhone 3G. Ive owned every release since then. Each device has served my needs well. I almost changed that record with the iPhone 5s due to my life changes, but I got lucky and fell within a window where Apple was taking pick up at a store orders on the first Monday night after the iPhone 5s release. I ordered that night and picked it up the next morning. Coincidentally, this was right as the news was breaking that Apple was discontinuing that option due to demand issues. In fact, when I showed up at the Apple Store, the Apple folk were a little surprised to see that indeed the pick up option was in effect for a brief time and even more surprised to hear it had ended so quickly. (Apple has since put this back in place.) Consequently, I got my hands on the 5s about the time those who ordered early overnight on release Friday did. This violated one of my prime directives: never make a major change during a big project, and came while I was directing a show at Circa 21 Dinner Playhouse in Rock Island, Illinois. But, being a geek brimming with gadget lust, I just couldnt help myself.
I picked up a 64GB Space Gray iPhone on AT&T. Fundamentally, there is no real form factor change from the iPhone 5 except for the color(s). So in this tick-tock cycle that Apple has created for its flagship phones, outward appearances remain largely the same. So, for this tock, Apple has labeled the iPhone 5s the most forward-looking phone and focused on three big three tent poles: Touch ID (fingerprint sensor), improved camera, and the M7 chip. Oh, and theres the 64 bit thing. More on that later as I take each of those in turn. Most forward-looking is a big expectation setter. But is it enough for those looking to purchase today?
Touch ID
Initially, I read reams of digital print about how Touch ID worked so well out of the box. I guess it must have for most. That many folks couldnt be lying, unless you are talking about US politicians. Touch ID didnt work as effortlessly for me initially, and of late, Ive seen more and more folks who have had similar experiences to mine. I dutifully touched my way through the finger print reading process and found that after my fingerprints were registered, I was getting a try again more times than I thought should be the case. I erased the initial fingerprints and tried again. I repeated that process three times over a few days, until I now seem to be able to use Touch ID with the degree of latitude that I think is acceptable.
That said, If the way it works now continues I can see the real value in this. Let me rephrase that. If the way it reads my fingerprint continues AND Apple actually opens this up for other App developers to use I can see the real value in this. Its an easy way to access the phone and works reasonably well for iTunes or App Store purchases. I say reasonably because I keep having to re-verify when I make a purchase more frequently than I think is necessary. As far as security goes this too frequent two-step makes some sense, as does this entire move to a bio-metric form of ID. If hackers continue to disrupt our world to such an extent that two-factor authentication becomes the norm, then Apple is one step ahead of others on this already. (Forward thinking?) For those worried about their fingerprint data being stolen I hope you can find better things to do with your life. I say that not because Apple has created a crack proof system. Nothing created by humans cant be undone by humans. But I say that in the same spirit that Ive always said about locks on any enclosure, device, or automobile. If someone wants to break into it bad enough they will. Well identified security serves as a deterrent against the easy or casual theft. It wont stop a determined thief, hacker, marketer or government. Apple has created a security scenario for those who dont like to use passwords, and to a large degree thats an improvement. So, I give Touch ID a grade of B in this first implementation and will be on the lookout to see if Apple can figure out a way to make this even more truly useful in the future. A forward-looking side note here: There has been much speculation about whether or not Apple will bring Touch ID to the iPad and the iPad mini. In my view, if they dont it will be a major disappointment. Once you get past the setup and initial trial and error phase, it is tough to go back.
Camera
Apple has continued to innovate in its own way with its camera, both on the hardware side and the software side. Ive alway been impressed by what iPhone cameras offer and this is no exception. But to my eye, the changes are nothing but evolutionary. Others certainly feel differently. Dont get me wrong, the last several generations of the iPhone have had great cameras, and this is no exception. Ive tried out the fancy flash thing, but I try to avoid flash when at all possible. It does improve skin tones in most situations. Lowlight quality pictures are indeed improved. Burst mode works as advertised and I can see where this will be useful for all of those cat and kid photos taken on a daily basis. The slow motion video feature will give us a whole new inventory of things to fill up our Twitter, Google+, and other feeds, and indeed is easy to use. But, dont try transferring that video to your Mac just yet, as the metadata is lost and you wont get the benefit of slow motion without jumping through some hoops. Presumably that will get taken care of with the next release of OSX and iPhoto. So, the camera is indeed improved. But, Im not a fan of the new Photos App and how it works. To my way of looking at things, that is as much a part of the Camera experience as the camera itself, but Ill have more to say on that when I talk about iOS 7 below. I give the improved camera a grade of B.
The M7
The addition of a new low power M7 chip to record all sorts of motion and sensor info is probably the most significant and perhaps immediately usable forward-looking change. The principle is simple. This chip receives and catalogs data from the various motion sensors in the phone. Apps can grab that data for their purposes. Theres less drain on the main processor and thus battery life. The immediate boon here is to the increasing health and fitness App and accessory market. Ive not been one to jump into the fitness accessory market beyond owning a Withings scale and blood pressure cuff. With the addition of this chip, it looks like I can derive some benefit from other Fitness functions without having to attach a watch or a wrist gadget or some another device to my body (and another charging chord to my wall). An App that Ive recently tried out to test the M7 chip is Argus by Azumio.

Argus tracks steps and other fitness data points
The Argus App is one of the first to take advantage of the M7 chip. It records my steps, takes data from the Withings scale, and if I want to, well let me enter data about calorie, caffeine, and fluid intake. (These kind of Apps need a beer intake selection.) They way it works is that up to a weeks worth of data is stored on the chip and you can access it when you open the App. Of course you can configure the App to give you notifications if you are into that. If you want to try this out, download the App and set it up. Notice that it will immediately populate with data on steps you have been taking you might not know your phone was compiling. This might put a dent in the fitness gadget market because it is possible to use only your phone to record much of the data you get from the addition of a monitoring gadget. I will be interested to see how Apple and others use the recordable data in the future for other applications as well. As the M7 can distinguish between walking, running, or driving it offers some interesting possibilities. Some have already said this might lead to some sort of locking down the phone to prevent texting while driving. Who knows? The M7 chip, like the fingerprint sensor, certainly point forward. How much we look forward will depend on how willingly Apple will let developers play with these innovations. At the moment, the M7 looks like it will be more accessible than the Touch ID. I give the M7 a grade of A- in this first iteration.
Read: 5 Apps That Use the iPhone 5s M7 Chip
64 Bit Architecture
At least for the moment, this is about promise and not much else. This is another forward-looking move by Apple. So much so that the jury hasnt even been convened yet to debate the benefits it might bring. Until App developers start taking advantage of the new architecture and instruction set, we wont know if this is a big deal or not. I cant grade this (and neither can anyone else) until we see what this brings in the future. Will more addressable memory make a difference down the road? Will this make photography and video easier to edit? Will gaming benefit? Again, well see in the future if the promise is worth the push.
Battery Life
I dont see any material change one way or the other on my device in several weeks worth of usage as compared to the iPhone 5. There is a bigger battery in the iPhone 5s, but Im guessing there is a trade off that keeps things on par with the previous iteration. In my typical usage that is more than enough to get through most days, so thats a plus. (Note: I set up my iPhone 5s as a new iPhone and rebuilt it from scratch as opposed to bringing things over from a backup.) To give this a grade feels like cheating. Apple may have upped the batter size, but the tradeoffs leave my experience the same. Call it a wash.
Speed and Performance
Again, like with Battery Life, I notice very little substantial change between the 5 and the 5s. Some of Apples Apps (Safari, Contacts, etc) seem to run snappier and scroll faster, but then they have been compiled for the 64 bit architecture. But in day to day usage, Im not seeing any significant speed or performance bump. Time and newer Apps may change this, but for now, all is about the same. I was happy before with speed and performance on the iPhone 5. Im still happy. Grade this an A.
Screen
Theres really no change in the screen of the iPhone 5s. Its the same retina screen as the iPhone 5. That said, to my eye, the screen on the iPhone 5 is noticeably easier to read in bright sunlight than that of the iPhone 5s. Curious. Grade this a B.
Multi-path TCP and Siri
I consider this a potential real win in the forward-looking category. In iOS 7 Apple has included a new technology called Multi-path TCP. Essentially this allows your device to transmit and receive data over multiple radios simultaneously, as in this case over LTE and WiFi. I had read about this and was eager to test it out. Fortunately, this free lance gig I was in the middle of when I picked up the iPhone 5s allowed opportunities for that to happen. Using the iPhone 5 with iOS 6 when I would be outside my living quarters I would be on the fringe of the WiFi network I was using. If youve ever attempted to use Siri when you are in that situation you know what happens. Nothing. Siri doesnt like this. In order to get any sort of data flow I had to turn off WiFi and rely on LTE in these types of locations as the WiFi network wanted priority and kept LTE from kicking in. Of course I could have just walked a few more steps away. But thats beside the point. Once I updated to the iPhone 5 to iOS 7, the multi-path TCP kicked in and the connection was much better. Siri didnt flop once while in that same area. I wont say it was flawless and that I saw no interruption or occasional slow down, but Siri did its thing more frequently without interruption. Fortunately for iOS users this is a function of IOS 7 and not just the new iPhone 5s or 5c. Apparently Apple is only using this for Siri at the moment, and while that makes sense given the transfer of data back and forth over servers that needs to occur for Siri to work, heres hoping we see this open up a bit more some day. Grade this a B given this early inclusion.
Read: More GBM iPhone 5s Coverage
The iPhone 5s in Summary
Apple has proudly called this its most forward-looking phone to date. That may indeed be the case. But just like every new production of every new play begins rehearsals with great promise of success, the proof of that success lies not in the promise but in the execution. Anyone can stage a fancy roll out and offer great press releases about the promise of great success. (Well, there was that Samsung roll out in New York.) If the iPhone 5s is all about looking forward, then well have to wait and see what the future might yield. Right about the time that iPhone 6 rumors heat up, we should start to glimpse how far forward Apple and iOS developers are looking. Is it a solid new iPhone? Yes. But if youre moving from a iPhone 5 Id think twice this holiday season and into next year.
Back to the change thing here for a moment. There is no doubt that iOS 7 is a significant change on many levels. Theres the new design, improved multi-tasking, and Apple is starting to take better advantage of touch in good ways in the UI. There are under the hood and user experience changes that make a lot of sense, but the surface design changes leave me scratching my head. When something changes this much, it is often difficult to discern whether one is responding to the change as something different, or responding to change as something that is honestly a change that may or may not make sense. After installing iOS 7 on the iPhone 5, an iPad mini and an iPad 4, in addition to working with it on the iPhone 5s, I can honestly say that my responses are to what I perceive as faults in the design changes and not just because things are different.
Design Changes
When I first saw iOS 7 introduced I was appalled at the design changes. What I saw in renderings reminded me of that era when the fashion world collectively decided to make everything in mustard, puke green, and cow patty brown. My initial impressions of iOS 7 were that this change was not going to be for me. To a certain degree Im still there, but after using the new OS I understand where Mr. Ive is going. I just dont think I like it as much as most. Caveat here: beauty is in the eye of the beholder. So, you may see things differently and if cow patty brown is your favorite color, I apologize. Lets talk about some specifics why I think the design changes arent that great.

Color Overload
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