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Seven Essential Features For The IPhone 6

THE iPhone 6 is due for release this year and we’re all wondering what it’ll look like, what it’ll do and when it will arrive. But before all that, we need to lay down the hard truth about the features the iPhone 6 needs for Apple to find its mojo once again.Seven essential features for the iPhone 6

Samsung, HTC and the flexy screen fun from LG have been grabbing headlines, flaunting innovative features and stealing the lustre from the iPhone in the process.

The iPhone 5S may be a top performing phone but, design-wise, it hardly stole our hearts. We all wanted a fresh look, new form factor and features you can wave in the face of your Galaxy-touting friend.

Here are the seven things Apple needs to bring to the party to stand head and shoulders above the competition and claim its mobile throne.

BIGGER, BETTER SCREEN:

It’s a pretty strong certainty the iPhone 6 will be bigger in size, after all the trend for larger mobiles is plain to see. All the iPhone’s big rivals all sport bigger displays than its 4-inch effort:

• Nexus 5 – 5-inch

• Samsung Galaxy S4 – 5-inch

• HTC One Max – 5.9-inch

• LG Flex – 6-inch

If you’ve ever used a larger screen you’ll realise how much more of a delightful event web browsing and playing games can be. Rumours have been circulating the iPhone 6 could be a Phablet (a phone so big it’s almost a tablet, like Samsung’s 5.7-inch Note) while others claim Apple will drop a 4.7-inch model.

Whatever the case, the need for a bigger handset is a must. We don’t care if we have to wear clown pants, we know a bigger phone will mean the opportunity for a bigger battery (see below) and less squinting.

Talking of screens, there has been plenty of hushed whispers that the next iPhone could have a flexible display. As well as that the iPhone 6 could see a leap in its screen quality with a rumoured Retina+ display.

LASTING BATTERY LIFE:

You won’t find a single iPhone owner who praises its battery life. The need to charge almost every night is one thing we want eliminated with the iPhone 6. With a bigger handset size, there’ll be more room under the hood for a bigger battery. The problem is with a bigger screen to power the same issue of depleting juice could arise.

This common complaint will continue to haunt Apple and its customers unless its addressed.

GESTURE CONTROL:

Apple recently acquired the company behind the technology of Xbox’s motion-sensing Kinect controller and the thought of using gestures to control your phone would be a winning feature. A touch-free interface where you flick between apps, control music or browse the web by simply waving your hand or moving your eyes like some sort of wizard will win over fans. Or at least those who freak out over fingerprint marks.

TOUGHNESS:

Apple’s gadgets sure are purdy, but the problem is we end up treating them like newborns. We’d like them to toughen up so we don’t sob after every scratch. Apple has been looking into using liquid metal for construction, which basically involves molten metal being poured over many layers to create the phone’s shell. These layers give the surface extra resilience.

It was also recently rumoured that Apple will be working to implement the scratch and impact resistant Sapphire glass for its screens, a material that’s reportedly stronger than Corning Gorilla Glass.

An iPhone we can drop without seeing calls to the insurance company flash before our eyes? Yes please.

KILLER CAMERA:

The iPhone 5S marginally improved its camera by making it bigger and improving low-light shooting, but it still isn’t the best snapper out there. Rivals rock more megapixels, better shooting options and Samsung’s Zoom even comes with a physical lens. A bigger iPhone 6 could mean a bigger sensor which will let more light in for better quality images.

It can currently shoot 10 frames a second but a recent acquisition of an Aussie camera app could mean the next iPhone might have DSLR like high-burst speed shooting of 20-30 frames. Having more professional photography options as you shoot (not just using iPhoto afterwards) would be a great addition.

A patent filed by Apple suggests it might even have the same technology as Lytro – a clever little piece of kit that lets you refocus a picture anywhere in the shot after you’ve taken it.

With the booming use of mobile cameras for capturing life’s moments and selfies, an improvement in this area to take a step further to leaving the compact camera at home would be welcome.

NFC:

Near Field Communications technology is used when you simply swipe your bank card on a PayWave machine when you’re buying a coffee or Big Mac. It’s also the same when you tap the new Opal travel cards. This was touted to be built in previous Apple handsets to buy goods and services but never materialised.

We’d like it now, please. With the rise of contactless technology and cashless payment making life so much easier it’s high time we were able to use our phone as our wallet too.

Google is already doing just this with its Google Wallet app and a whole host of Samsung, LG and HTC phones that you can tap to pay.

While Apple doesn’t seem too keen on the idea, the rest of us are crying out for it.

WIRELESS CHARGING:

Why, when you buy a premium mobile costing hundreds of dollars do you get a charging cable no longer than your forearm? Either make a cable that will actually stretch from wall to safe surface or introduce wireless charging.

If we’re choosing, we’d opt for the latter.

There has been plenty of wireless charging solutions that use induction technology but they all require your gadget to wear a hideous cover with a contact pad built into it. Apple has filed a patent for a wireless charging technology that uses magnets but, then again, it has patented something for almost everything.

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