Top 10 iPhone 5 features we want Apple to include
Improvements, upgrades and fixes we want in hugely anticipated device
So the wait is almost over. In just a few days on 12 September Apple will unveil the iPhone 5, the device the world has been waiting to see all year, and we can all see if it's worth the fuss.
Key rivals Samsung have already shown their hand with several devices, such as the Galaxy Note 2, Galaxy S3 and even the Windows Phone 8 powered Ativ S, while Nokia and Microsoft teamed up to wax lyrical about the Lumia 820 and 920 earlier this week.
So, with all eyes on Apple and its much anticipated device, we've put together a little wish lists of things we want Tim Cook, Jony Ives and the rest of the Apple crew to have fixed or improved to ensure the new device is a suitable enhancement on the iPhone 4S.
10. Improve the text input system
Given how much of our lives we spend staring into our iPhones typing out text messages, emails and web searches, it's amazing how we've survived with such a poor quality text input system.
Anyone who's used a rival operating system, particularly Windows Phone, will know how much better it can be. Apple's autocorrect system is fairly useless, often comically so, while it offers no alternatives as you type, unlike on Microsoft's platform which offers multiple suggestions, usually accurate, to help speed up the process.
Hopefully with a bigger screen this may improve, but perhaps with iOS 6 Apple will have tweaked the whole input system to offer a more fluid, intuitive way of texting those all important messages to friends, families and colleagues.
Top 10 iPhone 5 features we want Apple to include
Improvements, upgrades and fixes we want in hugely anticipated device
9. Stop calls and data connections dropping out so often
Antennae-gate, as it became known, was perhaps the most infamous blotch on Apple's copybook from the last few years. Then-chief executive Steve Jobs was forced to stand on stage and announce a fix for the problem that caused calls and data connections to drop out depending how you held the phone.
However, while this related to a specific issue on the iPhone 4 devices, it's fair to say Apple's products are not the best at offering a strong, consistent signal, with calls and data connections prone to disappearing for no apparent reason.
This can be immensely frustrating when you're in a location that shows full signal, only for it to then suddenly drop off complete before returning again a minute or so later, for no rhyme or reason.
Hopefully Apple has improved their telecoms hardware chops to make this issue a thing of the past.
8. Let us delete or move pre-installed apps
This may be a minor gripe, but it's one of those things that grates enough over time to really frustrate you and give weight to those "control freak" arguments often levelled at Apple - why can't you move or delete preloaded apps?
The Newsstand App, as an example, is perfectly nice, but we just don't use it that much, so it'd be nice to hide it away in a folder and use it as and when required, if ever. But for no clear reason Apple won't let you do this, so there it sits, a complete unused app on your screen.
While we're at it, why can't we put more than 12 apps in a folder? This seems ridiculous as for same categories, such as Games and Travel, there are far more than 12 apps worth having, but making two or even three folders to house them all seems unnecessary. Can't we just scroll down?
Top 10 iPhone 5 features we want Apple to include
Improvements, upgrades and fixes we want in hugely anticipated device
7. Fix the email attachments system
Apple claims its iOS email software is the most advanced on the mobile market, yet it's still lacking an email attachment feature, one of our biggest grips with the current iPhones.
Sure, you can add a picture from the gallery application, but that's simply not good enough for a phone that claims to offer the best email services for business users. Fingers crossed iOS 6 will sort this out.
6. Boost the camera technology to stay at the head of the pack
It's not as if the iPhone 4S has a bad camera, in fact with its crisp Retina Display and 8MP lens it's one of the best on the market. However, the public always wants more, so Apple needs to unveil something new and innovative to keep people happy.
After Nokia's launch of the Lumia 920 boasting Pureview technology and augmented reality heads up display information, Apple will know that its iPhone 5 will be judged against its new rival.
With camera increasingly one of the main selling points for smartphones Apple can't rest on its laurels, and no doubt it's got a trick or two up its sleeve. We await with interest.
5. Quad-core processor to keep pace with market growth
While some, including us, would argue that equipping the iPhone 5 with a quad-core processor isn't necessary, giving that all iOS apps are optimised to run smoothly on the smartphone, it'd be nice to see Apple catching up with the Android competition.
A quad-core processor would bring Apple's next-gen iPhone up to speed with the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S3 and HTC One X, and while not a needed addition, could well make the iPhone 5 the fastest phone to hit the smartphone market.
Top 10 iPhone 5 features we want Apple to include
Improvements, upgrades and fixes we want in hugely anticipated device
4. Live updating apps so it's not always 10.15 and sunny
It's not a big deal really, but we really can't get our head around why the iPhone doesn't come with live updating applications, apart from, bizarrely, the calendar app which always displays the correct date.
However, the Clock app is constantly fooling us into believing its 10.15, while Apple's pre-loaded Weather application is always teasing us with the promise of 23 degrees heat and a beautiful sunny day.
While it wouldn't be a massive change, equipping the iPhone with a full set of updating apps would give the smartphone a much more personal, and less annoying, feel.
3. Improve the battery life
Ok, we say this every time, but smartphone battery life is a nightmare. You're lucky if you can get one day of moderate use before the device is blinking its last, until it gets a sweet hit of electrical juice.
The iPhone is no different, and whether or not the firm can do anything different to the rest of the industry remains to be seen. But with Samsung hitting as high as 2100mAh on the Galaxy S3, there is cleary room for improvement.
It'd be great if Apple could boost the iPhone 5 battery life so that those of us lucky enough to get our hands on the fancy new device are able to show it off all day long
Top 10 iPhone 5 features we want Apple to include
Improvements, upgrades and fixes we want in hugely anticipated device
2. Add NFC technology to keep pace with rivals
Near Field Communication technology is becoming an increasingly common feature on Android smartphones, with Samsung, HTC and pretty much every manufacturer under the sun putting it on their flagship products.
The technology offers several benefits, such as letting you transfer files and make wireless payments, and now even Nokia is on board too with the Lumia 920.
Considering how far ahead Samsung and Google are, with services like Google Wallet and S Beam we're thinking Apple would be remiss to not add NFC technology to its next iPhone.
1. Increase the screen size to match Android behemoths
Every Apple iPhone has had the same 3.5in screen, reportedly because Steve Jobs put out an edict dictating this was the optimum size for a smartphone screen, and what Jobs wanted he got.
However, thanks to Android, we've since had a chance to try screens breaking past the 4in mark and have to say the extra room is pretty nice.
Larger screens not only make everyday tasks like typing easier, they also make the smartphone better for gaming, watching videos and reading web pages.
While we're not asking Apple to move into the ridiculous 5.5in dimensions of Samsung's Galaxy Note 2, we do think its time the company gave the next iPhone's screen a slight bump up in size.