Apple appears to be at a standstill when it comes to product innovation, allowing Android to pick up where it left off. The upcoming iPhone 5S and iPhone 6 smartphones will have to contribute to the innovation of mobile devices to compete.
Recent reports are that Apple's next operating system, iOS 7, will be a complete overhaul of the system, which is hopefully true. Perhaps at last there will be some way to at least customize the UI on the iPhone 5S or the iPhone 6. If not, at least offer users some new feature that will wow them.
When Google's Android comes out with new software updates, the process seems to be well thought-out and the update is more than just to fix minor bugs. The Jelly Bean updates come with improved features that are useful to customers. When Google announced Jelly Bean 4.1 at its Google I/O last year, the primary goal was to improve user performance and the functionality of the UI.
One of the more popular apps included in the Android Jelly Bean firmware is Google Now. The Google Now feature is not a voice recognition service like Apple's Siri, but more of a virtual assistant.
Google Now also predicts users' needs based on their search history and user habits. This app turned out to be so awesome that it recently became available for iOS.
Apple updates have come to the iPhone through iOS 6, but even though users said it ran a bit smoother, it didn't really feature anything too major other than the maps. That turned out to be a disaster with the bugs. The update to iOS 6.1 yielded additional problems with sound and 3G connections, and then there was the discovery of a major security flaw found in the lockscreen.
These problems have since been corrected and iOS users anticipate the arrival of iOS7 with some amazing new features. Android innovation is going along much faster, as users will see one more Android Jelly Bean update prior to the release of the next OS, expected to be Android Key Lime Pie.
Recent reports of delays on the new iOS 7 firmware have much to with Apple most likely revamping the entire operating system design. "Apple is really under tremendous pressure to come out with something different and something new, analyst at Opus Research, Greg Sterling said.
Android has taken the lead in innovation with its frequent software updates on user devices across the board, making the latest upcoming Apple iPhone 5S and iPhone 6 handsets appear outdated way before the expected release dates.
