An old Nexus mockup. Will the iPhone 5 have its hands full with the new Nexus?For the multitude of Android phones that have already been released in 2011, it looks like the big smartphone battle between Apple and Google in 2011 will come gladiator-style — mono e mono — between a new Google-branded Nexus device and the iPhone 5, according to a recent report from TechCrunch. In the article, writer MG Siegler outlines a recent presser with Google Android execs, wherein Android head Andy Rubin explained that, “I think the Nexus has been the thing we use to set the bar,” and that “the cycles are holidays and the summer time” in terms of the Nexus’ release schedule.
When you think about it, the Nexus release schedule seems well-positioned to take on the next release of the iPhone 5, which could launch anywhere between the end of the Summer and the Christmas holiday, according to a litany of reports and analyses.
It comes as no surprise: although Google has empowered a wide range of device manufacturers and service providers to sell Android-loaded phones, the Nexus line of smartphones — branded exclusively by Google as their flagship design — is the heir apparent and natural rival to the iPhone.
To be sure, the populous line of Android phones have managed to put up impressive numbers against the iPhone 4, even with its Verizon and White iterations helping sales. According to Life Of Android, “[analysts] Canalys estimates that of the total 101 million smartphones shipped during Q1 2011, 37.3 million were Android handsets. That compares with 18.65 million iPhone shipments during the same period.” Other reports based on Google’s own press releases indicate that over 100 million Android phones have been activated to date, versus just under 74 million for the iPhone since its launch in 2007, according to Wikipedia.
But for as much as Android has come into its own in the past couple years and eclipsed Apple in total market share, the Nexus class smartphone does not come close to matching the iPhone in sales. After the abortive launch of the Nexus One (which the iPhone destroyed in sales), the Nexus S has managed to become a somewhat more bona fide Android offering. However, based on what Andy Rubin recently said, Google’s goal to to make the next Nexus an equal to the iPhone 5 is an audacious project, considering the lackluster performance of the Nexus thus far.
What the iPhone 5 Will Have To Contend With On the Next Nexus:
In order for the next Nexus to combat the iPhone 5, it will have to do way better than its predecessors in terms of features and performance. TechCruch has commented that we’ll probably see “a Nexus running Ice Cream Sandwich (the next version of Android that will unify the tablet Honeycomb OS with Android phones)? Perhaps.” This kind of thing is something that looks to be a preemptive answer to iOS 5 and the overall iOS approach.
The other rumor is that the new Nexus will be 4G. Now, whether that means “real 4G” or “fake 4G” remains a question that transcends discussion of the Nexus, as we have already parsed in another article about the iPhone 5 being a possible 4G phone.
Despite the fact that Android is a chief concern and competitor for Apple, the Nexus in an of itself still remains in the iPhone’s rear-view mirror. But in spite of the fact that the Nexus has been a bit of a bust, Apple would be well-advised to design the iPhone 5 with the prospect of an impressive Nexus model being released right on its heels, sometime in the waning months of 2011.
Posted: 13 May 2011 04:00 AM PDT
Where is the line drawn on reporting on iPhone 5 news & rumors and commenting on it?Responding to my recent iPhone 5 News Blog posting entitled: “Christmas-if-You’re-Lucky iPhone 5 Launch? – Say It Isn’t So, But
Apple Obviously Wants You To Buy A White iPhone 4 Now,” reader Braden comments:
“…you do these awesome blogs but you never out your personal opinion at
the bottom of them. Do you think we should wait for the iPhone 5 or wing
it and get the iPhone 4 and hope for the best?”
A good question that doesn’t lend itself to a simple answer. A key point here is that this site is called “The iPhone 5 News Blog,” and not “The iPhone 5 Op-Ed Blog” or some such. That doesn’t mean that it’s written in stone that our blog writers are to never express personal opinions — it’s also a blog as well as a news and rumors site — but in many, probably most, instances we are primarily reporting the news or latest scuttlebutt.
Personally, I don’t think it’s really possible to achieve complete objectivity in even straight news reportage, and I say that from the perspective of a sometime news reporter and newspaper editor. Even when writing straight news or technical pieces, I never attempt to hide or disguise my voice, and I don’t think there is anything wrong with expressing an opinion, so long as one does their best to be scrupulously fair, and doesn’t pretend to be merely an unbiased fly-on-the-wall. For all I know flies may indeed be unbiased, but humans aren’t, even when they think they are.
In his book “Saturday Night Lives: Selected Diaries,” John Fraser, former editor of the now defunct Saturday Night magazine, and who has a lot of cred on this topic, having been a reporter and foreign correspondent for the Globe and Mail for 17 years, delivers a withering critique of the journalistic objectivity cult — calling it “one of the vainest goals a humble craft ever set itself.”
“There is no such thing as a strictly objective story,” declares Fraser. “It isn’t possible. Everything — from the structure of an article to the choice of facts is filtered through a particular outlook and a prejudiced mind…. The most you can hope for… is relative honesty. And the very best (ie: the most honest) journalists always let their readers know their specific prejudices and the general nature of the intellectual equipment through which they distill their stories.”
Fraser goes on to say that two basic traits distinguishing good journalists are “curiosity and a desire to communicate,” — these channelled toward broad general knowledge, wide reading, and a few areas of specialization, and that reporting should the the “last safe redoubt of the generalist,” and that all claims to a higher calling are “bunk.”
However, interestingly, Braden seems to be asking for more rather than less journalistic advocacy and news editorializing, which in the old newspaper game we might’ve called a “man bites dog” story.
So, getting back to his main point of query: “Do you think we should wait for the iPhone 5 or wing it and get the iPhone 4 and hope for the best?,” I’m afraid that there’s no simple “one size fits all” answer because there are so many variables in play, such as what phone you’re using now or whether have one at all; individual financial circumstances; service provider contracts; varying personal tastes as to being an early adopter of the latest and greatest or a more cautious devotee of mature technology. Consequently, placing too much emphasis and advocacy on what I would do or am doing vis-a-vis the iPhone 4 now versus iPhone 5 matter would necessarily not be relevant to the needs, tastes, and individual circumstances of many readers.
Generally speaking, the timing of any tech product purchase or upgrade is always a bit of a roll of the dice. Whenever you take the plunge, it’s inevitable that six or eight or ten months hence, or even sooner, something even cooler, more powerful, and possibly cheaper will be sluicing down the product pipeline.
For a concrete example, my current workhorse production computer is a late 2008 unibody aluminum MacBook that I bought in March, 2009 — just four months before Apple released the 13″ MacBook Pro in the same form factor and at the same price, but with a faster processor, a FireWire port, and a SD Card slot, Did I experience some buyer’s remorse? You bet! However, the MacBook has been an excellent computer, totally reliable, adequately speedy for my needs, and while I could use the extra speed and especially the FireWire port on the subsequent and later models, I really have nothing to complain about.
I think that folks who decide to buy an iPhone 4 over the next few months will find themselves in a somewhat similar dynamic. The iPhone 5 will arrive eventually, and they’ll be somewhat committed to an older, mature and still very capable (especially with iOS 5 installed) but inevitably less powerful and cool-featured device unless they’re fortunate enough that money for frequent hardware upgrades is no object.
Personally, my own provisional deduction is that the strongest likelihood is that Apple will now hold off launching the iPhone 5 until after the beginning of its next fiscal year in October, and just in time for the Christmas season buying spike, while releasing the iOS 5 in the meantime, which should help make the waiting pass more agreeably for iPhone 4 users.
However, the operative disclaimer when discussing unreleased Apple products still applies, and my opinion is a somewhat well-informed guess at best.
Meanwhile, we’ll keep on blogging the iPhone 5 (and increasingly the iPhone 6) and relaying the latest information we have. Hope that helps a bit.
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