Operating System Upgrade vs. New iPhone

            The iPhone 5 is now available and so is the new iPhone system upgrade iOS6. At first when learning about the features on the new phone, I didn’t feel an overwhelming desire to own the latest technology. There was only one feature that I thought would be an excellent addition to my phone, the new turn-by-turn map system. However, I now have that technology on my iPhone 4s courtesy of a free upgrade.

            So, why get the new iPhone 5 when the system upgrade contains excellent non-hardware updates? In addition to the turn-by-turn navigation, the new mapping system can show real-time traffic conditions like accidents and road construction. It also includes a new perspective on maps with interactive 3-D aerial views of major metro areas. Another feature that is not necessary, but is a fun perk is the new voice call options. When someone is calling you and you can’t pick up you can instead send the call to voice mail, reply with a message, or click for a reminder of the phone call. The new phone also has a panorama camera option. Lastly the integrated Facebook feature makes connecting with people easier as I am now able to post a picture to Facebook directly from my camera or photos and post my location in a status directly from the maps app. These features alone are more than I could possibly need.

            Then there are the updated options that are nice, but probably won’t get as much use on my phone. Siri is able to deliver answers to new kinds of questions about sports scores and movie reviews, but as it is Siri doesn’t understand a thing I say. You can also share your photo stream via the cloud, but there are already numerous apps that allow me to share photos. Passbook allows users to organize your boarding passes, coupons, gift certificates, movie tickets and more. However, I don’t often use these electronic receipts.

            Although the new iOS6 upgrade has all one could possibly need in a phone, some have still gone out to purchase the iPhone5 and many more plan to. Sure the new phone is a bit thinner and the camera’s optics are better, but at what point are we content with the technology we have available? At what point do we stop consuming new versions of technology? After all, many of the non-spec features on the iPhone 5 are similar to the new operating system and also not vital to everyday life. In this case, it seems people are rushing out to get the latest technology just to have it rather than because they actually need it.