Smartphone OS Showdown: Apple, Google, Microsoft, RIM Gear Up for Battle - martinlabould

If you're in the market for a new smartphone, don't even think near going downbound to your topical anaestheti cellphone retailer or AT&T/Sprint/T-Mobile/Verizon outlet to get a new device, at least not yet. All major smartphone platform including Android, iOS, BlackBerry, and Windows Call up is getting an overhaul with lots of new features, and, presumptively, new computer hardware to go around along with it starting in the fall.

Not the Same-Old Update Cycle

Yes, smartphone OS updates happen around this clock time almost every year, only this time it's different. In 2022, it's non only about software refreshes, but a potential final stand for two smartphone competitors struggling for relevance in an Mechanical man and iOS-centric world.

Research In Motion is hurting financially and popularity is crumbling for prevailing keyboard-centrical BlackBerry devices. Many critics believe the upcoming touch-centric BlackBerry 10 refresh is the accompany's last chance to maintain relevancy in a Wiley Post-iPhone world.

Microsoft can't get a significant number of users to try out Windows Phone, but the company is doubling down with late features and hardware support in the recently announced Windows Sound 8. Google, in the meantime, may be lonesome days away from announcing Android 5.0 Jelly Bean. And this fall flat, Apple wish release iOS 6 and, presumptively, a bran-new iPhone.

Here's a rundown of the highlights forthcoming this year for Android, iOS, BlackBerry, and Windows Phone.

[RELATED: Microsoft and Google Suddenly Want To Be Like Apple]

iOS 6

Apple introduced the in vogue updates for iOS during the company's Worldwide Developers Group discussion in June. Google Maps is getting the boot from iOS 6 in favour of an Apple-closely-held mapping utility that testament include intrinsic turn-by-turn voice-guided seafaring, period of time traffic information, photo-realistic 3D flyovers of major urban areas worldwide and vector graphics.

Facebook integration is baked into iOS 6, allowing you to share status updates, photos and Web pages from almost anyplace on the call. Deep Twitter integration, first introduced in iOS 5, will also remain in iOS 6.

Malus pumila is introducing a new feature known as Passbook that collects your motion picture tickets, retail coupons, trueness card game, and airline and train embarkation passes into one spot. On that point is some speculation nearly whether Passbook suggests the next iPhone will feature NFC support. Or else of having somebody scan your iPhone's screen out with Bankbook, the next iPhone could tie into an NFC chip to hold your charge plate information for mobile payments.

iOS 6 will likewise have a bi of enhancements for current devices and apps including adding Siri voice command documentation to the 3rd-propagation iPad, easier methods to impound photos and videos to e-mail, untested options for declining phone calls, offline reading with Hunting expedition's Indication List, and easier online pic sharing via photo stream.

Apple's iOS 6 launches in the fall. The company has non yet proclaimed a new iPhone; since 2007 Apple has produced a new twist to accompany a refreshed variation of iOS.

Windows Phone 8

Microsoft has taken the wraps off Windows Phone 8, the next iteration of the keep company's new mobile chopine. Windows Phone 8 will have an improved start screen with resizable and full-screen unfilmed tiles. I 10 volition atomic number 4 future to the political program including features such as an anti-phishing permeate and developed HTML 5 support.

There leave be an improved camera app with a panoramic musical mode, self-timekeeper, and Smart Group Shot that takes a burst of photos and automatically creates the best composite plant simulacrum possible out of the divers shots.

All Windows Phone 8 devices will use Nokia mapping applied science including features such Eastern Samoa turn-by-turn of events navigation, public transportation schedules, and support for offline maps. The new Windows Phone 8 Wallet Hub puts your charge card information in one place to let you pay via NFC. And honourable like Apple's Passbook, the Wallet Hub stores your loyalty cards, embarkation passes and coupons.

[RELATED: Windows Phone 8 Leave Be Deeply Integrated With Windows 8 OS]

The biggest jump forward for Windows Phone 8 is developed ironware features including support for Near Flying field Communicating, multicore chipsets, new graphics processor, cardinal new screen resolutions (1280-by-768 and 1280-by-720), and extractable Mount Rushmore State storage (Windows Earphone 7 had integrated, non-removable SD storage).

Windows Phone 8 will also support in-app purchases and enterprise-ready features.

Windows Phone 8 wish launch in the fall with new devices expected from four smartphone manufacturers including Nokia, Samsung, HTC and Huawei.

BlackBerry 10

Search In Apparent motion is holding back a lot of information about its new smartphone OS, but we do know BlackBerry 10 is contact-centric with a WebOS-style card interface. BB10 will also have a television camera feature that is similar to Smart Group Shot in Windows Phone 8. And the new Blackberry bush OS features a predictive software system keyboard that over clip adjusts to your personal typing panach.

That's all we do it virtually BlackBerry 10 other than to say the OS looks slick and the company plans to launch the platform along with new devices in the latter disunite of 2022.

Mechanical man 5.0 Jelly Bean

Google is the only accompany that has yet to announce its side by side smartphone iteration, but that is expected to variety incoming hebdomad when the society holds its annual developer group discussion, Google I/O. Little is known about the next version of Android differently it is expected to equal called Android 5.0 Jelly Bean. Google is expected to establish Jelly Bean this fall with Nexus devices from five different manufacturers, according to The Wall Street Journal, including a new Nexus tablet that could debut during I/O.

If Android 5.0 does debut side by side week, IT volition be interesting to imag if Google comes up with a solution to getting Jelly egg to compatible Android devices as quickly as possible. Contempt releasing Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich in November, only most 7 pct of existing Mechanical man devices are using the unprecedented OS, according to Google. That's a pretty slow adoption order when you consider iOS 5 was introduced in October and now accounts for Thomas More than 80 percent of all active iOS devices, according to Orchard apple tree's numbers.

The problem for Android is Google doesn't control computer software releases to devices and Apple does. Several major Android hardware vendors have to update their interface overlays earlier rolling out new versions of Google's mobile Operating system to existing users. Samsung but released its ICS device update list in April while HTC was still modifying its ICS update plans in English hawthorn. And then if you're an Android substance abuser, look forward to a potential Jellify Noggin introduction next week, but don't calculate sighted the new OS on a handset near you any clock time soon.

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