How iPhone 5 may help (or hurt) your productivity

How iPhone 5 may help (or hurt) your productivity

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09.12.2012
In a widely publicized press conference, Apple announced the arrival of the iPhone 5 today, and if you're like me, you want to know what all the fuss is about and if it's worth it to upgrade. Below you will find my initial thoughts on the latest features and how they may impact your productivity.
 
1)  Larger Display – The iPhone 5 has officially graduated from a 3.5” diagonal screen to a 4” diagonal display. While this is clearly good news for gamers and video watchers, it should also have a positive impact on your productivity.
 
With the larger display, Apple has added a fifth row of apps to the home screen, which allows you to quickly view and access four additional apps or folders without having to scroll to another screen.
 
The larger display also allows you to view your full calendar week on the native calendar app.  Currently, you can only view your calendar in day, month, and list formats without using a 3rd party app such as CalenGoo or Week Calendar. This is especially good news for people who are scheduling on-the-go like I am frequently
 
2)  Faster Connectivity – Now the iPhone 5 has 4G LTE, which is simply put “ultrafast wireless technology.” With a faster network comes the ability to get more tasks done in less time while you’re working on-the-go. Only time will tell how much this will boost your productivity (largely dependent on if your have LTE in your geographic area), but the outlook is good.
 
3)  Even Better Camera – It has become standard for Apple to make their camera faster, smaller, and better with each new iPhone release and the iPhone 5 is no different. It now has “iSight” technology.  It takes photos 40% faster (good for efficiency) and includes the capability to take panoramic photos (just super cool).

A word of caution to those who get excited about the new bells and whistles included in iSight – be careful that snapping photos does not become a time waster. That being said, the camera on your iPhone is a great way to capture notes on a whiteboard and then add to a virtual notebook like Evernote, remembering SKUs for favorite products and much more. They key is to make sure you have a system to organize the photos you are taking.
 
4)  Smaller Charger– Since 2003, Apple has had the same 30-pin charger for its iPods, iPhones and iPad. Today, they released the Lightning Connector, which is much smaller than the previous version.

In spite of the fact that all of our carefully stockpiled chargers will become obsolete, it will likely be good in the long run. Apple has created an adapter so you can still connect to your existing sound docks and accessories. On the positive side, we’ll have a smaller charger to carry around with us.

5)  Easier Cloud Access – By far one of the most exciting parts of the iPhone 5 announcement was the integration of iOS 6. Most exciting from a timesaving standpoint is the addition of iCloud tabs. Now, your tabs can be opened in Safari across multiple computers and mobile devices.

Another significant change is the removal of Google Maps and the addition of Apple’s own map program. Now, iPhone users can enjoy the turn-by-turn directions that Android users have benefited from for quite some time.
 
While I am not convinced that Siri saves you time, she is pretty cool to have around and has supposedly improved this time around. I reserve final judgment until I test it.
 
Finally, the addition of Passbook will be interesting to watch over time. Essentially it is a digital wallet that allows you to manage your loyalty cards, coupons, airline tickets, etc. from one place. In theory, this will have a positive impact on your efficiency but I’ll be interested to see how it works first hand.  I already use TripIt to keep track of my travels.
 
For those of you who aren't (how shall we say this nicely) "fans" of the iPhone, don't worry. Stay tuned to our blog and social media for productivity tips related to other mobile devices in the coming months.
 
What are your thoughts on the iPhone 5? What are you excited about from a productivity standpoint?  Leave us a comment!
 
For more information on our favorite iPhone apps, check out the following posts from our archives:
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