We're on a countdown until the inevitable Next iPhone, a moment that feels far less anticipated than last year. In 2012 we had the iPhone 5 casting a shadow of mystery: a rumored design revamp, the curiosity surrounding the first post-Steve Jobs iPhone, plus overdue features, namely, LTE and a larger screen. This year, we have rumors of slightly better cameras, colored cases, and maybe a fingerprint reader.
So what can Apple do to make the next iPhone a huge hit?
Simple. Give it killer battery life.
The phone market is suffering a bit of ennui mid-2013. "Peak smartphone" has become a repeated phrase, and heard of, "Phones are boring." It reminds of laptops: those also-useful, also-commodified products that nearly everyone has but nobody feels all that compelled to immediately replace.
You can't make magic forever. Laptops don't produce stupendous feats of technology anymore: maybe phones are just finally going that path, too. But that doesn't mean there aren't certain critical improvements.
The MacBook Air had a pretty minor set of changes this year, so few that it's hard to consider it a "new" laptop. But the dramatic improvement in battery life is a huge selling point. It makes the Air an excellent recomendation.
Android phones with great battery life are out there, particularly Motorola's recent phones: the Droid Maxx, the Razr Maxx before it, and the new Moto X. The Moto X is a classic example of how a phone without cutting-edge specs can win with improved design, battery life, and an extra feature or two.
