I want a Swype keyboard on my iPhone and I want it now! It’s on my Android Google Nexus 4. So, I have to ask Apple, why? Why can’t I choose?
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That’s a rhetorical question… the reason is that Steve Jobs does not want me to have one. Read on…
You‘ve all been there. Invited to a party you are really not looking forward to. It’s not your crowd, you’re not in the mood, but you have an obligation to go. Invariably, your expectations are so low, they are always exceeded. You end up having a great time and enjoying it!
And so to WWDC 2013, the annual Apple Worldwide Developers Conference Keynote presentation. I’ve previously blogged about my wavering iFanatic status. So, like many, I only halfheartedly waited. Normally I’d jump at the chance to watch the event live on Apple TV. This time, I chose to pass.
As the day progressed, I picked up the occasional snippet from tweets. Then I saw a picture of the wonderful new Mac Pro. Like the dreaded, low expectation party, suddenly, I was enjoying myself. I joined in and played catch-up.
First came OS X. There were real, interesting improvements in “Mavericks”, the first post big-cat release of OS X. A clear strategy and useful functionality in iCloud; especially the wireless synchronisation across all Mac and iOS devices. And an incredible iWork for iCloud which gives Apple a powerful competitor to Google Apps and Microsoft’s Office 365.
Next came the wonderful new Mac Pro… love it or hate it (and the tally on the internet is currently running 50:50) it doesn’t really matter. The Mac Pro is important to the high-end, professional users and in reality, this has become almost irrelevant to the Apple business (except for the brand positioning). The machine will succeed if it delivers value for its pro demographic and should be available at the end of the year.
Then… da-da-dah… the pièce de résistance… iOS7. We had been expecting a redesign; flatter, cleaner, more Ive’esque iOS. There hadn’t been any other rumours at all and expectations were low.
What we got was so much more. A fundamental overhaul of nearly every aspect of the operating system. I’m not going to regurgitate it all here. If you search for “iOS 7” today in Google, there are nearly 45-million results… you can find everything you need to know there.
Yes the party definitely exceeded my expectations.
But now, a few days later, I’m not sure. Even though a dreaded party may actually be better than expected, will you go again? No, probably not. And that’s what happened with Apple.
The biggest problem; all the iOS improvements are simply playing catch up with the latest Android. I have an iPhone and a Nexus 4 and there are frustrations with both. But, the issues with the iPhone are more fundamental.
I don’t use the built-in Apple apps, and Apple doesn’t like that. Apple thinks it knows better. Apple wants to decide what I do. For all the amazing news from WWDC, iOS7 was the most important and yet it did not remove its egos from the design. Here are my examples:
I use the magnificent Mailbox (recently acquired by Dropbox) instead of the built-in Apple Mail. Every time another app wants to send an email, it opens the wrong app. Why, Apple? Why can’t I choose?
I use the sensational Sunrise calendar app. Sunrise is not a company “it’s a project made by two friends to simplify your life” instead of the built-in Apple Calendar. Every time another app wants to access the calendar, it opens the wrong app. Why, Apple? Why can’t I choose?
I use the wonderful Waze GPS/mapping app that Google just bought for more than US$1-billion instead of the built-in Apple Maps. Every time another app wants to show a map, it opens the wrong app. Why, Apple? Why can’t I choose?
This just doesn’t happen with Android. I may not have the magnificent iMessage, the fabulous FaceTime, or the perfect Photostream. But if you search a bit, there are alternatives and everything works how I want it.
So if I want a Swype keyboard on my iPhone, I can’t get it. And all of this is due to the ever-present shadow of Steve Jobs. Let me remind you of the original Apple keyboard story, courtesy of Alan Deutschman in his book The Second Coming of Steve Jobs, 2001:
Not long before Steve Jobs’ second coming to Apple in 1996 he was giving a talk to The Stanford Graduate School of Business’ High Tech Club at the home of a student. For three hours he sat in the lotus position on the floor in front of the living-room fireplace answering questions good-naturedly. Afterwards, the host, a young MBA candidate named Steve Jurvetson, asked the legendary figure to autograph his Macintosh keyboard which had already been signed by Apple cofounder Steve Woznyak.
Steve Jobs said he’d do it, but only if first he could remove all the unnecessary keys that his successors had added in a foolish effort to make the Mac more like a Microsoft-Intel PC. He despised the long row of so-called function keys (like “F1”) and the cluster of navigational arrow keys. Jobs pulled his car keys out of his pocket and began violently disgorging all the keys that offended him. “I’m changing the world one keyboard at a time”, he said with a straight face. Only then when he had mutilated it, did he take a pen and scribble his autograph on the back next to the other Steve’s.
Jobs always insisted that he knew best. He would decide what was best for you. As it was with the original physical keyboard on the Mac, so it has to be with the virtual keyboard on the iPhone. Even when technology advanced and function keys added value, he would not be swayed. And now, even with many new and innovative keyboards for mobile devices, we are stuck with the original, ancient iPhone version.
You can disagree with me, I know lots of people who love the iPhone keyboard. The point is, I want a Swype keyboard on my iPhone and I want it now! Why, Apple? Why can’t I choose? It’s defiantly something to discuss at a party. What do you think?
