Apple’s iPhone changed the cell phone game several years ago, but now competitors have caught up, and rather than innovating, the phone seems to be content just being the same as it was with a few minor tweaks. This may keep the faithful hanging on, but it doesn’t do much to excite potential customers.
In a market that is flooded with devices that get better and better, and do more and more, Apple has once again found a way to separate itself from the pack. They have decided to aim themselves at a niche group, but one that is likely growing all the time: the thrill-seekers.
Introducing the iPhone 5, the first smart phone that could kill you.
Because of a long, boring and sometimes legal spat between Apple and Google, the decision was made to remove Google Maps, arguably the most useful app ever invented, from the iPhone, beginning with number five. They thought, “Hey, we can make our own mapping app and innovate in our own way.” And as it was well-documented earlier this year, they were very, very wrong. As it turns out, Apple Maps is horribly inaccurate, but now its creators can add “potentially deadly” to its accolades.
Australian police are warning people against using Apple Maps, because it could put them 40 miles into in the middle of the Outback, rather than in the middle of a national park, in a town called Mildura. The app gets the location of the city so wrong that if drivers use it for navigation, they may end up in a life-threatening situation. Soaring temperatures and a lack of food and water could put you in a place where not even Siri can save you. It seems reasonable to assume that this is one of many ways Apple Maps can kill you.
But this is where Apple once again shows its genius. When everyone else zigs, it zags. While so many other phones tout ease of use and simplification of day-to-day life, Apple wants the customers who like life on the edge. Apple thinks different, and it continues to allow its customers to think the same way.
We’ve become too reliant on technology. We trust our phones with nearly everything, and it’s only going to get worse. The iPhone 5 is a physical reminder not to let the machines take over our lives, because they may not have our best interests at heart.
You don’t want to fear for your safety? You think this is just a poorly-constructed app? Maybe you’re just not ready for it, man.