(Photo: REUTERS/Beck Diefenbach)Members of the media experience the iPhone 5 after its introduction during Apple Inc.'s iPhone media event in San Francisco, California September 12, 2012.Apple unveiled the new iPhone 5 earlier this week and the device is exciting to some, and disappointing to others.
For a company angered with Samsung for copying many of its patented features on its smartphones, Apple seems to have taken a few cues from Google this time around while creating the next-generation iPhone.
The most obvious example of Apple being inspired by Google is the company's decision to add panorama picture taking to the iPhone 5's camera's abilities.
Panorama first appeared on the Android platform with 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich. The feature has made its way to many popular smartphones running the software such as the Galaxy S2, Galaxy S3, Galaxy Note, and the Droid Razr Maxx. Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich debuted last November, launching on the Samsung Galaxy Nexus. Nearly one year later, Apple decided to add this feature to the iPhone.
Other similar Android features found on the new iPhone include some of the updates made to Siri.
The personal voice assistant now has the ability to find sports scores for a user's favorite team and can find a restaurant or fetch movie showtimes.
Most of these commands can be issued on Google Now, the company's answer to Apple's Siri that launched on Android 4.1, JellyBean.
So aside from the features spoken about here, is there anything original brought by Apple to the new iPhone?
Well the simple answer is no, and that is not necessarily a bad thing. Smartphone creators seem to have hit a dead end in terms of adding features and Apple is not excluded from this. Apple could crush the competition simply by adding the same features, but making them more smooth and efficient. This is something Apple is quite good at.
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