7 days late x 5 points per day = 35 points off
Douglas Auguste
ENGL 1101
11/25/18
9:05
iPhone Connectivity Experience
The iPhone is one the most recognizable technological devices in today’ s society. Unlike an ordinary phone that just allows you to call and text, the iPhone provides its users with an experience that interacts with everyday life. This can be seen in the phone’s various applications such as FaceTime, taking high quality pictures, group messaging, connecting with other devices, and access social media just to name a few. While iPhones are often thought to limit our interpersonal relations or distract us, they have indeed changed the quality of life for the better by providing an experience that connects people worldwide.
In an ever-changing world it is important to stay connected, and with advancements in technology, the iPhone has proven to be phenomenal at providing user friendly forms of communication. One of the biggest features on this device is the app known as FaceTime. This app allows users to video chat with anyone virtually anywhere in the world. This a great alternative when people need to get in touch but are unable to do so face to face, but still have a personal interaction that a call or text may not convey. FaceTime has been shown to bring people together and the article done by Darcey K. Searles speaks to this. “Video-mediated technologies enable families with young children to participate in interactions with remote family members…Before videoconferencing software was readily available in homes, families use the telephone to keep in touch with friends and family members from a distance (Drew & Chilton, 2000). However younger children, especially those under five years of age, often face difficulties communicating via telephone due to the lack of nonverbal cues to help enhance and clarify their speech (Gillen, 2002). Videoconferencing provides affordances for families with children that the telephone does not…Additionally, the visual nature of video conferencing allows for the showing of physical items, nonverbal behaviors, as well as multiparty talk, where more parental scaffolding can occur to clarify children’s speech for their grandparents (Ballagas et al., 2009).” (Academic Search Complete) This delves into the benefits that come with Facetime especially when it comes to children. A phrase that is widely used is that children are the future. With technology such as this they can grow into that role at a much earlier age because of the more exposer to the world around that comes with this form of interaction. Children are able develop their communication skills and have a deeper relationship with loved ones from an early age. The personal interactions of FaceTime do not just apply to children but in the workplace as well.
With the recent iOS update, iPhones are now able to group FaceTime up to 32 people. This significantly changes the way people interact inside and outside of the workplace. Conference calls are crucial to getting task done when someone is not able to physically attend. However, it can be quite strenuous to communicate over a phone call or one person at a time. In an article by Jonathan Vanian, he further expounds upon this, “Essentially an improved version of its app for iPhones and iPads, Apple’s Group Facetime will make it easier for businesses (or large families) to hold video conferences with multiple participants, so long as they have iOS-powered devices. The ability to do videoconferencing through Group FaceTime will make iOS devices more capable in the workplace as office tools.” (Academic Search Complete) This new update can bring multiple employees unable to attend together, as well as convey tonality and emotions to forgo any misinterpretations that could come up. The iPhone offers many other forms of connectivity that provide unique experiences such as group messaging.
Having access to a device that brings people together in a creative and engaging way can make for very interesting situations. The iPhone’s group messaging allows for multiple users to communicate at once in a more personal way through editing the name of the group, emphasizing, and liking messages. My senior year of high school my classmates and I had a group message on our phones for senior prank. It’s a tradition that seniors prank the school before we graduate and head off into the real world. In the group message we discussed what supplies needed to be brought, what time we needed to be at the school, and how we were going to set everything up. When I arrived at the school around 10pm, I helped set up a little bit. We saran wrapped the buildings, teepeed the trees, and painted the gym windows. Not long after, a kid yells out it’s the cops. Immediately I took off to my car. The group message was blowing up with messages from people saying get out of there, keep your lights off they have helicopters, one girl even fell in a construction hole. People were saying what streets the cops were on. The night was pretty exhilarating, but what made the experience memorable was having that group message. It allowed for us to express what ideas would be great for a prank, help one another out of crazy situation, laugh together, and enjoy the last moments of high school together as a class.
Another great form of connectivity that the iPhone has provided is the camera. With improvements being made to it with each model, the camera feature caused many to shy away from purchasing actual cameras. The various tools such as depth effect, focusing, lighting adjustment, and filters allow for essentially anyone to be their own photographer. The lens on the camera allow for close up details from the grains of sand to the small bit of fuzz on a winter hat. It allows for easy manageability when editing photos. It keeps the editing options such as cropping rotating easy enough for any user to operate. The iPhone provides aesthetic feel of having something pocket sized be able to capture life’s most precious moments with crystal clear quality. According to an article by Price Emily the camera of the iPhone provides a deep connection to the places that one visits, “THE IPHONE MAKES for a pretty good camera on its own but adding an additional lens can really help your photos shine… Moment's lenses attach to your iPhone's lens using a special plate. It's a thin, strong piece of metal that adheres to the back of your phone like a sticker and allows you to screw on different lenses similar to how you might with a DSLR. The telephoto lens allowed me to capture a closeup photo of Alcatraz from a dock where I could barely make it out with my bare eyes, and it brought me closer to the sea lions that had moved far away from the pier to sit in the afternoon sun. When using the telephoto lens along with the iPhone's built-in zoom, I was able to get close enough to read previously unreadable signs and get a good look at people who were once just small figures in the frame.” Emily was able to be in tune with her nature surrounding because of the ease provided by an iPhone camera. She did not have to hassle with bulky equipment and tripod stands to capture the moment. Having a phone with is a camera is more effective when going to places that may not allow you to set up elaborate camera equipment. For instance, my family and I take our annual Christmas trip to New York to visit family and go city. With the city being so crowded and the fast face, it is more convenient to pull out an iPhone and take a quality picture as opposed to trying take out an elaborate camera set up. It also provides instant gratification that an ordinary camera does not. An iPhone allows users to instantly share photos over Airdrop and upload to social media, while a normal requires the image to be taken to a place to be developed or uploaded on to a computer.
Many perceive the iPhone to be a device that prevents us from making interpersonal connections, but in actuality it brings an experience that interacts with its users lives and connects them with one another. A major component of that connection is the FaceTime aspect. The video messaging allows for families to have a personal interaction with loved ones that may be far away. They can convey their tone, facial expressions, laughter, etc. in a more encompassing way. It is also very helpful for young children we may not have all their communication skills developed to speak on the phone but can instead interact face to face. FaceTime does not have to just be for personal use. With the update for group FaceTime of up to 32 people the workplace can have more effective conference calls and provide clarity that a phone call cannot. Other ways that the iPhone keep s its users connected is through group messaging. Unlike other smartphones, the iPhone allows users to create group names, emphasize, like, and put invisible ink on messages. Having a group chat definitely made my class’ senior prank in high school so much memorable because we felt such a connection of doing something together before graduation. Another aspect of how this device brings people together is the camera. Its quality is one that is far beyond ones of other smartphones. It provides numerous editing options that add a personal element to the photos. The camera also provides an ease of access in not having to wait for photos to be developed and can be instantly shared with close people. In addition, it is portable, so it does not require extra equipment to operate. Overall the iPhone is much more than another smartphone. It is a device that provides and experience to interact with people’s everyday lives and bring a vast world closer together.
Work Cited
“10 IPhone Photography Tips To Quickly Improve Your Photos.” IPhone Photography School, IPhone Photography School, 10 Oct. 2018, iphonephotographyschool.com/iphone-photography-tips/.
“Apple Group FaceTime Will Finally Let the IPhone Challenge Skype and Google Hangouts.” Fortune, Fortune, fortune.com/2018/06/04/apple-group-facetime-wwdc/.
Baig, Edward C. “Cool Features on Today's New IOS 8.” USA Today, 17 Sept. 2017.
Epstein, Zach. “Another Day, Another Reason to Never Switch from IPhone to Android.” BGR, BGR, 10 May 2018, bgr.com/2018/05/10/iphone-x-vs-android-p-samsung-s9-more/.
“How the 6s Plus Is Reshaping My IPhone Experience.” MacStories, www.macstories.net/stories/how-the-6s-plus-is-reshaping-my-iphone-experience/.
Ngak, Chenda. “How the IPhone Changed Our Lives.” CBS News, CBS Interactive, 29 June 2012, www.cbsnews.com/pictures/how-the-iphone-changed-our-lives/9/.
Price, Emily. Moment Lenses. 6th ed., vol. 32, Macworld, 2015.
“r/Apple – My Experience with IOS and the IPhone 7 as a Lifelong Android User.” Reddit, www.reddit.com/r/apple/comments/547yd4/my_experience_with_ios_and_the_iphone_7_as_a/.
Searles, Darcey K. “‘Look It Daddy’ Shows in Family Facetime Calls.” Reasearch on Children & Social Interaction, vol. 2, no. 1, 2018, pp. 98–119., doi:10.1558/rcsi.32576. .
Smith, Elizabeth. “IPhone Benefits.” Small Business – Chron.com, Chron.com, 26 Oct. 2016, smallbusiness.chron.com/iphone-benefits-63966.html.