Two Features on Your iPhone Wishlist That Probably Won't Happen This Year

The 2018 iPhone rumor cycle has almost come to an end. With Apple’s September 12 event around the corner, fans of the Cupertino-based company have had most of the summer to hyperventilate over everything from the potential specs and features to the likely price tag of this year’s iPhone trio. But as for some of the most wanted features, well, we hate to be the bearers of bad news.

As for what the people want, that data comes courtesy of a recent USA Today and SurveyMonkey survey of 1,665 American adults about the new iPhone features they’re holding out for. A pretty sizable majority of the responses cited improved battery life, a shatter-proof screen, and expandable storage space as being at the top of their wishlist.

Unfortunately, the rumors and evidence we’ve seen so far suggest that only one of these will likely see the light of day when Tim Cook takes the stage at the Steve Jobs Theater.

iPhone Wishlist: Improved Battery Life

Let’s start with the obvious. The three iPhones that are expected to be revealed will almost certainly come with pretty substantially improved battery life and capacity. This will be accomplished by a standard hardware update and iOS 12’s improved Battery menu.

Established Apple analyst, Ming-Chi Kuo believes that the premium 5.8 and 6.5-inch iPhone XS OLED models will make use of an L-shaped, two-cell battery while the 6.1-inch budget model will have come with a one-cell unit.

According to a chart laid out by Kuo, the 6.5-inch model will have a 3,300 to 3,400 milliampere-hour capacity, the 5.8-inch will offer 2,700 to 2,800 mAh, and the 6.1-inch pack 2,600 to 2,700 mAh. The largest iPhone XS will tout roughly 23 percent more battery capacity than the 5.8-inch iPhone X, though of course the larger screen and new software could drain power quicker.

These updates will be accompanied by a detailed Battery menu that gives users an hour-by-hour breakdown of what apps are soaking up the most power. This will also include the Battery Health section that Apple introduced after it’s battery throttling controversy.

iPhone Wishlist: You’ll Probably Still Need a Case

Sadly, there has been no mention of an unbreakable screen coming to iPhones even if Samsung — Apple’s major display manufacturer — proudly announced it has made one.

Both iPhone XS variants will come with a dazzling OLED screen while the cheaper model will sport an LCD screen to drive down its price. These are tried and tested smartphone display options, but they can all be shattered if dropped.

That said, Kuo predicted that the iPhone XS models will come with a stainless steel frame as opposed to the cheaper phone’s aluminum chassis. This might make the more expensive pair less susceptible to dents and dings, but you’re still probably going to want to pick up a protective case.

iPhone Wishlist: Don’t Get Your Hopes Up For microSD Card Support

The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 made waves when it revealed it would come with microSD card support that could give users up to 1 terabyte of storage space. This year’s iPhone trifecta will most likely not follow suit.

According to a report by TrendForce analysts, the most space you should expect for the iPhone XS devices is 512GB and 256GB on the 6.1-inch model. There hasn’t been a peep about a port for external memory cards, which suggests this won’t be a feature seen in 2018’s iPhones.

But don’t worry, unless you’re downloading apps, pictures, and videos nonstop, 512GB should be more than enough for the average user. There are laptops on the market with that kind of storage space.