iPhone's missing iChat, MMS, etc. coming via software updates?

In parallel to his iPhone review, Uncle Walt also published an email conversation he had with Steve Jobs. While most of Jobsie's "we don't talk about future products" responses could have been foretold, one response is worth noting. When asked about the lack of instant messaging, video recording, and real-time GPS navigation, Steve responded with the following: "I will say that the iPhone is the most sophisticated software platform ever created for a mobile device, and that we think software features are where the action will be in the coming years. Stay tuned." Right, software. Remember Apple's promise of free software updates that will "surprise and delight" both Apple TV and iPhone customers? Well, they've already delivered a v1.1 YouTube update for Apple TV and certainly the most notable of missing features -- MMS, iChat, A2DP, text copy and paste, video recording, MP3 (or AAC in the case of Apple) ringtones -- are all software related. Sure, you can't download a 3G or GPS radio, but there's certainly hope of filling the gaps on the software side.

Update: Page 31 of the AT&T iPhone Launch Training Participant Guide says that "MMS and IM messages are included in the iPhone Data Plan." So go ahead Apple, flip the switch, what are you waiting for?

[John @ Jun 27th 2007 9:07AM]

When I buy a car, I want it to have basic features other cars have.

Imagine buying a car and having the dealer say, "It doesn't have a windshield, rear seats, or a muffler yet. In the coming years, you can swing by and we'll install them."

Great!

No Thanks.

[cisco Kid @ Jun 27th 2007 9:17AM]

No other company could get away with putting out a product in this way, but Apple, as usual, gets the wagons circled around it by writers who are more interested in protecting them.

[Nate @ Jun 27th 2007 10:21AM]

So that means your complaining about almost every software ever created, games, apps, OSes, which all have upgrades many of them free, that you purly have to download.

I would much rather have a phone that gets new stuff every month, than have to go buy a new phone to get some new things.

[Jon @ Jun 27th 2007 10:28AM]

Nate, what you are talking about is "optional" upgrades and softwares. The Iphone does not even come with basic softwares. It is like buying a car and finding out you need to come back later to fit in a backseat.

[Iulius @ Jun 27th 2007 4:33PM]

No. Not at all.

Using your (kind of dumb) analogy, it is like buying a car, fulling knowing it doesn't come with a backseat, in the hopes that future upgrades (which are free) will remedy the situation.

This isn't protecting Apple. Apple has, better than any other company, extolled the virtues of their product. They are not selling it based on what it might have, only on what it does.

If that's not enough for you, don't buy it. Maybe it will flop, Apple will learn, and the iPhone 2 will be more to your liking...

[John @ Jun 27th 2007 12:19PM]

Nate,

You got it all wrong pal.

If you want a software analogy, think about getting Adobe Photoshop and having Adobe say, "You can't rotate or resize any of your images. In the coming years, we'll send you an upgrade to your software that will allow this functionality".

We are talking about BASIC functions, not tweaks!

Try to follow the logic.

[Carlos @ Jun 27th 2007 12:50PM]

John, c'mon... A2DP, MMS, iChat, GPS etc. are not basic functions in a phone!!! using your own analogy, getting an iPhone is like buying a car without GPS or automatic temperature regulators for each seat...don't be such a predictive apple-hater, use some common sense... anyway, I don't think Apple is gonna miss your business at all, so keep thinking "no, thanks" and stick with your useless whatever cellphone you got... in the meantime, apple is gonna keep changing your world and mine too...

yeah, I know, I'm such a predictive apple fanboy

cheers

[Carlos @ Jun 27th 2007 12:59PM]

and yes, to all apple-haters out there, wheter u like it or not, apple is revolutioning our entire world and lives, either directly or in a collateral way, so, stop complaining... you should demand higher quality from your beloved microsoft company (good luck with that!!!) instead of bashing apple for making better products! and, of course... why are you reading this posts if u all think iPhone sucks? that's something I will never understand... engadget just launched a pipes site without any iPhone or even apple news at all... what r u guys doin here if you're not making a research or planning to buy an iPhone??

you just don't get it

cheers

[John @ Jun 27th 2007 1:12PM]

Carlos,

Not every other car has GPS or automatic temperature regulators for each seat!

God, follow the logic. Be consistent.

Oh, and text copy and paste is not a basic function either?!?!

If you think Apple is "revolutioning" your life now, wait till you get your "update" to copy and paste text!!

You will be in ecstasy!

[Carlos @ Jun 27th 2007 1:31PM]

john, does every other phone have GPS, A2DP, IM, etc..?? no, they don't... they're not BASIC functions in a phone... where's your logic?? and trust me, not only my life has changed... do you have a nice mp3 player? well, they wouldn't be that nice nowadays it it wasn't because of iPod (of course, that if aren't using an iPod right now), do you use a mouse? well, you can thank apple for that, do you use windows in any of its always-crashing versions? well, if it wasn't for apple, maybe u could be using some sort of nice 2007 MS-DOS instead, and yes, if you love Vista, you can also thank mac OS X, get it: it's not that apple products are perfect, god they're not! they're just way much better than your beloved microsoft/samsung/nokia/treo fave product!!! it's their pilosophy! make things simpler and better...

now, I have to give you the "no text copy and past is a major flaw" point... I'm not a zombie, I can tell when apple doesn't make things right...

but they still make better and nicer and revolutionary products...

[brendan Sheehan jnr @ Jun 27th 2007 2:03PM]

"It doesn't have a windshield, rear seats, or a muffler yet. In the coming years, you can swing by and we'll install them."

Wow, that's a bad analogy.
Who in the blazes voted your comment up? It doesn't do everything we want? How is that even possible.

The point is some cool shit is missing, and can be added via software. Because the phone is touchscreen based software can dramatically change for the better what the phone does, something no other phone to date can really do, how can that be a bad thing. People might say; why can't we just have a 'period' on the main keyboard (without tapping the options button), and they can give us one. If the phone doesn't have the features you want, then DON'T BUY IT!! But don't go around saying; how did they get a way without giving us certain features. The whole point is if people want a certain feature, it 'can' be added via software.

[MrCupertino @ Jun 27th 2007 2:23PM]

John, I will gladly wait for all those "basic" and new updates for the iphone. Good luck updating the piece crap you have now to include some of the cool features the iphone comes with standard.

[Dilbert @ Jun 27th 2007 2:33PM]

I feel like we're back with the Zune, when people said: "ok, there's no real WiFi connection yet, but don't worry, they'll enable it with a software update!"

[John @ Jun 27th 2007 2:38PM]

I am getting tired of this.

All I have to say is, if you want to make a truly revolutionary product and you want it to REALLY kick ass why not throw everything that everyone wants into it in the first place?! At least start with 3G for christ's sake. You have had the time.

Don't get me wrong, I think the iphone design kicks ass but you take away it's good looks and you are left wanting.

The iphone makes other phones look like they are from 1980. But wouldn't it be nice if it beat them all on features as well? If the iphone had HSDPA, A2DP, GPS, ability to purchase and download audio and video wirelessly from iTunes, etc...it would DECIMATE all competition. Now, it will merely kick the competition's ass.

[anonymouspimp @ Jun 27th 2007 5:56PM]

@ Carlos

"to all apple-haters out there, wheter u like it or not, apple is revolutioning our entire world and lives"

----

Dude. It's a cell phone. That plays music. And you can get email on it. And you can surf the web. I am sure it has a calendar in it too. And maybe some crappy games to use while you are on the train or something.

Plz explain what is so revolutionary about this. I am not saying my blackberry is better. But it can do all of the above things (except play music, which i use an mp3 player for anyways...)

I don't mind people being excited about this phone (even tho i think this maybe THE most overhyped thing since De La Hoya v. Mayweather)... but please... for the love of god... don't try and make it more than it is. It makes you guys look crazy.

[Philster @ Jun 27th 2007 6:34PM]

We faithful -- and tortured -- Sidekick users are well aware of the wait-and-see-what-they-give-us-in-the-next-software-update program. I do believe apple is going to add some substantial functionality with software updates. They HAVE to... No Cut & Paste? No IM? The questions is how long will it take for these updates to arrive? At least they have a better structure for releasing these updates -- Better than the Sidekick / T-Mobile individual OTA updates that take 3-4 months to complete!

[Rob @ Jun 28th 2007 1:55PM]

You're such a tool. Apple promises *software* updates and you make a *hardware* analogy? This is a simple case of confusing Apples and Orange. ba doom ching.

[Carlos @ Jun 29th 2007 1:19PM]

Carlos @ Jun 29th 2007 1:15PM

@anonymouspimp

GOD! man, please, take some time to read my replies in all their entirety!!!! c'mon, it's not that hard, isn't it?

I never said that the iPhone is revolutioning our entire world; actually, you quoted me right, remember??? and then, even if you have the quote in front of your eyes, you start perorating about something I didn't say... so, where's your point?

"@ Carlos

"to all apple-haters out there, wheter u like it or not, APPLE is revolutioning our entire world and lives"

----

Dude. It's a cell phone. That plays music. And you can get email on it. And ...(bla, bla, bla)"


APPLE, my friend, is a company, not a product...

now, I already explained how Apple has changed and revolutioned our lives, mine and yours and everybody else's. If you want to debate over this matter, I gladly will comment on your opinions...

cheers

[redneck @ Jul 4th 2007 8:23PM]

hey john I thank you very much for writing your stupid comments we don't need those Apple phone is for those who care for technology, and give some time for that poor men {s. jobs } trust me guys you will have all what you need software dovelopment is a thought process which take time to imagine what to build and most of all they need few clues ..... and you all have made it clear what you need
I am a user of the most high tech cell phone in past and they are only 2 { I think } SONY ERRICSON P910i and nokia comunicator 9500, and I have switch to iphone from these top phones and still be very happy with iphone you know why becouse iphone has deliverd so many things which no one could delivered in past ....
so you go and buy a car with windshield, seats and muf......... and one more thing buy a shitty motolola for 50 bucks with your car tooooooo

now I own 3 top of the line phones nokia 9500, sony p910i and last but not the least APPLE iPHONE cheeeers

[john @ Jun 27th 2007 9:07AM]

also what is not included

Q. Is iPhone eligible for Wireless Phone Insurance?
A. No. iPhone is ineligible for the Wireless Phone Insurance program offered to AT&T customers. iPhone is covered by the Apple Warranty. If you have Wireless Phone Insurance from AT&T, it will be removed from your line of service.

So, if you drop and break it, drop it in a lake or someone steals it out of your pocket...you a buying a brand new phone and at what cost?


Plus, the nights start at 9:00 PM...that is hidden in the contract for no one to really find. $8.99 to get 7:00 PM calls for free.

[Buffalo @ Jun 27th 2007 12:33PM]

Actually, if it's under the Apple Warranty you CAN drop it, or break it in any way (including throwing it in a lake) and Apple will give you a brand new iPhone without asking questions. Thhey do it already with iPods. Stop hating on the iPhone.

[john @ Jun 27th 2007 1:24PM]

Apple offers a Warranty...not Insurance that covers anything.
Apple can at anytime say that you broke it and will not fix it.
Insurance on a phone, they replace it...you paid to insure that it works, or paid so when someone steals it you get a new one...or you leave it at a coffee shop. Try to get Apple to get you a new iPhone when you leave it at a coffee shop.

Sorry if it sounds like I hate the iPhone but I read the small print as well as the large print. I don't like hwo they hide the fact of what nights and weekends are in the contract and not in the service plan as to highlight what you really get for your money.

[elam110 @ Jul 14th 2007 3:32AM]

A lot of people know that nights start at 9:00 PM, it isn't really "Fine Print" that is why Sprint made a big deal about their night minutes starting at 7:00, I'm not saying AT&T is a perfect company, it just looks like you are grasping at straws to try to pull down people's opinion of the iPhone. What AT&T does with it's night minutes has nothing to do with the iPhone, that is when the night minutes start for all of their phones.

[MyJelleo @ Aug 20th 2007 9:50AM]

I had insurance on my motorola phones, but even with insurance, if they find that you are at fault for destroying the phone, they can refuse to replace or repair your phone for free. There have been a number of instances where people took their iphones back to their local Apple stores and had, relatively easy times getting them repaired and fixed.

There are hardly any complaints about Apple's customer service concerning the iphone. If there are, they are minor and typically in the end, the customer is able to achieve his/her goal.

Stop hating the iphone. I've had it for over a month now and I'm doing fine without those "Basic" features as you call them. When those software updates come out, the iPhone will be even better.

[Justin @ Jun 27th 2007 9:07AM]

I'm counting on these updates to turn the iPhone into "all it can be." Maybe that makes me an idiot, but I do think some cool stuff is coming down the pike.

No we can't download a GPS radio, but dare I dream that a future software update include Loki-style Wi-Fi geolocation, or the ability to calculate my position by triangulating the cell towers iPhone can see? Either one could give a good enough fix for, say, locating "ATMs near here." This would be pretty awesome in Google Maps.

[James Rose @ Jun 27th 2007 9:34AM]

blutooth GPS module? like most PPC's with TomTom users use?

[L. M. Lloyd @ Jun 27th 2007 2:37PM]

I have heard all this before with the Danger Hiptop/Sidekick. A company, no surprise, founded by a bunch of ex-Apple employees claiming to revolutionize the communication industry. Let me tell you how it goes, since I've already been there, years ago.

You buy the phone on launch day, even though it is missing key features. They tell you that you shouldn't worry about the missing features, because it is a living platform that they are "constantly" going to be updating. Six months later, when there still hasn't been an update, they blame the FCC, the carrier, and anyone else but their own development team for not getting the features out. Then you have a bunch of fanboys telling you that those features aren't important, because it is the most revolutionary device on the planet, and only a loser would want those stupid features anyway. Eventually you give up, get wise, and go buy a real smartphone that does what you want out of the box, and live happily ever after, having wasted several hundred bucks on a phone that never did what you wanted.

Don't fool yourself. This phone supposedly runs OSX, and Apple already has an OSX chat client. If they wanted to put IM on the phone, they could have done it already. It doesn't take six months to port a chat client over to a different processor. If Apple wanted to support stereo Bluetooth, then their OS and iPods already would. If it doesn't do what you want it to, then it doesn't do it. They have been working on this phone for more than two years. The ability to use MP3 as a ringtone isn't something they just didn't have the time to put in or overlooked, it is something they consciously chose to leave out. Don't be a sucker and assume that their purposelessly vague statements about how exciting the future is are a hidden indication that you will magically get what you want at some unspecified later date.

[Colin Kelly @ Jun 27th 2007 9:09AM]

Is A2DP really just software... no hardware updates needed? One would imagine that a phone with such an emphasis on music would include the option of stereo bluetooth! It blows my mind it won't come with that fresh out of the box... but I'll be relieved if this could really be as simple as an update via iTunes.

[monitron @ Jun 27th 2007 9:12AM]

Yes, A2DP is really just software. It'd be an additional protocol added to the OS' Bluetooth stack. The iPhone already has all the Bluetooth 2.0+EDR radio hardware it needs to stream high-quality audio... It's worth noting that the desktop version of OS X doesn't support A2DP either. This is probably why the iPhone release 1.0 doesn't have this feature out-of-the-box; they didn't inherit it "for free" from the existing OS!

[mp3elv3 @ Jun 27th 2007 11:38AM]

one got to think that maybe some kind of DRM paranoia is the reason of the lack of A2DP, after all is an unsecured digital medium that can be "hijacked" to stream perfectly clear music files

right?

[DBX00 @ Jun 27th 2007 9:09AM]

I'm sorry, but by the time they catch up on the software side I'll be ready to move to another phone. At $600 for a phone that will last maybe two years it should have those basic features on Day one. I could understand if the hardware was going to last five years or so, then you could tote the software platform as something great, but the fact of the matter is that the hardware will start to fail on you after 1.5 years like every other Ipod. You then run into the issue you face with new ipods, features that could be implemented in older versions are withheld to sell more new versions. Will I have to wait until the 3G version to get MMS because it uses too much bandwith, I can see them implementing the whole cingular video and video streaming as selling points on the 3G phone. They'll include flash and tote it as the media on the go revolution. I think people are fully aware of the Apple strategy and the majority of people will wait for the cheaper second or third iteration of the hardware. I personally am going to wait until they slap a video camera on the thing for video chat through ichat and video phone calls.

[Nando @ Jun 27th 2007 9:27AM]

Geez, you're cool man!! :D

[Mile @ Jun 27th 2007 12:32PM]

What will be really funny is when they come out with this great 'free' updates, the price of the ipHone will have dropped a couple of hundred bucks.

[MrCupertino @ Jun 27th 2007 2:45PM]

DBX00,
What if the updates are next week or next month? Why do you apple-haters always assume the worst case scenario? First it was the touchscreen, then the non-removable battery, then the plan pricing, then the price of the unit, and now, it's MMS and ringtones? Get a f**cking life! If the iPhone is not for you, then it's not for you. Keep this up, and you, and every other iPhone hater are going to look like bigger asses in a couple months.

[John @ Jun 27th 2007 9:10AM]

Can I download a REAL keyboard.
Bluetooth does not count.

[Tyk @ Jun 27th 2007 9:11AM]

$600 for a great PDA but gimped phone .. kinda iSucks... i guess you will have a reason to plunk down another $600 when your 2 years locked in contact expires.

[cisco Kid @ Jun 27th 2007 9:13AM]

Oh Please, Engadget, stop trying to play damage control with this half arsed made up rumor.

iPhone just lost a lot of people due to its lack of features, and you guys trying to rush in with a story about how it could "maybe" have some cool stuff later with software updates, so dont stay away, we got to help Apple, shill story is beyond lame.

[George @ Jun 27th 2007 12:31PM]

Why are you still reading iPhone posts if you truly don't want one. Hmmmmm

[Carlos @ Jun 27th 2007 2:01PM]

well, he always do apparently, from what I can see for being all day looking at iPhone posts, but me, I want one, and I'm an apple fanboy... but this cisco kid, I just don't get it...

[SteveJ @ Jun 27th 2007 9:15AM]

Regarding the lack of cut/copy/paste - could this have to do, rather, with the lack of any ability to select text? Actually, I don't know that you can't select text, but I suspect that you can't as it would be difficult to do that reliably with a finger or, worse, thumb. The accuracy just wouldn't be there. The only way I could see it working reliably would be to have a "select" virtual button that you hold down with one thumb, while moving the cursor with L/R/U/D virtual buttons, but I can't see Apple having such an interface for this, as such a method would seem backward. Perhaps they left out cut/copy/paste as an attempt to avoid the whole issue.

[John @ Jun 27th 2007 11:21AM]

Steve - I agree it is a feature that is needed - but if you watch the new (as of Jun 27) video about typing, there is a pretty cool magnify feature used to place a cursor in-line with text, so it is a possibility.

[SteveJ @ Jun 27th 2007 11:39AM]

Yep, I saw that too, obviously after I had posted. The catch is that the positioning of the cursor is done by dragging once you see the magnified image, so then there has to be some way to tell positioning from selecting. Since it's multitouch, though, perhaps this could be done with a separate virtual "select" button that you'd press and hold with a thumb once the cursor is where you want it to start, then drag to the end of the selection. Or some such arrangement.

[brendan Sheehan jnr @ Jun 27th 2007 3:19PM]

"Actually, I don't know that you can't select text, but I suspect that you can't as it would be difficult to do that reliably with a finger or, worse, thumb. The accuracy just wouldn't be there."
I take it you didn't see the magnifying glass feature, did you? When you hold down your finger on a word a magnifying glass appears so you can position the cursor exactly where you want. Look, it's demoed on YouTube. Go 1:24 in and hit play: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2N_La9RmC3Q

[ej @ Dec 24th 2007 1:21AM]

PLEASE GIVE US THE MMS UPDATE!!! THAT IS A TOOL I REALLY NEED!!! PLEASEEE!!

[MS @ Jun 27th 2007 9:16AM]

The mobile phone market is different to the computer market, as Apple is about to discover.

The majority of customers (ie folks that don't read tech blogs) buy a phone, switch it on and use it. They will not be interested in installing patches, updates or upgrades to get pretty basic pieces of functionality - never mind sending it back in a year or so for a new battery. The majority won't even realise they'll need to do this, and will be seriously hacked off when they find they need to.

Stacks of these things will sell because they are cute, cool and this years gadget. However, watch out Stevie... you may reap what you sow.

[Chicksta @ Jun 27th 2007 9:35AM]

The problem with your thinking is that the phone conncects to your computer via a cable to charge it anyways - it's synching with iTunes, and those updates will automatically be pushed from iTunes. There's no thought or effort whatsoever for the end user. And most people, when faced with the need to replace a $20 battery, just go out and buy a new device. It's silly, but it's true. I can't tell you how many people I've seen with iPods that are starting to lose a battery just decide to get a new iPod. The battery kits come with all of the tools, and instructions, but they don't want to bother. Neither of these things are dealbreakers for any of the non-techies I know, so I can't imagine many people really have an issue with them.

[jason @ Jun 27th 2007 11:47AM]

and the problem with your thinking Chicksta:

"And most people, when faced with the need to replace a $20 battery, just go out and buy a new device."

is that those people faced with buying a new battery and instead buy a new phone are, for the most part, buying a phone that costs less than $100. the iphone is a minimum of $500.

for that much money, i'd rather have the choice to swap out a $20 battery instead of dropping another $500.

[Skeuomorph @ Jul 8th 2007 9:22PM]

"The majority of customers (ie folks that don't read tech blogs) buy a phone, switch it on and use it. ... The majority won't even realise they'll need to [send off for a battery]..."

Yes, this same majority have been purchasing (or receiving free with their plans) cell phones long on specs but short on benefits. This is what the cell phone makers didn't understand, and Apple did.

Instead of worrying about the table of specs, Apple made the features most people do use, or want to use, easier.

I've watched several luddites or technophobes pick this phone up and immediately intuit how to use capabilities their other phone had, but they'd never figured out or found too irritating. While Danger's Hiptop OS was a step in the right direction, its web was broken and too many functions were hidden under command keys or deep in menus. The iPhone's usability is in a league of its own.

For that reason alone, compared to the potential marketplace (not the blogging geek elite), this phone hits a sweet spot.

Looking at the top phones, like Nokia N95, Blackjack, Blackberry 8830, etc., each has its fatal flaws for the uber-geek. Maybe it's missing USA's 3G. Maybe it doesn't run on CDMA. Maybe it can't support 8GB of storage, or the screen res is low, or the video player blows. Maybe it doesn't do WiFi. Maybe it's Windows Mobile and so it can't cut-n-paste. Maybe the web browser doesn't support true "Web 2.0" AJAX driven sites.

Just compare how usable the features you really need are. If the Jesus Phone isn't for you, Nostradamus predicts your wait won't be long.

PS. My mom's never swapped a cell battery in her life.

[fathertorque @ Jun 27th 2007 9:16AM]

hey noobs never heard of bluetooth GPS?? And this is SOFTWARE to enable them. I have one from tomtom I use on my treo.
Bottom line is you CAN (will) download GPS radio

[Erwos @ Jun 27th 2007 9:30AM]

Yeah, because that's such a great solution. I have a small Bluetooth GPS receiver. It works fine in the car, but it's awkward to carry around on foot. I would much, much rather have it integrated into the phone. Alas, the carriers very much hate that idea, because they make quite a bit of money from AGPS subscriptions.

The Apple fanboy apologists really make me sick.