Technical Report

Executive Summary

This report is prepared in response to the iPhone 11 Pro Max users’ feedback and aims to convince Apple product design team that the solutions proposed can enhance the productivity and convenience of iPhone 11 Max Pro users.

 

Smartphones have played a big part in people’s lives in terms of communication and productivity, reducing the need for carrying extra devices such as laptops and notebooks. The primary purpose of smartphones is to deliver productivity at the user’s convenience. This detailed report discusses the proposed modifications that the iPhone 11 Pro Max can implement and the benefits of the proposed modification.

 

After conducting surveys and research on the iPhone 11 Pro Max online, it was observed and discovered that the smartphone lacks features for convenience and productivity which are offered by competitors. In response to the issue, KBS Holdings proposes modifications that would enhance the convenience and productivity of iPhone 11 Pro Max users.

 

The proposed modifications to the iPhone 11 Pro Max include changing the current lightning port to a USB-C port, adding a fingerprint sensor and a High-performance Central Processing Unit (CPU).

 

1. Introduction

1.1 Proposal Background

This proposal was prepared in the response to an authorization letter.

 

1.2 Background of iPhone 11 Pro Max

iPhone 11 Pro Max has great features such as widescreen, triple camera system and a longer battery life. iPhone 11 pro max features a 6.5-inch screen size that is taller and wider than its predecessors. The screen uses a Super Retina XDR screen that delivers impressive brightness, accurate colors and a sharp resolution of 2688 x 1242. Another feature of the iPhone 11 pro max is the triple camera system. The triple camera system consists of a wide-angle camera, aperture with optical image stabilization and 2x telephoto camera. iPhone 11 pro max also featured an enhanced battery that would be able to last for five hours longer than iPhone XS max. The iPhone also comes with faster-charging capability for its battery life.

While the iPhone 11 Pro Max is packed with awesome features, it is still lacking a few features that stand in between the iPhone and making it an ideal smartphone. Features that would greatly enhance the convenience and the productivity of the user would be features such as a USB-C fast charging, an alternative biometric sensor, and a faster processing unit.

While the latest processing unit is efficient in terms of power to battery consumption ratio, a USB-C would complement the latest processing unit greatly as it allows a shorter downtime of the phone when it is charging. This would mean that the user can accomplish a lot more tasks in a shorter period. Lastly, the addition of the alternative biometric sensor such as a fingerprint sensor would be a great addition to enhance the user’s productivity and most importantly, convenience as in the times of the pandemic where masks become a huge part of our lives, it becomes a hassle for users’ as they would either need to pull down their mask to have the Face ID to recognize their faces, or they would have to enter their passcode to get access into their phone. This affects convenience more than it affects productivity, but in one way or another, productivity of the user is somewhat affected as it consumes a bit more time to gain access to the phone. An ideal smartphone should have an alternative biometric sensor and be able to handle four applications running simultaneously while charging quickly to increase the productivity and convenience of the user.

1.3 Problem Statement

The lack of features such as the USB-C charging port, an alternative biometric sensor, and a faster CPU makes the iPhone 11 Pro Max far from an ideal smartphone. With the absence of the earlier mentioned features, it affects the convenience and the productivity of the user.

 

The goal of this report is to implement the features mentioned to make it more convenient for users and at the same time, increase user’s productivity.

1.4 Purpose Statement

This report proposes to the product design team of Apple Inc. to add on and modify the features of the iPhone 11 Pro Max to enhance users’ convenience and productivity.

2. Proposed Modification

The iPhone 11 Pro Max has most of the features such as Face ID, triple camera system and a battery capacity of 3969mAh that provides a good level of convenience and productivity. With the of more features on the iPhone 11 Pro Max, it will provide users with more convenience and productivity. As a result of that, it would be the ideal phone that meets the needs of the users.

2.1 Support of USB-C

The first potential change would be switching the iPhone 11 Pro Max’s charging port from the current lightning connector to USB-C charging port. According to an article from Tronsmart (Tronsmart, 2016), USB-C charging can handle up to 100 watts which translates to 20V/5A charge speed, which is faster than the current lightning connector which can handle up to 18 watts.  The data transfer and charging speed of the USB-C is almost five times faster compared to the lightning connector. USB-C supports a data transmission speed of 10 Gigabits/second (Gbps) while the lightning connector a data transmission speed of 480 Megabits/second (Mbps), where users will be able to transfer data between devices at a faster rate of up to 20 times. USB-C is the industry-standard connector for data transmission and power transfer. It is used by more than 700 companies in its membership, including Apple, Dell, HP, Intel, Microsoft, and Samsung (Tronsmart, 2016). The time taken to transfer data between devices and to charge the iPhone 11 Pro Max is significantly faster and more time efficient. Hence, a recommended change of the charging ports to boost productivity.

2.2 Fingerprint sensor

Another potential change would be the addition of a fingerprint identification sensor. This is a safety feature included in many unlocking systems of many mobile devices such as Samsung Note20, OnePlus 8 and Oppo Find X2 Pro. Specifically adding an ultrasonic sensor, which is the latest fingerprint scanning technology in the smartphone industry. The hardware comprises both an ultrasonic transmitter and a receiver. When users place their finger on the sensor, it sends an ultrasonic pulse to detect the 3D ridges and valleys of their unique fingerprint for efficient and accurate recognition (Triggs, 2019). Especially in the times of the pandemic, the users are wearing masks and may have trouble unlocking their phone with Face ID. Using fingerprint will be the best second option that comes to the user’s mind to unlock the phone instead of having to resort to an outdated way which is to key in their password. Placing the sensor where the user can instinctively place their finger on it and unlocks it. Hence, giving a second efficient option for unlocking the iPhone 11 Pro Max.

 

2.3 Faster Processing Processor

A faster processor unit can be used to replace the current processor of the iPhone 11 Max Pro. With the usage of software applications growing rapidly, multitasking of multiple applications at a time became very common. The iPhone 11 Pro Max currently uses the Apple A13 Bionic 6-core processor with two big cores (3.1 GHz) and four smaller cores (1.8 GHz) Hexa-core setup running a CPU with a maximum frequency of 2.66 Giga-Hertz (GHz). Replacing the A13 Bionic with its successor processor, the A14 Bionic, which has the same Hexa-core setup, but running a maximum frequency of 3.1GHz. According to the benchmarks on NanoReview (NanoReview, 2020), the A14 Bionic has a transistor count of 11.8 billion at the size of 5 nanometers (nm) as compared to the A13 Bionic which has 8.5 billion at 7nm. Giving the A14 Bionic an advantage of 40 percent boost in CPU performance. Furthermore, Apple stated that the “A14 Bionic includes a new 16-core Neural Engine that is twice as fast, and capable of performing up to 11 trillion operations per second, taking machine learning apps to a whole new level” (Apple Inc, 2020).

3. Evaluation

Although implementing features like USB-C, fingerprint sensor and replacing the CPU add benefits to the iPhone 11 Pro Max, there are limitations and challenges that the team will face.

3.1 Apple’s aim to reduce carbon waste

Implementing the support of USB-C will disrupt many current users. According to an article (BBC News, 2020), Apple kept the lightning port because Apple has a large base of chargers, accessories, speakers and docks that consumers have bought. Changing from the lightning connector to the USB-C port, it would make those items obsolete thus creating a huge waste if Apple changed the port to USB-C adapter instead. In the long run, Apple’s goal is to remove all ports and eventually use wireless charging instead, with a vision to reduce carbon waste.

3.2 Increased in cost

There are also limitations when implementing a fingerprint sensor to the iPhone 11 Pro Max. By adding another biometric authentication, iPhone 11 Pro Max (64GB) cost will be higher than its current price at SGD$1599. This might cause a reduction in sale as the mobile phone is already expensive. If there is a reduction in sale, Apple will have a lesser revenue and might not be able to cover up the cost of implementation of the fingerprint sensor that has been mass produced.

Lastly, upgrading the iPhone 11 Pro Max processing unit will further increase the price of the mobile phone. Although the A14 processing unit provides a 40% boost in CPU performance compared to the A13 processing unit, consumers will have to bear a higher cost when purchasing iPhone 11 Pro Max.

3.3 Consideration

Considering the benefits and the challenges and limitations that the Apple product design team might face, the benefits outweigh the disadvantages as the benefits will enhance users’ convenience and productivity in the long run.

According to the results from a survey conducted by KBS Holdings (Refer to Appendix A), results suggested that despite the possibility of cost increase, smartphones’ users do not mind paying a higher price in return for more convenience and enhanced productivity.

4. Methodology

Primary and secondary research sources were used as references to obtain relevant information for the completion of the design report.

4.1 Primary Research

KBS Holdings leader, Badrul Ameen was the source of the primary research as he is a user of iPhone 11 Pro max. As a user of iPhone 11 Pro Max, he gave insights and first-hand user experience from his perspective and knowledge of the mobile phone. He provided and elaborated on the background information of the mobile phone and the inconvenience faced with the iPhone 11 Pro Max without the fingerprint sensor, USB-C charging port and a faster CPU.

4.2 Secondary Research

Despite gathering useful data from the primary research, secondary research from credible sources were done to further gather more data on how and what can be changed to make the iPhone 11 Pro Max an ideal phone. On top of having secondary research from credible sources, two different surveys were conducted. The purpose of both surveys was to provide evidence and gather more accurate data to further support the design proposal. Both surveys were conducted with a controlled group size of 60 participants. The first survey was to provide evidence on the types of implementations that the users would like to add onto iPhone 11 Pro Max to make it an ideal smartphone. The second survey was to provide concrete data on the spending power of the users who undertook the surveys.

5. Conclusion

In conclusion, iPhone 11 Pro Max can further enhance users’ convenience and productivity by adding features such as USB-C, fingerprint sensor and faster processing unit. Adding USB-C and faster processing unit will increase productivity as the mobile phone will be able to perform faster and have lower downtime due to the fast-charging ability provided by the USB-C charging port. With the addition of the fingerprint sensor, it will enhance the convenience for the user as they can avoid entering their passcode when Face ID is unable to perform certain actions such as unlocking the mobile phone or logging into applications.

6. References

Fox, C. (2020, January 23). Apple says losing Lightning port will create waste. BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-51208912

 

‌Kovach, S. (2020, October 19). Apple’s first-day preorders for iPhone 12 surpassed the iPhone 11, top analyst says. CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/19/iphone-12-pre-orders-sales-exceed-iphone-11-top-analyst-says.html

 

Beavis, G. (2020, October 13). Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max. TechRadar. https://www.techradar.com/sg/reviews/iphone-11-pro-max-review

 

Eadicicco, L. (2019, September 22). Apple iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro: The best and worst features so far - Business Insider. Business Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-iphone-11-pro-best-worst-features-camera-battery-2019-9#con-the-iphone-11-also-lacks-a-fingerprint-scanner-meaning-you-must-type-in-a-passcode-when-not-using-face-id-4

 

Chokkattu, J. (2019, December 2). iPhone 11 Pro Max. Digital Trends. https://www.digitaltrends.com/cell-phone-reviews/iphone-11-pro-max-review/#:~:text=There’s%20nearly%20nothing%20wrong%20with,hit%2030%20percent%20before%20midnight.

 

Wong, R. (2019, September 17). iPhone 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max review: The ultimate camera. Mashable SEA. https://sea.mashable.com/tech/7083/iphone-11-pro-and-11-pro-max-review-the-ultimate-camera#:~:text=There%20are%20four%20cameras%20on,f%2F2.0%20aperture%20with%20OIS

 

A14 Bionic vs A13 Bionic: tests and benchmarks. (2020). NanoReview.net. https://nanoreview.net/en/soc-compare/apple-a14-bionic-vs-apple-a13-bionic

 

Wikipedia Contributors. (2020, November 30). Apple A14. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_A14

 

(2016). 5 Reasons Why USB-C is Better than Lightning. Tronsmart. https://www.tronsmart.com/blog/47_5-reasons-why-usb-c-is-better-than-lightning.html#:~:text=The%20most%20obvious%20difference%20between,a%20more%20convenient%20user%20experience