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Apple releases new iPhone 5s ad “Dreams,” showcasing uses in medicine, firefighting, and more

Apple has posted its latest iPhone 5s, called “Dreams,” to its YouTube channel. The new ad shows a number of iPhone owners using their devices in various professional and personal pursuits ranging from art, to medicine, to fighting fires. The ad is set to Jennifer O’Connor’s new single “When I Grow Up,” which was released on iTunes earlier this week.

The app highlights a specific set of apps, which Apple has detailed on the updated page “Powerful” on its website. The apps (and external hardware) include Vaavud Wind Meter, Response Deck, and iTranslate Voice. You can see the full ad below:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQBTd4xF6tU]

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Comments

  1. Great ads but you have to pay attention.

  2. Andrew Maloney - 10 years ago

    It is hard to see how any of these could practicably be used in professional situations. Even the translate service isn’t going to be overly efficient, and it is the most probable one to be used. Translate services are mediocre at best, I can’t see humans being replaced in this role for a while.

    As for the wind meter, heart monitor, etc it is great to see how the iPhone can be used in theory. I just feel that not having water proofing as standard is going to be a severely limiting factor. Then again isn’t that Apple’s (and many other companies) design philosophies? Make repairable/replaceable phones.

    And you have to ask yourself, how confident would you feel jumping into a plane where the pilot is navigating you to your destination with an iPhone? With Apple’s maps nonetheless!

    • Jae (@SkeeVanGogh) - 10 years ago

      This commercial is part of a series they are doing showcasing other uses for an iPhone rather than just calls/texts/other usual things. I like these commercials because they step out of the box a little bit and really show the wide variety of interesting uses the iPhone has. They’re not implying that translators will be replaced just because theres an app available that does it. And if waterproofing(or water resistance) is that important to you then theres another device available to suit your need.

    • aeronperyton - 10 years ago

      Your lack of confidence of the resilience of an iPhone (or any smartphone) is yours to have. Sure, a case and a screen cover would be a good idea but it would take personal negligence to ruin the device in those situations. It’s easy to nick or scratch a smartphone, but that’s far and away from wrecking one – and the internet contains a whole lot of proof that it’s easier said than done. I think I’ve straight dropped my 5S from chest height to a concrete ground five or six times now and there is no visible evidence on the phone that that has ever happened. So I have to wonder what the hell happened when I see giant spiders across the screens of my co-workers 5s and 5Ses.

      I would have more confidence than if the pilot had a stack of paper maps… or an Android bolted to the dash. It’ll take a while for world of internet commenters to catch up, but the fact is that Apple Maps is now almost as detailed and accurate as Google Maps save for mass transit information. Something which is very very close at hand now. And terrain and topography was never at issue (unless you want to land a Cessna on top of your local Burger King).

      • Andrew Maloney - 10 years ago

        Sounds like you’ve got lucky with dropping your phone. I’m in the same boat, never cracked front or back glass. My wife has several times over on every phone that she owns, and her drops seem to be less dangerous than some I have inflicted on my phone.

        I’d certainly be concerned using my phone outside in many of these applications and would certainly not take it with me in the canoe at the end of the video there, I just know i’d go overboard with it somehow.

    • axecop - 10 years ago

      That pH/dissolved oxygen/conductivity addon and app would be extremely useful in the classroom and field.

      • Andrew Maloney - 10 years ago

        I can actually see scope for a pool water testing kit? Does one already exist?

    • metalhaze - 10 years ago

      The commercial is meant to get the viewer interested in exploring more possible use cases for the iPhone rather than using it simply as a selfie machine and “Facebook checker”.

      Here is another great use for the iPhone that takes a very expense piece of equipment and makes it affordable for many consumers. The great benefit being that cheaper iPhone add-on opens up whole new markets and exposes consumers to concepts and devices that were too expensive to invest in as a casual hobby.

      I also love how everyone makes sweeping generalizations about apps from the commercial that they never took the time to download and use. Until you actually run your own tests and speak from experience from using the app then you are just talking out of your ass at this point. How do you know these apps don’t solve problems in new ways or add benefits that were never possible with the old way of doing something. The .02 seconds they show an app in a commercial can’t accurately portray all of the added value an app may have to offer. The point of the commercial is to peak your interest and get you to investigate further. Which you haven’t done. You just decided to run your mouth on a topic you know nothing about.

      Another great use for the iPhone that should have been showcased in that commercial.
      http://www.flir.com/flirone/

    • liquidwolverine1 - 10 years ago

      “Even the translate service isn’t going to be overly efficient, and it is the most probable one to be used. Translate services are mediocre at best, I can’t see humans being replaced in this role for a while.”….mediocre right now. Technology will be 16 times better within 6 years. It’s called Moores Law. Many sports writing that you read today are written by automated software. Even the Associated press has begun using automated software to write their monthly reports. Within a quarter of the year, it takes all of the journalist at AP to write 300 reports….the software they are using will write 4,400 in that time. And the articles read perfectly.

    • nandoth - 10 years ago

      The slogan of the iPhone 5S was “the most forward-thinking smartphone in the world” and I think that’s exactly what they’d like to achieve with this commercial. It’s about what the iPhone 5S can do. Sure, it’s not perfect, but its capabilities lie beyond common usage.

      The commercial is (in my opinion) really solid in a number of ways. It shows what it can do for the customer as well as the possibilities for developers. It doesn’t criticize other products, rather it presents its own stability and power. Don’t forget the short medical part, which probably provides a small introduction for later products.

      I don’t think this commercial’s main purpose is wether or not it is being used in practical situations. It is a presentation of the wide variety of possibilities and the future of its usage.

      Personally, I think iPhones and Android phone are about the same quality (just a matter of preference). But I think Apple’s commercials are just way better.

    • Rodney Avilla - 10 years ago

      Your comment regarding pilot navigation is good. The mental picture your comment conjures up is a passenger getting into a plane, the pilot turning around and asking “Where would you like to go today?” You give him an address and he taps it into his iPhone, and you hope Apple maps gets it right. Plus your comment is a little dated. Over the last year Apple maps are now about 98-99% accurate. I do admit that reading about that 1% is entertaining.

  3. Nycko Heimberg - 10 years ago

    Well,
    A part of what is shown uses additions of external peripherics, and what is software, is présent on Android too.
    I do not see why would make me buy this device 5s which is at the end of life and overtaken.

    • Edison Wrzosek - 10 years ago

      Guessing by your complete lack of knowledge of the sophistication of the iPhone 5S’ internals, you shouldn’t be making such asinine comments. The iPhone has NOT been overtaken by anyone much less the Android camp. Android still doesn’t know how to get 64-bit to the masses, and the only way they compete is by adding more cores to the SoC, pathetic, because even with those additional cores, iPhone still walks over them in many benchmarks.

      Please go visit 9to5Google, they miss you over there.

      • Eugene Toro - 10 years ago

        Hey, Edison. Take a few minutes and check those apps in the commercial and see if they are available for Android too. It would make you look a little less ignorant.

      • Andrew Maloney - 10 years ago

        64 bit isn’t the be all and end all, particularly when most apps are still written to run on 32 bit.

      • Edison Wrzosek - 10 years ago

        @Eugene,

        Says the Android boy who makes a comment with no relation to my original post to try and make me look bad, whilst in the end making himself look ignorant. But, to humour you, some of them, like the wind app and accessory, are also on Android, but if you look at the app and accessory specs, it indicates that when using Android, accuracy can be up to less than half that of the iPhone. I rest my case.

        And as always, the Android ports look and function worse, because they are usually non-native coded apps.

        @Andrew,

        That’s because the CPU is so powerful that most apps don’t even need that much power yet, but when you look at the more CPU hungry ones that have been recoded to 64-bit, the benefits are astonishing. The 64-bit architecture really is all it’s cracked up to be, just the apps and developers haven’t caught up yet.

  4. As a firefighter myself, there is no need for an app to do ANYTHING for a firefighter. Every call is different. A good driver knows where he is going or the computer in the cab can tell you. Also tell you the nearest hydrant. I just don’t see any practical use any app can give a firefighter during live situations. Training yes. Have some myself. But real world, no.

    • Hey Kyle, I was a firefighter and am now an EMS Director and Emergency Manager. I respectfully disagree with your comments. An application that provides redundant dispatch traffic is invaluable. In cases of Mutual Aid, where a fire company from another jurisdiction responds into your community, the routing is invaluable. And to have EMS protocols at your fingertips (rather than from an outdated book) makes a real difference in patient care and outcome. I realize technology isn’t fool proof, but neither are old binders that may or may not have the latest updates. I say this is the future, we need to train to it. Stay safe Kyle.

    • sandycracker - 10 years ago

      25 years ago some fireman probably said the same thing about the (new) computer in the cab.

    • Xavier Poirot (@dalaen) - 10 years ago

      Sure experience is better. But hydrants can be under maintenance. Roadworks can exist, traffic, accidents (your intervention maybe).

      You can always find a solution yourself. Though it’s not always the most efficient one. :) and I’m not a firefighter, but I guess it must bring some relief to come to place, knowing you got here the fastest possible, and you couldn’t do better.

      • Andrew Maloney - 10 years ago

        I’m pretty sure that computer he was talking about in the cab would do that. I don’t see the average everyday person walking around with a fire hose ready to attach to the nearest available hydrant in case of a fire.

      • Edison Wrzosek - 10 years ago

        @Andrew,

        Gotta love the old-school mentality of always thinking the PC is the best thing for every task. Why be tethered to inside the cab when needing that information, when I can have it anywhere with me all the time?

        Try being a little less short sighted.

    • Yes, the computer in the cab will tell us these things. We also get memos on street closures. But Edison, the LAST thing I need is to be looking at a cell phone on a fire scene. I do however see your point though. Knowing these things at anytime would be useful to some. But like I said, we get this information through other avenues. Not short sighted at all.

  5. Taisir Eldos - 10 years ago

    Funny, you shrink people’s life to this tiny device … I am an Apple fan, but you gotta get real

    • Andrew Maloney - 10 years ago

      Its funny you say that. I’m just picturing the jeweler at the start of the video, using her iphone all day instead of a magnifying lamp, only to drive home, break down in the car and have a flat phone from using it all day.

  6. It’s an Ad for God Sake, People… when you drink a “Coke” do you really smile?

  7. magus418 - 10 years ago

    Reblogged this on sea-swoon and commented:
    solid

  8. @Kyle, I was a firefighter and am now an EMS Director and Emergency Manager. I respectfully disagree with your comments. An application that provides redundant dispatch traffic is invaluable. In cases of mutual aid, where a fire company from another jurisdiction is covering your community, the routing is invaluable. And to have EMS protocols at your fingertips (rather than an outdated book) makes a real difference in patient care and outcome. I know technology isn’t fool proof, but neither are old binders that may or may not have the latest updates. I say this is the future, we need to train to it. Stay safe Kyle.

  9. xprmntr - 10 years ago

    I like a lot of apples ads but I think this one is trying too hard. It’s like their doing a parody of themselves. Throw a bunch of long hairs and grown out beards in there, not to mention a firefighter dude with a WHITE and gold uncased phone, some random and semi obscure Indy song, and u have an ad! Pretty funny and sad at the same time, o well, guess not every ad can be near perfect, more than I can say for most other companies.

  10. Tony Tay (@alexades2) - 10 years ago

    I am in the camp of those who appreciate these Apple ads, because they show us what is possible and being done (note, not necessarily perfectly) with the iPhone and iPad. I do appreciate it far better than other adverts that only tell me they have bigger screens and better battery life.

    For those criticizing the Apps, it is understandable because they view them from their own perspective. However, if you change that perspective just a little bit to recognize that Apple’s adverts are seen and their products are being used around the world, you will begin to understand that for many, these apps are either just good enough; a God-sent when you are in a bind, or absolutely brilliant when you only have less than stellar equipment around you.

  11. Leonson Stapleton - 10 years ago

    You all do realize no one is forcing you to use these applications. You have the choice. Apple is just showing you the capabilities that come with advancements in technology. i’m reading these posts like “damn, y’all are a bunch of debbie downers.” sheesh, have some fun. If you don’t like the new perspectives just keep doing what’ve you’ve been doing before.

  12. gianiwvl - 10 years ago

    I just love to see what the iPhone can be used for.

  13. Jleagle - 10 years ago

    Basically instead of using dedicated pieces of hardware made for your job you should use cheap iPhone accessories instead?

  14. Martin Turner - 10 years ago

    What’s interesting about this ad is that for every one of these applications, you could have used a separate, dedicated piece of hardware, many of them with their own, often non-upgradeable, proprietary, internal computers. I don’t personally work in any of those industries, so I’ve no idea whether those particular applications are useful or not, but that isn’t the point of the ad: by showing so many different real-world uses, they are implying that there’s probably one out there for your requirement as well.

  15. Iatropoulos George - 10 years ago

    I like ads that showcase the capabilities of a device, but this one is rediculous. Using the iPhone for firefighting, as magnifying glass, or putting it on a horse… Really? Specially the magnifying glass thing is hilarious…

    Well I am a guy who doesn’t forget that apple is a company that shouldn’t be defined by iPhone. The problem is not what can you do with the iPhone, but what can be done with a mac. And for us who we use the mac the downgrades and incompatibilities to the apps we used is a huge disappointment. And just to be clear enough, I still remember that pages was a great app on the mac and on the ipad or iPhone. If apple wants the i devices to get people’s work done, it must be considered that ios should get upgraded, not the OSX and pro apps downgraded, or even extinct. Apple is taking the wrong path here, not only for the pro market, but for all creative individuals as well.