Copy-and-paste has been a long missing and heavily debated feature on the iPhone. Many analysts have speculated about the reason for its absence, and recently OpenClip.org even offered up a third party framework to allow copy-and-paste between applications on the iPhone. The core feature however will remain missing until Apple officially introduces the way copy-and-paste will work on all of their multi-touch devices.
When Apple properly introduces copy-and-paste, it will help “cement new user input methods and ways of interaction, that a mass amount of consumers (essentially the world) will be able to easily adapt and learn how to naturally use. If inconsistent patterns emerge during Apple’s research and development, then it’s safe to say that we as end-users will never see them.”
Although many have debated that copy-and-pate is even a priority for Apple. The fundamental cause for its delay is because Apple needs to change the future of how copy-and-paste will work on all of their current, and future multi-touch devices. If Apple plans on releasing the much fabled Macbook touch, or a multi-touch netbook of any sort, I would not want to use a third-party framework, or a cloud based solution for copy-and-paste across the operating system. I as other users (I’d imagine), would want it to be directly developed into the operating system, by Apple, and working perfectly. Same goes for an iPhone Pro, or any type of multi-touch interface based device.
I have previously written about my personal belief as to why copy-and-past is missing from the iPhone. In a nutshell… “Because Apple needs to reinvent the way this works.”
Copy-and-paste needs to be built and developed into the SDK so other developers can use it within their own applications, and development practices (think the iPhone keyboard here). Until then, all of these third-party copy-and-paste attempts (though the intentions might be pure and well received) will lack the necessary polish and stability, as well as be met with resistance from Apple during development.
The theory that copy-and-paste is a low-priority for Apple is simply not true. The products Apple develops, are primarily to fill a noticeable void in their lives first, subsequently the consumers. When Apple CEO Steve Jobs explains the thought process in inventing the iPhone, he usually starts out with something like, “Ya know, we were all just using these phones everyday that sucked! That’s when we knew we needed to reinvent the mobile phone market.”
I would be willing to bet that Steve has been sitting in bed one day, got an email, wanted to copy a paragraph out of it and txt it on to someone and has said, “Damnit!” (in the response to missing copy-and-paste). The low-priority theory simply isn’t true.
What we can’t forget here is that every single iPhone competitor pails in comparison when utilizing multi-touch technology the way Apple does. RIM’s new Blackberry Bold actually seems like it could stand up in the corporate marketplace against the iPhone, however it does not rely on a revolutionary multi-touch interface.
Yes, at times it can be infuriating that a simple feature like copy-and-paste is missing from the iPhone. However knowing that Apple is working on a good the best possible solution, should bring you back to reality.
