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iPhone 16 Pro Max A look back - iPhone 4S vs iPhone 16 Pro Max :)

ozapple

ozapple

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 22, 2022
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Here’s a little nostalgia for those who had the early iPhones.

Apple’s smallest ever iPhone screen vs the largest ever iPhone screen :)

Unfortunately I can’t get the old 4S to connect to WiFi so the first setup page is all I can show.

I’m actually surprised it turns on at all.

It’s been sitting in a drawer for over 10yrs, and luckily I was smart enough at the time to leave a 30 pin cable next to it..!

Anyhow, enjoy a quick look down memory lane and marvel at how far we have come! :)

IMG_1280.jpegIMG_1284.jpegIMG_1282.jpegIMG_1283.jpeg
 
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What I actually find a bit shocking is Apple stops people signing to iCloud for those running old version of iOS, in this case iOS 9.
But the glass back in iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S is truly way ahead of its time, the time when wireless charging was nowhere to be seen. What I once had was iPhone 4 and now I kind of regret upgrading it to iOS 7.1.2. Should’ve kept it on iOS 6. It is fully dead now though so RIP.
 
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Markgnyc2 said:
This is what I was referring to in this thread:
Click to expand...
Very true! Compared to what we have now, these old phones are pretty much toys.

I think a lot of the complaints come from people remembering the time when each yearly release was a massive upgrade.

Now it’s a mature platform, the ‘upgrades’ each year are going to be iterative, whether we like it or not.

I wouldn’t mind at all if they only released new ones every couple of years, although I suspect the shareholders may have a different view.
 
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ozapple said:
I wouldn’t mind at all if they only released new ones every couple of years, although I suspect the shareholders may have a different view.
Click to expand...
Shareholder is pretty much the only reason why apple still releases new device yearly even though The improvements levels are shrinking year after year. They always demand HUGE UNLIMITED GROWTH even though this is a fallacy and can’t be sustained. Some people just can’t get over the idea of going down and losing investment money.
 
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Shirasaki said:
Shareholder is pretty much the only reason why apple still releases new device yearly even though The improvements levels are shrinking year after year. They always demand HUGE UNLIMITED GROWTH even though this is a fallacy and can’t be sustained. Some people just can’t get over the idea of going down and losing investment money.
Click to expand...
They are a business, they have to release new products or they would be out of business. It's as simple as that. If the iPhone 14 series was still the latest model because there has been no groundbreaking feature in the last 2 years, how many people would want to replace an iPhone 14 with another iPhone 14? They would start to look elsewhere. Releasing new products and keeping excitement around them is a must.
 
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ozapple said:
Here’s a little nostalgia for those who had the early iPhones.

Apple’s smallest ever iPhone screen vs the largest ever iPhone screen :)

Unfortunately I can’t get the old 4S to connect to WiFi so the first setup page is all I can show.

I’m actually surprised it turns on at all.

It’s been sitting in a drawer for over 10yrs, and luckily I was smart enough at the time to leave a 30 pin cable next to it..!

Anyhow, enjoy a quick look down memory lane and marvel at how far we have come! :)

View attachment 2428383View attachment 2428384View attachment 2428385View attachment 2428386
Click to expand...
5.5 years ago I bought a 8GB 4s from a member here for $25. That was my son's first iPhone. When I got him an SE, he gave me that phone back. On my desk right now (and all day, every day) is a 3GS, a 4, the 4s I mentioned, two iPhone 5's, a 6 Plus, a 6s Plus, a Pixel 3a XL and my current iPhone 11 Pro Max. All are functional.

Your 4s can do iCloud. Just update to iOS 9. Your other devices will tell you that a new iPhone is trying to login to iCloud and if you allow, they will give you a code. What you do is enter that code on the 4s AFTER your iCloud password. Then you're set.

Last time I checked (about a year ago) the 3GS I have was still able to login to iCloud and that was on iOS 6.
 
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eyoungren said:
All are functional.
Click to expand...
Wow what a collection!
eyoungren said:
Your 4s can do iCloud. Just update to iOS 9. Your other devices will tell you that a new iPhone is trying to login to iCloud
Click to expand...
It’s already running iOS 9.3.5. Without starting it up again, from memory iCloud wouldnt accept it because the iOS version was older than 13.x.x.

I might have a more in-depth play around with it at a later point.

It does have the option of plugging into iTunes, so hopefully once I get a 30pin-to-usbc connection (somehow), I’ll plug it into the m1 Mac and maybe it will recognise it, even though it doesn’t have iTunes.

It ‘may’ just appear in finder hopefully
 
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ozapple said:
Wow what a collection!

It’s already running iOS 9.3.5. Without starting it up again, from memory iCloud wouldnt accept it because the iOS version was older than 13.x.x.

I might have a more in-depth play around with it at a later point.

It does have the option of plugging into iTunes, so hopefully once I get a 30pin-to-usbc connection (somehow), I’ll plug it into the m1 Mac and maybe it will recognise it, even though it doesn’t have iTunes.

It ‘may’ just appear in finder hopefully
Click to expand...
I'll have to charge my 4s and boot it up. My Apple ID password has changed since I last used it so that'll be a good test.
 
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2007 to 2009 - 3.5" 480 x 320 [3:2]
2010 to 2011 - 3.5" 960 x 640 [3:2]
2012 to 2013, 2016 - 4.0" 1136 x 640 [~16:9]
2014 to 2017 - 4.7" 1334 x 750, 5.5" 1920 x 1080 [~19.5:9]
2017 to 2019 - 5.8" 2436 x 1125, 6.1" 1792 x 828, 6.5" 2688 x 1242 [~19.5:9]
2020 to 2021 - 4.7" 1334 x 750, 5.4" 2340 x 1080, 6.1" 2532 x 1170, 6.7" 2778 x 1284 [~19.5:9]
2022 to 2024 - 4.7" 1334 x 750, 6.1" 2556 x 1179, 6.7" 2796 x 1290 [~19.5:9]
2024 - 6.3" 2622 x 1206, 6.9" 2868 x 1320 [~19.5:9]
 
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ozapple said:
Won’t let me sign into iCloud though because the software version is just too incompatible.

Running iOS 9.3.5
Click to expand...
Shirasaki said:
What I actually find a bit shocking is Apple stops people signing to iCloud for those running old version of iOS, in this case iOS 9.
Click to expand...
The latest version for iPhone 4s is iOS 9.3.6 but I was still able to log in to iCloud using an iPod touch 5 running iOS 9.3.5 in 2024
 
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CaféPicasso said:
Confession: I bought a used iPhone 4 recently just to look at it.

(I LOVED that phone but I sold it to afford the new one. I regret that)
Click to expand...
I bought an iPhone 4 off someone on Reddit for $20. All it was missing was the two screws on the bottom. It has an iffy power button though, but for $20 I was okay with that.
 
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ant the ninja said:
While I love the size of my 16 Pro, I adored how the 4s felt in hand. That phone felt so damn solid.
Click to expand...
klasma said:
I don’t know, I would love to have such a compact and light-weight iPhone again, with one simple flush camera, and the Home button with Touch ID was fine. Whenever I need screen real estate I use a desktop or tablet anyway.
Click to expand...
My first purchase of an iPhone directly from Apple was the iPhone 5 when Apple allowed the other carriers to start selling the iPhone (wasn't going to switch carriers for the iPhone).

Never cared for the 4 or 4s (although I now own both), but the iPhone 5 was perfect. Black/Slate and monolith from 2001 (the movie) looking. If Apple made the 5 in the size of a Pro Max or Plus I'd be on it. Minus the home button now of course.
 
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Crazy to see the difference 13 years can make. The 4S was my first iPhone, back when it was a big deal to be able to get one on Verizon!

PS — If you don't want people to see the apps on your home screen you should block them out with a different tool, the brush feature in Markup can be seen through ;)
 
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Shirasaki said:
Shareholder is pretty much the only reason why apple still releases new device yearly even though The improvements levels are shrinking year after year. They always demand HUGE UNLIMITED GROWTH even though this is a fallacy and can’t be sustained. Some people just can’t get over the idea of going down and losing investment money.
Click to expand...

Not everyone is on the same purchase cycle. Apple releases a new phone every year so that when someone is looking to upgrade their current phone (whether it be after one year or ten years), Apple is offering a competitive product for that time. Otherwise, they risk losing a customer.
 
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