A lot of flowers/plants in there. I would like to have seen different types of surfaces and textures. I like the colors in the sea glass pic.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Apple Reveals Winning 'Shot on iPhone' Macro Challenge Photos
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
That sentence makes no sense. The 13 Pro Max does EVERYTHING the SE does (minus TouchID).
That's my point. The only reason Apple releases 'Pro' iPhones is to make people feel inadequate about getting a cheaper model. It's a clever branding ploy designed to get people to spend more money.
Some people might disagree with me on that but you will find the bigger display is largely subjective; I have often found people with smaller phones use them a lot less, relegating them back to a tool or utility than an addictive piece of technology, negating the battery advantages.
This is the same truth with any company thats ever existed who offers different levels of product. What are you trying to get at?
I do it with my photography tiers for my business. I mean, the pictures are the same whether you go with the bottom package or the significantly more expensive top package - but its a different experience in a way, with different ‘special touches’, longer shoot times, more locations. But it’s designed to get people to spend more money. Obviously.
Both of which are ‘nice to haves’ in the exact same way an extra couple of litres on your car engine are nice to have. But the Pro models don’t do anything that the SE doesn’t beyond a few luxury extras.
My point is that out of all the companies charging extra for so called ‘Pro’ phones it is Apple who actually give their customers the least. It’s a moniker designed to make people feel like their regular phones are inadequate. Bar a few ‘nice to haves’ hardware features the Pro does nothing the regular models do not do. They don’t even have some nice software exclusives like full manual camera control, variable aperture cameras, USB-C connectivity, faster data transfer speeds, Apple Pencil compatibility, reverse charging etc etc.
If I buy the Galaxy S22 Ultra over the regular model I get a completely different chassis, a 4th 10x periscope zoom lens, a much higher pixel count on the main lens for better pixel binning, a larger screen option, at least an extra 500mah on the battery and crucially the stylus as a baked-in feature which has all sorts of exclusive software features if you are a business type.
I went on a recent business trip with an iPhone XR, DSLR w/300mm lens, iPad Pro, Switch Lite and Apple Watch all in tow. I had so many cables and chargers it was ridiculous. I was sat taking notes in an evening seminar thinking to myself how I could easily have replaced everything I had brought with my with the S22 Ultra. The iPhone 13 Pro would never have crossed my mind.
I think you need to look at the spec sheet differences in the camera systems on the SE and the Pro 13 again. They are most definitely not the same. They’re very similar where it counts, which is a good thing not to gimp the cheap seats.
Aside variable aperture, which doesn’t exist on the iPhone unfortunately, there is full manual camera control on all iphones, I don’t think i would like that to be an exclusive feature for more expensive phones.
Not sure the rest of your ‘software exclusives‘ I would find too useful (- most of which are hardware examples, perhaps you meant that?). I might like pencil compatibility but not with the apple pencil as it stands now, a smaller version perhaps. The rest is just subjective.
I’m not sure how replacing an iPhone with a different brand of phone would have negated your need for a DSLR + Lens, an iPad or a watch (?)- they’re all quite different products.
But each to their own - I just dont think the points your making are particularly valid against apple considering all companies do the same. Samsung is arguably worse because their cheaper phones are terrible - you HAVE to spend money to get the best. With Apple its much less the case considering how pricey they generally are.
It’s more software features enabled by unique hardware options. Manual has been an option via apps like Halide on the iPhone forever but it should be baked in by now. The camera quality on Pro vs SE is better but would the average jo notice it? I would because I use the LiDAR Scanner on the iPad Pro for on-device photogrammetry as part of my job and its brilliant!
As for my travel usage cases for the S22 Ultra:
- The stylus enables quick handwritten note taking normally reserved for an additional device like an iPad. This is subjective but very useful for myself.
- The 10x zoom is useful for street photography. I find the best shots are candid but even a large telephoto from a distance can be noticed. Nobody assumes your phone is taking pictures of them from 100m away.
- Compatibility with Fortnite and Game Pass streaming would mean being able to leave my Switch at home. Android also has access to some brilliant emulators for classic gaming.
- The phone has USBC like all my other tech and high data transfer rates for 4k video. I believe the Pro iPhones still use USB 2.0?
- I’d ditch the watch. I barely use it and find wristwear of any kind uncomfortable in summer months. If I have my watch with my I probably have my phone as well.
- Samsung have a clever built-in desktop ‘Dex’ mode allowing the phone to also function as a PC of sorts on the road. This would allow me to hook the phone up to a charger and HDMI port and, using a controller play all my games on the hotel TV as well as use it as a giant computer screen should the need arise.
I appreciate these are all niche uses but they are crucially all things the 13 Pro doesn’t offer.