Other Apple should make a camera-bump free phone for those who don’t care about the camera

[eyoungren]

Cameras are always needed and you never know when you'll need one with a good quality in the phone.

On the iPhone Air it is more obvious because the rest of the phone is so thin.

Absolutely! 😉

I have been able to post over 3,000 media items to MacRumors because I never knew when the opportunity to take another picture of my Macs, my iPhones and my iPads would strike! And my iPhones/iPads cameras enabled me to capture the moment every time!

And my wife is always telling me that I take GREAT pictures of the items on Walmart's shelves so she can decide what I need to bring home for her. Without those images, she just might choose the wrong item! I mean, the variety of Ben & Jerry's ice cream on the shelf? Can't get that wrong man. Snap pictures out the wazoo with the iPhone camera for that.

No seriously! This is what I use my iPhone/iPad cameras for. It's great.

 

[conmee]

Absolutely! 😉

I have been able to post over 3,000 media items to MacRumors because I never knew when the opportunity to take another picture of my Macs, my iPhones and my iPads would strike! And my iPhones/iPads cameras enabled me to capture the moment every time!

And my wife is always telling me that I take GREAT pictures of the items on Walmart's shelves so she can decide what I need to bring home for her. Without those images, she just might choose the wrong item! I mean, the variety of Ben & Jerry's ice cream on the shelf? Can't get that wrong man. Snap pictures out the wazoo with the iPhone camera for that.

No seriously! This is what I use my iPhone/iPad cameras for. It's great.

I think we have similar use cases except I haven’t yet flooded MR with my grocery pics… yet!

 

[eyoungren]

I think we have similar use cases except I haven’t yet flooded MR with my grocery pics… yet!

Neither have…ahh man!

Oops!!!!!

 

[MacCheetah3]

First time poster here. I cannot for the life of me figure out why Apple has not made a phone with a garden-variety camera (or hell, no camera at all) — and thus without that awful camera bump

I cannot tell if you are referring to recently or ever.

Trying to recall when the iPhone models didn’t have a camera bump, my vague recollection had me thinking the iPhone XR (camera) would qualify. Unfortunately, it does have a small one — what could actually be defined as a “bump.” I know the iPhone X has a small bump with dual camera, regular wide and telephoto, system. The iPhone 8 and iPhone 7 also had a small (rounded) lump for the camera. The last iPhone that didn’t, which I also am certain because I owned one, is the iPhone 6. In fact, probably(?) coincidentally(?), the marketing photo they have on the tech specs page includes the side profile.

Other and some newer models feature a bump, not a plateauing hill, such as the iPhone SE series and iPhone 16e.

So, it’s not so much that Apple has not offered such a feature. More so, the “advanced”/expanded camera (system) is a staple in (marketing) recent models, especially “Pro” variants.

P.S. I’ve owned fewer iPhones than Macs, somewhat surprising. Thus, it’s easier to recall some specifics.

 

[ghostface147]

Apple should make at least some phone without the bump. There would absolutely be a market for it IMO. The biggest issue with apples phones, and the thing I hear people complain about the most, is that ugly obtrusive camera bump

Where are you hearing this from? Reddit? Forums? What studies have you done to show Apple that there is a decent market for those who don’t want a camera bump? Don’t the vast majority of people put cases on their phones, which negates the bump? Has Apple lost sales because of the bump or are they consistently producing record profits irrespective of the bump?

 

[winxmac]

iPhone SE 2016 is the last model without a camera bump. It is also one of the last iPhone models without an overly aggressive photo processing.

iPhone 6 is the first one with a camera bump, and it got bigger and bigger through the years.

Pixel 10a is the latest model without a camera bump. I don't know about other android brands.

 

[eyoungren]

I cannot tell if you are referring to recently or ever.

Trying to recall when the iPhone models didn’t have a camera bump, my vague recollection had me thinking the iPhone XR (camera) would qualify. Unfortunately, it does have a small one — what could actually be defined as a “bump.” I know the iPhone X has a small bump with dual camera, regular wide and telephoto, system. The iPhone 8 and iPhone 7 also had a small (rounded) lump for the camera. The last iPhone that didn’t, which I also am certain because I owned one, is the iPhone 6. In fact, probably(?) coincidentally(?), the marketing photo they have on the tech specs page includes the side profile.

Other and some newer models feature a bump, not a plateauing hill, such as the iPhone SE series and iPhone 16e.

So, it’s not so much that Apple has not offered such a feature. More so, the “advanced”/expanded camera (system) is a staple in (marketing) recent models, especially “Pro” variants.

P.S. I’ve owned fewer iPhones than Macs, somewhat surprising. Thus, it’s easier to recall some specifics.

The last iPhone with a fully flush camera was the iPhone 5s. I own the 6+ and the 6s+. Both the bump and the antenna lines were controversial at the time it was released.

Compared to the full on infected camera boils that we have now, this was nothing. But back then people had been used to the 4, 4s, 5 and 5s with no bump.

 

[eyoungren]

The first type is going to point out that you are simply going to 'slap a case on the phone' and by virtue of this, it will defacto render your desire irrelevant. Because, the case 'hides' the bump.

Don’t the vast majority of people put cases on their phones, which negates the bump?

DING, DING, DING!!!! We have a winner!!!! 😉

 

[ClaraStahlbaum]

Other phones don't have a Camera Bump, at least, compared to the size of the Iphone Camera Bumps. Not having a flush camera with the rest of the phone is a major design flaw in my opinion.

 

[eyoungren]

iPhone SE 2016 is the last model without a camera bump.

I'd have to ask my son for a look at his SE1 (he has that and the SE2, which is his current iPhone).

But aren't the SE iPhones non-flagships? Whereas, the 5s was the flagship in 2013? I guess I just presumed we were only talking about flagship iPhones. Bad assumption on my part.

 

[eifelbube]

Apple could make an iPhone mini again but without the lens blisters. Its camera would be a separate wearable …on the wrist, around the neck. But they won’t make either.

 

[coolfactor]

Physics. The camera needs the depth to function properly, as light travels in a path.

Definitely no market for a "no camera" iPhone. Sorry to burst your bubble.

 

[Ctrlos]

This is a macro shot taken on my Pixel 9a, as pin-sharp as anything from my old iPhone 16 Pro. The idea that the phone needs a camera bump is a complete fallacy. And for the zoom lens apologists the Huawei P30 Pro (the first phone with a 5x periscope) had a small protrusion of only 1.5mm.

They remain at all levels a conscious design choice rather than an engineering one and not a very practical one at that. Phone design has been all over the place for a decade both inside and out. Harsh, square corners and flat edges overtook the ergonomic designs of the past. The HTC One M8 (pictured) was both beautiful and functional.

None of this is helped by the poor software implementation on larger screens.

I have worked in and and taught product design for over two decades and every time I see a Youtuber having to do the familiar one-handed 'Thumb-Fu' to reach the top of the screen for notifications I want to scream at the designers for utterly failing at their jobs.

A phone should be 100% useable with one hand because the other cannot always be counted on and some people dont have a spare. And if you think its ok I would posit that 99% of broken phone screens are because somebody overreached with their hand and handed ownership of its safety to gravity so its actually costing either you or the company money somewhere.

Curve the backs again so they sitr comfortably in-hand. Redesign the OS (and thus 3rd party apps) to not put things in stupid places. And no, reachability doesn't count. Its the software equivalent of putting your TV in the fridge and being ok that you need to sit in the kitchen with the door open to watch it.

 

[Madonepro]

I agree, but I suspect that Apple's marketing department considers cameras to be part of what makes a cellular telephone a "high end" or "luxury" product, and therefore would not want Apple to make a "low-end" device with a nonexistant or low-quality camera.

A more marketing-friendly approach might be to make the entire device thicker (maybe with a bigger or swappable battery) in order to make it flat, but Apple probably won't do that, either, since "thin" is also associated with high-end or luxury products in Apple-land.

Just imagine how thin, and how much battery you could have, if there was no camera!

 

[aespana]

View attachment 2609025
This is a macro shot taken on my Pixel 9a, as pin-sharp as anything from my old iPhone 16 Pro. The idea that the phone needs a camera bump is a complete fallacy. And for the zoom lens apologists the Huawei P30 Pro (the first phone with a 5x periscope) had a small protrusion of only 1.5mm.

They remain at all levels a conscious design choice rather than an engineering one and not a very practical one at that. Phone design has been all over the place for a decade both inside and out. Harsh, square corners and flat edges overtook the ergonomic designs of the past. The HTC One M8 (pictured) was both beautiful and functional.

View attachment 2609028

None of this is helped by the poor software implementation on larger screens.

I have worked in and and taught product design for over two decades and every time I see a Youtuber having to do the familiar one-handed 'Thumb-Fu' to reach the top of the screen for notifications I want to scream at the designers for utterly failing at their jobs.

A phone should be 100% useable with one hand because the other cannot always be counted on and some people dont have a spare. And if you think its ok I would posit that 99% of broken phone screens are because somebody overreached with their hand and handed ownership of its safety to gravity so its actually costing either you or the company money somewhere.

Curve the backs again so they sitr comfortably in-hand. Redesign the OS (and thus 3rd party apps) to not put things in stupid places. And no, reachability doesn't count. Its the software equivalent of putting your TV in the fridge and being ok that you need to sit in the kitchen with the door open to watch it.

I like the no bump Pixel 9a (have one) but you have to consider that this phone is thicker. Very thicker, in comparison to the Pixel 5 for example (my past phone).

I hope, one day, we will have small phones again.. I'm using an iPod Touch 4gen and is insane how we used to use devices this small, but also, is insane how big the phones are nowadays. I prefer the small ones

 

[markthrash]

Look, I totally get the complaint but you lost me at no camera at all on a phone lol but maybe there’s a market for that? Idk

 

[krvld]

This is a macro shot taken on my Pixel 9a, as pin-sharp as anything from my old iPhone 16 Pro.

Except that it's not a macro shot.

 

[Ctrlos]

I like the no bump Pixel 9a (have one) but you have to consider that this phone is thicker. Very thicker, in comparison to the Pixel 5 for example (my past phone).

I hope, one day, we will have small phones again.. I'm using an iPod Touch 4gen and is insane how we used to use devices this small, but also, is insane how big the phones are nowadays. I prefer the small ones

A phone is supposed to be a digital swiss army knife and not an ornament. I like how the 9a looks and whilst it is a little chonky, it also has a battery inside that just will not die no matter how much I try to kill it.

 

[AnTaR3s]

I think for most people the camera is really the only reason to even upgrade their phones (hence there's no market for a phone with a ****** camera). 🤷‍♂️

 

[eyoungren]

The second type will point out that based on current camera technology, it is impossible to NOT have a camera bump. So, you - will simply have to accept this, deal with it and move on.

Physics. The camera needs the depth to function properly, as light travels in a path.

And the second type has also entered the thread, LOL! 😉

 

[thejadedmonkey]

I don’t think people want to give away camera quality, especially on a pro model phone.

I use an iPhone 13 mini. Before this, I had a 12 mini. Including all bumps and protrusions, the 12 mini is thinner than the 13, and the 13 is thinner than the Air.

But the thing is, for regular point and shoot, the camera on the 12 was absolutely perfectly fine. And I don't see much of a difference between my 13 mini and 17. If Apple would just stop with the huge-screen-yet-thin phones, and make a smaller, thicker phone, they could really satisfy a lot of people.

 

[Andeddu]

We live in the social media era. A camera without a bump would absolutely bomb in this day and age. I have a 17 Pro but I don’t care much for the camera because I am not much of a snapper. Most consumers care about the camera more than anything else, hence the reason the Pro is the best selling model each and every year.

 

[ndouglas]

well the new 17e is as close as possible to no bump, that is, a minimal one that ideally won’t rattle the phone when used on a table. as my 13 mini does.
still, i’m not upgrading anytime soon and i appreciate the ultra wide camera frequently.

so i sympathize and share the desire for less or no bump and remember my iphone 3GS and 4S fondly but, eh, those days are long gone.

 

[aespana]

A phone is supposed to be a digital swiss army knife and not an ornament. I like how the 9a looks and whilst it is a little chonky, it also has a battery inside that just will not die no matter how much I try to kill it.

Man, agree 100% about the battery. It is insane even with 120hz. I usually get 2 days and even 3 days (when i don't need to go to the office). I'm not sure if I can get a little more since Firefox takes a good amount of battery

 

[Ctrlos]

Man, agree 100% about the battery. It is insane even with 120hz. I usually get 2 days and even 3 days (when i don't need to go to the office). I'm not sure if I can get a little more since Firefox takes a good amount of battery

I tend to use Samsung Internet on my Pixel. That and ABP and its smooth sailing.