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Apple Users Underwhelmed by iPhone 13 and Apple Watch Series 7, Survey Shows
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I was on the iPhone Upgrade Program, but let it lapse. Working from home now means I don’t need a camera. Or a phone, really.
So, ok, let me see what’s the giant leap between iPhone XS Max and iPhone 13 pro max:
1. Better processor (given)
2. Better camera (maybe?)
3. Fancy modes attached to the new camera. (Umm, ok…)
4. Better battery life (ok)
5. Faster “Wireless charging” (not a big fan for me)
6. 1TB of storage (good, but silly as upgrade reason)
7. 5G (good, but not compelling enough for me)
8. 120Hz display (umm, ok…)
Umm sorry. I spent quite a few minutes without looking up specs trying to think about reasons that matters to me, and I struggle to find enough to persuade me upgrading.
You forgot a significantly improved cellular radio that supports more bands, more carrier aggregation, 5G, and most of all isn’t a crappy Intel modem.
Well, a big "so what?" from me. I just use Apple gear & benefit from the ecosystem, and just as I am not filled with religious frenzy for Anthropogenic Global Warming; "COVID is as bad as Ebola and we're all gonna die!"; or giving "woman of the year" awards to blokes (you know, the ones born with Y chromosomes and penises, as opposed to the ones born with ovaries and cervixes); I really am not an Apple cultist either. So I really don't care if anyone else shares my interest in Apple gear or not. I find it farcical that opinion pieces like this quote surveys based on what may be completely fanciful data, because of the difficulty of establishing the bona fides of those sampled, from people whose opinions may have little or no value, before the phones and watches actually start arriving. At the end of the day, people all over the world will be buying the things in droves: because the camera system on the iPhone is a significant improvement over the iPhone 12; and because the watch has a bigger and nicer screen; and of course because of the habits of many of simply upgrading on a regular basis, and also because of the millions of affluent poseurs who can't be seen with last year's gear.
Apple device users are largely underwhelmed by the iPhone 13 lineup and the Apple Watch Series 7, according to the findings of a new survey by SellCell.
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Article Link: Apple Users Underwhelmed by iPhone 13 and Apple Watch Series 7, Survey Shows
Without any particular passion, I await the actual sales data with some interest, because I suspect that it will confirm just how far this particular survey is at odds with the real strength of demand for these two upgraded devices.
If my opinions are symptomatic of a degree of despondency and depression on my part, it's because I'm in Melbourne, Australia, and there is a limit to how long one can put up with ridiculous lockdowns (now the World record for total duration!), with curfews, the kids not being allowed in the parks (?!), and the brutally violent and dictatorial suppression of people who are trying to use their Australian constitutional right to peaceful protest (along with banning the overflying by News helicopters that give the lie to the government claims by showing on camera how overwhelmingly peaceful most of the demonstrations have been until police attacks begin).
I hope I will be in a better mood after my new iPhone arrives in the next couple of days, and apologise for being so bloody negative today.
The addition of a good "macro" function in the iPhone 13 Pro Max is a huge step forwards, for some of us.
Hey, I want to preface by saying this is a serious question. I am not at all trying to make any criticism of your choice.
13 Pro being amazing aside, what was the specific reason you upgraded? I ask because I am an iPhone 11 user. I upgraded in Fall 2019 after getting a full 5 years out of my original 6 with only minor scratches. I have never been disappointed with my 11... although having used the new Safari at work is making we wait on upgrading to iOS 15 on my devices.
I think in general this survey is not bad in terms of loyalty from Apple customers. Much of the sentiment I get from those responses are from long-term Apple users who have been upgrading devices over their lives for so long now that it becomes routine, ie when it's time to replace the family car. I think what it does clearly indicate is that the smartphone boom might officially be over.
I personally think Apple should pull back from services (especially Apple TV+) and just concentrate on R&D. There's much less brand loyalty to services, and imho it's a fool's errand to chase that slippery pot of gold.
Heh… people aren’t as stupid and dumb as apple wants us to believe. Incremental YOY update is incremental YOY update. No denying on that, and no amount of marketing bs changing can swing the fact.
You don’t have any idea how many would return after 2 weeks or a month, and apple never willing to release return data after any iPhone launch. I suspect the big return number would make them look bad.
I'm seriously considering upgrading - from the 7+ I'm using back to my old 6s+. The lack of headphone jack is annoying enough on the 7+ that I think going back to the 6s+ would be worth the slightly slower processor.
There's nothing compelling about the 13 at all as far as I'm concerned. Maybe I'll consider a new one once the EU forces USB C into the iPhone. Maybe. And yes, if the EU forces it and Apple is stupid enough to keep using Lightning in the US I'd find a way to get the Euro model, I'm that sick of Apple's proprietary garbage connectors. If Apple develops the courage to admit they were wrong and put back Touch ID and the headphone jack too, I'll definitely get a new one.
But a slightly bigger battery and a slightly better camera? Meh. Don't care. If I want to take good pictures, I'll use my DSLR, there's no way a phone camera can ever compete with that, the sensor and the lenses are just too small. Phone cameras are for quick snapshots.
There's nothing compelling about the 13 at all as far as I'm concerned. Maybe I'll consider a new one once the EU forces USB C into the iPhone. Maybe. And yes, if the EU forces it and Apple is stupid enough to keep using Lightning in the US I'd find a way to get the Euro model, I'm that sick of Apple's proprietary garbage connectors. If Apple develops the courage to admit they were wrong and put back Touch ID and the headphone jack too, I'll definitely get a new one.
But a slightly bigger battery and a slightly better camera? Meh. Don't care. If I want to take good pictures, I'll use my DSLR, there's no way a phone camera can ever compete with that, the sensor and the lenses are just too small. Phone cameras are for quick snapshots.
It’s the same comments we see every year, people complaining about the iPhone being ‘boring’, and then no one goes on to explain why they believe that it’s boring. I think it depends on which model you’re upgrading to that one wouldn’t find the iPhone boring. I also think that users that are on sites like this, they are more critical on tech compared to the average consumer that might find more appreciation in upgrading to the latest devices.
Keep in mind, the people on sites like this, are a very small sample of people, they’re typically more vocal and negative, but Apple sales/services speak for them self.
Keep in mind, the people on sites like this, are a very small sample of people, they’re typically more vocal and negative, but Apple sales/services speak for them self.
Exactly.
And Apple knew it was thoroughly underwhelming and didn't make as many. As far as that goes, I bet Apple would say it sold out even if it didn't, just because it would look bad if they didn't make that claim.
It's all about "ecosystem". Otherwise every new device would have to sell on its (relative) merits, compared with often more impressive one-off offerings from sometimes even marginal players. But when you are locked in with your email, cloud services, calendars, HomeKit, HealthKit, paid apps, etc, you have much greater reason for brand loyalty. To be frank, if there were a way of maintaining access to all of these but using something other than an Apple phone, I would have several times in the past gone for one or another of the flights of innovation from Samsung or others. The folding screen stuff looks fascinating, for example - but Apple won't adopt until it's more or less bullet proof. The early Samsung "Note" phones, with their much larger screens and use of a pencil, when Apple was still spruiking the smallest and thinnest handsets instead despite many users wanting a wider range of alternatives.
There is some merit in thoughts of breaking up these big companies, like Apple, that seek rent through tie-up arrangements. So long as the market moves to provide alternatives for the other important integration that makes life simpler. Not sure how to do this to maximum benefit, though, because anything that weakens Apple at the moment would play further into the hands of the evil anti-privacy empires of the likes of Google, Facebook, and so on.
I wasn’t going to upgrade this year, I’ll admit. However, my coworker was looking for a used iPhone 12 Pro Max in great condition to gift to her son. So, I sold mine for $800 and picked me up the 13 Pro Max.
These surveys are pointless, as they only capture what tiny number of people (vs global market) think at that moment.
Whether the 13 lineup is favored or not will be seen in next year’s Apple’s quarterly earnings.
Whether the 13 lineup is favored or not will be seen in next year’s Apple’s quarterly earnings.
There's a small weakness in your argument. If these things are selling so badly, how come Apple's bottom line? Get back to us when you have figured that out.
The primary reason I upgraded my 12 Pro to the 13 Pro was for the 1TB of storage so I could have as much of my lossless concert recordings available to me while traveling/away from wifi/data as possible. Secondary reason was the ProMotion display. Without those two features, I would not have upgraded. Camera upgrades are barely noticeable to me.
One could suspect that the big players are eking out the improvements - hastening as slowly as possible, one might say. For example, where is the blood sugar monitoring on the Apple watch? The technology is not dissimilar to that used for blood oxygen, which the device already does. But no, on balance, Apple can sell enough watches without needing to burn that particular increment unnecessarily this time around - save it for next year, or maybe the year after. And the ecosystem will probably persuade people not to jump ship and get one of the alternatives that does blood sugar already. Just as a f'rinstance hypothetical of course.
This "survey" just ensured the iphone 13 is going to be a blockbuster. We'll see how buyers change their mind as:
1. the iphone pro max is available
2. the holiday shopping season starts
1. the iphone pro max is available
2. the holiday shopping season starts