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's 2016 iPhone Update to Focus on Headphone Jack Removal, Major Changes Won't Come Until 2017
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I suspect you're right. Based on rumors how not much will change, except for the removal of the headphone jack, which many people will probably feel like something is being taken away no matter how Apple try's to spin it. However, I am not one of those people. I will be upgrading to the iphone 7 for one main reason. The dual lens camera. Being a travel blogger/photographer this improved camera technology greatly appeals to me. I totally understand that to most people, an improved camera won't be enough of a reason to upgrade, and that's cool. I totally understand. But for me it is. Apple is definitely risking yet another year of possible declining iphone sales until the huge tenth anniversary iphone redesign in 2017.
[doublepost=1466680850][/doublepost]
Well, I think More often than not, Apple has led the way and others have copied them, so your point kind of ignores that fact. True, Apple sometimes is also late to the party with some features...but I think that is less of Apple copying others, and more about them doing it right. Invariably when Apple does adopt a feature that has already appeared on other smartphones, they tend to do it better and in a more refined and aesthetically pleasing way. Plus there is always Apple's seamless hardware/software integration that the competition just can't touch. So say what you will, there are deserved reasons for Apple's loyal fan base.
Last edited:
The dual lens camera is likely to be only on the Plus. It's going to be much tougher convincing 4.7" owners to upgrade.
That doesn't seem like an argument against what I had just said... I said people with the 6 would likely skip both the 6S and 7.
When it comes to anything wireless Apple trails behind the competition. I've had wireless charging on my Androids for a few years and it's fantastic.I want a wireless charging capability for my PriusTim, can you hear me?
Oh, I thought you were saying that Apple's plans for the next iPhone would shorten people's upgrade cycle?
Currently, most people tend to upgrade somewhere between 2 and 3 years (at least in the UK, where contract lengths are typically 24 months). If anything, people are likely to hold out a bit longer if the iPhone 7 isn't a particularly compelling upgrade.
I'm arguing that people on a 4 year cycle will shorten to 3 years.
I think everyone is underestimating the number of people on a 4 year cycle - they're too focused on themselves and the tech-savvy minority of people that they know who are on 2 year cycles.
Especially the use it while it's charging!
I haven't used wireless charging on an Android. Is it not possible to use the speakerphone, or BT headset, or even plug in a headset to make a call or listen to music while it's charging? Or is it like the iPod shuffle that is basically taken out of commission when in charge mode?
My point was that be using a cord I can still pick up the phone use it and have it charge. A compatible lightning cable is .99 and I have one in every room. a wireless charging station is much more expensive and pick up a phone and it stops charging.
I see there is a point to be had there. However, I'm not sure how important it is. I personally leave my iPhone in charging docks at home and office when not using them, so when I pick them up to use them, they stop charging. It's never particularly inconvenienced me in terms of charging time, since they are always charging when I'm not using them. If I do need to use the phone while keeping it charging to prepare to go mobile, I usually just turn on speaker, or BT headset. But for me the convenience of using these docks far outweighs the cost and charging interruption.
Also, I have found that when traveling, the location of outlets and length of Lightning cable is such that I usually unplug the phone to use it anyway, unless it's just a quick glance, which can happen in my dock, or on a charging mat just as easily.
I've never charged the phone with headphones plugged into it, as I find that way too restrictive, and usually puts me in an awkward, uncomfortable, and inconvenient position, and it's not really something that's been easy to do since the jack moved to the bottom of the iPhone anyway. But I tend not to want to talk on the iPhone while charging for the same reason.
But yes I can imagine the ocassional situation where someone might need to charge their phone while using it, where a charging mat would be impracticality. Of course the good news in those situations, is that those phones also have a USB port to optionally charge them by wire when necessary. In fact I've done that, picked up the phone from the charger, realized it was going to be a long phone call, and my battery was running low and needed to be charged as I was leaving soon without an effective way to charge it elsewhere -- so I unplugged the Lightning cable going into the charger and plugged it into the phone, while I was talking. I'd assume that exact same scenario would be just as easy with a charging mat.
But what I'm really interested in are these $.99 Lightning cables you speak of ... Where do you get good quality, reliable cables for that price?
Last edited:
Haven't seen them for that cheap but have bought a couple of 6 packs for $12 via Amazon. They have been working well - I have wall sockets with USB plugs in my place
I'll check it out. I bought a 3 pack of those knock-off charging cubes off of Amazon for $10, because they keep walking away when I travel. Not sure I trust them entirely not to burst into flames, but they have all worked reliably for a couple of years. The only complaint I have is that they charge so slowly ...
Under different leadership of course. The main people who provided that leadership aren't there anymore (Jobs and Forstall).
Waterproofing is expected on the iPhone 7
Doubt you will ever come to a point where cases won't be needed
Jobs and forstall shouldn' t be mentioned in the same sentence/context.
Jobs could be a pain in the ass, but brilliant.
Forstall was a pain in the ass. And was quite excellent. But not brilliant and no visionary. The only resemblances are they were both dismissed at Apple one time.
I don't know anyone under the age of 50 who'd wait anywhere near that long. Even if they don't care about the tech, chances are they'll crack the screen or be lured by a cheap upgrade offer or something and decide to upgrade long before 4 years is up!
In the Android world, upgrade cycles are even shorter because the phones (cheaper models, at least) don't last as long and they don't get software updates for anything near as long as iOS devices do.
I'm fairly tech savvy, but I'm also frugal. And thanks to Apple I have a lot of tech to maintain.
My iPhone cycle has been this:
Original iPhone
iPhone 4
iPhone 5s (which I did not buy until the 6 came out)
iPhone SE
The main reason I upgraded to the SE is because 9.2.1 broke my 5s which was out of warranty and Apple wanted to charge me $269 to repair/replace it. Otherwise I would have likely held out until there was a new 4" top of the line iPhone, and paid to repair it.
And I'm not the only person I know under 50 that waits so long between upgrades. Now I wouldn't say that's a hard and fast rule -- obviously I didn't want the 5s, and jumped at the opportunity to upgrade to the SE when it came along offering me the features I wanted. And part of that is because I paid $400 for a used 5s (something I only did because there was no new 4" flagship), and the SE was so inexpensive. But I would have paid $700 for a new 4" iPhone.
The point is, whether people sit on a 4 year cycle or not, there are probably a lot more people out there who do sit on a phone for 4 years at least once during their smartphone purchase history to account for enough sales to eat away at Apple's profit margins. And the 4 years of software support for iPhones contributes to that. When a person gets a shiny new OS update every year, it's hard to see the phone as old, unless it also offers a shiny new feature that the old hardware doesn't support and the customer wants.
The bottom line for a lot of people I know under 50 is that they are perfectly happy with their phones as long as they keep working the way they did when they bought them. The exception to that is when Apple offers some major new tech that interests them, like larger screens, or better cameras.
It would honestly be a bit of a relief if they moved away (at least a little bit) on constantly changing the form factor. The current design is nice, and I don't need, nor do I want the phone to get any thinner. Work on the internals and the software from now on.
Instead of getting more, now we're getting less. Nice philosophy there
Apple has always been about removing things whenever they think they can do better. And they've been about wireless for as long as I can remember.