Apple's Three-Year Plan to 'Reinvent' the iPhone is Underway

[Ar_c]

How about they reinvent their iOS and overcome the issues they introduced with Liquid GlAss

 

[bzgnyc2]

There will always be an audience that likes small phones. I'm sure some hundreds of thousands to millions love their Minis.

However, the audience isn't large enough for Apple to keep it as a SKU. Not enough millions.

Apple has several other SKUs that sell in the same range or less than the iPhone Mini. The real problem with Mini buyers and the like is that they use their phones as phones and don't buy lots of other Apple services.

This isn't 2010 Apple anymore.

Okay but a lot of people consider that the problem. That was the Apple they signed up for.

Golden Age Apple is what got Apple where it is and sooner or later Iron Age Apple will lose its luster.

 

[Veoronox]

I don't understand the interest for curved glass screens. I had curved glass on my old Oppo Find X5 Pro and hated it. Apps were not optimized for it at all, resulting in some buttons being hidden away at the curved part of the screen, which was very difficult to use. Especially with ads where the x button is already very small.

 

[abcmax]

2019: iPhone 11 Pro - introduces a triple camera

2025: groundbreaking iPhone Air - returns to a single camera

2027: iPhone XX - no camera, use Apple Intelligence to create your dream photo

 

[capamac]

I find Apple software and hardware to be 10 years ahead of anything out there.

Apple may be ahead of Windows. But it's not ahead of "Apple five to ten years ago." Apple has regressed in the software and design department. I do agree Apple hardware is fine. I wouldn't go so far as to say Apple hardware is 10 years ahead though ... the Lenovo Thinkpads are pretty nice. I hear the Asus Zenbook, Framework laptops and Dell XPS series are pretty nice but I've not tried them myself. Intel's new Panther Lake CPUs have the new 2 nanometer process (Apple M5 is 3nm) and are supposedly pretty fast and power efficient. There's Snapdragon-powered (ARM, like Apple M series) PC laptops out there as well. Linux seems to be gaining popularity with the gamer crowd thanks to Proton and user displeasure with Windows as a gaming platform.

 

[mrr]

All iPhones should support Apple Pencil.

 

[Charlie Bonesx]

There are no under screen selfie cams that come close to what's offered now. That said, just put everything under screen except for a small hole punch camera and that's close enough.

I could care less about a front facing camera.

Indeed I’d be fine with the front facing camera on my iPhone being the back camera to get rid of the bulge

 

[Dark_Omen]

Give us an iPhone mini without latest tech but that costs around 500 dollars.
Mac Neo is selling like crazy because of its price.

I don't think people don't like small phones. People don't like small phones at a high price!!

There is a budget phone. It's called the 17e. And no it wouldn't sell more if it had a smaller screen.

 

[Dark_Omen]

The main innovation I'd be interested in from iPhone is for it to match the price of the Galaxy A17 ($174 new).

That's real innovation ... price.

That'll never happen. The performance on the A17 sucks.... Bad.

 

[capamac]

That'll never happen. The performance on the A17 sucks.... Bad.

That may be so. However the A17 is noticeably faster than the iPhone 7 it replaced. And the A17 runs a current OS and current apps.

The A17 has twice the RAM, four times the storage and cost me less than half what I paid for the iPhone 7.

Why can’t Apple compete with this?

 

[TheMacDaddy1]

I disagree with you. I find Apple software and hardware to be 10 years ahead of anything out there.

Well data backs my take just a tad more.

#1 browser used on Mac's is Chrome not Safari. People go out of their way to use it vs the built in Safari.

#1 Note taking app on Apple devices....OneNote.

About the only "great" from Apple is Apple Music IMHO. Apple wisely made it cross platform.

 

[sevoneone]

How to reinvent the 20th aniversary iPhone in the age of the MacBook Neo ... I really think at this point what Apple should do is let any iPhone (and iPad for that matter) that can be a Mac, be a Mac when connected to a display, keyboard and mouse. If the long term goal is really services and subscriptions, it only makes sense. Give them as much of the ecosystem with one purchase as is possible...

 

[ThomasJL]

Apple is in the middle of a three-year plan to "reinvent" the look and feel of the iPhone, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

That’s because Apple has been using practically the same iPhone 11 design fox six years in a row, since 2019. “Can’t innovate anymore, my a**!”

Tim Cook knows reusing practically the same design for many years in a row will save Apple money on R&D, and thus will help him maximize profits.

Cook is a liar, but if he were honest, then iPhone 17 would be called the iPhone 11ssssss.

 

[Dark_Omen]

That may be so. However the A17 is noticeably faster than the iPhone 7 it replaced. And the A17 runs a current OS and current apps.

The A17 has twice the RAM, four times the storage and cost me less than half what I paid for the iPhone 7.

Why can’t Apple compete with this?

I'm confused.

The A17 came out in 2025. The iPhone 7 was released in 2016.

It has twice the RAM, but it lags a ton, and isn't built for longevity. An iPhone can last 6-10 years. An A17 might last a year or two before it's barely usable anymore.

The minimum phone someone should buy from Samsung is an S25 FE.

 

[Hildy]

I don’t know anyone personally who would ever use a phone - or any expensive portable electronics - without a case on it.

We should meet.., I’ve been rocking the iPhone since the first model without a case, albeit most of them have had belkin or other screen protectors.

My original has a few dead pixels and some seriously outdated software.

 

[capamac]

I'm confused.

The A17 came out in 2025. The iPhone 7 was released in 2016.

It has twice the RAM, but it lags a ton, and isn't built for longevity. An iPhone can last 6-10 years. An A17 might last a year or two before it's barely usable anymore.

The minimum phone someone should buy from Samsung is an S25 FE.

Not nearly as laggy as my iPhone 7. The A17 CPU benchmarks 32 percent faster in single core.

OS and security updates provided for six years according to Samsung.

 

[marte91]

I strongly disagree.
If you sell me a small iPhone and a large iPhone at similar prices, it's obvious that the bigger one is the best option for the bucks.
Who would pay the same to have less screen and battery? People aren't stupid.

You can disagree as its your right, but small device don't sell as well as big devices, there is plenty of historic data. Do you think if the majority of users where requesting small devices manufacturers will not oblige?, there is a reason why there is not many small devices left, they don't sell well enough for companies to bother with them.

 

[Le0M]

It's a mistake to conflate the MacBook Neo with the iPhone mini. The MacBook Neo is the same weight and almost the same size as the MacBook Air, that's part of why it's so compelling. As much as I loved the iPhone 12 mini, it came with many more obvious compromises than the Neo. The other thing Apple should have learned by now is that in its various attempts to provide products at $100 price intervals, it seems that for the iPhone buyers aren't all that sensitive to $100. Especially if their phones end up on some sort of payment plan.

There are many more compromises that have to be made buying a Neo than those that had to be made when considering buying an iPhone Mini.
The mini got a smaller battery and a smaller screen. For the remaining part was almost identical to the "regular" iPhone: same screen quality, same cameras, same power,
Compared to the Air, the Neo not only has smaller battery and screen (quality), but much worse CPU/GPU, no backlit keyboard, worse i/o ports, speakers, and the list just go on.

 

[antonrg]

In Italy (Europe) the iPhone 13 was 979€, the mini was 879€. After taxes.
Keep in mind that the average wage here is around 1100€ monthly.
So, for us, an iPhone mini was very expensive for what it provided.

Not sure about Italy, but in France I got my 13 mini at 769€ when it was still the newest model available (June 2022). This was a new device without discounts.

 

[Le0M]

You can disagree as its your right, but small device don't sell as well as big devices, there is plenty of historic data. Do you think if the majority of users where requesting small devices manufacturers will not oblige?, there is a reason why there is not many small devices left, they don't sell well enough for companies to bother with them.

Oh but that's obvious. I'm not saying small phones would sell better than bigger ones.
I'm just saying that it wasn't given the small ones a fair chance.

 

[Le0M]

Not sure about Italy, but in France I got my 13 mini at 769€ when it was still the newest model available (June 2022). This was a new device without discounts.

Was that the original price in France?

 

[antonrg]

You can disagree as its your right, but small device don't sell as well as big devices, there is plenty of historic data. Do you think if the majority of users where requesting small devices manufacturers will not oblige?, there is a reason why there is not many small devices left, they don't sell well enough for companies to bother with them.

I personally think it's not much of a screen size as it is about the battery and marketing of it all. For example the mini was not marketed at all. Look how low the sales are on Plus and Pro Max models compared to the regular size. If people loved huge screens, they'd be buying it up all the Pluses and Maxes, but they are not doing that. In my opinion, it's about the middle ground, which the regular model seems to be offering at the moment. Those who appreciate the smaller form factor will hold onto it for as long as possible. I, for example, have avoided any screen bigger than the mini and 8, until now. I've recently switched to 17 and frankly, after a couple of weeks of use, I got used to it and now don't even think about the mini anymore. I do, however, wish that one day, if technology allows it, Apple does release a compact device again, but with much better battery. I'll buy that in a second.

 

[antonrg]

Was that the original price in France?

809€ for a mini on the release date, but by spring 2022 you had it for 769€

 

[Le0M]

This logic doesn’t hold up. Imagine if Apple made an iPhone with identical spec at every 0.1” interval between 5” and 7.5” (for reference, iPhone mini was 5.4 and pro max is 6.9). All the same, just 25 very specific sizes to choose from. Some people would pick the smallest one, probably more would pick the biggest. But this is a category with a limit: most people are going to pick one somewhere in the middle. Personally, I’d like something a little smaller than the current 17 Pro but not as small as a mini.

But if you can't stand nowadays' iPhone sizes, I think you'd be willing to buy an iPhone Mini 18 even if it was a tad to little for your tastes. No?

 

[eifelbube]

I wonder if, between the introduction of the iPhone Air and the rumored 20th anniversary version, we might finally be done with iPhone numbers.
I sure hope so.
iPhone 21 Pro Max doesn’t exactly have the same ring to it.
If they continue to simply just call the iPhone Air the “new iPhone Air”, the iPhone fold or ultra or duo or whatever doesn’t get numbered and the 20th anniversary edition is just called the “next generation of iPhone Pro” or something like that, the era of numbers might be coming to a close.
Otherwise, they will either have to skip 19 entirely so they don’t introduce the 19 Pro as the 20th anniversary edition, do something extremely stupid like ‘iPhone XX’ or straight up just not called a pro at all, which doesn’t really seem likely to me.

in sync with OS numbering,
iPhone 2028 this fall
iPhone ‘29 … ‘30 …