Bloomberg: 2019 iPhones Can Charge AirPods, Cameras Will Have Increased Zoom and Auto-Correction Feature

[benjo765]

These camera bumps are getting really excessive (and also kinda ugly?)
[doublepost=1557511462][/doublepost]Maybe they should try something truly radical and just make a thicker phone, no camera bump, and a half-decent battery. They could call it the iPhone XP - the 'p' being for the power to actually make it through a days use!

 

[teknikal90]

I won't judge super harshly until we see the official photos, but who thought it'd be a good idea to put the cameras in a square in a haphazard order, rather than just extending the current camera cutout length?

Maybe there was some internal design constraints or something, but wow, is that new cutout ugly.

my guess is that they need the extra space as they need to do a periscope on the telecope camera ala huawei

my big question is...WHY
id rather thinner, smaller more hand grippable design, with better battery life.

 

[nburwell]

Cool. Looks like I'll be keeping my Xs, especially with that atrocious rear camera design.

 

[noraa]

Redundant information, let's just assume Tim's Apple produces no new designs unless otherwise stated.

So the iPhone X had the same design as the 7 and 8? And the Watch 4 had the same design as previous watches? What about the current MacBook Airs, same design as the previous generation?

 

[tridley68]

can't wait for the 2019 I phone XS Max.

 

[manu chao]

The whole ‘number of lenses’ thing reminds me of razor blades. I didn’t need 6 blade razor and probably don’t need a 3 lens camera.

Cameras limited to one focal length (or more precisely, one angle-of-view) fell out of fashion starting in the 1990s when very compact fixed-lens camera started to feature zoom lenses (eg, Olympus Mju/Infinity Stylus Zoom in 1993). The first, for that time, compact (fixed-lens) cameras with zooms started already in the late 1980s (eg, Olympus AZ-200 Superzoom from 1989 or the Pentax Zoom-70 from 1986, which I think was the first one in this category). Believe it or not, they were even twin-lens cameras preceding that like the Olympus AF-1 Twin from 1986.

By the end of the 1990s, fixed-lens cameras with prime lenses had largely been relegated to either the cheapest entry-level model or the top model of the range, where a prime lens could offer faster lens speed and better IQ. By the mid-2000s, digital fixed-lens cameras with a prime lens had become exceedingly rare (the Ricoh GR Digital is the only one coming to mind), outside of specialty ares like GoPro or underwater cameras. Since then a niche at the top-end has been formed with currently three FF models and three APS-C models, where again the choice of prime lens is driven by lens speed/sensor size and image quality.

And all that is without looking at the market for cameras with interchangeable lenses. Limiting oneself to a single focal length has really been driven by size or image quality concerns. As soon as multiple focal lengths are possible without much compromise in regard to size and image quality, the market has quickly moved in that direction. That smartphones implement this via multiple camera+lens units is really only due to size (vs. image quality) restrictions.

 

[Smartwatchlover]

Being an iphoneographer still using a 7 Plus, I’m in with the XS max successor.

Can’t wait to have more clarity on the specs but the jump with respect to the 7 Plus will be huge anyway.

 

[manu chao]

These camera bumps are getting really excessive (and also kinda ugly?)
[doublepost=1557511462][/doublepost]Maybe they should try something truly radical and just make a thicker phone, no camera bump, and a half-decent battery. They could call it the iPhone XP - the 'p' being for the power to actually make it through a days use!

Panasonic had phone that didn't compromise the camera for device thinness, it was 15 mm thick (though it still had a camera bump, at the lens it was 21 mm thick), the CM1. Technically, it's still the phone with the best image quality ever produced given the size of its sensor.

 

[Wide opeN]

It's actually growing on me. BUT, I'll still be holding on to my Xs Max.

 

[MacRazySwe]

Why wouldn't you anyway? You should keep you XS for at least 2 years if not longer before considering a change. Why? Because tech slowed down and there really is not much to gain. Keep you XS for 2 more years and you will save money and be happier once you upgrade than if you keep doing it yearly.
I'm on iPhone 6 and this year will most likely be the year to upgrade. I think that will be a massive jump for me and hopefully worth the money.
I've also saved tons of money by doing it this way

I agree with this.

I used to be on a 2 year cycle. iPhone 3GS > iPhone 4S > iPhone 5S and then the iPhone 6. In the end, I went 4 years with my iPhone 6. Honestly, I don't feel like I missed out on much.

Now I'm on an iPhone X which is a fantastic phone. There is really no need to upgrade every year anymore. I plan on keeping my X until we get 5G phones.

 

[LeeW]

I have had my Xs less than a year, I will be keeping it until it dies or something compelling makes me change, even if that is away from Apple.

 

[B4U]

You mean 3D Touch? (Force Touch was akin to the Apple Watch.) It’s speculated that 3D Touch would be eliminated for the ‘iPhone 11’ and adopt the simulated version of what the XR uses. I personally prefer 3D Touch, but if it was eliminated, it would allow for more internal space for possibly a larger battery.

It is Apple we are talking about.
Remember they removed the headphone jack and did not add anything?

 

[Freida]

I agree with this.

I used to be on a 2 year cycle. iPhone 3GS > iPhone 4S > iPhone 5S and then the iPhone 6. In the end, I went 4 years with my iPhone 6. Honestly, I don't feel like I missed out on much.

Now I'm on an iPhone X which is a fantastic phone. There is really no need to upgrade every year anymore. I plan on keeping my X until we get 5G phones.

Exactly, people who buy every year are literally burning money. I think I grew out of the "need to have the latest" thing and I'm happy that I did. I think I've learnt value vs price and how to balance it better

 

[PJivan]

You think early battery deaths were a problem before? I'm betting two-way charging is gonna wreck the batteries very quickly here... not to mention the heat issues. I have an iPhone 7 and am definitely upgrading... but not sure to what... I may well be staying a model year behind for the first time ever.

Can’t you simply not use that feature if you don’t trust it? Just wondering....

 

[ValO]

It's about field of view, not width...two totally different things.
[doublepost=1557507040][/doublepost]

Have you seen the way the Huawei phones do it? Essentially it's the vertical 2 camera bump they already have now, but more lenses in a row. It looks MUCH better aesthetically than these do.

I don’ t agree. The best designs are designs that don’ t try to cover up function. I like the industrial look of the XI concepts. Those 3 lenses on their own, look quite nice, and the design is looking better and better each day. If apple applies a good finish and nice materials, i’ll Probably get an XI max. It is a shame they didn’ t do anything about shrinking the notch though. Next year probably.

My prediction: All Chinese brands will try to copy the camera of the iphone XI after release.

 

[fourthtunz]

I'd like to do that too—just stinks that it could happen in 2020 or 2024.

Honestly..the notch is not that big of a deal.
you really don't notice it after a while..even watching netflix.
[doublepost=1557579557][/doublepost]

How are we still talking battery? I constantly use it and the X lasts all day. Charge at night.

Yeah and the XR is even better..if guess if you text a lot and watch a lot of video..maybe you run out of battery?
[doublepost=1557579635][/doublepost]

Poor Jony Ive. To have to design these monstrosities just because the industry wants multiple lens in their phones. An all black glass surface in the back could hide the awkward lens arrangement

A case hides all manor of awkwardness

 

[I7guy]

Redundant information, let's just assume Tim's Apple produces no new designs unless otherwise stated.

And in other news, next years passenger car models will have 4 tires on the ground and the iphone will still be rectangular along with the other android models.

 

[Scooby_Snacks]

Poor Jony Ive. To have to design these monstrosities just because the industry wants multiple lens in their phones. An all black glass surface in the back could hide the awkward lens arrangement

I’d argue that the industry doesn’t want multiple lenses in phones when you look at the direction that Google has taken the Pixel. The Pixel 3 and 3a have one camera lens and according to Markus Brownlee take the best photos of any phone camera through innovative software and hardware engineering.

 

[agsystems]

I genuinely don’t understand comments like this. The iPhone is incredibly thin, even in comparison to smart phones 10 years ago. The XS is 7.7 mm thick, that’s hardly ‘thick’. I understand it’s your preference, but I generally don’t think consumers will notice a millimeter or two of added thickness.

thanks was about to reply the same - if you want more battery life you need a thicker phone and iPhones are way thinner than the competition

 

[Brien]

These camera bumps are getting really excessive (and also kinda ugly?

Bumps have been ugly since the 6 IMO.

 

[scrapesleon]

Yawn boring

 

[PickUrPoison]

I’d say that’s not true. Look at the comparison of the XR compared to the XS, both offer true tone, wireless charging, same A13 processor, stereo speakers, etc. The XR is highly competitive to the XS in some of _major_ features. In addition, it’s the same features Apple markets that they want the consumer to see. Generally consumers when they’re choosing a phone, they see the same form factor with Face ID, and they’re only selecting the storage and color.

I think you misread or misunderstood the part of my post you bolded. Agreed, the XR has many of the same (and most desirable) features as the iPhones that are $250-350 more expensive. It’s an incredible value and no surprise to me whatsoever that it’s the top selling of the 2018 iPhones.

But there’s a reason it can be sold $250-350 cheaper than the XS/XS Max: it costs less to manufacture. It’s LCD vs. OLED, 326 vs. 458 ppi, single vs. dual rear camera, 3GB vs. 4GB RAM, 2x4 vs. 4x4 MIMO (cellular) and lacks 3D Touch, among other differences. Those are the kinds of things I had in mind when I said the less expensive phones don’t have all the same features as the most expensive phones.

That said, some prefer the XR for reasons other than price; they don’t like OLED, they like the longer battery life, larger screen than the XS or even just the colors. Some would choose XR over the XS even if the XR were $999.

 

[I7guy]

I’d argue that the industry doesn’t want multiple lenses in phones when you look at the direction that Google has taken the Pixel. The Pixel 3 and 3a have one camera lens and according to Markus Brownlee take the best photos of any phone camera through innovative software and hardware engineering.

Best is relative and subjective and implies best in class in every single aspect. The industry is moving toward multiple lenses. Computational photography alone will not replace a good optical zoom.

 

[PickUrPoison]

So the iPhone X had the same design as the 7 and 8? And the Watch 4 had the same design as previous watches? What about the current MacBook Airs, same design as the previous generation?

Don’t forget the 2018 iPad Pro; incredible new design.

 

[manu chao]

I’d argue that the industry doesn’t want multiple lenses in phones when you look at the direction that Google has taken the Pixel. The Pixel 3 and 3a have one camera lens and according to Markus Brownlee take the best photos of any phone camera through innovative software and hardware engineering.

What users want is a wider range of angle-of-view of the camera(s) to choose from and only to a lesser degree things like Portrait mode. At some point they might also be happy with even more cameras for a significantly better low light performance.

In principle if you both have a lens that has a high enough resolution and a sensor with very small pixels (that don't compromise IQ), a digital zoom can provide an image quality that is as good as a separate 'tele' lens+sensor combo. But realistically, that will probably be limited to a 2x zoom and going beyond that (in either direction of narrower or wider angle-of-view) does require multiple lenses.

The very wide third camera that Apple is adding (and that Samsung has already added) could in theory be substituted by a 2D panorama-like mode where the user is tilting the phone slightly and then rotating it around an axis perpendicular to ones face. But that would a rather difficult manoeuvre to carry out.

There is also the depth recognition for which a second camera can be used, which is something that Google (but also Apple with the Xr) accomplishes via software, but at least in my usage, I almost never use the Portrait mode on my iPhone X and only actually make use of the second camera when I want a narrower angle-of-view.