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Future iPhone predictions based on 4 year trends

Andres Cantu

Andres Cantu

macrumors 68040
Original poster
May 31, 2015
3,335
8,077
Texas
Hello everyone, as my first thread I wanted to ask this: is it safe to assume that rather than looking at the iPhone from two years ago to see what improvements are likely, you need to look at the one released four years ago to anticipate what the next one will have?

For example, the iPhone 3G and the iPhone 5 had 3G and LTE as their major selling points, the iPhone 3GS and the iPhone 5s had chip technology improvements (firsts with ARMv7 and ARMv8, firsts with PowerVR series 5 and 6, firsts with L2 and L3 caches added), and the iPhone 4 and the iPhone 6 had major redesigns (compared to the iPhones that came before) as their major selling points (but were still the firsts with Wireless-N and AC, another four year trend). The camera from the iPhone 4s was bumped up to 8 megapixels and storage came at 16GB standard, and rumors point to another bump to 12 megapixels for the iPhone 6s, hopefully 32GB standard (meaning four years again for both of those).

Based on all these trends, would it be safe to assume that the iPhone 7 will be kind of like what the 5 was to the 4s, meaning a more refined design (but not completely different), almost identical camera, maybe an improved connector? If that's the case, then should we expect a major connectivity advancement in the iPhone 7 (450 Mbps LTE-A?) and should we not expect a radical redesign until the iPhone 8 in 2018, or are all of these things just coincidences?
 
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Clever. The 6S might be a 4S like upgrade. The 4S brought dual-core, so the 6S might bring tri-core or even quad-core. I'm also expecting a better camera. And by the way the 4S wasn't the first to bring base 16GB, that has been there since the 3GS, but it was the first to have 64GB. Still hoping for base 32GB though.
 
Thinner - apple loves to make things thinner, so we'll see an even thinner design :)
 
Ive kind of been wondering the same thing, but since I bought my iPhone 6plus outright (around $900.00!) I likely wont be upgrading to the "S" model if its as minimal as the other "S" upgrades. I used to upgrade to everything, because ATT would let me upgrade and I'd gladly pay the $200+/- and sign up for the next two year contract.

The current ATT iPhone situation (no contract/month to month and just make payments on the phone) might hurt iPhone "S" sales, due to the high price of the outright cost of the iPhone 6/plus - especially obvious if you buy the thing outright. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the no contract deal, just don't think many will want to drop a grand a year (and have to deal with selling their old phone for a loss).
 
maflynn said:
I'm not saying I want it thinner, I'm saying apple with their obsession of thinness will make it thinner.
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Well lets tell them they shouldn't. Because they shouldn't. Sacrificing battery capacity/structural strength for a device that is already thin enough (it was fine even with the iPhone 5 but anyway) AND having to have a camera lens sticking out should be more than enough reasons to go back to something that's just a tad thicker and lasts quite a lot longer.
 
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-A9 chip(I think they'll be stuck on 20nm as opposed to moving to 16 or even 14?)
-2GB LDRR4 RAM
-16, 64 and 128GB options
-Force touch
-4K video recording
-12MP camera

I personally hope for better battery life though.
 
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nj-morris said:
Clever. The 6S might be a 4S like upgrade. The 4S brought dual-core, so the 6S might bring tri-core or even quad-core. I'm also expecting a better camera. And by the way the 4S wasn't the first to bring base 16GB, that has been there since the 3GS, but it was the first to have 64GB. Still hoping for base 32GB though.
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Oh yeah, I forgot to mention the move to dual-core and the possible one to tri-core! Also, I believe the 4s was the first to have its standard storage increased from 8GB to 16GB (when it was released, and not counting the 8GB version released later on), so hopefully the same happens in the 6s.
 
maflynn said:
Thinner - apple loves to make things thinner, so we'll see an even thinner design :)
Click to expand...
I agree, I bet they're targeting the iPhone 7 to be 6.1mm thin like the iPod touch and iPad Air 2, although I really only want for the top and bottom bezels to be reduced in size!
 
maflynn said:
I'm not saying I want it thinner, I'm saying apple with their obsession of thinness will make it thinner.
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I really didn't mean you maflynn, but Apple. :oops: However, if they (Apple) would increase the size slightly of the iPhone 5s and make the bezel smaller as well, putting a better battery inside, I would snatch one up over the iPhone 6 right now, but they won't. Just dreaming a bit.
 
Andres Cantu said:
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention the move to dual-core and the possible one to tri-core! Also, I believe the 4s was the first to have its standard storage increased from 8GB to 16GB (when it was released, and not counting the 8GB version released later on), so hopefully the same happens in the 6s.
Click to expand...

No, the 3GS and the 4 both started out at 16 and 32, then moved to just 8 after the next generation was released. The 4S didn't move to 8 until the 5S was released, so that's probably what you're thinking about.
 
woodekm said:
Ive kind of been wondering the same thing, but since I bought my iPhone 6plus outright (around $900.00!) I likely wont be upgrading to the "S" model if its as minimal as the other "S" upgrades. I used to upgrade to everything, because ATT would let me upgrade and I'd gladly pay the $200+/- and sign up for the next two year contract.

The current ATT iPhone situation (no contract/month to month and just make payments on the phone) might hurt iPhone "S" sales, due to the high price of the outright cost of the iPhone 6/plus - especially obvious if you buy the thing outright. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the no contract deal, just don't think many will want to drop a grand a year (and have to deal with selling their old phone for a loss).
Click to expand...

If you sell it for $700-$800 then you are only dropping $200 per year.
 
nj-morris said:
No, the 3GS and the 4 both started out at 16 and 32, then moved to just 8 after the next generation was released. The 4S didn't move to 8 until the 5S was released, so that's probably what you're thinking about.
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You're right, I was confused by how many times Apple has released a lower storage device after a new one comes out (it's happened to the 3GS, 4, 4s, and 5c).
 
soupcan said:
Well lets tell them they shouldn't. Because they shouldn't. Sacrificing battery capacity/structural strength for a device that is already thin enough (it was fine even with the iPhone 5 but anyway) AND having to have a camera lens sticking out should be more than enough reasons to go back to something that's just a tad thicker and lasts quite a lot longer.
Click to expand...

Apple need to concentrate on reducing bezels and the overall footprint of the device because 'thin' isn't fooling us anymore. They're the biggest phones out there and sacrificing battery size and structural rigidity just so they can claim to be the 'thinnest phone' just isn't cutting it anymore. Not only are they behind Android with hardware specs, they're also behind them in terms of a modern design. To put the icing on the cake, iOS isn't even the super-smooth 'it just works' software it used to be either.
 
sunking101 said:
Apple need to concentrate on reducing bezels and the overall footprint of the device because 'thin' isn't fooling us anymore. They're the biggest phones out there and sacrificing battery size and structural rigidity just so they can claim to be the 'thinnest phone' just isn't cutting it anymore. Not only are they behind Android with hardware specs, they're also behind them in terms of a modern design. To put the icing on the cake, iOS isn't even the super-smooth 'it just works' software it used to be either.
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Yes, but they would also be sacrificing battery size to make the bezels smaller as well. The bezels aren't hurting anybody, they're just an eyesore to some people. And whoever said that iPhones are losing structural rigidity are wrong. The 6 and 6 Plus aren't even that much thinner, it's just the curved edges that give it that impression. And bending isn't an issue. Whoever has had their phone bent has probably subjected their phone to some serious impact without realising it. I have an iPod touch, which is a millimetre thinner than the 6 Plus, It's been between me and an edge of a table multiple times, and no sign of bending whatsoever. Hell, I don't even think the iPad Air 2 has bending issues (I hope not, because I'm getting one).
 
sunking101 said:
Apple need to concentrate on reducing bezels and the overall footprint of the device because 'thin' isn't fooling us anymore. They're the biggest phones out there and sacrificing battery size and structural rigidity just so they can claim to be the 'thinnest phone' just isn't cutting it anymore. Not only are they behind Android with hardware specs, they're also behind them in terms of a modern design. To put the icing on the cake, iOS isn't even the super-smooth 'it just works' software it used to be either.
Click to expand...
Behind on hardware specs? The A8 beats almost everything out there in terms of single core performance which is the one stat that matters in smartphones. Sure, it loses on the multi core side because it has 2 cores, but it's still a beast of a chip.
 
nj-morris said:
Yes, but they would also be sacrificing battery size to make the bezels smaller as well. The bezels aren't hurting anybody, they're just an eyesore to some people. And whoever said that iPhones are losing structural rigidity are wrong. The 6 and 6 Plus aren't even that much thinner, it's just the curved edges that give it that impression. And bending isn't an issue. Whoever has had their phone bent has probably subjected their phone to some serious impact without realising it. I have an iPod touch, which is a millimetre thinner than the 6 Plus, It's been between me and an edge of a table multiple times, and no sign of bending whatsoever. Hell, I don't even think the iPad Air 2 has bending issues (I hope not, because I'm getting one).
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The iPhone still needs to accommodate the home button and Apple is obsessed with symmetry. I think those bezels will stay around for a long time to come.

Your iPod touch is also much smaller. Notice that reports of the iPhone 6+ bending are far more common than the 6? It's something to do with the phone being thin and large that makes it more susceptible to pressure.
 
soupcan said:
Behind on hardware specs? The A8 beats almost everything out there in terms of single core performance which is the one stat that matters in smartphones. Sure, it loses on the multi core side because it has 2 cores, but it's still a beast of a chip.
Click to expand...

Aside from the processor they're behind on specs. Older-tech LCD screens, insuffient RAM, chunky yesteryear bezels and everyone else has moved on from 16GB base storage.
 
sunking101 said:
Apple need to concentrate on reducing bezels and the overall footprint of the device because 'thin' isn't fooling us anymore. They're the biggest phones out there and sacrificing battery size and structural rigidity just so they can claim to be the 'thinnest phone' just isn't cutting it anymore. Not only are they behind Android with hardware specs, they're also behind them in terms of a modern design. To put the icing on the cake, iOS isn't even the super-smooth 'it just works' software it used to be either.
Click to expand...
I agree. Hopefully we see another reduction in bezel size, something we haven't seen since the iPhone 5. Most likely will happen to the iPhone 7 next year, if they keep this 4 year trend (although it probably will be a small reduction and not a big one).
 
Apple Store said possibly better camera and ATT store thought water resistant 6 line. This could be called 6S. ATT store salesperson said maybe in three months. Are we talking a 6S by the start of school in the fall?

If there is to be an iPhone 7 with major changes I can't see that happening until well into 2016. What do you guys think?

I am new to iPhone so the 6+ is my baseline and I will be seeing changes before I can even access how great my 6+ is right now. The iPhone seems like such a huge task to learn just as it is from the store in the box without any new apps.
 
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