Gurman: iPhone 18 Pro Could Be Underwhelming

[TVreporter]

Next week: iPhone updates will be so overwhelming for the average user.

 

[Rychiar]

glad I didn't believe the hype this time and bought a 17 pro max

 

[Abazigal]

Honestly, with over 1 billion active iPhone users, Apple is assured of at least 200 to 300 million upgrades every year, simply because those users feel that it’s time for something new.

The question isn’t whether demand will be there, but whether Apple can even make enough to meet that demand. We saw it with the 17 pro max based on Apple’s recent earnings call. The phone was out of stock for months!

 

[shawnforever]

Should be a good upgrade for me on my iPhone 15 Pro Max. The phone still rips, but upgraded cameras and whatnot are always welcomed.

 

[WarmWinterHat]

In other words, this might not be a big update relative to the 17 Pro (what percent of iPhone users upgrade every year?). Anyone coming from a 15 or older iPhone is likely to see a substantial update.

6-8% of iPhone users, in the US, is what I've seen from several sources.

Can't see any reason to move from 16 Pro, personally.

 

[HVDynamo]

6-8% of iPhone users, in the US, is what I've seen from several sources.

Can't see any reason to move from 16 Pro, personally.

I'm still hanging on to my 12 Pro. This new phone will likely be when I finally decide to pull the trigger on an upgrade.

 

[BorisDG]

As a hardware enthusiast, I’m much more hyped for the 2nm chip, the new display and the other tech, than I am for that ugly chassis redesign with cheaper materials *cough cough* iPhone 17 Pro. Bring it on!

 

[CWallace]

I normally replace every year since I am on the Upgrade Program, but I am going to keep my 16 Pro Max until the 20th Anniversary iPhone.

 

[iToph]

Alert alert. Thank you for the news since the last 3 iPhone pros where cleary overwhelming ... not

 

[Reeneman]

it can’t be nowhere near as bad as the jump from the X to XS?
To be honest I think the 20th anniversary edition iPhone XX will be more underwhelming if you ignore the bezel free rumors. Take that away and what would be better over the 18 Pros that will mostly have variable aperture?

XS wasn’t any near a bad jump from the X. The processor was much more capable and supported more features. Stereo video recording…
Sure the phone itself looked the same as the X but the internals got nice upgrades.

 

[Jim Boonie]

I’m still on a 13 PM and can’t find a reason to upgrade. I have used my wife’s 16 PM many times and it’s a tad zipper, a little better cam, besides that…nothing. And AI is hardly a selling point.

 

[Palliser]

“Underwhelming” ???

What exactly are people expecting in these yearly releases? Good grief.

 

[Falco McGregor]

“Underwhelming” ???

What exactly are people expecting in these yearly releases? Good grief.

Exactly. Apple has mostly been on a tick-tock or tick-tick-tock iPhone design cycle since at least year 3 of iPhone. There’s always a ton of users that also don’t like to upgrade on the first-gen of a new product design and instead wait until the S-year to get a new device. And if this year’s taught us anything, it’s that users will be motivated by a newer, bolder color, especially in the Pro series. Your mileage may very on Orange, but it’s clear the color and the camera plateau showing it off were huge upgrade drivers.

 

[smogriver]

Literally just make a space black iPhone 18 Pro and you can get so many people holding out.

 

[Falco McGregor]

Literally just make a space black iPhone 18 Pro and you can get so many people holding out.

This is exactly what they’re going to do. And they’ll maybe add another “fun,” saturated color to the Pros. All the media/influencer attention will be on the folding phone anyway, so they’ll have some latitude to keep it simple.

 

[Ctrlos]

Arguably the best iPhone update since 2010 was the 13 precisely because it beefed the power, sensors and battery but lttle else. People appreciate the little things

 

[cardfan]

Underwhelming? you think? lol

 

[nt5672]

Not a hard prediction to make, most things Apple has done recently have been underwhelming. That is if they can deliver at all.

 

[WarmWinterHat]

Arguably the best iPhone update since 2010 was the 13 precisely because it beefed the power, sensors and battery but lttle else. People appreciate the little things

I moved from 13 Pro to my current 16 Pro. Other than USB-C, which I'm super happy about, it was the most sleepy upgrade I've done.

Going from an M1 Air to my M4 MBP was pretty unremarkable, too.

 

[Big_D]

In other words, this might not be a big update relative to the 17 Pro (what percent of iPhone users upgrade every year?). Anyone coming from a 15 or older iPhone is likely to see a substantial update.

Most people I know who will be upgrading are on 13 or older at the moment.

 

[jonnyb098]

Genius boy strikes again! Considering it just went through a major re-design , good job Mark. Anyone tracking Apple could have figured this one out. They don't do major updates on the phones on a yearly basis.

Let me guess next weeks headline "iPhone Air 2 design to remain largely unchanged"

 

[jarman92]

There will still apparently be several important internal changes, such as a new camera system with a variable aperture, the A20 chip, and the custom C2 modem.

So pretty much like every iPhone launch of the past ~8 years? (Not complaining)

 

[jarman92]

One thing for sure: it will remain ugly, because Apple won't touch the core design for at least 3 years.

Ugh they’re so ugly 😫

 

[DocMultimedia]

Variable aperture camera. That's the big pro upgrade IMO. I'll be buying it.

For overwhelming does that mean it gets a curved surface? Finger grooves on the edge? What exactly does overwhelming mean? External antenna that extends to improve reception?

Gurman babbles.

 

[DEMinSoCAL]

More cores should be added to the CPU and GPU, but that won't happen because that's the way the company is.

Maybe if they added a bunch more cores, they could put a "core bump" on the back of the phone to hold all those cores! 😀