Gurman: iPhone Ultra Wows Early Testers, Except for Its Camera

[salz4life]

I'm going to try to wait another year before I upgrade my 16 Pro Max. I do want to check at the feel of the small form factor (when closed) of the Ultra. It just seems like it would be weird to use closed (presumedly taking phone calls) after all these years of the larger Pro Max.

 

[bollman]

Wow, as in "Wow, that's underwhelming" or "Wow, that's expensive"?

 

[ke-iron]

Good catch, 1.41:1 not 4:3, that’s on me. And for straight 16:9 content you’re right, close enough that the Ultra’s size wins. But most theatrical films run 2.39:1 scope, not 16:9, that’s actually closer to the 17 Pro / Pro Max’s own 2.17:1 shape than the Ultra’s 1.41:1. On those the Pro line only loses about 9% of screen to bars vs roughly 44% on the Ultra. So if you’re watching movies rather than YouTube or TV, the Pro’s screen is the better shape for it, the Ultra just has more real estate to spare.

of course Apple could do auto-cropping 🤦🏽‍♂️

Do you want to guess what aspect ratio content people watch more on their devices? More YouTube, instagram, ticktock than anything else. Apple has all of the data regarding people’s use case for their phones.

 

[capamac]

Iphone Ultra is only 4.5mm thick so the camera bump would appear extremely large compared to the body thickness, larger than on any other iphone, had Apple put a telephoto lens in it.

 

[ke-iron]

I know this wont be ideal for everyone, but I've removed the inner display screen protectors from my my Samsung (6 total) and Google folds (2 total) on day one and I never had so much as a hairline scratch on any of them. I like the feel of them without the plastic screen protector. I think a far number of people could do the same and be fine, if the feel of the plastic screen protector bothers you. Conversely, pretty much everyone uses a screen protector on their screens anymore so you're going to be feeling plastic or tempered glass no matter what in these situations.

I don’t think you should advise people to remove this as it would most likely void their warranty.

 

[macbookj0e]

I agree. The width was the first thing about the renders/rumors of this that concerned me also.

That is a really under appreciated measurement in terms of one handed use and enjoyment of holding a phone device.

Definitely, though it actually being slightly shorter than the mini may help a little hopefully!

 

[Vincent Hanna]

Can you please square the circle on why we don't have macOS on iPad hardware (optionally) or iPhones that can dock to monitors/peripherals and be use as full blown computers? (DEX style)

Because those are terrible user experiences that only appeal to a tiny number of nerds?

 

[okieoutwest]

Some years ago I tried out going macOS free. I had a watch, iPhone mini, iPad mini, and iPad Pro plus I tried out different keyboard solutions. My goal was a lightweight and ultra portable hardware stack.

I also had a pretty “email job” job and freelanced entirely from this hardware and iOS app suite, mostly producing and editing written documents, nothing like photo or video editing. I was a prime target for some subset of the key user of a foldable phone.

But iPadOS is still limited in multitasking compared to macOS, and a screen this size “for productivity” doesn’t make sense without a physical keyboard attached in my opinion after trying it for years.

I’m not going to try again. I wonder who will besides tech enthusiasts.

 

[capamac]

Some years ago I tried out going macOS free. I had a watch, iPhone mini, iPad mini, and iPad Pro plus I tried out different keyboard solutions. My goal was a lightweight and ultra portable hardware stack.

Yeah and an iPad Pro + keyboard is the same size as a MacBook.

 

[Lounge vibes 05]

I am a value guy and probably cheaper to get Pro Max and iPad Mini bring both with

Very much depends, if you are getting an iPad mini and you want it to have the same storage as your iPhone, 256 gigabytes, and a cellular data plan, you’re looking at almost $1000 out the door. $849 before tax.
Add onto that the $1199 iPhone 17 Pro Max and you’re looking at $2048 before tax.
Then factor in the fact that you have to pay for two separate data plans, two separate AppleCare agreements, and the price of the folding iPhone doesn’t look so bad after all.
And this is the current iPad mini with a chip from three years ago and an LCD display, it’s very likely the OLED model is going to be at least $100 more expensive, if not more.

The “it’s cheaper to purchase an iPhone and iPad separately” argument kind of goes out the window if you actually try to do a apples to apples price comparison.
Now obviously, if you compromise on storage and only get 128 gigabytes, and you compromise on the cellular data plan, and you compromise on getting the regular iPad instead of the mini, then maybe it becomes significantly cheaper to buy the two separate devices.
But we are a long, long way from the days when you could easily get an iPad mini for $300 to $400.
Even a regular iPhone 17 Pro and a base iPad are closer to $2000 than $1000.

 

[Lounge vibes 05]

You guys need to realize what Apple is doing is creating a device for everyone. I want a bigger screen at times but I don’t want an iPad. I actually gave my iPad to my daughter when I finished school. Now she’s able to utilize it much more than I could in my daily routine. A folding iPhone would be perfect for me because when I need a bigger screen I’ll have it, and when I don’t, I won’t. I’ll be able to use the screen size that suits my application on the fly. It’s really that simple. I use my MacBook Pro periodically when I have to do annual training for work and meetings because it’s easier than on a phone or tablet as it involves downloading multiple files and navigating across multiple websites and watching e-learning videos etc. It’s really that simple.

I don’t know why you guys aren’t getting that Apple doesn’t want everyone to have every device. They want everyone to have the device that is best for their personal needs.

I fundamentally do agree, however, I do think that Apple has kind of locked themselves into a corner with the iPad.
That is a device category that desperately needs a reboot, and it has reportedly been reflected in the sales over the last two years.
The issue is that Apple continues to expand all of their other products into folding iPhones, HomePods with displays that are similar to iPads, MacBooks with touchscreens…
And especially with products like the folding iPhone and the touchscreen MacBook, and even the MacBook Neo, it continues to beg the question… What is the point of the iPad?

I recently traded in my iPad Pro to Apple, I used it for two years to get through classes, but for the most part, it functioned as a bedside TV and then collected dust.
I absolutely loved using it, I thought it was a wonderful device, but everything I did on it was significantly more convenient to just pull out my phone to do, and anything more serious was best on the MacBook.