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Prediction: Half those features likely won't pan out, and many people will also be disappointed by next year's iPhone. I suspect all the folks who are convinced that this is the wrong year to upgrade have an overly optimistic view of the future.

Damn I’m so glad I’m not 1 of those people that’s never satisfied. There are people holding onto iPhone 6s/7s because they’re “not impressed” and are waiting for some crazy features lmao it blows my mind.
 
Just as Apple created their own iPhone/iPad CPU and their Bluetooth chip, their Intel modem acquisition will eventually produce some "cool" modems. When that happens, Qualcomm will become irrelevant to Apple.
 
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but the camera now has three lenses! The camera! Deep Fusion! Computational photography! It's all about the camera! Don't mind that pesky unreliable Intel modem lurking in your phone.... It's the camera! Look at the pretty pictures it takes (as the signal drops out trying to send it to someone)
 
Qualcomm modem technology is more advanced than Intel's, but the focus on the modem manufacturer yet again ignores the fact that the best modems in the world can't perform if the antenna system doesn't perform as well.

The iPhone "You're holding it wrong" 4 had a Qualcomm modem, and couldn't escape issues due to its antenna design.

If Apple doesn't get the antenna design right in the iPhone 12, the risk for issues will continue, Qualcomm or not.

And with that, Apple has had a year to fix the antenna for the iPhone 11 They knew then it was not up to snuff a yr ago. Will this years be better ? I hope so. If not, It's going back.
 
My X has an Intel modem and the AT&T one that was found to be the worst. I hate the thing, worst reception of any iPhone I have ever owned. I want to throw this thing out of a window sometimes. I hope the intel chip in the 11 Pro is much better than my current chip.
I can concur with that. Bought the X on AT&T and it just sucks, period. It's bad when other people at my work can be on their phones deep inside where I work at but once I get into the building about 20 feet, that's it. No signal until I walk back up front again. I could use their wi-fi but it is unsecured for peon employees so I don't mess with that.
 
Nothing wrong with the Intel modem here on my XS Max

IMG_0773.PNG
 
Let’s hope Intel got their issues fixed in this new chip. Hopefully Apple will be able to improve them as time goes on now that they bought the modem business.
 
I wish there was a way to turn off 1x and 3G instead of being able to turn off LTE in cellular data settings. Whenever it switches to those bandwidth there is zero data.
 
The Intel vs Qualcomm modem debate has become such an echo chamber here that I think no one really knows the real difference.

Frankly, I doubt there is any real world difference and what little there might be, wouldn’t be noticeable.

No way Apple releases yet another phone with Intel modems if this wasn’t tested fully.
 
Could someone ELI5 why modem affects signal strength? I can see how modems might be able to achieve different speeds with identical signal strengths, but I'd assume the signal attenuation would be a factor of surroundings rather than modem.
I’ve been in the same places with an iPhone 7+ and an iPhone XS Max and the Max has much worse connectivity in the same places.
 
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There is so much confusion in this thread. People keep saying how bad their XS/XS Max’s are/were. It’s not only Intel’s fault: the antenna design in those phones leaves much to be desired, so you have a mediocre antenna paired with a mediocre modem chip, hence those reception issues in poor signal areas. This time around the antenna is slightly improved. It’s showing negative gains across all bands/frequencies, but it’s better than last year’s models. The question is how much better the new Intel chip is. If it has the same issues with acquiring the signal/reconnecting speeds, then there will be almost zero improvements over the XS phones.
 
The Intel vs Qualcomm modem debate has become such an echo chamber here that I think no one really knows the real difference.

Frankly, I doubt there is any real world difference and what little there might be, wouldn’t be noticeable.

No way Apple releases yet another phone with Intel modems if this wasn’t tested fully.
There has been many times it’s proven quite a big real world difference. Last year I think most notably.
But I can tell you my iPhone 7 (intel) is usually hanging onto 1 bar inside the house whereas my SE used to perform much better inside and on the same carrier. I’ve never had as many dropouts as I have with this phone.
I’m hoping on improvements with the 11 (Pro) this year over the Xs but I might upgrade again next year just because of the modem
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No problem on mine either.
View attachment 859522
2CD5B621-261E-48EC-AF88-123D79A44AAB.png

My iPhone 7 with intel ;)
Pretty sure I had almost full range when I did this test though!
 
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