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Good idea moving earpiece to the top bezel, I don't like how unbalanced 12 pro max sounds in landscape because low end comes from the side and highs directly from the front.
 
well there is other ways to do things but apple is smart.
First, reduce the notch so it gets people to upgrade year to year for no reason other then small little changes. When they do release a full screen phone(and they will its inevitable) that will get all the upgraders to upgrade to this full screen phone.
Its all about money.
Apple cant release a perfect phone nobody will care to update for 5 years. So this is small changes that will get people to upgrade.

Be done with the notch apple. Its a dumb design that doesn't need to be there. Touchid was much better and can be implemented under the glass. Figure out a way to get the camera in the very top of the phone and go full screen already. This notch design makes the phone look old and dated all to ween people out on their money with small upgrades.

Ill tell you what. If they released a full screen phone id upgrade my 12 pro max even after a year and apple knows that.
At this point I don’t see what else physically that can be better. Besides a faster refresh rate phone what else would you want physically in a phone at that point?
I feel like the shape back to the 4-5 design with complete flush glass is perfect to me design wise and functionality. Only thing else I’d want is no notch.
software wise is a different story though iOS can use a lot of improvement for larger screen phones and iPads.

There are all kinds of opinions and theories on the upgrade cycle. One thing that is for sure is that Apple is developing new SoC's for their mobile products that lead the industry in performance, thermal performance, and power consumption. They need to do this to usher in their future plans for new services and hardware. Could they do it a different way? Probably. But not sure the point about arguing about what/why of it since it is their business model and they keep doing it because it works.

As far as what other things, hardware wise, they could do with their phone? Yes I agree there are a lot of things to like about the current phones but that doesn't mean there aren't a lot of things that could be made better or added. I mean we are talking about a $1000+ item here so wish lists apply. Its not like this is a critical item that we just need base features from, if that is the case, lots of cheaper options that "get the job done".

So the wish lists could include things like refresh rate for sure! Also, better MagSafe, two way wireless charging, upgraded front camera, always on display, better waterproofing, in body image stabilization on all models, bigger rear camera sensors, etc... I mean I could go on for a while. Do I NEED any of those things...nope, but if we are talking wish list here, it is far from a perfect phone and for my PERSONAL preference, I would take most anything on that list over getting rid of the notch. But I am probably in the minority here :)
 
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There are all kinds of opinions and theories on the upgrade cycle. One thing that is for sure is that Apple is developing new SoC's for their mobile products that lead the industry in performance, thermal performance, and power consumption. They need to do this to usher in their future plans for new services and hardware. Could they do it a different way? Probably. But not sure the point about arguing about what/why of it since it is their business model and they keep doing it because it works.

As far as what other things, hardware wise, they could do with their phone? Yes I agree there are a lot of things to like about the current phones but that doesn't mean there aren't a lot of things that could be made better or added. I mean we are talking about a $1000+ item here so wish lists apply. Its not like this is a critical item that we just need base features from, if that is the case, lots of cheaper options that "get the job done".

So the wish lists could include things like refresh rate for sure! Also, better MagSafe, two way wireless charging, upgraded front camera, always on display, better waterproofing, in body image stabilization on all models, bigger rear camera sensors, etc... I mean I could go on for a while. Do I NEED any of those things...nope, but if we are talking wish list here, it is far from a perfect phone and for my PERSONAL preference, I would take most anything on that list over getting rid of the notch. But I am probably in the minority here :)
To be the phone is basically perfect besides for the screen/notch.
I have no problem with MagSafe. I’ve converted everything in my home and car to a MagSafe charger now and I don’t use cases. Never had any issues with the way it holds it.
I don’t care about reverse wireless charging I don’t know what I’d ever use it for. I don’t own AirPods and won’t until they offer better audio compared to my sonys or Jaybirds.
but I know it’s all subjective. I don’t see anything else that can change on the phone I’d want hardware wise in my eyes.
its already been shown that the last 4-6 years people are keeping their phones longer and longer. The small changes phones are doing now aren’t that appealing anymore. To me apple knows this and won’t be releasing a full screen phone right away because of it. It’s a way to get people to upgrade. Even if they have the technology available to do so they won’t release it that way to increase their sales over years and years.
i really don’t see anything else appealing hardware wise that would make people run to upgrade besides new screen tech at this point. Cameras are already very good and have been for years now. Small improvements here are welcomed but it’s not like it was back in 2008 or 2012 with camera tech so far behind what it is today.
 
No, people buy iPhones in record numbers because of abusive practices like locking people into ecosystems. If you bought an iPhone once in your life, then you are mostly stuck. It has nothing to do with what customers want.
How locked can someone be? I can move everything from iCloud to a hard drive and export it later to any cloud service. Of course you will lose extras like Handoff, Apple Watch, AirPods customization... But Apple is not forced to make their software compatible with other companies systems.
 
How locked can someone be? I can move everything from iCloud to a hard drive and export it later to any cloud service. Of course you will lose extras like Handoff, Apple Watch, AirPods customization... But Apple is not forced to make their software compatible with other companies systems.
You honestly have to be pretty unintelligent to not be able to “unlock” yourself out of apple’s ecosystem.
 
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To be the phone is basically perfect besides for the screen/notch.
I have no problem with MagSafe. I’ve converted everything in my home and car to a MagSafe charger now and I don’t use cases. Never had any issues with the way it holds it.
I don’t care about reverse wireless charging I don’t know what I’d ever use it for. I don’t own AirPods and won’t until they offer better audio compared to my sonys or Jaybirds.
but I know it’s all subjective. I don’t see anything else that can change on the phone I’d want hardware wise in my eyes.
its already been shown that the last 4-6 years people are keeping their phones longer and longer. The small changes phones are doing now aren’t that appealing anymore. To me apple knows this and won’t be releasing a full screen phone right away because of it. It’s a way to get people to upgrade. Even if they have the technology available to do so they won’t release it that way to increase their sales over years and years.
i really don’t see anything else appealing hardware wise that would make people run to upgrade besides new screen tech at this point. Cameras are already very good and have been for years now. Small improvements here are welcomed but it’s not like it was back in 2008 or 2012 with camera tech so far behind what it is today.

I think your point about it being preference is key here. Lots of people, lots of different preferences. I could care less about the notch if I get a larger camera sensor. I could care less about the notch if I get an always on display. For you, you want to get rid of the notch.

So far from "perfect" since so many users mean so many different perspectives on what they want as upgrades. While there are many financial reasons so slowly dribble out updates to sell phones, it also plays into the fact that a wide market means doing lots of smaller changes across the board since they are trying to make a bunch of people with various preferences interested in upgrading.

Another thing to consider when thinking about Apple's upgrade cycle is that since you have hundreds of millions of people using the iPhone, people are at various stages of needing a new device. This means when they do decide to upgrade (after 1 year, 2 years, 3 years, doesn't matter), if they only released them every few years you might have just purchased a phone that is almost 3 years old, only to have a new one come out two months later. That would not be ideal and might affect sales in a very negative way for everyone. There are downsides to longer upgrade cycles as well. I think the larger thing is people being comfortable not getting the new phone just because it is released. That is more of the US consumer mindset and not really specifically an issue with Apple's release schedule.
 
Why does a Greek repair shop have replacement screens 6 months early?
greece is a major global shipping hub. it’s their biggest industry by a wide margin and fairly upstream in supply chains so it’s likely common for goods to “disperse” a bit ahead of schedule
 
final year of the notch, calling it now. touchID will return as the de facto iphone biometric (via sleep/wake button) and faceID will be relegated to ipad & mac (unless they convert their inbuilt keyboards to individual taptic keys, which would be wildly expensive and ill-advised after their last attempt at slimming down the mechanisms)
 
Good idea moving earpiece to the top bezel, I don't like how unbalanced 12 pro max sounds in landscape because low end comes from the side and highs directly from the front.
good point. i wonder if they would just do another speaker grille on the top of the frame (like the symmetrical ipad speaker array) and use some directional audio magic to make both ends usable earpieces. i can see an orientation-agnostic iphone, especially once they get rid of the port. there was another rumor about them shrinking the speaker grille anyway, right?
 
I think your point about it being preference is key here. Lots of people, lots of different preferences. I could care less about the notch if I get a larger camera sensor. I could care less about the notch if I get an always on display. For you, you want to get rid of the notch.

So far from "perfect" since so many users mean so many different perspectives on what they want as upgrades. While there are many financial reasons so slowly dribble out updates to sell phones, it also plays into the fact that a wide market means doing lots of smaller changes across the board since they are trying to make a bunch of people with various preferences interested in upgrading.

Another thing to consider when thinking about Apple's upgrade cycle is that since you have hundreds of millions of people using the iPhone, people are at various stages of needing a new device. This means when they do decide to upgrade (after 1 year, 2 years, 3 years, doesn't matter), if they only released them every few years you might have just purchased a phone that is almost 3 years old, only to have a new one come out two months later. That would not be ideal and might affect sales in a very negative way for everyone. There are downsides to longer upgrade cycles as well. I think the larger thing is people being comfortable not getting the new phone just because it is released. That is more of the US consumer mindset and not really specifically an issue with Apple's release schedule.
phone companies sales have been going down on upgrades year after year. People are keeping their phones longer and have been for years now. 3 year old phones are still incredibly good. My friend still uses his 6s and I know a few people with older se's.
Apple knows how to milk its customers that want the latest and the greatest but its still a struggle for them with those people. Most people nowadays don't care about the specs on a phone. They are all very good. I don't care about front facing camera's or faceid after dealing with it for 3 and a half years now. To me a full screen phone is about immersive usability and no negatives that a notch brings to the Ui and video. To me the main thing we interact with needs to be as good as it can be and its the last thing holding it back to me.
I know everyones different. Thats just my take on it. I think the phones are basically perfect now besides the screen and the Ui needs a major overhaul for 6"+ inch phones to take advantage of all that screen real-estate instead of just blowing things up larger but not changing anything about it for better uses like multitasking,
 
I don't really notice the notch. Would I like it gone, sure. Main reason being I just think the smartphone industry is in this stagnant era. Sure, the internal components and even OS are improving but I'm talking the external hardware look itself. At most glances I can't tell the diff b/w any smartphones these days. I'm not a product designer so I don't have the answer, but the only thing of recent evolution is the foldable phone. Even that new groundbreaking look I'm on the fence on though. Do I really want a foldable phone? Not sure. Hopefully Apple can do something w/ it that convinces me it's a must have.
 
well there is other ways to do things but apple is smart.
First, reduce the notch so it gets people to upgrade year to year for no reason other then small little changes. When they do release a full screen phone(and they will its inevitable) that will get all the upgraders to upgrade to this full screen phone.
Its all about money.
Apple cant release a perfect phone nobody will care to update for 5 years. So this is small changes that will get people to upgrade.

Be done with the notch apple. Its a dumb design that doesn't need to be there. Touchid was much better and can be implemented under the glass. Figure out a way to get the camera in the very top of the phone and go full screen already. This notch design makes the phone look old and dated all to ween people out on their money with small upgrades.

Ill tell you what. If they released a full screen phone id upgrade my 12 pro max even after a year and apple knows that.
Apple doesn‘t hold back stuff like reducing notch size, shrinking stuff like the FaceID sensor setup doesn‘t happen over night. If they could do a fullscreen / no notch phone now they‘d do it. Theres a thin line between launching a new fancy iPhone design and a Galaxy Fold catastrophic introduction cause tech isn‘t there yet or shoddily executed.
 
Apple doesn‘t hold back stuff like reducing notch size, shrinking stuff like the FaceID sensor setup doesn‘t happen over night. If they could do a fullscreen / no notch phone now they‘d do it. Theres a thin line between launching a new fancy iPhone design and a Galaxy Fold catastrophic introduction cause tech isn‘t there yet or shoddily executed.
and you know this how? If you think apple releases things all at one time then you don’t know how business works or how apple does things.
You think apple will hurt sales by releases something they can do in increments? common now. Reduce notch size will get people to want that. When they release a full screen phone those same people will want that also. They didn’t become the richest company in the world by not milking costumers on features.
So yes I think apple has a full screen phone ready but why release it when they don’t have to. They will continue what they have always done.
 
Apple doesn‘t hold back stuff like reducing notch size, shrinking stuff like the FaceID sensor setup doesn‘t happen over night. If they could do a fullscreen / no notch phone now they‘d do it. Theres a thin line between launching a new fancy iPhone design and a Galaxy Fold catastrophic introduction cause tech isn‘t there yet or shoddily executed.
Listening to some of the folks here, Apple COULD have included Qi charging on the first iPhone… even though it wasn’t even invented until the following year. :)
 
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Makes sense. I forgot what video I was watching but they were talking about how Apple always uses the same design more or less for 4 iPhone cycles. X, XS, 11 and 12. It would make sense they are going to do this change and all for it
 
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