Other iPhone 14: Bad ideas

[janeauburn]

A musician friend told me that when he hits a bad note in live performance, he just hits it again a few times to make the audience think he did it on purpose.

That's the first thing I thought of when digesting Apple's latest "event" announcing the iPhone 14.

Here are Apple's bad ideas, some of which refuse to die:

The notch: This bud-ugly cutout in the screen is something other manufacturers just said no to before ever foisting it upon their users. But not Apple. No. What did they do instead? Double-down on the dumb idea. Now they've got something called a "dynamic island" that makes it darn near impossible to ignore that stupid cutout. Did you see how that thing now annoyingly stays on top of content, distracting you with utterly useless animations? If not, you will when you use it.

The form factor: The phones are too big, too heavy, and too uncomfortable to hold. Since when were square edges that cut into your palms a good idea? Back in the days of the iPhone 4 and 5? Remember how the 6 and follow-on phones were touted as comfortable because they had rounded edges? Yeah, they were, and the current phones are not.

The camera bump: It's now a huge, cancerous growth that looks like it should be excised by a surgeon. And for what? Most people still use their smartphone cameras (if at all) for quick snaps

Removing the SIM tray: This is a bad idea, as anyone who travels internationally will tell you right away.

Removing touch ID: This was a horrible idea, especially since Face ID is so flawed as a replacement. Apple should have brought back Touch ID with the 14, and they didn't. Bad idea.

Removing the small(er) iPhone: People don't carry these large phones. They lug them. The best phone Apple now sells is the SE because it's small, has no notch, and is relatively light and pocketable. All the others: not so much.

 

[ucfgrad93]

Notch - I hardly notice it in my 12. Not sure how it will work now. You could be right.

Form factor - I didn’t like the rounded side, made the phone to slippery in my opinion. I really like that Apple brought back the flat sides of the 4.

Camera bumps - The price you pay in order to take good pics. Sine I use a case they don’t bother me.

Sim tray removal - Agreed bad idea, especially for those that travel internationally a lot.

Face ID - Never had an issue with it. Touch ID didn’t always work so well in the winter here in Colorado.

Removal of smaller iPhones - Look around, most people are carrying larger phones. Larger screens, keyboards, batteries are worth it. The 12/13/14 really isn’t that much larger than the mini.

 

[Julienne]

This thread gonna blow up just like op’s other threads.

Agreed on the notch part that larg pill is hard to ignore when watching videos on landscape.

 

[zildMacjian]

only 60Hz ....

 

[janeauburn]

PC Mag says this in its hands-on review: "The in-hand feel for all of these models is, well, large, chunky, and metallic."

Hmm, none of those words sounds like "comfortable" to me...

 

[lkalliance]

The notch: This bud-ugly cutout in the screen is something other manufacturers just said no to before ever foisting it upon their users. But not Apple. No. What did they do instead? Double-down on the dumb idea. Now they've got something called a "dynamic island" that makes it darn near impossible to ignore that stupid cutout. Did you see how that thing now annoyingly stays on top of content, distracting you with utterly useless animations? If not, you will when you use it.

I'd like to wait and see what initial first impressions are. I haven't been bothered by the notch, BUT I just got my first notched phone in January. I like the looks of Notification Island, at the very least it appears like they've made an attempt to do something useful with it. We'll see how it goes with real-world experience as reviewers and users get their hands on it.

I suspect that there is an engineering trade-off that Apple is not willing to make (that other manufacturers are) in putting it all behind the screen with a pin-hole. Otherwise I just expect that they wouldn't have had the notch in the first place.

The form factor: The phones are too big, too heavy, and too uncomfortable to hold. Since when were square edges that cut into your palms a good idea? Back in the days of the iPhone 4 and 5? Remember how the 6 and follow-on phones were touted as comfortable because they had rounded edges? Yeah, they were, and the current phones are not.

I agree that sharp corners are uncomfortable: the iPhone 5 series was the least comfortable to hold of all of them. I actually chose to put a case on my SE 2016 to alleviate it. I don't feel the same discomfort with my 13 mini when I test it out: it has the flat edges, but the corners might be just slightly more rounded. I have a case anyway (more on that below), but it feels to me like if I didn't have one, the 13 mini wouldn't be uncomfortable to hold. I was not a fan of the shape of the 6 (7/8) series, I felt it was TOO rounded and insubstantial. The perfect iPhone for hand comfort was the 5c: straight edges, rounded corners, grippable material.

Weight is a problem, but I consider it a trade-off for the better technology of the pro models. The weight of my mini is less than the weight of my SE 2020 was, it's very light, but not too light like the 5 series was. So since I have options that aren't too heavy, I can look at the weight as a "cost of ownership" that I can opt into if I like what I get in exchange.

The camera bump: It's now a huge, cancerous growth that looks like it should be excised by a surgeon. And for what? Most people still use their smartphone cameras (if at all) for quick snaps

I'm with you on the camera bump: it means I will never go caseless again. I'm one of those types that gets driven absolutely crazy by the wobble. My 13 mini's camera bump is so pronounced that I can't even fatten it out with the case I have. BUT with this case at least the wobble is gone (at least, I have to TRY to produce a wobble, it doesn't want to do it on its own). My case is a third-party leather one.

But I disagree entirely with the statement "most people still use their smartphone cameras (if at all) for quick snaps". In fact, of all your complaints this is really the only one that makes me call BS. I use my camera all the time. My wife does, my kids do, my family does, almost everyone I know uses them a lot. If you were inclined to take shots at all with a cheap handheld, you do it with your phone, and if you WEREN'T inclined to do so before then you may very well do so now. Heck, there's millions of people posting pics and videos to Facebook, Instagram, SnapChat, TikTok, etc. In fact I'd go so far as to claim that the camera is THE MOST IMPORTANT thing our phones do.

I like that they improve the camera. It's not just on the pros, my mini takes MUCH better photos than my recent SE 2016 did, and even significanly better ones than my SE 2020. It's wonderful, actually. I think that given my success at mitigating the wobble with a case I like, it's a trade I will make 100 times out of 100 now, at least for the size of the bump on the 13 and 14. On the pro I would have to think about it.

Removing the SIM tray: This is a bad idea, as anyone who travels internationally will tell you right away.

I don't have the background to agree or disagree, though I will be doing my first international travelling of the smartphone era next year, I hope! I understand that eSIMs work well for this too: if I am understanding it right you're not limited to just one eSIM, you can have several, just only one at a time is active. So you could have an international eSIM that you activate temporarily when you go overseas. At least that was suggested to me by another user on this forum. I haven't researched it, so it may be BS.

Removing touch ID: This was a horrible idea, especially since Face ID is so flawed as a replacement. Apple should have brought back Touch ID with the 14, and they didn't. Bad idea.

Agreed. I think Touch ID is much better than Face ID. I think Face ID is OK, it works fine, it does what it's supposed to do, and I do know people in real life that prefer it. But I think Touch ID and the home button were a much more natural implementation.

Removing the small(er) iPhone: People don't carry these large phones. They lug them.

It does appear though that a LOT of people don't care. I am assuming that Apple is "abandoning" the small form factor again because either (a) they really don't sell many of them, or (b) the features that people value above all else have some engineering limitations that can't be overcome in a smaller phone.

And I don't believe they've removed the small phone. I can still buy a 13 mini right now, it's really not that much less capable than the 14. Unless I missed something: are they removing the 13 mini for sale? It's still on their website, at least. If it's going away then I take this point back.

The best phone Apple now sells is the SE because it's small, has no notch, and is relatively light and pocketable. All the others: not so much.

Tough I think calling the current SE their best phone is a defensible position, I think the 13 mini is better. But what I miss is being able to purchase an iPhone without compromises. I don't think that is possible any more. If you buy the SE you're giving up the better camera and the smallest form factor. If you buy the mini then you're giving up Touch ID. If you buy the pro you're giving up size and weight.

 

[Andropov]

The camera bump: It's now a huge, cancerous growth that looks like it should be excised by a surgeon.

And I thought I was dramatic

 

[janeauburn]

But what I miss is being able to purchase an iPhone without compromises. I don't think that is possible any more. If you buy the SE you're giving up the better camera and the smallest form factor. If you buy the mini then you're giving up Touch ID. If you buy the pro you're giving up size and weight.

Correct. I'll have to prefer a phone that I can actually carry and hold comfortably. If I want a phone the size of an ipad mini in my pocket, well, I'll carry an ipad mini.

 

[Jackbequickly]

A musician friend told me that when he hits a bad note in live performance, he just hits it again a few times to make the audience think he did it on purpose.

That's the first thing I thought of when digesting Apple's latest "event" announcing the iPhone 14.

Here are Apple's bad ideas, some of which refuse to die:

The notch: This bud-ugly cutout in the screen is something other manufacturers just said no to before ever foisting it upon their users. But not Apple. No. What did they do instead? Double-down on the dumb idea. Now they've got something called a "dynamic island" that makes it darn near impossible to ignore that stupid cutout. Did you see how that thing now annoyingly stays on top of content, distracting you with utterly useless animations? If not, you will when you use it.

The form factor: The phones are too big, too heavy, and too uncomfortable to hold. Since when were square edges that cut into your palms a good idea? Back in the days of the iPhone 4 and 5? Remember how the 6 and follow-on phones were touted as comfortable because they had rounded edges? Yeah, they were, and the current phones are not.

The camera bump: It's now a huge, cancerous growth that looks like it should be excised by a surgeon. And for what? Most people still use their smartphone cameras (if at all) for quick snaps

Removing the SIM tray: This is a bad idea, as anyone who travels internationally will tell you right away.

Removing touch ID: This was a horrible idea, especially since Face ID is so flawed as a replacement. Apple should have brought back Touch ID with the 14, and they didn't. Bad idea.

Removing the small(er) iPhone: People don't carry these large phones. They lug them. The best phone Apple now sells is the SE because it's small, has no notch, and is relatively light and pocketable. All the others: not so much.

‘Maybe the iPhone is just not for you anymore.

Time for you to move on and check out other options.

 

[sparksd]

Guess it's a good thing that it's a discretionary buy.

 

[roland.g]

When I was kid I would read the comics. But this is good for a laugh too.

 

[Isamilis]

I'd like to wait and see what initial first impressions are. I haven't been bothered by the notch, BUT I just got my first notched phone in January. I like the looks of Notification Island, at the very least it appears like they've made an attempt to do something useful with it. We'll see how it goes with real-world experience as reviewers and users get their hands on it.

I suspect that there is an engineering trade-off that Apple is not willing to make (that other manufacturers are) in putting it all behind the screen with a pin-hole. Otherwise I just expect that they wouldn't have had the notch in the first place.



I agree that sharp corners are uncomfortable: the iPhone 5 series was the least comfortable to hold of all of them. I actually chose to put a case on my SE 2016 to alleviate it. I don't feel the same discomfort with my 13 mini when I test it out: it has the flat edges, but the corners might be just slightly more rounded. I have a case anyway (more on that below), but it feels to me like if I didn't have one, the 13 mini wouldn't be uncomfortable to hold. I was not a fan of the shape of the 6 (7/8) series, I felt it was TOO rounded and insubstantial. The perfect iPhone for hand comfort was the 5c: straight edges, rounded corners, grippable material.

Weight is a problem, but I consider it a trade-off for the better technology of the pro models. The weight of my mini is less than the weight of my SE 2020 was, it's very light, but not too light like the 5 series was. So since I have options that aren't too heavy, I can look at the weight as a "cost of ownership" that I can opt into if I like what I get in exchange.



I'm with you on the camera bump: it means I will never go caseless again. I'm one of those types that gets driven absolutely crazy by the wobble. My 13 mini's camera bump is so pronounced that I can't even fatten it out with the case I have. BUT with this case at least the wobble is gone (at least, I have to TRY to produce a wobble, it doesn't want to do it on its own). My case is a third-party leather one.

But I disagree entirely with the statement "most people still use their smartphone cameras (if at all) for quick snaps". In fact, of all your complaints this is really the only one that makes me call BS. I use my camera all the time. My wife does, my kids do, my family does, almost everyone I know uses them a lot. If you were inclined to take shots at all with a cheap handheld, you do it with your phone, and if you WEREN'T inclined to do so before then you may very well do so now. Heck, there's millions of people posting pics and videos to Facebook, Instagram, SnapChat, TikTok, etc. In fact I'd go so far as to claim that the camera is THE MOST IMPORTANT thing our phones do.

I like that they improve the camera. It's not just on the pros, my mini takes MUCH better photos than my recent SE 2016 did, and even significanly better ones than my SE 2020. It's wonderful, actually. I think that given my success at mitigating the wobble with a case I like, it's a trade I will make 100 times out of 100 now, at least for the size of the bump on the 13 and 14. On the pro I would have to think about it.



I don't have the background to agree or disagree, though I will be doing my first international travelling of the smartphone era next year, I hope! I understand that eSIMs work well for this too: if I am understanding it right you're not limited to just one eSIM, you can have several, just only one at a time is active. So you could have an international eSIM that you activate temporarily when you go overseas. At least that was suggested to me by another user on this forum. I haven't researched it, so it may be BS.



Agreed. I think Touch ID is much better than Face ID. I think Face ID is OK, it works fine, it does what it's supposed to do, and I do know people in real life that prefer it. But I think Touch ID and the home button were a much more natural implementation.



It does appear though that a LOT of people don't care. I am assuming that Apple is "abandoning" the small form factor again because either (a) they really don't sell many of them, or (b) the features that people value above all else have some engineering limitations that can't be overcome in a smaller phone.

And I don't believe they've removed the small phone. I can still buy a 13 mini right now, it's really not that much less capable than the 14. Unless I missed something: are they removing the 13 mini for sale? It's still on their website, at least. If it's going away then I take this point back.



Tough I think calling the current SE their best phone is a defensible position, I think the 13 mini is better. But what I miss is being able to purchase an iPhone without compromises. I don't think that is possible any more. If you buy the SE you're giving up the better camera and the smallest form factor. If you buy the mini then you're giving up Touch ID. If you buy the pro you're giving up size and weight.

If Apple release 14 mini, the old 13 mini price will be on par with SE2. I think it’s sales strategy decision.

 

[Isamilis]

Correct. I'll have to prefer a phone that I can actually carry and hold comfortably. If I want a phone the size of an ipad mini in my pocket, well, I'll carry an ipad mini.

You may want to consider Samsung Flip 4 or Fold 4. It’s combined of iPhone and iPad.