While I agree, a different chip still isn’t enough. The iPhone has such a powerful chip that even a year old SoC won’t make a bit of difference. The last thing the iPhone needs is a more powerful processor. People buy iPhones for a variety of reasons, but having the most powerful CPU in a smartphone isn’t one of those reasons I’d imagine.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
iPhone 14 Still to Boast Performance Improvement Despite Sticking With A15 Chip
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
The faster chips are for the advancement in features for photography and especially with videography for RAW and these new cinematic modes. So no, the phones aren’t fast enough yet to bring these features to 4K in real-time. For 99% of other tasks it’s not necessary, but people shoot a LOT of photos and videos with these things.
You absolutely should not be upgrading "every one or two product cycles" - upgrade when the old one no longer meets your needs. If the new one doesn't offer substantial improvements that you need, over the one that you have, then do your wallet and the planet a favor and don't upgrade.
I always see this "but it's not a world-changing improvement over last year's model that I have" arguments, and it seems awfully foolish.
Which adds further credence to it not being a big deal even more. I am sure the standard models will include features whether software or externally that will make them worthy upgrades for those on older models like the 12 or earlier. Apple figured out from its sales data, people just love big phones, but necessarily interested in paying a Pro Max price for it. Which is why I think when data comes in its gonna show the new Max being the biggest seller.
I think the worst seller is actually gonna be the iPhone 14 Pro because whatever 'Pro' technology it has to offer, is not gonna be enticing enough for someone who would be more than happy with a standard 6.1. Its likely to impact the Pro Max sales too, but not negatively. There are some who will say, if I am going to choose 6.1 Pro, might as well spend a few hundred more and get the Pro Max anyway. Again, people love big phones. I know next year when I upgrade from my iPhone X, I am going with the iPhone 15 Pro Max.
They're not expensive they're way way too cheap. Phones have been too cheap for too long.
I don't drive the same car as a high school kid why on earth should we have the same phone.
The market needs a much higher end product.
They're already 10-20X too cheap. We need adult price phones. Adults are tired of having the same watch and phone as our teen age kids. We need Rolex / Mercedes class phones like in every other product category.
Wake me up when they put the M1 chip in the iPhone 14 and the M2 Pro in the iPhone 14 Pro & Pro Max. Why is it the iPad and the Mac have these M chips but the iPhone is still stuck on the A chips.
No one is going to wake you up. They run too hot and draw too much power to be in phone.
The A#s are optimized for phones; the M#s are optimized for computers.
I don’t think any company knows what a market will bear later this year considering living costs are set to rise again in October across Europe. I would imagine a huge chunk of Apples biggest market are going to be affected and for all any of us know a mobile phone upgrade might very well be the sacrifice many have to make. Putting prices up now of any consumer product is a gamble and Apple are not immune as they don’t sell necessities in the broader sense.
Maybe not a deal breaker for iPhone fans, but this decision to keep the same A15 chip has persuaded me to wait another 12 months to upgrade from my ip13 to next years ip15.
The chips have been powerful-laptop-fast for several generations. Of all the components they could upgrade, this is one I don't really need anymore out of. If they can save some money there and use it better in other areas like camera, speakers, wireless modem. Especially if they can eke out more perf anyway. Folks not buying the "pro" model will care more about real world application, and less about latest and greatest.
I think that's the issue - I don't believe Apple's savings from reusing last year's CPU will necessarily result in more substantial upgrades elsewhere on the phone.
The cameras have always been a differentiator, I imagine that'll remain the main one (since it's also more "visible" than under-the-hood stuff like RAM or processor speeds anyhow.)
Maybe, but when you see how well these iPhones retain their value, its not the big of a jump once
yer already in the water
I bought my iPhone12 pro max for 950 at the end of last yearand its still going on swap for $850, it will go down some before the 14 comes out but it
won't be that big of a jump to get the 14 max..not sure I won't just upgrade to the 13 max
but either way not a big jump.
Because marketing.
And considering the multitude of limitations iOS has compared to MacOS, no iPhone needs desktop/laptop class SoCs.
If the value proposition is going to add up for the standard 14 then Apple has to shift focus away from the SoC.
If it doesn’t add up then it’s going to be a battle between 14 Plus, Pro, Pro Max and (retailer) discounted 13s.
I struggle to see what could make the standard 14 attractive at $799 if SoC is repeat and it just gets more ram and better cameras. That can’t be all.
14 standard will be impressive out of context. But every new iPhone gets compared to the last and has to be worth the expense. If not to 13 owners then at the very least to 12 and older.
Last edited:
And if you're a 12 owner you get better radios, a new-to-you chip, better battery life, more RAM, etc.
Again, people always act like Apple is making all their products to appeal to the person who bought the very last one. They're not, because the vast majority of users are not upgrading every year. People who are on a longer cadence are going to be satisfied because it'll be a substantial upgrade over their previous purchase; the SoC is just a small part of that.
Unless the seriously BOLD recent sneak peak video from Samsung's upcoming conference of Flex/Fold phones doesn't pan out, I think Apple users will start to question this pricing scheme or model from Apple.
If neglecting a phone size model for the 2yrs it was available in 98% lack of direct advertisement from Apple is anything to go by then it's likely users will be very skeptical of upgrades unless their model is getting long in the tooth or cosmetic change if they have the loot.
I doubt it.
The folding phone is still a very niche product category at this point. It will probably get quite a few articles on tech blogs starving for something new, but ultimately have zero impact on iPhone demand.
It bears remembering that there are now well over a billion active iPhone users.
Even assuming each user upgrades anywhere between 3-4 years (or 3.5 years on average), we are still looking at well over 300 million iPhones sold a year, potentially.
At this point, I would be less worried of whether people are going to upgrade, and be more concerned about whether Apple can even make enough phones to meet demand.