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Hard? no …
Worth it? also no …

I love the mini more than anybody, but even I have to admit, it would be hard to justify making another one. The market is just not big enough (no pun intended).
There's enough of a market for it (especially if they're killing the iPhone SE) where Apple will make a nice profit on it. But the bean counters at Apple won't justify it if the product isn't a grand slam home run. Hitting a double is still good.
 
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Not for me this time around, or the next. I’ve been threatening myself to switch camps for the last couple of years, but I held off because I’ve been such a loyal Kool-Aid drinker. Over the Christmas holidays. I visited Best Buy and played around with some of the Samsung and Pixel phones, and I have to say that I was impressed.

If I could just get over the whole Google thing‘. Heck, after five minutes, I could do more with the Pixel phone than I could with my iPhone 12Max. Sure, it’s not as durable or sexy compared to the iPhone, but the call screening, deletion of duplicates, and features that actually work is refreshing.

On my M1 iPad, iOS 16.x broke some features while degraded others. It virtually neutered my Magic Keyboard; hit and miss on cursor placement, automatically capitalizes the first letter of a word regardless of settings, can’t select a letter within a word for correction, read back text is now unreliable, and the list just goes on. HomePods; don’t me started. My three Google Home Nest hubs put my 9 HomePods to shame. Granted, the HomePods have superior sound quality when they work, but the Google Nest products are considerably more reliable. 🤨

The frustrating part is that I know damn well that Apple can do better, but they choose not to. To apples credit, the Apple Watch and iPhone integration is the silver lining. Please Apple, don’t improve it, I need it to work.
 
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Get ready for a steady stream of "Apple decided at the last minute to pull X" posts from the Apple PR machine. Gotta build that hype for the iPhone to be on such a bleeding edge that Apple is making decisions on what to include just before they start shipping.
 
Not for me this time around, or the next. I’ve been threatening to switch camps for the last couple of years, but I held off because I’ve been such a loyal Kool-Aid drinker. Over the Christmas holidays. I went down to Best Buy and played around with some of the Samsung/pixel phones, and I have to say that I was impressed, I really like the features of the pixel 7 pro.

If I could just get over the whole Google thing‘. Heck, after five minutes, I could do more with the pixel phone than I could with my iPhone. Sure, it’s not as durable or sexy compared to the iPhone, but the call screening, deletion of duplicates, and features that actually work on the pixel. I still can’t get rid of duplicates after installing 16.2, so when MacRumors Dan says that it’s a cool feature and it works, I guess I have to be drinking a different flavor of Kool-Aid. 🤷‍♂️
I fled due to a few reasons. If I would have had the money at launch to pay off the installments for the trade in deal, I would have 14PM. With that and these other reasons, I went with Z Flip 4:

A. By the time I paid the installments, backorders were crazy. Couldn't find a single PM or even Pros on the apple.com site for in store.
B. Getting bored of iPhone
C. Once I did get my installments paid and I could find one in store, VZW and Apple weren't communicating properly to show my installment were paid

Only place I could go to get a device was VZW, so I went to a store. Of course no iPhone 14PM there, so I went with Z Flip 4
 
Bugs are usually caused by iOS though (see all the iOS 16 bugs), not the hardware itself
This is why I don't understand why they always release the new OS on or so near launch day. Shouldn't you stagger, so it's easier to figure out the cause of issues?
 
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I fled due to a few reasons. If I would have had the money at launch to pay off the installments for the trade in deal, I would have 14PM. With that and these other reasons, I went with Z Flip 4:

A. By the time I paid the installments, backorders were crazy. Couldn't find a single PM or even Pros on the apple.com site for in store.
B. Getting bored of iPhone
C. Once I did get my installments paid and I could find one in store, VZW and Apple weren't communicating properly to show my installment were paid

Only place I could go to get a device was VZW, so I went to a store. Of course no iPhone 14PM there, so I went with Z Flip 4
How ironic, the flip4 is the same phone I was favoring. If the flip5 were announced today, I would already be warming up my car. The only reason I was considering the pixel is that I’ve never used an android phone before. My thought is that it would be easier to learn from a ‘true android’ operating system, devoid of Samsung‘s bolt-on feature set.
 
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I find it odd to think apple would rename the iPhone “pro max” to the “ultra” instead of adding a new more rugged device with the ultra branding instead?
 
and here is me eyeing up last years model because I want an iPhone 14 or 15 mini and Apple thinks every wants a tablet for an phone. Is it really that hard to just put the iPhone 15 bits inside a mini? I don't want a new design, I just want a phone that works well 1 handed and fits in the pocket comfortably that runs iOS.
Just buy a 13 mini, should be good enough for a couple of years.
 
I'm waiting for the iPhone 16 Ultra Mini with Crab Legs.

Yes, it will have Crab Legs. They regenerate after you take them off and eat them.

It will be delicious, compact, and connected.

PS, the Crab Legs come from the fisheries off Dynamic Island in the bay of USB-C

Will there be a seaweed version, for vegans?
 
I bet they will add better optical zoom only for ULTRA option. I think people are setting themselves up for too many groundbreaking changes. The new 3nm processors will not be revolutionary at all (only the logic clusters are reduced, which is a small part of the chip). We are slowly reaching the limits of the sense of updating the speed of components. Hope that they will not change design (really love the flat one like IP12-IP14).
 
People can spend their money on whatever they want.
Having said that...
It's amazing yet surprising that there are still people who buys a new iPhone whenever a newer version is released, considering the higher prices. It's not surprising that Apple fan people or tech heads buy them or those who just have extra money to spend, many want to literally brag for whatever reasons that they have the latest and greatest, when it's not.
If one likes their older iPhones, then a battery replacement is a good option.
No need to fall for the 'FOMO' belief.
When the economy isn't doing well, currently and in many countries, people are watching their finances. People are waking up to 'need' vs 'want' now that finances are scrutinized.
A lot of the changes are evolutionary not revolutionary changes, as many have said over the past few years, not just for iPhones but many tech products.
But Apple needs to continually make money, mainly to please its shareholders and Wall St., so it must release something for people to upgrade and buy its products.
The 13 Pro/Max models are fine and still good for a few years so no need to upgrade to the 14 or 15 series. If you have the funds available, go for it. But the general public is balking to the higher iPhones prices esp. when they don't 'need' a newer iPhone.
 
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The iPhone 15 has entered early "machine trial production" with main iPhone assembler Foxconn ahead of launch later this year, according to a report today by Economic Daily News.

iPhone-15-General-Mock-Feature.jpg

According to the report, Foxconn has received instructions to begin "new machine trial production" for the iPhone 15 and begin new product introduction (NPI) for the device. This process is taking place before the iPhone 15 is expected to enter mass production later this year and is meant to introduce the device's specific design and production needs to Foxconn.

The report notes that this year's process for mass production of the upcoming iPhone 15 will differ from previous years due to production taking place in both China and India. A machine-translated copy of the report reads:
The iPhone 15 lineup is expected to feature four models matching the sizes of this year's iPhone 14 series, including the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Ultra.

Rumors suggest that the higher-end iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Ultra will feature a titanium frame, solid-state haptic volume buttons, and USB-C with faster transfer speeds. The standard models are expected to gain Dynamic Island, a USB-C port with Lightning transfer speeds, and possibly a 48MP camera.

Article Link: iPhone 15 Reportedly Enters Early Trial Production Stage
I find the titanium frame rumor suspect. Titanium is notoriously difficult to machine. It is hard on the tools. It offers little advantage over the current materials. It is heavier than aluminum and only slightly lighter than the stainless steel of the current Pros in the quantities used in a phone frame. And it is softer and therefore more prone to scratches.
 
Omg not another year with no innovation did Tim sack all the designers with any imagination seems like the only thing going with iPhone now days is software upgrades that only take 6 months to work on then 6 months in beta to end up full of bugs then spend a year trying to fix it. But remember Apple is revolutionary and the innovators in the industry. I got an idea let’s add usbc and tell every one it’s the fastest usbc on the market we will sell millions. Give us a break Apple wake up your lagging behind.
 
It's hilarious to me that haptic feedback volume buttons are promoted as a feature. Not that they're bad, only that different types of buttons are just so inconsequential.

Manufacturing and maintenance cost savings. These will likely have fewer moving parts / components to break from repeated use. From an engineering standpoint it’s an interesting footnote but only something that would merit a bullet point as being the first time it’s introduced into the device line up.
 
I find the titanium frame rumor suspect. Titanium is notoriously difficult to machine. It is hard on the tools. It offers little advantage over the current materials. It is heavier than aluminum and only slightly lighter than the stainless steel of the current Pros in the quantities used in a phone frame. And it is softer and therefore more prone to scratches.

Let’s just assume they had a windfall of additional titanium from scrapping it as an option on all those Apple Watch Editions from prior years. Might as well make use of it.
 
So many people here that have no idea how business works. So many people actually think this is something new. Wow.
 
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