iPhone 16 OLED Panels May Use Micro-Lens Technology to Increase Brightness/Power Efficiency

[polyphenol]

"Why the yearly cycle for flagship phones?" is a good question, given that the model seems to falter a bit:
- Apple iPhone 14 is a mere repainting of iPhone 13, with same chipset. iPhone 15 also seems to be a low iteration.
- Samsung S23(+) is just a chipset replacement of S22(+), plus little bells & whistles. Same for iPhone 15.
With S years, Apple more or less acknowledged a development cycle of 2/3 years. So far, they make most profit by issuing yearly phones, but this might be a defensive move:
a) if they wait for too long, they look outpaced, esp. since they're trailing in innovation (OLED, USB-C, Flip/Fold...).
b) Sadly, the only way to upgrade an iPhone is to buy a new one (same for Android flagships).
Nowadays, they're more "polishing edge" than "cutting edge", with ease of use, build quality, brand ecosystem increasing average revenue per user, etc. Would be happier with longer cycles though, this industry has gone a bit "waste while you can" imho.

My smart phone history (dates are approximate):

2011 Galaxy SII

2015 iPhone 6s

2020 iPhone 12 Pro

(I've temporarily used various work phones over that period so had a good idea what else was going on. But always split my personal and work life.)

Which rather suggests the earliest model I'd update to would be the 16, and quite likely not until the 17. I feel like the rubbish being collected up by the dustcart after the parade. Aside from battery issues, falling out of full support (i.e. not being able to update to latest IOS) might be the biggest kick for me to update. (My 6s was tight on storage but that was because I got it very cheaply! The 128 I've got now is still plenty for me.)

 

[JulianL]

And what more do people want in a phone, which are not fantasies?

In the real world, two things to work on are:
1) durability; and
2) cost.

Neither of which are some shiny new toy.

I'd add battery life to that list. Also not a new or sexy or super-innovative feature - that is until someone comes out with some amazing new battery technology that triples or quadruples battery life in one giant leap; something that I don't expect to see any time soon - but still a pretty important "feature" to many people in terms of their day to day satisfaction with their phone.

 

[Momof2.1107]

Everyone has a different reason for when and why they choose to upgrade.

As a family of 4, I typically pass my phone down to my fiancé or our kids when I upgrade or when she upgrades.

She currently loves the blue color of her iPhone 13 Pro and will hang onto it for as long as she can.

I'm a sucker for new camera features and will upgrade just for that alone. But it's not always a guarantee that I will pull the trigger every year.

The funny thing is that I'm the type of person who will usually upgrade my iPhone each year BUT hold onto my car until it dies. My brother is the exact opposite. He will hold onto his iPhone until it dies and buys a new car practically every year or two. To each their own, right? 🤷‍♂️

Yup everyone have a reason when and why they upgrade. New iPhones are the only expensive thing I buy every year, and it’s a 3 month early upgrade for me. As long as I can afford it, why not upgrade every year?

 

[Dredd67]

Do you have examples of year after year EU iPhone price increases?

Sure, it's a combination of many things from price positioning to inflation to currency conversion.

The thing is, at the end the consumer doesn't care why it's increasing, but that just like that, the phone you're used to became unaffordable to you unless you make terrible concessions (screen size, storage, camera options).

As I said (or not, too lazy to verify), I need at least 265 GB of storage, a screen large enough for me to type messages (that usage has skyrocketed and people expect full novels, while my hands became bigger with age), and a telephoto lens since the documents I scan have all sorts of weird artefacts and pick all the bad shadows with wide angle lenses.

That leaves me with only the Pro max models, and not the base one.

My XS max was already expensive but at least it got all I needed from my phone. Next time, I will have to buy a phone that doesn't have that. Why ? Because Apple doesn't keep around older Pro models... See how they push you to shell out more and more ? If I want the same configuration, I have to go with the 15 Pro max 256 GB. Hopefully, they will make 256 Gb the base model...

Anyways, to answer your question :
https://www.gsmarena.com/price_history_of_apples_iphones-news-34040.php