iPhone Design to Change 'Significantly' This Year

[0049190]

15 and 16 series feel great in the hand. Maybe it's a size issue?

Maybe I’m just used to the Apple silicone cases which are nice and comfortable in the hand.

 

[Ctrlos]

The evergreen comment in life ... "there isn't much that can be done w/ XYZ"

It's really never true .. it's just hard to predict what changes will actually be

Some products reach an apex where they ‘improving’ them means over complicating them. Spoons, house bricks, the Paragon Umbrella, QWERTY Keyboards, paperbacks etc.

 

[ab2c4]

Under Steve Jobs, an iPhone design would only be used on two models (two years in a row). But under Tim Crook, the iPhone 11 design, which was released in 2019, has been used on six models (six years in a row). "Can't innovate anymore, my a**!"

The 11 was a totally different design and in my opinion a far superior design. The current design started with the 12 series so you were only off one year.

 

[0049190]

Most people who complain on the internet don’t understand design and have magical thoughts. They don’t know how to think things through. They hear some random person say something and just repeat it like it makes sense.

If it was possible to have multiple lenses and reduce the bump Apple would have done it by now.

But sensor size is very important for photography. If a sensor is too small the pixels are worse at gathering light. You want a big sensor on a slim phone then you will have a noticeable bump if you want the optics to work.

Anyway the sensor is going to get bigger because the next big thing in smartphones will be 3D Gaussian splat photography. Gaussian splats were first described in the late 90s and now we are getting the compute power to be able to do it.

So by 2030 all phones will be able to shoot in three dimensions natively with good detail and high res geometry capture.

And by 2040 they will be able to do some limited amount of filming in three dimensions natively.

The form factor and the UI isn’t going to change much. The capabilities and the sensors are going to change the most.

Apple could easily eliminate the camera bump by making the phone thicker. That would have the added benefit of more space for a bigger battery. They chose not to do that because they are obsessed with how thin it is.

 

[Joshuaorange]

I don't care how thin they can make a phone, make phones that are comfy to hold again. Bring back the shape of the iPhone 3G.

That wobbler was a horribly awful phone.

 

[ProbablyDylan]

Maybe I’m just used to the Apple silicone cases which are nice and comfortable in the hand.

True - those are great feeling cases! Let's hope they keep those at least.

 

[ab2c4]

15 and 16 series feel great in the hand. Maybe it's a size issue?

I think the 11 was the last iPhone that was comfortable to hold. After the 11 I had a 13 and it was terrible in the hand. When the 15 series came out they claimed they made it much more comfortable to hold so out of desperation I got a 15 plus and found out that it was no better than the miserable 13.

My next phone will have rounded edges even if I have to go back to Android.

 

[satchmo]

A foldable iPhone would be a significant change.

But just having a different combination of aluminum, glass and or titanium is not.
Be prepared to be disappointed.

 

[Rainshadow]

You and I must think alike

I was literally just thinking ... "how about a wedge?" and maybe even has some hand friendly curved edges on the back side? Or "something"

There has to be a more creative way to do this camera stuff than just adding a larger and larger tumor on the back

A wedge would be bad. It would be too top heavy because the camera is gonna be the thick end and that won’t be on the bottom. Phones would leap out of our hands.

People should realize they do have some of the world’s best designers working for them. Sometimes the design change is unseen and on the inside. But believe it or not, there is generally a reason that we have this convergent phone evolution.

Change for the sake of folks to go ooooooo for 6 months is silly. Keep the same design. Upgrade the battery life, camera, speakers, display etc until there is enough tech to truly change it up.

I just hate the “this design is tired” comments. Especially when we get something like the Dynamic Island and people still whine.

 

[PsykX]

I don't think Prosser has any credible source anymore at Apple.
Lots of his sources were wrong in the last 1-2 years.

 

[0049190]

I just hate the “this design is tired” comments. Especially when we get something like the Dynamic Island and people still whine.

I really don’t like the dynamic island. I find it very distracting and it’s a pain when you’re watching videos. I understand why they added it but I look forward to the day when it’s gone.

 

[verdi1987]

Innovation under Tim Apple

1. Lonely island... i mean dynamic island
2. New Camera Position
3. Very slim phones

This man managed to convince the world apple is number 1 whilst annually pushing out the most mundane, overpriced, gimmicky & bug ridden phone & OS.

If that`s not worth of massive bonus i dunno what is

Don’t forget the Touch Bar.

 

[Chikenbrain]

I don't care how thin they can make a phone, make phones that are comfy to hold again. Bring back the shape of the iPhone 3G

I like SE3, it would be great to see the same body with full body screen and touch id on the side

 

[Expos of 1969]

Don’t forget the Touch Bar.

and the Butterfly Keyboard on the Macs

 

[Sundaypapers123]

I'd take a repositioning of the power button, so that I don't take a screenshot every other time I try to change the volume.

Sure although a repositioned power button barely qualifies as a significant redesign.

 

[mxrider88]

If you go on store.google.com there is one already for sale. It looks the same and I heard it comes with a less buggy software.
Slightly cheaper too!

 

[0049190]

Don’t forget the Touch Bar.

I quite liked the Touch Bar. They could have changed it without scrapping the whole thing.

 

[Rainshadow]

I really don’t like the dynamic island. I find it very distracting and it’s a pain when you’re watching videos. I understand why they added it but I look forward to the day when it’s gone.

I don’t necessarily disagree. But that’s just it with design changes. Some people love them. Others hate them. The only solution is no cutout at all. Which would be great. But people argued about the notch. People argue about the island. People would argue if it was a punch out.

And then when the screen is full, people will whine that the design is “tired”. 😂

 

[9081094]

Not gonna lie, it looks like a PIxel 9

View attachment 2483178

And you’ll hear Google copied Apple 😂

 

[Dr McKay]

View attachment 2483121

Like this?

Photo credit: some Weibo user

Doesn’t go deep enough, I need the levels of **** posting from the iPhone 5 era.

 

[9081094]

Don’t forget the Touch Bar.

And the butterfly keyboard 🤭

 

[User 6502]

That's the best thing they could do?

Who even cares what iOS version we are on?
I honestly have forgotten, more than once, which iOS or iPhone version is "current"

I think they should totally stop with iOS version numbering so publicly and focus on releasing features when they are ready.

Go to the macOS "naming" scheme and go for 18-24 month cycles

I definitely don’t care about how they call/number iOS. But they definitely should t move to 18 or even 24 months cycles. They should stick to 12 months and actually deliver new features in September and not months after as they are currently doing. And possibly having actual new features and not just minor changes.

 

[ab2c4]

A wedge would be bad. It would be too top heavy because the camera is gonna be the thick end and that won’t be on the bottom. Phones would leap out of our hands.

People should realize they do have some of the world’s best designers working for them. Sometimes the design change is unseen and on the inside. But believe it or not, there is generally a reason that we have this convergent phone evolution.

Change for the sake of folks to go ooooooo for 6 months is silly. Keep the same design. Upgrade the battery life, camera, speakers, display etc until there is enough tech to truly change it up.

I just hate the “this design is tired” comments. Especially when we get something like the Dynamic Island and people still whine.

The current design isn’t “tired”, it’s terrible. Ever since the 12 series it’s been terrible and Apple should consider replacing their design team. The X, Xs and 11 were great designs, what in the world went so horribly wrong at Apple that we have had the 12 through 16 series?

 

[bLackjackj]

Maybe the only big change for the 2027 model will be the removal of the Dynamic Continent.

Notch, it's called a the notch by Apple internally. And yes, if you saw the roadmap 2 years ago,..it is slowly on its way out thankfully.

 

[0049190]

I definitely don’t care about how they call/number iOS. But they definitely should t move to 18 or even 24 months cycles. They should stick to 12 months and actually deliver new features in September and not months after as they are currently doing. And possibly having actual new features and not just minor changes.

They are using iOS updates as a marketing tool to sell more iPhones. That’s why they keep promising way more than they can deliver in the September release. In the short term it works but I suspect over time customers will simply stop listening.