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iPhone Design to Change 'Significantly' This Year
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People who think that the thinness won't make a difference forget about the Motorola RAZR. Looking cool is half the battle in consumer tech. It's got to look new for people to get excited again.
I still remember playing with that thing endlessly on a train ride right after I picked it up
Was so cool at the time
Incredibly satisfying to "flip closed" too
Samsung is not the only Android phone manufacturer. OnePlus, Oppo, Huawei, Nothing, Xiaomi to name but a few. There's tons of variety out there.
Please explain to me the linkage between multiple lenses and the "need to take a photo every other second". Also, studies have shown that the the vast majority of phone users do NOT take "a photo every other second". I will take the same number of photos regardless of how many lenses are on the phone. And if I'm going to take an image, I want choices regarding what lens I use.
I would just like the iPhone X design and size to come back. I know… it won’t.
Good luck with that. He just knows how to sucker us.
Finally after five years, the word i have been longing to hear for ‘design changes’.
I think they said this about Apple Watch 10 too ... I'm a little skeptical until I see it
Hopeful though!
Whether we like it or not and whether it has significant new features or not, if it looks different, more people will ditch their old phones and buy it and Apple will make more billions. We (in this group) are not a good representation of Apple’s market.
The third point is not all that correct. Apple had made iPhones thinner, the ticker under Cook. There have been many consecutive models that got thicker.
The camera sensor in the iPhone 5 case was much smaller, it’s not physically possible to have it completely flush with the lens needed for today’s sensor sizes. To make the whole case the thickness of today’s lenses would make the phone either a) too heavy or b) too hollow/not dense enough, to the point of feeling cheapThose same designers made the wedge MBair, the wedge iMac, the "top heavy" trackpad, the curved bottom MBpro, etc.
A wedge phone concept is trying to set up a win:win. Many customers would like flush cameras as they once were in iPhones. Apples wants "thinner" for 5 minutes of marketing "oooooooh, ahhhhhh" at the big reveal. So much like that MBair, iMac, MBpro, they can then an end for "thinnest ever" and flush mount the cameras.
I suspect many would be happy with thickening the overall phone to flush mount the cameras and filling the space with more battery... but the defenders than attack that idea like it would be far too thick and that would be the great gripes... seemingly forgetting that when Apple offered just such a phone...
...there were not mass gripes about it being "too thick." In fact, that was one of the most loved case designs in iPhone history. I suspect the actual problem with doing this is that "more battery" to fill the space might cost Apple an additional 80¢ or so per unit and why add cost to iPhones when even this segment wanting it might grumble... but then buy whatever they roll out anyway.
They could maybe make it thinner if they used prisms for every lens? But i’m guessing that would come with its own tradeoffs in image quality, etc
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
...which again points to the wedge concept... or jettisoning the cameras OUT of the phone entirely and into a companion case. Else, we seem destined to eventually have most of a phone the thickness of a credit card with the relatively gigantic camera module on one end.
Very "think different": perhaps Apple should make a camera that also doubles as a phone (buds for calls). Then they can fully address camera physics without limits and let telephony be just one of many apps available with it...
...or even...
Then they can give the camera portion all the size it needs for far superior pictures & videos, while making the phone the app that it already is. No we don't hold a camera up to our ear- we use buds like many already do so they can do other things on the phone while they talk. And then the Apple PRO MAX Camera can be "worn" much like traditional cameras still are...
Those who still want the traditional phone form factor still buy the "as is". This would be a new line that prioritizes the camera over the phone portion. Those who want a much better camera could go this way and Apple would not be driving all towards a credit card thick camera with a gigantic bump for a built-in camera that can't "thinner" further.
I know this will get much mental rebellion because the slab is "the precious" for most (but they can still buy the slab even if Apple acted on this idea). The clash of "thinner" and "better camera" will only lead to more and more "bump." There is unlikely to be some kind of camera breakthrough that will ever be able to fit "better camera" into "thinnest ever" iPhone future. Optical physics are optical physics. What the "better camera" needs is THICKER. What Apple wants for the phone is THINNER. Eventually one has to give... or diverge.
Very "think different": perhaps Apple should make a camera that also doubles as a phone (buds for calls). Then they can fully address camera physics without limits and let telephony be just one of many apps available with it...
...or even...
Then they can give the camera portion all the size it needs for far superior pictures & videos, while making the phone the app that it already is. No we don't hold a camera up to our ear- we use buds like many already do so they can do other things on the phone while they talk. And then the Apple PRO MAX Camera can be "worn" much like traditional cameras still are...
I know this will get much mental rebellion because the slab is "the precious" for most (but they can still buy the slab even if Apple acted on this idea). The clash of "thinner" and "better camera" will only lead to more and more "bump." There is unlikely to be some kind of camera breakthrough that will ever be able to fit "better camera" into "thinnest ever" iPhone future. Optical physics are optical physics. What the "better camera" needs is THICKER. What Apple wants for the phone is THINNER. Eventually one has to give... or diverge.
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A phone should just be an empty glass rectangle though. Ultimately it is just a shell for its operating system. It doesn’t matter if it doesn’t have any ‘innovations’.
The real issue is the stagnation of the OS. Hardware has limits based on all sorts of scientific, engineering and budgetary reasons. Software is an infinite canvas of imagination which can be changed on a whim to suit the user.
The poor ergonomics of large screen phones for example is largely a software problem, with too many interactions outside the reach of thumbs.
The chip on my shoulder is the constant ire of ‘lack of innovation’ from users towards hardware which should instead be 100% directed at software.
I guess this will be a design change on par with the shift from iPhone XS to iPhone 11 Pro.
EXACTLY.
Some people complain that Apple releases new phones every year when nothing changes, saying it’s bad for the environment. In reality since they don’t change the look of it, most people won’t upgrade unless there’s something wrong with their old phone. To me that says they are considering the environmental impact, while still keeping the phones up to date for those who do need to upgrade.
Literally all they would have needed to do is change the look in some significant way, like, 2 years ago, and a ton of people would have upgraded. But even now anyone with a 12 and up still don’t feel like they’re missing out on much, and aren’t being socially stigmatized for looking like they have an “old” phone, which is a great thing, for the environment and for resale values of older iPhones
I partially agree in that 5.8 inches was the perfect size for a display. The 5.4 inch mini is too small and the 6.1 inch display that has ruled the roost results in a phone that is too tall to comfortably pocket and use one handed. Don’t get me started on the 6.3 inch Pro. I will buy a 6.1 inch iPhone if offered no other choice but I’m off the Pro train at 6.3 inches. Apple’s laptops offer 4 screen sizes. Surely Apple could offer 3 screen sizes in each iPhone line.
Apple- "We are going to copy Google, but not in a good way, just make the camera bump even longer across the back so it is even more of an eyesore."
Also apple- "we will claim a significant change so we can milk the design for another 6+ years.
PennyPincher Tim- "Excellent"
Also apple- "we will claim a significant change so we can milk the design for another 6+ years.
PennyPincher Tim- "Excellent"
That's a hardware problem ... the phone is too physically big!
That's what so many of us small phone folks have been saying!!
Aint that the truth. It's like blaming your feet for your new shoes not fitting. They're uncomfortable because they're too big!
You realize there is a significant difference in depth of the camera/lens in those phones and current phones, right? If it was flush we’d be talking 12mm - pretty much the original iPhone thickness (without the curve and a screen almost twice the size), and add 90g or so. That’s like 50% heavier. I’m sure it’d be even worse for the Pro Max.Those same designers made the wedge MBair, the wedge iMac, the "top heavy" trackpad, the curved bottom MBpro, a "magic" mouse with the charging port on the bottom, etc.
I suspect many would be happy with thickening the overall phone to flush mount the cameras and filling the space with more battery... but the usual defenders then attack that idea like it would be far too thick and that would be the great gripes that follow... seemingly forgetting that when Apple offered just such a phone...
...there were no mass gripes about that one being "too thick." In fact, that was one of the most loved case designs in iPhone history.
I am sure there is a prototype in Apple’s labs and everyone who picks it up says it’s too big and too heavy. It’s not like the bump is an elegant solution. It’s clearly a compromise and you know the Apple designers must hate it. But it’s better than the alternative.
The actual problem is weight and thickness. Again, every flagship phone has a camera that protrudes from the phone. Do we think none of them had the idea “let’s differentiate by making it flush and put more battery in?”
How many of the flush-camera complainers actually lie their phones down on a flat, rigid surface to use them? Because honestly, that deserves a “you’re using it wrong” response. And if you really want a giant, battery-laden brick that can rest flat on its back, Apple (and many others) make MagSafe battery packs that will instantly give you exactly that.