iPhone Sales Stall Despite Global Smartphone Market Recovery

[The Game 161]

Forbes review of the oppo find x8 pro:

They found much to like. Some images sharper than iPhone 16 Pro.

BUT

"You can click three identical images within two seconds, and the phone will process them differently. Sometimes the images are overexposed; other times, they’re oversaturated or the skin tone is weird. The one purpose of Hasselblad’s presence isn’t being fulfilled, leaving a lot to be desired, especially when you see what it can do when the results are processed correctly."

I suppose Forbes get paid off too and are unreliable...

Find x8 pro is certainly not perfect but it's overall camera system is more versatile. A camera quality isn't based off just the main camera as sensor size the 8 pro main camera isn't bigger sensor size was. The oppo find x8 pro isn't better than the oppo find x7 ultra and won't be better than oppo find x8 ultra either. These Chinese pro devices are a tier below the ultras for a reason.

if you want to say oppo find 8 pro isn't better than pixel or iphone thats fine but the ultras? thats a different discussion.

I have the vivo 100 ultra, oppo find x7 ultra and it blows my iPhone and Samsung away to be honest. There is rarely a shot I preferred on the iPhone or Samsung. The real test of good cameras is in low light and that's where iPhone and Samsung struggle the most

Anybody who has these devices will tell you the same. Just reading articles from media isn't real world usage. Comparing them side by side is the true test.

i thought my pixel was the best camera ever until i used chinese brands for photos and it's not until you use these phones until you realise how strong the cameras really are.

iphone 16 pro max is still a great camera system but when you use better ones it's hard to go back. if people all they use is iphones or samsung then no it's not a big deal. can't miss something you don't have or have used.

 

[The Game 161]

Well when the article was FULL of details... sure people get paid to put a spin on things but there's limits.

We've long known that pixel count isnt the best judge of quality.

As for software, Apple owning all stages of hardware and OS and apps they develop mean they have an edge over Android apps that dont. That's not rocket science.

Are there glitches with Apple apps? Yes. The camera app on 16 Pro Max seems buggy to me currently. Crashes occasionally. Does a few weird things.

But the images it produces are great in almost all cases. A a quick fine tune on an image is quick and easy.

Odd how you now needed to qualify your


first answer of phones that are better than Apples with "Xiaomi their processing while not as strong as vivo and oppo it’s still incredible hardware"

You didnt say that initially...

You're right pixel count isn't a big deal but sensor size is. It's why companies like oppo and vivo are at the top of the camera game right now. Camera processing obviously matters as well of course but having bigger sensors gives you a higher ceiling for better results

iphone's strength camera is certainly lens switching as it is a very smooth experience. video is still best in class and why i always use my iphone for video and my other phones for photos.

i never said xiaomi was stronger than vivo or oppo. They still however are right up there with the best. xiaomi's processing and the leica look aren't everybodys favourite so some may not like it while others will love it.

 

[wbeasley]

Find x8 pro is certainly not perfect but it's overall camera system is more versatile. A camera quality isn't based off just the main camera as sensor size the 8 pro main camera isn't bigger sensor size was. The oppo find x8 pro isn't better than the oppo find x7 ultra and won't be better than oppo find x8 ultra either. These Chinese pro devices are a tier below the ultras for a reason.

if you want to say oppo find 8 pro isn't better than pixel or iphone thats fine but the ultras? thats a different discussion.

I have the vivo 100 ultra, oppo find x7 ultra and it blows my iPhone and Samsung away to be honest. There is rarely a shot I preferred on the iPhone or Samsung. The real test of good cameras is in low light and that's where iPhone and Samsung struggle the most

Anybody who has these devices will tell you the same. Just reading articles from media isn't real world usage. Comparing them side by side is the true test.

i thought my pixel was the best camera ever until i used chinese brands for photos and it's not until you use these phones until you realise how strong the cameras really are.

iphone 16 pro max is still a great camera system but when you use better ones it's hard to go back. if people all they use is iphones or samsung then no it's not a big deal. can't miss something you don't have or have used.

The Oppo I had a few years back was crap and the under screen camera was beyond a gimmick.

Phone cameras have come a very long way quickly.

I dont know how you say iPhone struggle in low light... I can take a handheld photo in basically pitch black and see way more than I can with the naked eye ... and low light images have impressed friends when taking a happy snap in a public space for revealing details and colours way beyond what they expected.

I have "proper cameras" a few years old that struggle to take better images and iPhone Panorama beats my Sony camera by so much I never take shots on that camera anymore. And it has a much bigger sensor and does one job...

 

[The Game 161]

The Oppo I had a few years back was crap and the under screen camera was beyond a gimmick.

Phone cameras have come a very long way quickly.

I dont know how you say iPhone struggle in low light... I can take a handheld photo in basically pitch black and see way more than I can with the naked eye ... and low light images have impressed friends when taking a happy snap in a public space for revealing details and colours way beyond what they expected.

I have "proper cameras" a few years old that struggle to take better images and iPhone Panorama beats my Sony camera by so much I never take shots on that camera anymore. And it has a much bigger sensor and does one job...

issue with iphone in low light it has alot of noise. it's better than was from the 15 series but i would say it still struggles compared to others. vivo is unbeatable in low light though. Not all others are to be held to that level to be honest.

 

[wbeasley]

issue with iphone in low light it has alot of noise. it's better than was from the 15 series but i would say it still struggles compared to others. vivo is unbeatable in low light though. Not all others are to be held to that level to be honest.

perhaps our expectations these days are a bit high?

you only have to watch any 70s or 80s film and "marvel" at the amount of grain and mushiness that passed as cinema back then. and video? eeewwwww all those weird bleeding reds.

we are a long way from that.
today's everywhere device takes better photos and videos than professional gear used to.

i still find i get better phone images than proper cameras from a few years back.
occasionally i will pull out a proper camera but it is so infrequent it's not worth the effort most times to carry it around and unload SD card. optical zoom is about the only time you gain much. and then the lens require good light conditions.

if phone users used a tripod (or rested against something firm for balance) the long exposure low light shots look much better than what they just snap holding them (and wobbling).

 

[ahaslam]

Apple ought go back to the 'S' iteration of naming new phones. If the 16 was actually marketed as the 15S, I think it would be better received by the public and temper expectations. Smartphone development has reached a mature phase and it's harder to come out with killer features that wow people every year. The camera button no one asked for and the slow roll out of the yet-to-be finished AI features make it seem like Apple is struggling to come up with meaningful innovations. Redesigns should happen more often if they can't innovate in other ways.

 

[TallManNY]

My 13Pro had great battery when i traded it in.
Either you had a bad battery or ... I dont know. I charge mine daily to 100% and carry it everyone and use it most of the day and it hardly affected the battery capacity.

And XS I can think probably deserved a new battery for the job it does and age.

My 6S still work battery is awful. But geez it's old and can be left on power for media use.
My 10 still works too. But battery not good enough to give to someone or they would need to replace it.
Most of my old tech gets a new home with someone or ends up in "the collection" that goes back to a 3S.
Along with all the iPods. Some of them are still going strong and if only they had bluetooth would be more useful.
But I have enough old audio docks they can be used in... and its a good nostalgia use occasionally

The 13Pro was fine but not great when battery got replaced. I think it was in the low 80s, but it might have been mid-80s. It is easy for me to get a battery replaced because I can walk from my house in the morning to an Apple Store, drop it off, do a little shopping and have lunch nearby, and then pick it up in the afternoon. So I won't wait until battery health gets below 80 to do a battery replacement.

Yeah, the XS has done great work. It is even working fine on OS 18.1. And in that case, I got the battery replaced by a local tech repair shop and whatever they put in it has worked great for well over a year now (and I think they said it had more energy capacity than the original battery).

I either sell my old tech on craigslist or I trade phones in for credit on a new iPhone from my carrier. I don't think I will be able to do that with the XS because it has a non-Apple battery in it. So probably someone lucky person will eventually be buying an XS from me for like $50 on craigslist.

 

[I7guy]

Apple ought go back to the 'S' iteration of naming new phones. If the 16 was actually marketed as the 15S, I think it would be better received by the public and temper expectations. Smartphone development has reached a mature phase and it's harder to come out with killer features that wow people every year. The camera button no one asked for and the slow roll out of the yet-to-be finished AI features make it seem like Apple is struggling to come up with meaningful innovations. Redesigns should happen more often if they can't innovate in other ways.

According to MR the iPhone 15 is the 14S. The 14 is the 13SS. You get the point.

 

[AirpodsNow]

So you would like to see that Apple starts cost cutting on every corner, bring in cheaper materials, and raise the price? oh my...

I guess you misinterpreted what I said. So no, I wouldn't like to see that. I was deluding to see which markets would be suitable for Apple that would require their type of margins.