Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
The subject of not upgrading to iPhones keep repeating itself every so often.
The iPhone has matured and very similar to other brand's smartphones.
Technology has basically caught up for the most part to all smartphones, with little features to differentiate them.
High cost of iPhones is a big factor for many iPhone users esp. those that just buy it outright than get it under installments with their cellular company, at least in America. Many outside the U.S. still buy their smartphones outright.
Also, the durability of lasting a few years mean that people don't need to upgrade so often anymore.
It's mainly those that have the money and the 'must have the latest tech' to satiate their ego, even temporarily, as the upgraders.
Does anyone truly show off their iPhone anymore?

My 13PM was bought refurbished after upgrading from 13 Pro for needing a larger size which worked out well and it's still holding a decent charge. Don't need or care about better cameras, the new AI, or whatever.
Like most people, the iPhones serve their owner's needs, Not wants! Will just get a battery replacement and just wait until Apple stops iOS updates, though security updates still last relative longer.
Like many, will wait to see what the iPhone 17, or even 18, offers when it comes.

Apple needs to make it simple again... a small and a larger size iPhones, both with ProMotion, with 128G storage minimum. A mini would be appealing for some but it didn't sell well hence why Apple discontinued it but still using the SE model instead.
For Windows users, which there are lots, update iTunes and remove the restriction of syncing with 1 PC and let users transfer files Off the iPhone back onto our PC, instead of using 3rd party software.
 
That rumored redesign for the 17 Pro better be true for Apple’s sake. People go into an Apple Store and wonder why they should replace their 12 Pro, 13 Pro or 14 Pro with a 16 Pro that essentially looks the same. Even someone with a 11 Pro may want to hold off if possible with a possibly redesigned 17 Pro coming. The battery health on my 14 Pro is at 87%, dropping one percent every couple of months and I’ll definitely have to buy a 17 Pro next year. I could replace the battery, but I would prefer to buy a redesigned 17 Pro…hopefully.
 
Quicker release of mediocre to bad software isn’t a plus.
Is this a criticism of Apple or Android? In recent years, Apple has been pushing out updates riddled with bugs.

I don't see the appeal of having the latest update anyways. I want stability. That's why I stick with an old version of Android using a firewall and the grey stuff between the ears for security.🤓
 
The economy isn't the greatest, iphone prices are high, and I think a lot of people are tired of the same design for five phones in a row now with the 12 through 16.
Hopefully, Tim got the message and a redesigned iPhone 17 Pro prototype has been approved or will be approved shortly for production. My 14 Pro should take care of me for another year. Battery health might dip down to 80% (at 87% now) by then. I also hope we get a nice new color like teal or blue next year. Maybe a burnt orange color?
 
Such as? What major innovations are coming from Chinese phones or Android phones?


So cheap phones, a market Apple doesn’t even play in. How about the market for premium phones? Did that grow differently? Wouldn’t seem so.


So there’s no actual problem for Apple then.

This article is like saying Bugatti is in trouble because Honda is selling a lot of $10,000 cars.

Argumentum Ad Absurdum swing and a miss.
The better analogy is Bugatti is in trouble because a $200,000 Lingenfelter ZR6 Corvette is faster than a $2,000,000 Bugatti.

This just in, btw, Bugatti is not in trouble because Euro trash will keep buying their cars. That sounds familiar.
 
Last edited:
  • Disagree
  • Like
Reactions: Mr_Ed and Krizoitz
One can only hope Apple learned and isn't repeating the same mistake as Nokia or BlackBerry.

It's comfortable up there but eventually you might miss the curve.
This is the problem with Tim maximizing shareholder value but doing nothing for customers as he isn’t a product person. I feel like he is great at making money in the short term but AAPL will fall in due time to to Tim’s poor decision making as CEOs care about their stock grants more than future of their companies.
 
There are a couple of things going on here. First is that any technology as it matures ends up becoming a commodity. Once something becomes a commodity you can't drive demand as you once could. A lot of things in our homes have reached that point, from microwaves, fridges, air conditioners, stereos, home theatre and tv's. Most people would be utterly clueless as to what is different from the current model in the shop to the one in their home, regardless if there have been some worthwhile updates. They use it and when it breaks the get another one. That is the only time they pay any attention to that category of device. For many consumers, smart phones are now increasingly in that category.

The second is the search basically to try and stop smart phones entering the commodity category. Manufacturers trying to find something that will capture the publics imagination and drive a sales wave from a device that's stagnating perception wise in the market. It's not dead and it certainly sells and yes, it's got its enthusiast base, but its glory days of growth are behind it - because it's becoming a commodity. The challenge for Apple is when something becomes a commodity it typically goes on a trajectory of lowered prices over time, before basically settling at a lower price point it will then struggle to ever leave again and that's terrifying to Apple for obvious reasons. Sales volumes also nosedive as consumers are not invested in updating all the time. That said you can only make a smartphone screen so big (also a sales angle for tv's) before it becomes impractical. AI is the smartphone equivalent of the 3D tv pitch. Maybe it will work, or maybe it won't, but the incentive for it existing is the same. Trying to find something to excite a market that's increasingly viewing your technology as just another commodity device.
 
  • Like
Reactions: furou
So Apple should have rushed some half-arsed “AI” (none of it is actually AI) features like its competitors? When has that EVER been Apples strategy?
I believe they adopted this strategy around 2023. Now every Mac OS and iOS release is an Alpha release with promised features somewhere down the road. You are welcome to buy the new hardware and be an active beta tester, but you will pay full price for the experience.
 
Why would I upgrade? My 13 mini rocks. My wife has the SE-2020 and doesn’t want anything bigger - if necessary we’ll get a 2nd hand 13 mini as Apple doesn’t offer anything similarly sized. My teenage kid has the XS, was offered a 2nd hand 13pro and felt “ah well, this XS is actually doing fine”.

There’s not a single reason to upgrade. The camera? I just bought the Fuji X-T50, no competition for any smartphone.

The iPhone has become a commodity, deal with it, Apple. AI won’t be the life saver. Affordable glasses in combination with an iPhone? I might be tempted.
 
They are at least experimenting with other form factors though. May not be ready for the mass market but if you're a Samsung/Google or whoever customer it must be nice to think some of the $1000+ you coughed up for your phone went into r&d rather than shareholder value.

Apple has been far too safe with the iPhone.
Like what? I just bought a galaxy 6 fold and can tell you that thing is not ready for mass market. S24 ultra, square corners and crap zoom, otherwise the same as an iPhone. At least IOS works.
 
At some point they'll have to start putting the prices down.
I mean, there has been no significant design change in years and perhaps most people don't care about AI features... there are so many times we can buy the same phone every year.
Not really, they’ve disconnected themselves from having to sell “some number” of iPhones per quarter, that’s what Services is all about which recently hit an all time high of about $25 billion. That’s more revenue just in services than most android device makers make.

If their unit sales ARE dropping, specifically in the EU, maybe they’re on track to eventually not being a Gatekeeper! Oh, wait, the iPad doesn’t meet the number of units sold metric and they still call it a Gatekeeper, anyway. Maybe they’d have a better chance if they removed the Apple logo :)
 
Like what? I just bought a galaxy 6 fold and can tell you that thing is not ready for mass market. S24 ultra, square corners and crap zoom, otherwise the same as an iPhone. At least IOS works.

Yeah sometimes



 
  • Haha
Reactions: Mr_Ed and I7guy
Yeah sometimes



Better than never.
 
  • Like
Reactions: I7guy
This is the problem with Tim maximizing shareholder value but doing nothing for customers as he isn’t a product person. I feel like he is great at making money in the short term but AAPL will fall in due time to to Tim’s poor decision making as CEOs care about their stock grants more than future of their companies.
He’s led Apple for 13 years and AAPL is doomed is still a thing.
 
  • Haha
Reactions: furou
Hopefully, Tim got the message and a redesigned iPhone 17 Pro prototype has been approved or will be approved shortly for production. My 14 Pro should take care of me for another year. Battery health might dip down to 80% (at 87% now) by then. I also hope we get a nice new color like teal or blue next year. Maybe a burnt orange color?
We have teal and another blue this year, not on the Pro of course but I agree a burnt orange or maybe bronze would be fantastic.
 
The reason to buy an iPhone was "it just works", but that is no longer true. For new functionality, it does not work for 6 to 12 months after the keynote, if ever. For older functionality it will never work correctly. There is no longer a reason to pay Apple inflated prices, at least until they fix more of their software bugs then they currently think necessary. Apple software no longer "plays nice" with competing products.
I work at a financial institution and I can say Safari doesn’t work with our banking software. We tell our customers to use Chrome or our app. Granted that’s rare that we get people coming to us with that problem.
 
  • Like
Reactions: nt5672
I work at a financial institution and I can say Safari doesn’t work with our banking software. We tell our customers to use Chrome or our app. Granted that’s rare that we get people coming to us with that problem.
My question to you would be, why doesn’t your banking software work on Safari? And I guess you mean your website. Considering Apple’s iphone and tablet marketshare in the US (assuming this is where you are), that’s a huge oversight.
 
  • Like
Reactions: maxoakland
I think Apple will be just fine. Many commenters here seem overly fixated on the notion that the competition will somehow get ahead of Apple simply because they sell better-specced phones at lower prices, not seemingly realising how Apple is able to differentiate itself in other areas.

1) The active iphone user base can continue to grow in spite of flat iphone sales by way of the gray market, which is in part made possible because iPhones tend to be more durable (better build quality) and they tend to be supported longer. Let’s say a parent hands down an older iPhone to his kid as he upgrades to the latest iPhone. On paper, Apple earns nothing from this. In reality, the active user base just grew by 1, and Apple can still earn off that 1 kid by way of accessories (eg: AirPods and Apple Watch), app sales, services, and Apple Pay.

It’s part of the perks of owning your own ecosystem, something other Android OEMs don’t have the benefit of. Once a phone is sold, it’s sold, and is subsequently a liability for the seller in terms of support.

2) Premium-priced hardware, by its very nature, will have a harder time growing in market share compared to cheaper alternatives. It’s a conscious tradeoff that Apple made when they decided to target the demographic they did.

With the iphone, we have Apple legitimately working to improve device durability and longevity. It stands to reason that the average iphone upgrade cycle would lengthen because users are able to use their devices for longer. It’s also easier to get your phone repaired or your battery replaced at an Apple Store.

This is not a bad thing, and goes against the common narrative that people simply aren’t upgrading because they have grown bored of Apple or that the competition is catching up. I believe that users continue to be satisfied with their current Apple devices, and it will show in Apple’s continued profitability.

On the flip side, are people buying more android handsets because they are cheaper and therefore more “disposable”?


For example, most of the problematic smartphones being reported in the article above are Samsung phones. Do you really want Apple to go there?

TL;DR - I wouldn’t lose any sleep fretting over Apple’s supposed loss of competitiveness anytime soon.
 
  • Like
Reactions: I7guy
There really isn't much to do in terms of form factor, materials, or hardware performance at this late stage in smartphone development.
I don’t think that’s true. Look at foldables
Although the hype AI is getting is not fully warranted, and very disappointing on some level, the average consumer would want to buy a new iPhone if it came with features like an LLM Siri and a fully fledged suite of high quality generative AI features.
No they wouldn’t. The average person doesn’t care
 
  • Like
Reactions: ThailandToo
Apple should bring in 120Hz to the base models too. Have brighter colours for Pro iPhones also. Does not look like Apple will be increasing the prices anytime soon. That will definitely be good.

With all the improvements expected for the Pro models next year and the new slim/Air model, the sales will definitely be increasing next year.
 
  • Like
Reactions: mganu
I wouldnt mind an iphone, but until apple does the following, i wont get one:

Sideloading for un-approved apps.

Allow other companies to use their own browser engines, instead of skinning safari.

Allow me to install another OS after they stop updating it or heck, just allow me to do whatever i want it, i mean, i did pay for the phone, right?

That said, i think that there are segments (phones, tablets, computers, tv’s, etc) that are mature enough that they should be updated/upgraded every 18 months or more, instead of every 12.

Of course, maybe something else as revolutionary as the first Mac and the first iphone comes, then the cycle starts anew.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.