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Next A9-Based iPhone Predicted to Have 12MP Camera, 2GB RAM, Rose Gold and More, Mass Production in August

macduke said:
Now this looks like an iPhone upgrade I can stick with for a couple years at least. The only thing I would add that could make this better and still be feasible is an OLED display like the Apple Watch that turns off the black pixels. If they add a dark mode to the iPhone then you could really stretch your battery. Pair that with the A9 chip on the smaller process and you get even more battery savings. I have a hunch that this year Apple will not increase the speed of the A9 very much over the A8, but instead put that budget towards energy efficiency. I'm looking forward to switching back to a smaller iPhone from the 6 Plus and the only thing that I'll miss is the slightly sharper display (not a big deal) and the battery life (kind of a big deal). It's nice having a Plus so that I can tether my iPad and not worry about the drain.

As for the 4" model, I'm disappointed in Apple. I mean they did ditch the 3.5" model, but the newer versions are quite a substantial increase especially in width compared to previous models. The 4" only got a little taller but not wider. So Apple gets people hooked on iPhones and buying into their ecosystem and then stops selling them a size that they've become accustomed to. People who are smaller, with smaller hands, smaller pockets. Many women I know, including my wife, complain about this. It might only be 10% of the population but it still sucks that Apple pulls the rug out from under those people.

You might say "Sure, but nobody is forcing them to upgrade their phones." Well that might be true, but my wife's iPhone 5 is starting to have battery problems. If she stays on an older iOS version she won't get security updates, things won't sync properly with her other Apple devices, and many App Store apps will stop working or not connect to their APIs that change over time. I know that the sales numbers won't be as high as the larger phones, but I think they should at least offer a smaller model for those people who just can't use a bigger phone. Apple can certainly absorb the cost of a profit margin that might be slightly lower. Or even just charge the same amount as the bigger iPhone. Make people pay. It doesn't matter. This argument is very different than the argument of making a bigger iPhone for bigger people because the smaller people always had a smaller iPhone and invested into Apple's ecosystem. Bigger people could start with Android or something else. How pissed off would some of you be if Apple suddenly stopped making the 6 Plus? Especially if you're a big person who switched from Android and bought a bunch of Apple devices like the Apple Watch, iPad and MacBook to keep everything in sync? Apple needs to man-up and just deal with the complexity of having three different iPhone screen sizes in their product line. Although part of me is wondering if they will significantly reduce the bezel for the iPhone 7, therefore making the 4.7" model barely larger than the old 4" models. Otherwise they should at least offer a 4" size using previous generation components. At least!
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Don't get too worked up. It's just another rumor and nothing is set in stone yet. I'm banking on Apple releasing a 4" option when the iPhone 7 drops.

Regarding your wife's iPhone 5 with battery issues, take it to an Apple store and replace the battery for $79. Could be free if you get a happy Genius.
 
blackcrayon said:
This is called "people whining at changing technology trends"
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BuffaloTF said:
This is called a general reality distortion field.

Why? Because they never said that. Ever.

Steve Jobs is the only one to refer to sizes, and he called his 3.5" iPhones "perfect" when the *4 inch* Galaxy S came along, which was also when the Evo and Droid X came out. He cited average thumb length for perfect one hand operation, and overall size to produce detailed devices and legible graphics. His statement was directly that "no one" was going to buy those 3 devices. He wasn't exactly wrong there, either... The iPhone 4 smoked all of those devices in sales, combined.

But since, as you have to know by now, a 4" iPhone was developed under his eyes... I'd imagine it's time to retire this stupid, asinine statement that has been out of date and incorrect for nearly 3 years now. His target market asked for more, they delivered as requested. It still doesn't disprove his statement that his iPhone 4 was the superior device to the S, Evo and Streak.
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bluespark said:
They don't currently sell 4" phones. Oh, and they never said that.
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bobob said:
How long ago was it that a 32" CRT TV was considered ridiculously large? Now where are we? Time marches on.
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When many Android phones where ~5" Apple releases ads like this, Jobs made fun of Android, because some Android phones had larger screens. Mow their new iPhones are 4.7"/5.5" and only older models still in production are 4".

With CRT TVs and monitors were limited in size by the laws of physics and engineering as there was a vacuum inside the glass of tube.
 
Here's what I think we'll see this fall:

iPhone 6S

1. Same physical form factor as iPhone 6
2. 4.7" IPS touchscreen display
3. Force Touch touchscreen functionality if it can be produced on a large scale at reasonable cost
4. A9 system on a chip (SoC) with 2 GB RAM and faster dual-core CPU/GPU.
5. 8 megapixel rear camera, but now with true optical image stabilization and superb low-light functionality.

iPhone 6S+

1. Same physical form factor as iPhone 6+
2. 5.5" IPS touchscreen display
3. Force Touch touchscreen functionality if it can be produced on a large scale at reasonable cost
4. A9 system on a chip (SoC) with 3 GB RAM and faster dual-core CPU/GPU.
5. 8 megapixel rear camera with true optical image stabilization and superb low-light functionality

Both phones will keep the Apple Lightning connector. The iPhone will not switch to the USB Type C connector until the 2016 model.
 
dav1dd said:
A lot of those upgrades sound like the 7 to me. Apple seem to be getting tighter and tighter (source: new Macbook), so I would only bank on:
1. A9 chip
2. Force touch
3. Gold colour option
Then... the 7 will be the fastest selling phone in history with new glass and new camera and more ram etc. etc.
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If that's all the 6s has to offer, Apple might as well lower the price by at least 100 dollars/euros to make the weakest iPhone 's' upgrade so far somewhat palatable. Force touch is less useful than Siri or Touch ID, at least on anything larger than the small display of the Apple Watch. I think Apple wants to sell the 6s for at least 3 years and they know it will take 2GB of ram to do that. A significant camera upgrade is overdue.
 
fermat-au said:
With CRT TVs and monitors were limited in size by the laws of physics and engineering as there was a vacuum inside the glass of tube.
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And the weight. I remember friends offering me their large TV and monitors. I had to refuse because I would always need help moving these things. I can easily move my 6 year old 47" LCD.
 
I am on 'S' cycle so any improvement over the current 6/6+ is a welcome change cause i will be getting the 'S' version anyway.
 
dav1dd said:
A lot of those upgrades sound like the 7 to me. Apple seem to be getting tighter and tighter (source: new Macbook), so I would only bank on:
1. A9 chip
2. Force touch
3. Gold colour option
Then... the 7 will be the fastest selling phone in history with new glass and new camera and more ram etc. etc.
Click to expand...

I'll go out on a limb and say the 6S will have 1GB of RAM. I remember people thought the 6 would have 2GB of RAM because well, no way could the iPhone get by another year with just 1GB. And here we are with a reload-app happy phone.
 
dampfnudel said:
If that's all the 6s has to offer, Apple might as well lower the price by at least 100 dollars/euros to make the weakest iPhone 's' upgrade so far somewhat palatable. Force touch is less useful than Siri or Touch ID, at least on anything larger than the small display of the Apple Watch. I think Apple wants to sell the 6s for at least 3 years and they know it will take 2GB of ram to do that. A significant camera upgrade is overdue.
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This is one of the weakest Iphone putdown I've ever heard (and no rebate can redeem it). The camera comment in particular cements it, funny how those "weak" cameras always wind on top on all camera site's review, those that actually know about cameras (not Android shill websites).

The fact that the Iphone 6 has kicked all other phones ass all year long by a mile makes your comment even funnier. Guess it must have been a "bad" phone hey... (sic).

BTW, the Iphone 6s doesn't even need to do much to beat the broken down S6 (how many hardware faults now) with the battery life of a fruitfly and the memory management of a forgetful antique old uncle you need to wake up once in a while to keep alive.

Funny that with 3GB of RAM that phone can't even get the job done. Maybe they should have put in 8GB... Like my Laptop...So Android and Touchwiz could actually run properly.
 
mcarling said:
snip...Apple famously do not do market research. One can search the many Steve Jobs quotes about why Apple do not do market research.
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Interesting comment.

Apple Knows 'Consumers Want What We Don't Have'
Screenshot-2014-04-07-03.25.14.png
 
mcarling said:
That's sales data (revealed preferences) not market research (stated preferences). The difference is critical.

Do Apple look at what consumers are buying? Absolutely.

Do Apple ask consumers what they want? Hell no.
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Gathering sales data and looking at market trends is not market research?

Market Research:

Definition: The process of gathering, analyzing and interpreting information about a market, about a product or service to be offered for sale in that market, and about the past, present and potential customers for the product or service; research into the characteristics, spending habits, location and needs of your business's target market, the industry as a whole, and the particular competitors you face .
 
sinsin07 said:
Gathering sales data and looking at market trends is not market research?
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The usual meaning of "market research" is conducting surveys, focus groups, etc. about stated preferences. That's what Steve Jobs was talking about when he said (many times) that Apple do not do market research.
 
mcarling said:
The usual meaning of "market research" is conducting surveys, focus groups, etc. about stated preferences. That's what Steve Jobs was talking about when he said (many times) that Apple do not do market research.
Click to expand...

You are incorrect. Look up the definition.
 
sinsin07 said:
You are incorrect. Look up the definition.
Click to expand...

I've worked closely with people who've done market research for a living. Look past superficial definitions and take a course in market research -- or at least talk to someone who does it for a living. Until you understand the difference between revealed preferences and stated preferences, any further discussion is pointless.
 
mcarling said:
I've worked closely with people who've done market research for a living. Look past superficial definitions and take a course in market research -- or at least talk to someone who does it for a living. Until you understand the difference between revealed preferences and stated preferences, any further discussion is pointless.
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The definition is the definition.

Market research entails more than just customer surveys.

Your statement that apple 'famously does not do market research" is false.

If you want to backtrack and quantify your original statement and say they don't do customer surveys, fine.

You can try and limit the definition all you want to fit your narrative, but the world at large recognize all phases of market research.

The simple fact that Apple's own slide said "Customers want what we don't have" should have been enough to clue you in.
 
sinsin07 said:
Unfortunately, Steve has passed away.

Apple's presentation in 2014 says different.
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No, it doesn't. Apple have always looked at sales data (revealed preferences).

There are many (probably thousands) of definitions of market research. You can cherry pick a particularly expansive definition, but I'm not impressed. Read what Steve Jobs had to say about market research and it's clear that Steve used the term as I defined it, not as you defined it.
 
SactoGuy18 said:
Here's what I think we'll see this fall:

iPhone 6S

1. Same physical form factor as iPhone 6
2. 4.7" IPS touchscreen display
3. Force Touch touchscreen functionality if it can be produced on a large scale at reasonable cost
4. A9 system on a chip (SoC) with 2 GB RAM and faster dual-core CPU/GPU.
5. 8 megapixel rear camera, but now with true optical image stabilization and superb low-light functionality.

iPhone 6S+

1. Same physical form factor as iPhone 6+
2. 5.5" IPS touchscreen display
3. Force Touch touchscreen functionality if it can be produced on a large scale at reasonable cost
4. A9 system on a chip (SoC) with 3 GB RAM and faster dual-core CPU/GPU.
5. 8 megapixel rear camera with true optical image stabilization and superb low-light functionality

Both phones will keep the Apple Lightning connector. The iPhone will not switch to the USB Type C connector until the 2016 model.
Click to expand...

That sounds reasonable. I don't care about any of this except the RAM. RELALY want the added RAM.
 
Apple customers want 4" to 4.5" screen phones with a premium build and finish and quality with good specs that includes 4GB of RAM, excellent battery life and a stable iOS.

Apple instead goes for a big fat 5.5" screen phone with less PPi , decreased battery life, bendy build, less RAM and an iOS that becomes more unstable by each release.

Just so they can be more like Samsung.

Fantastic.
 
mcarling said:
Apple famously do not do market research. One can search the many Steve Jobs quotes about why Apple do not do market research.
Click to expand...

I don't dispute that Jobs might have said that (do you have a source?), but even if he did it is nonsense. Apple NEEDS to do market research in order to plan production and distribution. They might not do street interviews, or source it out, but you can bet that there is a number of highly qualified people analyzing the dynamics of every market that Apple is and wants to be active in.

Edit: I now saw your responses and the source above and stand by what I say in this post.
 
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