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Personally I would make the distinction between the SE and iPhone line crystal clear by retaining the home button design for the SE. [...] USB-C and Qi2 on all, of course.
The only reason they can manufacture the SE dirt cheap is that it's an old simple design, if they were to actually modify it to support newer features like USB-C and wireless charging they'd need to make significant changes to it at which point they might as well throw this previous-decade design in the trash where it belongs. It's a disgrace for the Apple brand to call this thing an iPhone. How can you as a consumer/Apple customer argue in favor of that old design?

Apple could drop the price of the Mini further and just make that the new SE. Leave it at the older hardware level of 2021 and there's an entry level iPhone that can actually compete with the entry level hardware of other manufacturers. SE and Mini have the same A15 SoC anyways. The 128GB storage, solid camera and OLED panel are already offered in budget smartphones like the Pixel 6a for a while now and are no reason to charge a premium any longer.

I really want to update to a newer iPhone sometime in the future, but I am not willing to spend 999 bucks on a smartphone, period. Last year I was willing to give that a try with the Pro Max and Apple gave me a bugged phone that I was forced to return due to many issues, amongst them what I consider a health hazard where the volume would suddenly be switched to a deafening 100% when getting calls.

So in between the lackluster standard iPhone and Plus version (not even 90Hz panels? even the cheap Pixel 6a has that...), the terrible SE and my bugged Pro experience with the stupid notch/island extending downwards further, I just don't see myself being interested in any latest gen iPhone. There are reasons the iPhone 13 and 13 Pro are still selling well in the past couple months. I have also been recommending friends and family to get a 13 Pro over the 14, and 14 Pro.
 
I used foldable 3G "FOMA" feature phones in Japan right up until the day I bought my first iPhone.
That's a flip phone. We're talking about phones with a flimsy foldable screen.

foldable.png
 
That's a flip phone. We're talking about phones with a flimsy foldable screen.

View attachment 2164272

All I see is a phone with physical keys replaced by the lower half of the polymer screen.
You're forgetting that s hit flip phones used to fail when their ribbon connector in the hinge wore out.

I have faith that material science in the 21st century will turn the "flimsy" screen into a win and even protect it from keys etc. while in the pocket without having to use a screen protector.
 
Apple has a very long and well documented history of almost meaningless branding. Just to mention a couple recent cases, their Max CPU isn’t the maximum of its generation (if you buy a Mac Studio, it’s the minimum configuration), and the Pro CPU is in the Mac Mini now and not just in Pro models.
High refresh rate will probably, sooner or later, end up in lower-end phones.

This budget Motorola phone which is $169 has a 90hz display. How long can Apple get away with selling 60hz screens on their £800+ ‘regular’ iPhones???
 
And I guarantee you that the physics haven't changed in the new century and bending will still lead to material fatigue and eventually failure.
Bruh, you can guarantee the physics all you want, but you can't guarantee the material science.
I'm not even arguing with you... I don't really care, TBH, other than the fact that you can't say they won't make a phone that will last longer than the typical 3 year replacement cycle (1000 days, 200 folds a day, 200,000 fold lifespan).

Of course a solid phone will last longer, but people change their phones regularly, so at some point, durability becomes moot...
Do average people NEED a phone that lasts a decade, like my 3GS which is still going strong as my wireless music remote control.

Or my 4S that is still used at a cycle computer on my street bike....

material scientists are the modern day magicians. Their job is to make stuff that balances in favour of the customer... (big/durable vs convenient/flimsy in this case)..

This forum needs a shrug icon.
 
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And people couldn't communicate over 100 km at the speed of light using an inch of copper wire...
Copper was always conductive, whether people used it for communications or not. You can't invent new laws of physics, only innovate within their scope.

Foldable phones can’t catch a break, mainly because they keep breaking

Folding phones have a durability problem, and they’re tough to fix

Samsung's bendable smartphone reportedly breaks if folded completely
Srsly, what's your point? Are you just arguing for the sake of it?
Stop saying stupid things and I won't have to disagree with you.
 
Can we just agree there is little to be excited about? Non folding, lacking any holographic projection this phone is so basic.

Wake me up when Apple does something innovative.
Most people who claim they want innovation aren't willing to put up with the flaws and teething pains that come with true innovation. Apple knows this which is why they wait until tech has matured before implementing it.
 
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And also give the Mini (if released)
and/or the Plus Pro Motion.

The fact that Apple don’t have it in all their phones in 2023, and most possibly 2024 it’s just ridiculous, especially when the iPhones cost so much as they do now.

But if I know Apple right, there is gonna be a 15 Plus with 60Hz screen in 2024🤣
I'm genuinely starting to think that Apple wants to restrict ProMotion to devices that have Pro in the name. The iPad Pro got it back in 2017 and it's still exclusive.
 

This budget Motorola phone which is $169 has a 90hz display. How long can Apple get away with selling 60hz screens on their £800+ ‘regular’ iPhones???
Ok, I agree Apple is late as usual but... that's still a 720x1600 pixel crappy screen on a crappy phone :)
 
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I'm genuinely starting to think that Apple wants to restrict ProMotion to devices that have Pro in the name. The iPad Pro got it back in 2017 and it's still exclusive.

Which is getting absolutely ridiculous. A higher than 60Hz screen is not fancy anymore, it’s standard. On every phone that costs anywhere near what even the base model iPhone does, anyway.

Edit: actually after looking into this a little, the cheapest Android phone I can find that anyone recommends as usable costs $180 and has a 90Hz screen. I can’t actually find any Android phones anymore that are less than 90Hz.
 
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I'm genuinely starting to think that Apple wants to restrict ProMotion to devices that have Pro in the name. The iPad Pro got it back in 2017 and it's still exclusive.
I think you are right🙂
Another member told me before the same idea, and I have never thought about that way, that the Pro Motion is a feature for the Pros only.
He suggested perhaps 90Hz will be implanted, and maybe he’s right.
Time will tell i guess.
 
It is unfortunate that Apple has made the decision to go forward with the dynamic island on more models, because that moves it into the area where main content like video will be impaired, whereas on the 13 series they had a great relatively small notch that took away less valuable top bar space, the same way it works on Macbooks.

FYI @GraXXoR

The Dynamic Island did not move into the content area in the 14 Pros. Yes, the DI + the gap above it are taller than the notch, but Apple actually increased the height of the screen by exactly that difference in height. The end result was that the content area below the DI was the same as before.

Do normal videos actually intrude into the DI/Notch area? Whenever i have tried it, videos fit within the safe content area. Of course if you zoom the video it will be wider but the top and bottom will be cropped too so that is a nope from me. I understand that there are some extra wide videos out there but I haven’t run across them.
 
...Do normal videos actually intrude into the DI/Notch area? Whenever i have tried it, videos fit within the safe content area. Of course if you zoom the video it will be wider but the top and bottom will be cropped too so that is a nope from me. I understand that there are some extra wide videos out there but I haven’t run across them.
Thats the thing I always find to be humorous. People complaining about the Notch or DI cropping a video are voluntarily cropping the top and bottom of the video when they force it to fit the screen width.
 
Basically anything that isn't 16:9 will not fit perfectly. For example 18:9 (2:1) will have the island floating in the video. Another format with film would be 2.7:1. If you only watch things like Netflix it isn't an issue, or rather, it doesn't appear to be one, because the content will already have been cropped to 16:9 by the content provider if it wasn't actually shot to be viewed 16:9. The actual issue that content was cropped away remains, as older television wasn't necessarily shot in 16:9 to begin with. You just won't know there is anything missing, sometimes some scenes might look weird with heads cut off maybe.

This is often an issue with "remastered" film releases that switch the format to 16:9 and ends up cropping away actual content. In other words, the film is no longer shown the way it was originally intended to be shown.

Thus, depending on what content you consume and through which apps, this might or might not be an issue. Of course literally everything Youtube is 16:9 natively and won't require any cropping.
 
The great thing about USB-C is that if you only bought a new iPhone every year from the 1st generation, you won't have a charging brick that works with it as the new included cable with be C->C, and Apple never included a USB-C charging brick in an iPhone package.
This comment can be construed as downright misleading as iPhone 11 Pro did include a USB-C charger until Apple dropped all chargers with iPhone 12 and retroactive that decision even on the SE.

Now if you mean regular iPhone 11 then it makes sense but you don’t define as the models split in marketing.

Please correct your comment, thank you 🙂
 
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