The phone love affair is dwindling

[BeefCake 15]

I'm really reaching a point of losing interest in upgrading my phone and the new features in the industry all around are not appealing any more. Much of what is being revealed is mainly about gaming but, even though I'm a casual gamer, my PS4 tends to fill that itch well enough that I haven't lusted at anything beyond Sony (Xbox is cool too)...

I have an iPhone 6 now for personal use and my main use for it has been text (multiple platforms), calls, banking/financials and social media. I played games couple of times on it but ended up not that interested and deleted them soon after. This phone will probably stay in my pocket till the wheels fall off and I'm forced to upgrade otherwise I'm just not that interested anymore.

It's not you Apple, it's me!

Anyone else shares the same sentiment?

 

[Nozuka]

smartphones are all grown now.. it's getting harder to find things to improve.

battery life probably still has the biggest potential...

 

[jaxbrah]

the 6s already appeases all of my needs.

its:

- fast
- reliable
- good enough battery
- 4k video
- band 12 on tmobile

there really wasnt much they could have enticed me with unless they created a market for something. thats called innovation, something theyve lacked without Steve Jobs

 

[timeconsumer]

I don't feel the need to upgrade my TV's, my car, my computers or my gaming consoles on a yearly basis, but yet Apple has somehow managed to make me think that I need to upgrade my phone every year. That said, I think I'm getting to the same point as you are. I'm losing interest and I don't think any other phone can offer me more (for my usage) than my current phone. Hopefully this is the year where I don't feel the need to have the "latest and greatest" iPhone and just be content with Apple's generous iOS update longevity.

 

[Macalway]

Diminishing returns for sure. I'll upgrade my phone even 4 to 5 years, unless there's a compelling reason to change that.

It's time for upgrade now, but even if I had a 7 now, I would now consider the X (compelling reason would be a major form change)

 

[cola79]

I got a SE 16gb and the only bad thing is battery runtime, but that is because it's a small battery-from all other aspects i got nothing to complain.

About the iPhone 8 i like the wireless charging, but that alone does not motivate to upgrade.

I will use my SE until the battery dies or i accidentally damage it. The times were mobiles felt outdated quickly are over. I use calls, texting, browsing and banking, and sometimes the camera to make pictures or PDF.

Every smartphone beginning at 100€ can do this nowadays. I only use Apple because of security and privacy and simplicity of the os.

 

[Rob_2811]

smartphones are all grown now.. it's getting harder to find things to improve.

battery life probably still has the biggest potential...

True thank god Apple is going to ship a fast charger with the new phones! Oh...

 

[jeyf]

my iPhone 5 does odd things more often these days. Just saying there is a limit how long these phones will work reliable

Likely i will have to upgrade and have been lurking on craigslist for an iPhone7/7+. yes; i will get an iPhone 7 with the Qualcom modem and opt 128 over the bad designed 32G flash. Ill get the red one and know it is only 6 or 8 months old.

 

[Coconut_one]

In the same position phones are getting boring five years ago I spend almost 10+ hours each day surfing the net and watching netflix and music now. I only spend two hours each day listening to music excercising.
Funny thing a new device excitement wears off in a couple of days now for me.

 

[mikosk]

Hard to innovate a rectangle each year to make it worth an upgrade. The chip and camera gains are also slowing down too. Plus they sell it as new tech when sometimes it's software optimization that leads to better batter life or faster speeds.

I don't have a wish list of items for the phone outside of better battery life. This should be the main focus. I would love to get back to the early days of cell phones when they lasted for days and not just half of one.

 

[dacreativeguy]

In the same position phones are getting boring five years ago I spend almost 10+ hours each day surfing the net and watching netflix and music now. I only spend two hours each day listening to music excercising.
Funny thing a new device excitement wears off in a couple of days now for me.

All phones have become buttonless slabs that pretty much do the same thing. People don't need 84 megapixels and quad core chips to post selfies on Facebook. The same thing happened with computers a long time ago. How much power do you need for MS Office and web browsing? I bought a Retina MacBook Pro in 2013 and it is still going strong. Besides TouchBar and faster processors, there hasn't been anything new in years.

 

[ssl0408]

People just don't like the price and that's all this is about. They wanted it to start at $700.

 

[jeffs177]

The only way I'll upgrade anymore is if AT&T brings back the 2 year contracts with a huge buy in discount (less than $500), otherwise I'll hold off until I can no longer download the lastest software on my current phone.

 

[JayIsAwesome]

Can't wait to get my iPhone X

 

[44267547]

People just don't like the price and that's all this is about. They wanted it to start at $700.

I agree the price point is offputting to quite a few iPhone owners who are seeking to upgrade. Mainly because they don't know if this technology and the latest features is worth the price point. Ultimately it comes down to what someone can afford and what they appreciate in the iPhone X.

 

[Breaking Good]

I don't think you are alone in your sentiment. But the question for Apple is how many people are like you.

The same thing happened with laptop computers. They got to a point most people couldn't do anything more with them so they saw little need to upgrade.

I really like Apple's new phones but are they really going to let you do anything more than you do right now with your current phone.

Last month my cordless electric shaver which I've had for over 25 years finally stopped working. It had had problems along the way. But it kept shaving so I never bothered to replace it. The battery would not hold a charge so for the past ten years or so I was using it as a corded electric shaver. I think the battery just finally gave out completely.

I think for some who are on their third, fourth or fifth iteration of smartphone, they are looking more like another appliance that gets upgraded when the old one breaks.
[doublepost=1505384796][/doublepost]

People just don't like the price and that's all this is about. They wanted it to start at $700.

This will be interesting to watch. At what point does a US$200 Android smartphone look tempting when all you are doing is talk, text and Facebooking with friends? Apple seems to think it is some point beyond US$999. They've been right so far. It will be interesting to see if they continue to be right.

 

[jeyf]

apple might consider software upgrades every year but have the hardware on a 2 year cycle.

 

[Hankster]

Technology advancement for general public use has plateaued. This is normal in all industries. In another 5-6 years there will be another massive increase in technology advancement.

 

[jeyf]

Apple held on to LCD display technology too long.

 

[I7guy]

To me the iphone 8 and iphone x are worthy upgrades over my 6s. It’s a question of which one I am leaning toward.

 

[vipergts2207]

Indeed, improvement year to year has gotten smaller and smaller. I've upgraded every two years in the past, including this year when I get the 8, but in the future I think I may move to a 3 year cycle. Honestly, I'm questioning whether I really need to upgrade this year either, but I'm going to.

 

[Chronus]

Apple held on to LCD display technology too long.

There’s nothing wrong with the plus models LCD. Side by side you’re going to struggle to tell the difference between the iPhone 8 plus screen and the X.

If you want to see what OLED screens can do, check out the note 8.

 

[AppleZombie]

Same here. I still have my iphone 6 + but looking at an SE instead of an 8, but might wait until last minute to decide. The Smart Phone segment has reached it's peak. Don't be surprised if we start going Bezel Less Retro. ....

 

[dallas112678]

I'm really reaching a point of losing interest in upgrading my phone and the new features in the industry all around are not appealing any more. Much of what is being revealed is mainly about gaming but, even though I'm a casual gamer, my PS4 tends to fill that itch well enough that I haven't lusted at anything beyond Sony (Xbox is cool too)...

I have an iPhone 6 now for personal use and my main use for it has been text (multiple platforms), calls, banking/financials and social media. I played games couple of times on it but ended up not that interested and deleted them soon after. This phone will probably stay in my pocket till the wheels fall off and I'm forced to upgrade otherwise I'm just not that interested anymore.

It's not you Apple, it's me!

Anyone else shares the same sentiment?

I think it's a combination of things:

1. Apple used to have the best designed phones in the industry, now they are no longer the most aesthetically pleasing phones.

2. Apple used to have the smoothest and most fluid user experience. Ever since iOS 7, iOS has been filled with random stutters/frame drops.

3. iOS feels and looks the same as it always has (with the additions of frame drops).

4. Apple still charges much more than the competition. But they do it just because it had an apple on the back of the device, not because the quality and features are ahead of the competition.

Add all of these up and it's not so hard to see where the frustration comes from.

 

[Newtons Apple]

I have to admit that I was less excited about the new X than other introductions. Might be because I was in the middle of Irma, I do not know. Really nothing revolutionary with the X and I carry my phone all the time so the Apple watch is not for me.

I bet they still sell very well.