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The "S" versions are the TRUE versions

I update yearly but if I had to choose a cycle, the number cycle is the one to be on. Nothing beats a new design and form factor. Just too tempting.
 
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sterl320 said:
I may be wrong about this, but I firmly believe that certain features are always left out of the number cycle iPhones for either:

1) repackaging the same phone with new features so it can be sold twice, therefore revitalizing the sales or,

2) certain features were simply not ready to be put in the phone, but were originally planned to go in the number cycle phones.

I don't ever go for the number cycle of the phones because I would always feel that I got the short end of the stick once the "S" cycle is announced not even year after making my purchase. Even the tiniest upgrade is enough to make me jealous lol.

and lastly, there's no way features like 3D Touch & Touch ID could have only been fully developed after the iPhone 6 & 5 came out. If Apple truly wanted to, they would have been in those phones.

So for me, the iPhone 6s is the REAL iPhone 6.

But that's just me. What do you guys think?
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Very True. That's why I always stick with S cycle. Furthermore, I would say life of an S cycle iPhone is always greater than corresponding number cycle. A lot of the flaws that come out with wide usage of the number-cycle phone are fixed in S cycle, resulting in a longer-lasting, much more robust phone.
 
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Since I started buying iPhones starting with the 4s, I only upgrade on the "s" cycle. It seems they work the bugs out of the first iteration. I know some people love to upgrade annually. The accountant in me doesn't see the point.

To each his/ her own of course. I look forward to using the 6s Plus for the next two years. I always watch the "number" cycle releases closely and anticipate how they'll be improved the following year. :)
 
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Andres Cantu said:
One of Apple's competitive advantages is that it can essentially use the same design for two years in a row. No other phone manufacturer can do that without hearing it from customers. They have to change their design every year.

It's an ingenious business strategy in terms of marketing and the bottom line.

Like Tim Cook always says: "Only Apple can do this."
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Actually, HTC hasn't changed much in their design for 3 years in a row. Neither had Samsung, until this year. Apple, for all their detractors, bring some meaningful and quantifiable changes every year. New design for number cycle and multiple internal upgrades and one external upgrade on their S-Cycle.
 
Nikos said:
Having owned every iPhone, I'd say there's enough in both the numbered and S releases to justify the purchase.

Sure, the S versions are better in some ways than their original counterparts, however numbered versions also improve on things that were introduced in S models. One example would be Touch ID, which saw improvements in the iPhone 6 over the 5S and is still being improved.
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I know a bit off topic, however it will be interesting to see what the iPhone 7 brings us... At a very minimum, I hope the low-end model will be at least 32GB!
 
celly said:
Since I started buying iPhones starting with the 4s, I only upgrade on the "s" cycle. It seems they work the bugs out of the first iteration. I know some people love to upgrade annually. The accountant in me doesn't see the point.

To each his/ her own of course. I look forward to using the 6s Plus for the next two years. I always watch the "number" cycle releases closely and anticipate how they'll be improved the following year. :)
Click to expand...
I would actually hold on to my phone for 3 years or even more, if not for subsidized upgrade offered by AT&T every 2 years. All my used phones are in pristine condition and go to my relatives, who use them for another 2 years.
 
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EW800 said:
I know a bit off topic, however it will be interesting to see what the iPhone 7 brings us... At a very minimum, I hope the low-end model will be at least 32GB!
Click to expand...
I wonder if Apple will ever do that. If they made 60%(random percentage to indicate maximum sales) of 16GB earlier, I believe the percentage is going down steadily every year. Looking at pre-order thread, it seems most of the people are buying 64GB or 128 GB. Apple has increased their ASP just like that. Now, they must be producing only 20% of their stock as 16 GB. These days, companies are trying to maintain the growth rate. squeezing out more money from people. You can't expect Apple to let go of that increasing profit margin. Believe me, I am disappointed too, but the base will be stuck at 16 GB for a long time to come.
 
This is why I upgrade yearly. Given how much use and enjoyment I get out of a new phone every year, the cost to upgrade is worth it to me.
 
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pokerplayer73 said:
I wonder if Apple will ever do that. If they made 60%(random percentage to indicate maximum sales) of 16GB earlier, I believe the percentage is going down steadily every year. Looking at pre-order thread, it seems most of the people are buying 64GB or 128 GB. Apple has increased their ASP just like that. Now, they must be producing only 20% of their stock as 16 GB. These days, companies are trying to maintain the growth rate. squeezing out more money from people. You can't expect Apple to let go of that increasing profit margin. Believe me, I am disappointed too, but the base will be stuck at 16 GB for a long time to come.
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I believe you are spot on! Apple has pretty much forced the 64GB to be the real-world minimum standard, at a cost of $100 more. They are not going to allow that to be given up.
 
EW800 said:
I believe you are spot on! Apple has pretty much forced the 64GB to be the real-world minimum standard, at a cost of $100 more. They are not going to allow that to be given up.
Click to expand...

Or they may move to 32/128/256GB as the new standard in 1-2 years.
 
From a technological stand point it's incredibly difficult to upgrade the phone with new features AND incorporate a new design. It's been proven in the past in other sectors that this leads to shoddy products.

You may have heard of this methodology in another industry and didn't realize it: Intel's tick tock cadence.

This allows 1 generation for re architecture and 1 generation for refinement.
 
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sterl320 said:
I may be wrong about this, but I firmly believe that certain features are always left out of the number cycle iPhones for either:

1) repackaging the same phone with new features so it can be sold twice, therefore revitalizing the sales or,

2) certain features were simply not ready to be put in the phone, but were originally planned to go in the number cycle phones.

I don't ever go for the number cycle of the phones because I would always feel that I got the short end of the stick once the "S" cycle is announced not even year after making my purchase. Even the tiniest upgrade is enough to make me jealous lol.

and lastly, there's no way features like 3D Touch & Touch ID could have only been fully developed after the iPhone 6 & 5 came out. If Apple truly wanted to, they would have been in those phones.

So for me, the iPhone 6s is the REAL iPhone 6.

But that's just me. What do you guys think?
Click to expand...
I absolutely agree. It's always better to upgrade during the S cycles, more significant upgrades. You still get to have a new design but with all the goodies underneath.
 
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Every iPhone release is actually a significant upgrade if you look into the improvements Apple made to the SoC every year. So internally, I think every year is a significant upgrade.

Number cycle pros:
- new physical design
- design last you for 2 years
Cons:
- may have physical issues (4: antenna gate, 5: durability of the chamfered edge/scratches, 6: bendgate) that are not immediately known in internal testing

S-cycle pros:
- addressing issues of the physical design
Cons:
- your phone will look old within a year
 
I think it only costs me about $100-150 extra to upgrade every year with the upgrade program vs keeping it for 2 and selling it. Which is worth it IMO.
 
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pokerplayer73 said:
I would actually hold on to my phone for 3 years or even more, if not for subsidized upgrade offered by AT&T every 2 years. All my used phones are in pristine condition and go to my relatives, who use them for another 2 years.
Click to expand...
Same here, only this year sister is getting my 6 as I'm getting the 6S Plus. Her son will be getting my former 5 that my sister is using right now.
 
eyoungren said:
So…how do you feel when the guys on the numbered path get an iPhone with a new body style and new features and you have the "S" model?

Maybe the "S" model improves on the numbered model. Maybe the "S" model is better than the previous numbered model. But I prefer the outside changes.

Other than laying my 6+ down next to someone else's 6S+ who knows what model I have between the two? But when the iPhone 7 is released most people will know I have the iPhone 7 and not a 6+ or 6S+.

Just my take.
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I understand the appeal of having a new model of a phone, but to me that new model just feels like a watered down version of what it will be in a year's time. So in just a year, people will be walking around with the same model phone that I have, but a better version of it. Maybe even a new color. I'd be wayyy too jealous lol, but thank God for upgrade programs.
 
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sterl320 said:
I understand the appeal of having a new model of a phone, but to me that new model just feels like a watered down version of what it will be in a year's time. So in just a year, people will be walking around with the same model phone that I have, but a better version of it. Maybe even a new color. I'd be wayyy too jealous lol, but thank God for upgrade programs.
Click to expand...
OK…I think I can wrap my head around that.

We (my wife and I) just bought a new car. The body style for our year ran from 2006 to 2012 and was redesigned for 2013. From your perspective, our 2012 is the final culmination of what the 2006 model year could have been (because the body style never changed, but of course their were 'improvements year to year').

Obviously we see things differently, but that's why there is the 'S' version I guess.
 
I like being on the non-S cycle because it has all of the features of the "S" cycle plus it gets the current form factor for 2 full years. I never liked being the guy with the old(er) look iPhone ;)
 
I have been on the tic cycle since the iPhone 3G

I got the

iPhone 3G
iPhone 4
iPhone 5
iPhone 6

And now I'm getting the 6s plus and I'm switching to the s years
 
Yeah, you cannot go wrong with the s models, as they also fix up all of the bugs from the v1.
 
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