Theory - iPhone upgrades will alternate between looks and performance each year!

[wikoogle]

2g to 3g was primarily a looks/exterior update, other than the 3g reciever, the phones performance was identical.

3g to 3gs was entirely a performance update, the look is identical.

Some people care a lot more about the outside look of their phone than performance, some people are the opposite. Whichever you are the upgrade targeting you will come out every 2 yrs when your contract hopefully expires.

Releasing performance upgrades each yr could make things tough for the app store developers who have to test and design their apps for every hardware iteration and piss off people who don't care that much about looks but need to have the fastest hardware.

Changing the look each yr would piss off accesory/case makers and the customers that see their phone as a fashion statement. Meanwhile by not changing the look when the performance bumps up you can feel better not upgrading since you feel that atleast your phone looks the same as everyone elses.

As long as cellphone companies lock people into 2 yr contracts rather than 1 yr contracts, this approach makes the most strategic sense for both Apple and for consumers.

 

[Pika]

Meanwhile by not changing the look when the performance bumps up you can feel better not upgrading since you feel that atleast your phone looks the same as everyone elses.

I could use the same iPhone 3G case for the iPhone 3GS.

Heres how i go...

1st year - Buy iPhone 3G 8GB for ($199) + contract with Rogers for ($60/month + 3 years
2nd year - Buy iPhone 3GS at full price from the Apple store
3rd year - Buy iPhone 4G at full price from the Apple store

4th year - Buy iPhone 4GS with contract again ($199 ???)

 

[thegoldenmackid]

No way to prove said theory, plus they upgraded the specs each year. 3G vs 2G was still a fairly significant upgrade.

 

[moka]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_0 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7A341 Safari/528.16)

I beleive we won't see any cosmetic changes anymore. They nailed the look and they will
keep improving hardware, the design won't change, material
might

 

[NT1440]

My theory is they will upgrade what they will each year. There will be no solid rules to the process just simply apple adding what they want when they want. This year wasn't a cosmetic year simply because there is no reason currently to change the look.

 

[michalko.j]

Theories are proven, this is merely a hypothesis. How do you come up with a "theory" with only 3 releases?

 

[NT1440]

Theories are proven, this is merely a hypothesis. How do you come up with a "theory" with only 3 releases?

do we really need to go into this over an iphone thread?

 

[Tallest Skil]

2g to 3g was primarily a looks/exterior update, other than the 3g reciever, the phones performance was identical.

So, basically, your theory is completely shattered in this first sentence. It's also not what they're doing.

1st iPhone: stet
2nd iPhone: performance and look
3rd iPhone: performance
4th iPhone: look, non cell-hardware improvement
5th Phone: performance (LTE)

 

[michalko.j]

saw that coming. yeah i know but as a student in the sciences, it annoys me.

 

[wikoogle]

Theories are proven, this is merely a hypothesis. How do you come up with a "theory" with only 3 releases?

No they're not, unless you can explain to me how either string field theory or M theory are proven, experimentally or otherwise. Would be somewhat hard for both to be proven or correct considering they're competing theories about the same subject

 

[beamer8912]

No they're not, unless you can explain to me how either string theory or M theory are proven, experimentally or otherwise. Would be somewhat hard for both to be proven or correct considering they're competing theories about the same subject

Both have significant evidence behind them. You're creating a theory from 3 points of data.

Besides there are so many more variables than you're accounting for. For instance, there will be a significant release of new mobile processors available come next release (see Cortex A9). Not to mention AT&T's contract will be up which could mean other carriers with an iPhone.

Also 3G and GPS were a HUGE deal. Look at the number of apps released due to those two features alone. They're on a completely different level than a compass.

Albeit the performance upgrade is nice, it doesn't do much besides run the phone faster. It serves very little purpose feature wise.

Your idea is a "guesstimate" at most.

 

[michalko.j]

I'm sorry. (has that ever been said before here?) I only meant to comment on the lack of any real trend with only 3 releases. But you, of course, are entitled to your opinions and freedom to post about it.

 

[wikoogle]

Beamer, you're ignoring the original statement that I replied to. The claim was that theories are proven. That claim is abjectly false. A theory can have as much or as little evidence supporting it.

I also laid out why this approach makes the most sense for app store developers, accesory manufacturers and apple itself.

 

[Shabbis]

The change in the casing design from 2G (aluminum) to 3G (plastic) was a necessity due to the additional antennas required for 3G. Not enough space in that small plastic area at the bottom of the 2G.

 

[GlassBullet]

I'd think the accessory companies would like a new design each year. Sure they have to make a new product, but there will be a lot of demand for that product. It's either they make a new case every 2 years and people buy it every 2 years, or new case every year and they get paid every year

 

[wikoogle]

Nevermind mikalo. I didn't see ur last post when I was typing a response to beamers post. Let's just move on, lol.

 

[Revelation78]

Also 3G and GPS were a HUGE deal. Look at the number of apps released due to those two features alone. They're on a completely different level than a compass.

Albeit the performance upgrade is nice, it doesn't do much besides run the phone faster. It serves very little purpose feature wise.

Seriously? Then I have to put you in with the "no design change = small update bandwagon." The 3GS was a BIGGER upgrade than the 3G was. Everything but the case was upgraded!

How is just adding a 3G antenna and a GPS a bigger update than upgrading EVERYTHING? Oh yeah I forgot the case didn't get upgraded...

 

[Tallest Skil]

No they're not, unless you can explain to me how either string field theory or M theory are proven, experimentally or otherwise. Would be somewhat hard for both to be proven or correct considering they're competing theories about the same subject

You know... it's still called "Cell Theory". Your theory has already been proven wrong, anyway.

 

[beamer8912]

Seriously? Then I have to put you in with the "no design change = small update bandwagon." The 3GS was a BIGGER upgrade than the 3G was. Everything but the case was upgraded!

How is just adding a 3G antenna and a GPS a bigger update than upgrading EVERYTHING? Oh yeah I forgot the case didn't get upgraded...

I was comparing the features added to the two systems. And EVERYTHING? Really? Your exaggerations aren't necessary.

My lord, you people and your never ending attempts to justify your purchases. Insecure much? By the way, you've been added to the "Do anything possible to justify my purchase" people.

By the way, the phrase "small update" never appeared in my post. You put far too many words into my mouth. I'd rather you re-read my post, and see that I was comparing the features.

However, I don't believe that changing the case is a "big upgrade". I do believe though the following constitutes as a large upgrade:

Multicore Cortex A9 Processor
Improved GPU
HD OLED screen using tech similar to TI's OMAP 4
background processes/multitasking
CDMA and GSM phones (screw AT&T)
...and yea...a case change (can we please go back to the 2G design?)

A theory can have as much or as little evidence supporting it.

No, it can't. Theories have a basis, supported by numerous amounts of evidence. Otherwise it's "speculation". To be honest, I would equate your "theory" to the "theory" that the LHC will create a blackhole and destroy the planet. (Continuing with the whole physics thing). Also his original post is still right in the fact, that your idea is not a theory.

edit, just gonna add something to this: I've found the 3GS users desperately trying to justify their purchases fall into one of two categories when it comes to comparing the S to the 3G.

1. former 2G user who says its HUGE because its their year to update and the phone they'll get, try to hype it beyond what it is.
2. former 3G users who have become so accustom to 3G and GPS they've forgotten life on the 2G without it. Remember EDGE?

 

[iUser4Lyfe]

I was comparing the features added to the two systems. And EVERYTHING? Really? Your exaggerations aren't necessary.

My lord, you people and your never ending attempts to justify your purchases. Insecure much? By the way, you've been added to the "Do anything possible to justify my purchase" people.

By the way, the phrase "small update" never appeared in my post. You put far too many words into my mouth. I'd rather you re-read my post, and see that I was comparing the features.

However, I don't believe that changing the case is a "big upgrade". I do believe though the following constitutes as a large upgrade:

Multicore Cortex A9 Processor
Improved GPU
HD OLED screen using tech similar to TI's OMAP 4
background processes/multitasking
CDMA and GSM phones (screw AT&T)
...and yea...a case change (can we please go back to the 2G design?)



No, it can't. Theories have a basis, supported by numerous amounts of evidence. Otherwise it's "speculation". To be honest, I would equate your "theory" to the "theory" that the LHC will create a blackhole and destroy the planet. (Continuing with the whole physics thing). Also his original post is still right in the fact, that your idea is not a theory.

edit, just gonna add something to this: I've found the 3GS users desperately trying to justify their purchases fall into one of two categories when it comes to comparing the S to the 3G.

1. former 2G user who says its HUGE because its their year to update and the phone they'll get, try to hype it beyond what it is.
2. former 3G users who have become so accustom to 3G and GPS they've forgotten life on the 2G without it. Remember EDGE?

Jelous much?