Three days in, I think we can all agree the iPhone 14 Pro launch has been an absolute disaster. Likely the worst in iPhone history. The closest competitor, historically, is probably the iPhone 4 and “antenna-gate”. To me, even that wasn’t this bad.
At this point, you all know the problems, so I’m not going to rehash them here.
What I would like to do is overview how I’m proceeding through this ordeal. I would also like to describe steps I think Apple could take to improve future iPhone releases. Obviously, I don’t expect Apple to act on any of my ideas. I consider these ideas more “food for thought”. I acknowledge Apple has their plan and way of operating and it has brought them tremendous success… at least for now.
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Anyway… how I’m proceeding:
At this point, given the problems out there now, there’s no way I’m upgrading this year.
Other issues aside, the vibrating camera is a deal breaker for me.
I understand there will be a software fix next week. I’m not convinced this is a software issue. I feel like this is a hardware issue they are attempting to allay with software. Similar to how they ultimately fixed antenna-gate with software. Obviously, I’m just speculating and have zero evidence to back this up.
Regardless, with the vibrating camera I start to question component quality. Perhaps that’s not fair to Apple. But given the price and other considerations, I feel like I should never have to. That’s why we buy Apple in the first place, right?
I’ve read at least one post of a user wanting to return their iPhone 14 Pro. But they had already traded in their previous phone. If I was in that position, I would return the iPhone 14 Pro and just buy the iPhone 13 or iPhone 12 as a placeholder until next year. Personally, I’d probably go with the iPhone 12, which, to me, was Apple’s best release to date.
Again, this is simply how I’m proceeding. If you bought the iPhone 14 Pro and love it, that’s awesome. I’m happy for you. It’s just not for me this year.
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Steps I think Apple could take to improve future releases (in no particular order):
1. Cancel all new features for iOS 17. Focus, instead, on making the operating system, itself, rock solid. Think Snow Leopard.
2. Reexamine everything related to Apple software engineering. Of all the software and services I use nowadays, Apple seems to be consistently the most problematic. Based on posts on this forum, many of you may agree. Is the problem in who they are hiring? Management of the teams? Both? Somewhere else? At this point, it really needs to be fleshed out. Re-imagined, even.
3. Stop sourcing parts from multiple vendors. I know this may not be possible given product volume. But I’m tired of playing the panel lottery… and now the camera lottery… and this lottery and that lottery. If I buy an iPhone or Mac, especially for these prices, I need to be able to trust the components every time. Based on my observations, not all vendors are even remotely the same, regardless of their ability to meet the engineering spec.
4. Put the iPhone on a diet. The iPhone is too thick now. I get at one point many complained it was too thin. Now, it’s too thick. It’s too heavy. Go back to the iPhone 12 size and weight, which I believe was near perfect.
5. Put the camera module on a diet. It’s not necessarily the current size that is the problem. It’s more the size increases year after year with no end in site that is alarming. I feel like something could be done to taper the module without sacrificing photo quality? This could help decrease the overall weight of the phone, as well. To be fair, I personally don’t mind current the size. But I know a lot of people do.
6. Get rid of dynamic island notifications. Just make it static, like the notch. To me, dynamic island is just the new touch bar. A gimmick. I get this is never going to happen, so I will simply look forward to the day it’s gone. Just like the touch bar.
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Anyway, these are just my thoughts. Perhaps I’ve been too harsh on this release and what I’ve stated above isn’t warranted. Please understand, it all comes from love of Apple, software, hardware, and technology in general. I don’t want anyone to feel bad. That's the last thing I want. If you bought the iPhone 14 Pro, I really believe they’ll work out all the issues and you’ll continue to love it. I am happy for you.
But at this point, I personally look forward to iPhone 15.
At this point, you all know the problems, so I’m not going to rehash them here.
What I would like to do is overview how I’m proceeding through this ordeal. I would also like to describe steps I think Apple could take to improve future iPhone releases. Obviously, I don’t expect Apple to act on any of my ideas. I consider these ideas more “food for thought”. I acknowledge Apple has their plan and way of operating and it has brought them tremendous success… at least for now.
----------
Anyway… how I’m proceeding:
At this point, given the problems out there now, there’s no way I’m upgrading this year.
Other issues aside, the vibrating camera is a deal breaker for me.
I understand there will be a software fix next week. I’m not convinced this is a software issue. I feel like this is a hardware issue they are attempting to allay with software. Similar to how they ultimately fixed antenna-gate with software. Obviously, I’m just speculating and have zero evidence to back this up.
Regardless, with the vibrating camera I start to question component quality. Perhaps that’s not fair to Apple. But given the price and other considerations, I feel like I should never have to. That’s why we buy Apple in the first place, right?
I’ve read at least one post of a user wanting to return their iPhone 14 Pro. But they had already traded in their previous phone. If I was in that position, I would return the iPhone 14 Pro and just buy the iPhone 13 or iPhone 12 as a placeholder until next year. Personally, I’d probably go with the iPhone 12, which, to me, was Apple’s best release to date.
Again, this is simply how I’m proceeding. If you bought the iPhone 14 Pro and love it, that’s awesome. I’m happy for you. It’s just not for me this year.
----------
Steps I think Apple could take to improve future releases (in no particular order):
1. Cancel all new features for iOS 17. Focus, instead, on making the operating system, itself, rock solid. Think Snow Leopard.
2. Reexamine everything related to Apple software engineering. Of all the software and services I use nowadays, Apple seems to be consistently the most problematic. Based on posts on this forum, many of you may agree. Is the problem in who they are hiring? Management of the teams? Both? Somewhere else? At this point, it really needs to be fleshed out. Re-imagined, even.
3. Stop sourcing parts from multiple vendors. I know this may not be possible given product volume. But I’m tired of playing the panel lottery… and now the camera lottery… and this lottery and that lottery. If I buy an iPhone or Mac, especially for these prices, I need to be able to trust the components every time. Based on my observations, not all vendors are even remotely the same, regardless of their ability to meet the engineering spec.
4. Put the iPhone on a diet. The iPhone is too thick now. I get at one point many complained it was too thin. Now, it’s too thick. It’s too heavy. Go back to the iPhone 12 size and weight, which I believe was near perfect.
5. Put the camera module on a diet. It’s not necessarily the current size that is the problem. It’s more the size increases year after year with no end in site that is alarming. I feel like something could be done to taper the module without sacrificing photo quality? This could help decrease the overall weight of the phone, as well. To be fair, I personally don’t mind current the size. But I know a lot of people do.
6. Get rid of dynamic island notifications. Just make it static, like the notch. To me, dynamic island is just the new touch bar. A gimmick. I get this is never going to happen, so I will simply look forward to the day it’s gone. Just like the touch bar.
----------
Anyway, these are just my thoughts. Perhaps I’ve been too harsh on this release and what I’ve stated above isn’t warranted. Please understand, it all comes from love of Apple, software, hardware, and technology in general. I don’t want anyone to feel bad. That's the last thing I want. If you bought the iPhone 14 Pro, I really believe they’ll work out all the issues and you’ll continue to love it. I am happy for you.
But at this point, I personally look forward to iPhone 15.
