Tick Tock Cycle

[roxics]

What do you think of the tick tock cycle for iPhone releases?

I understand to some degree why they do it. It's good for their ecosystem to have the same design two years straight and as a result it is good for the customers to some degree. By the time we get the S model the bugs have been worked out, there are plenty of cases and accessories on the market and the people who bought the original version retain more value for their phone.

That said, it does kind of suck to be on the S end of the cycle. The newness is less because you've seen the same design everywhere for the last year. Plus you've probably walked into an Apple store half a dozen times, picked it up and played with it so much that you know it well enough without even owning it.
It's not the same excitement as seeing a brand new design announced and being able to pick it up a couple weeks later.

What's interesting though, is that as a company Appe tends to stick with the same design for many years when it comes to their computers and iPads. Even the Apple TV has been the same for the last few years and the fourth gen Shuffle has been around since 2010. It is very similar to my 2007 Shuffle. Not to mention the Classic.

So I'm curious if Apple will ever reach an optimal design for the iPhone that they stick with for 3-5 years instead of 2 years. Could the iPhone 5 body be that design?

It seems that if they wanted to jump on the large screen phone bandwagon this would have been the year to do it, considering they are also introducing a cheaper plastic version and with many criticizing them for not offering a larger phone in the 4.5-5" range. So I'm of the opinion they probably won't do it even next year. So if they stick with the same size screen, what improvement in the design is even needed?

 

[Mrbobb]

So if they stick with the same size screen, what improvement in the design is even needed?

Other than the well rumored Finger scanner, color, and double flash?

What else? Faster processor, better battery life, THINNER! More Megapixels. The usual.

But don't stay awake too much, we'll know soon enough by Tuesday.

 

[jav6454]

This is juts like Intel's tick-tock cadence. Usually early adopters go for the latest architecture, while some others (like me) wait for refinements and power enhancements. In this case I'd rather get a nice souped up iPhone.

Last time I get a first revision model was the iPhone 4, which had no cases or accessories; that was a pain.

 

[SpoekGTi]

Other than the well rumored Finger scanner, color, and double flash?

What else? Faster processor, better battery life, THINNER! More Megapixels. The usual.

But don't stay awake too much, we'll know soon enough by Tuesday.

Really want the phone to be thinner again....i mean come on it's 7,6mm already, if they want it or will make it thinner it has to grow up or sideways to atleast maintain the same battery charge... and it aint happening yet that they are planning to release a 5,5 or 6" phone yet

But again we will see tuesday and i for one can't wait for me to upgrade my old 4 to a brand spanking new whatever the new features are iphone 5S

 

[bohbot16]

I've noticed that they have two interlocking tick-tock cycles: one for the hardware design and the other for iOS. The hardware goes through major revisions in the even years (3G->4->5) while iOS goes through major revisions in the odd years (3->5->7) and there is a refinement year in between each.

 

[MetaKn1ght]

I've noticed that they have two interlocking tick-tock cycles: one for the hardware design and the other for iOS. The hardware goes through major revisions in the even years (3G->4->5) while iOS goes through major revisions in the odd years (3->5->7) and there is a refinement year in between each.

I've only recently noticed this, too. This means next year we should see a new hardware design coupled with refinement to the OS. Even to people who haven't noticed this pattern, that much almost seems to be intuitively true. Of course new hardware is coming next year, and of course we shouldnt expect a major feature overhaul with iOS 8, but rather a refining of the foundation set by iOS 7.

Another thing I've noticed (and maybe this is just me) is that in "S" phone years, they highlight features from the new version of iOS as differentiating features of the phone itself (usually voice control and camera features) more so than in "new hardware design" years. It makes sense because "S" years are when we see lots of stuff added to iOS.

 

[Daveoc64]

I've noticed that they have two interlocking tick-tock cycles: one for the hardware design and the other for iOS. The hardware goes through major revisions in the even years (3G->4->5) while iOS goes through major revisions in the odd years (3->5->7) and there is a refinement year in between each.

I don't really see how you could say iOS 3 or 5 provided anything major,

Arguably 2 with Apps and 4 with Multitasking did that...

 

[bohbot16]

I don't really see how you could say iOS 3 or 5 provided anything major,

Arguably 2 with Apps and 4 with Multitasking did that...

Looking back at the features in iOS 2, 3, and 4 they probably had equal amounts of improvement each year. 3 added cut/copy/paste, push notifications, MMS, and much improved bluetooth.

I feel like iOS 5 was a big shift: notification center, iMessage, iCloud, and (the biggest one in my mind) no more iTunes requirement.

 

[Jimmy James]

Every iPhone has had a design that would have been adequate for 5 years. It's merely consumer lust that drives the change. Funny, before Apple, companies didn't usually revamp a successful product for years. Now, it's expected every year. And when Apple does a total hardware change (iPhone 5) some don't even recognize it.

I prefer the s cycle. 3G was a pig. Fixed by 3Gs. 4 was once again on the slow side for the updated os's. 4s fixed it. The 5 is the first phone that has seemed to me to be more than sufficient from the beginning.