Other What would a revolutionary iPhone look like?

[Diorama]

Apple’s problems are evident in this thread somewhat, in terms of different people wanting different things.

Some here want a flush/thinner camera module, and others want a foldable phone but bemoan the camera quality on the flagship foldables.

Until somebody comes up with some revolutionary optics technology, the cameras aren’t getting much shorter without getting worse.

 

[klasma]

I’d like them to apply AI to be able to predict and dynamically change the keyboard as I type,

That kills muscle memory though. I’m already annoyed that keyboards differ too much between iPhone and iPad.

 

[holmesf]

An iPhone that turns into a Mac when docked, or at least has the same experience as a docked iPad which would allow the software experience to move completely seamlessly from docked to handheld modes.

There is no reason not to do this except Apple is afraid of product cannibalization.

You could go from there and make Airplay 3 to allow docking wirelessly for hotels and coworking spaces and maybe even come up with a way to more quickly switch between peripherals than bluetooth pairing. It's 2024 and we still somehow haven't solved the problem of seamlessly connecting to workstations as we go to school, work, and travel.

 

[klasma]

Apple’s problems are evident in this thread somewhat, in terms of different people wanting different things.

I’s not like they aren’t already making 4+ different models, not counting the physical-SIM variants and so on. But the differentiation is hampered by market segmentation (i.e. profit maximization) considerations.

 

[fwmireault]

iPhone with a Thunderbolt USB-C port that gives you a tone-down version of macOS when docked to a display. This would be an incredible feature. I also believe that Apple will never do this.

 

[klasma]

An iPhone that turns into a Mac when docked, or at least has the same experience as a docked iPad.

Right, they could easily make SoC-less iPad you can dock your iPhone into, or just wirelessly connect to it

 

[Diorama]

iPhone with a Thunderbolt USB-C port that gives you a tone-down version of macOS when docked to a display. This would be an incredible feature. I also believe that Apple will never do this.

I understand why, too - my M1 MacBook Air is absolutely powerful enough for the things that I do, and apparently the A18 smokes it on most benchmarks. If I could ‘Dex’ my phone with full MacOS and use it as a docked Mac Mini, I quite possibly wouldn’t buy another MacBook.

 

[azhava]

Apple’s problems are evident in this thread somewhat, in terms of different people wanting different things.

Some here want a flush/thinner camera module, and others want a foldable phone but bemoan the camera quality on the flagship foldables.

Until somebody comes up with some revolutionary optics technology, the cameras aren’t getting much shorter without getting worse.

Even if Apple took a modular approach and offered the ability to spec a custom build, people would still complain either because some obscure option wasn't available or the consumer's expectations were unrealistic. No, you can't get a 10TB phone with an M4 processor, four USB-C/Thunderbolt ports, a full-frame 102 MP camera sensor and a battery that lasts a year in the form factor of a Mini.

 

[azhava]

...I’d like them to apply AI to be able to predict and dynamically change the keyboard as I type...

That's a feature which would probably make me throw my iPhone as hard as possible against the nearest wall.

 

[ThisIs🐵]

No camera bump!

 

[CharlesShaw]

Until somebody comes up with some revolutionary optics technology, the cameras aren’t getting much shorter without getting worse.

Until that happens, I wish there were a minimalist camera option for people who don't care about taking photos and videos.

 

[Diorama]

Until that happens, I wish there were a minimalist camera option for people who don't care about taking photos and videos.

?

 

[Parowdy]

Compared to other peoples takes, these three points are the most reasonable I've seen in years.

 

[myhaksown]

A while back on Kickstarter I backed a campaign called SuperBook which was…a mess. It turned an android phone into a laptop but it was plagued with issues and worked fairly poorly. I think if Apple released a dock that connected had HDMI and had 2 or 3 usb ports and that dock kicked it to a version of macOS similar to how the superbook worked that would be the most useful feature ever. My 13 Pro Max is already faster than my last two Mac’s (faster than my current Mac too). So give me the ability to do whatever I want on the go.

That being said, I can already use moonlight and/or the VM on my UGREEN NASync so do much of what I want but it’d be nice to have it on device and not rely on cellular or wifi

 

[Parowdy]

Just give me an iPhone7 with an upgraded processor and improved battery life and I'll be very happy for a long time.

Isn't that the iPhone SE 2nd gen?

 

[acblue94]

Since so many in the forums have been disappointed by the 16 Pro: What new features would have been truly groundbreaking for you? What would you consider a revolutionary update at this point?

Personally, I was last wowed by the iPhone X’s design. Since then, the updates have been incremental to me, but added up nicely over time.

These features would get me excited:

• Full screen design with no DI, hole punch etc, just pure screen
• Materials that don’t scratch or break, so I could comfortably use the phone without a case (I’m clumsy and drop it all the time)
• Variable optical zoom up to 10x

I’m not too much into foldables (yet), but I can see how people would love a foldable iPhone, especially if it came without a stupid crease.

So, what are the features that would make you buy a new iPhone in a heartbeat? You're welcome to dream big 😁

Foldable without the crease!

But the titanium is great and hard to scratch.

Full screen. Smaller bezels. 10x optical.

Would love some shine to the sides of the phones like tumors showed.

Fingerprint sensor under screen?

 

[fatTribble]

Until that happens, I wish there were a minimalist camera option for people who don't care about taking photos and videos.

What does it hurt to have the cameras there? You don’t ever take a picture?

 

[TechnoMonk]

Just give me an iPhone7 with an upgraded processor and improved battery life and I'll be very happy for a long time.

Yuck! I upgraded from 7 plus to 13 PM. I couldn’t use 7 plus after that. Moving from 7 plus to 13 pm was revolutionary for me. I will probably upgrade to iPhone 19 or 30. It would be a great update. iPhone adds up incrementally and may not seem much.

 

[JohnC1959]

to me the next BIG step may not be the phone itself but truly useful, lightweight smart glasses you could wear all the time for augmented reality. Ones good enough to meet my vision of it might be at least five years off. Most other things including folding phones still seem evolutionary to me -- great to see but not really game changing.

 

[noteple]

Two piece, put the phone radio’s in the watch.
make the phone just a thinner large display, camera, sensors.
You could decide how large a display you wanted to carry.
And piggy back calls off of other watch (gateway) radios.

 

[jz0309]

for me it would be a foldable, really like what Huawei announced this week (tri-fold).

smartphones for all I know basically come in 2 "designs": rectangular slab or foldable. Whatever they do to the slab doesn't excite me, sure there will be new chips, displays and such but everything is evolutionary ...

 

[Sezel]

A unibody Titanium iPhone Ultra, just like the Apple watch ultra with long battery life.
Something like below render which is from an artist named Jonas Daehnert. (Some new design for camera island will be much appreciated but should look good otherwise this is ok)

With Thermal Camera

And Night vision

Since full body is metal so in place of wireless charging they can add magnetic pogo pins to charge just like iPads.

This will be the best phone for adventure enthusiasts.

 

[timborama]

 

[257Loner]

If my new iPhone could rob me blind, I'd be impressed. That'd be revolutionary.

 

[Sami13496]

I want pizza

I go to a pizzeria and buy a pizza and come back home

I call to a pizzeria and order a pizza and it’s delivered to me

I use my smartphone (iPhone) to order a pizza online and it’s delivered to me WE ARE CURRENTLY HERE

( Unseen tech in between including iPhone 17 to iPhone N to Vision Pro N to holograms to whatever )

I want pizza so I just think about it and make a decision in my mind and it’s delivered and automatically charged from my account THIS IS MOST STRAIGHT FORWARD


But… if we talk about the current form factor then:

Thin. Thinner than iPhone 6.
All screen display. No cutouts.
No camera bumps.
Battery lasts much longer.