Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Other What would a revolutionary iPhone look like?

Nearly indestructible and no camera hump. Lower price! Smaller. Significantly longer battery life.

Nice to haves: Maybe foldable but thin, lighter (especially the pro phones) fullscreen design, user replaceable battery (gopro is able to make that water proof...). Zoom lens instead of wide angle (I'd rather go for a single camera like the SE than have a hump - phone cameras are not great either way). Less processimg on photos (or more natural looking) Transfer speeds above the pathetic USB2. 16 Gb of Ram and an OS that uses it to keep background tasks and clipboard longer, pencil compatibility. Rewrite of iOS (e.g., the endless scrolling settings-app has become joke, back to more intuitiveness)

One can dream: 60hz color e-ink screen, Headphone jack for analog Audio I/O. Gas sensor, thermal imaging camera, image projector.
 
Last edited:
I think Huawei's trifold "brochure/pamphlet" design is genius. Just need to perfect the technology and get rid of the seams in the display. That's s deal killer for me at least.
 
happy with 15 pro. I had a 13, then switched to 13 mini, regretted that because of battery life, especially as it aged. 13 mini battery was actually decent, but it's right on the edge, if it looses 10% capacity it's barely usable.

15 pro, no complaints AT ALL. this is literally the perfect phone right now. the action button is a huge thing (in comparison), you can map it and you can still use it as a mute switch if you want, even blind because of the different haptic feedback, and you can finally set it software side as well. back then you had a useless switch for many people that either never used it or always used it. also a button can be operated through a flip case. yes, I use a flip case, no I am not 60.

name one thing about that phone that is not almost perfect?

some things that would be nice:

• magnetic charging connector like MacBook. wireless charging is clumsy because the magnet makes it a connector, you cant just take it off, unless your charging pad is mounted to the surface it sits on.

• instant face ID.

• no physical SIM. it's old tech, period.

• rewriting some old software. some software is 20 years old with a fresh UI slapped on top and sometimes it shows.

• generally software, software iOS!! this is where theres actual headroom, hardware these days is pretty good and has to some degree just reached whats possible. you can always improve, but people would be furious if next years iPhone really had tech fresh out the lab but costs tripple.

• more RAM is always cool I guess, for future proofing.

• maybe no cutout anymore, but dynamic island is coded so well, It really doesn't matter, I almost perceive it as a feature.

• a true revolution would be a much thinner phone with the same battery and frame strength. like half the thickness. just something you hold and it feels like a new kind of magic.
 
Diorama said:
Tungsten Carbide iPhone, anyone?

Only 525 grams
Click to expand...
I used to use a bowl, ring, and puck for a puck mill (grinds things into very fine powder) made of tungsten carbide. It was slightly larger than a microwave tortilla warmer. It weighed something like 30 lbs, and while it was very hard it was also brittle - dropping it could easily chip or shatter it. I guess the YouTubers will have a field day when it's not just your screen that shatters in a drop test, it's the entire chassis of the iPhone!
 
Unknown.jpeg
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Chuckeee
what about better camera zoom? Like 8-10x instead of 5x. Is it still 10 years away? Or is that not a reality?

I own a Sony rx100 mark 6 camera and I find it getting less and less use now since getting an iPhone 15 pro max. It’s so convenient to have my iPhone seamlessly integrate to social media.

The image and video processing and video stabilization is pretty good already
 
I want an all new design, something that looks very different from the 12 thru 16 design. Five years now with the same tired design. Maybe we will get that next year with the new slim phone.
 
  • Like
Reactions: EedyBeedyBeeps
Garethe86 said:
That's a big reason why I'm probably the only one in all of macrumorland that went from a 15PM to a 16 this year, my flat went with keyless entry last summer and a large heavy phone is impossible to use one handed, which is what you need to use to unlock the door now, and you have to do this while juggling packages, mail, coffee drink; get the door open and back into your pocket without dropping it, hope the cat doesn't run out while doing this....it's a mess.
Click to expand...
Can’t be worse than juggling packages, mail, coffee and finding the correct key on a key ring. Lol
 
  • Haha
Reactions: Garethe86
jetlagged said:
what about better camera zoom? Like 8-10x instead of 5x. Is it still 10 years away? Or is that not a reality?

I own a Sony rx100 mark 6 camera and I find it getting less and less use now since getting an iPhone 15 pro max. It’s so convenient to have my iPhone seamlessly integrate to social media.

The image and video processing and video stabilization is pretty good already
Click to expand...
I mean, a Samsung has a 10x, but you also end up losing out on quality from 2x to 10x since that range becomes digital cropping from the main sensor. When apple went from 3x to 5x, a subset of folks complained about losing optical 3x. What would be ideal and has been rumored at some point is a periscope variable zoom 5-10x lens, but physics definitely limits that right now, especially if manufacturing at the scale apple needs (i.e. even with the supposed poor initial sales of iPhone 16 pro, apple sold 17 million Pro Maxes this weekend).

Sony experimented with this but it didn't particularly blow away sales
www.provideocoalition.com

Sony Xperia 1 IV: the world’s first true optical zoom lens in a smartphone by Jose Antunes - ProVideo Coalition

The Sony Xperia 1 IV will be available on September 1, 2022, for approximately $1,600.00 USD, the price you must pay to have the smartphone with the world’s first true optical zoom lens. Other companies may have promised it, but what Sony delivers here is the world’s first true optical zoom lens...
www.provideocoalition.com www.provideocoalition.com
 
djlythium said:
I’m convinced the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is the folding phone Apple should have made.

I think we’ll see one next year. It’s about time they get into that game.
Click to expand...

It still has subpar cameras versus the flagship, and at the price Apple would charge, I can’t imagine that would fly. But at the same time, foldables are limited by physics. I’m not convinced a foldable iPhone is coming so much as an iPad.
 
  • Like
Reactions: djlythium
Nikhil72 said:
It still has subpar cameras versus the flagship, and at the price Apple would charge, I can’t imagine that would fly. But at the same time, foldables are limited by physics. I’m not convinced a foldable iPhone is coming so much as an iPad.
Click to expand...
Def on the cameras.

Yeah, basically, I'd be an 'iPhad', combo iPhone that'd fold out to an iPad mini size, and just might actually be a fad. 😄
 
I use the camera more than any other feature on my iphone. While I would love to carry my DSLR on me 100% of the time, it isn't always practical to do so. So, the phone is a backup camera that can take reasonably good photos if a great opportunity presents me with a great shot, and the phone is on me 100% of the time.

I want to see the prime telephoto lense upgraded to 48 Megapixels. Preferably increasing to a 10x prime telephoto lens so that it has more reach and opens up the possibilities of shots.

I use the main 1x prime lens the most, followed closely by the telephoto prime lens. I rarely use the ultra wide lens due to the fish eye distortions - I realize this effect brings some more artistic flair to some photos, but in many cases I find it distracts on certain types of photos.

Having the telephoto lens have more reach and improved quality would open up shots typically that I would need my DSLR on me 100% of the time for (often the best shots present when I'm not on a dedicated shoot). If I know I am going on a photo shoot, I'll always take the DSLR but many times great shots present themselves at times when unexpected and the current telephoto lens doesn't often cut it for me.



I would say another feature I really want is maximum durability. While I use a case, and am careful not to drop the phone, the current technology the glass will crack if it hits just right or if the case loses its structural integrity over time. I'd love to see new technologies applied that can greatly improve the expected durability of iphones.
 
A revolutionary update? We don't need revolutionary new ideas for that. There are enough revolutionary old ideas to bring back!

#1: Radio. Why should we have to use up our data limits just to listen to music? Let the iPhone also be a portable radio. Also, a lifesaver for disasters (such as hurricanes), when the cellular networks go down.

#2: Replicable battery. That's faster than any so-called "fast-charging system": You put a charged battery into the phone, and put the old battery into the charger. Instent 100% charge!

#3: SD cards. Again, why should we have to use up our data limits just to listen to music? Let us add an SD card, so that our iPhones will store all the music we want.

#4: Expandable antenna. Poor reception? Pull the phone's antenna up, and get more bars.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
  • Haha
Reactions: tomtattoo, 1rottenapple and Chuckeee
I would love to see the bezels disappear forever. Don’t care how thin they are, I just want them gone. Keep the screen the same size but reduce the physical size of the phone by like 4mm making it that much easier to hold and operate, nicer to look at. Wrap the edges of the screen slightly over the sides. Also, I think the Beats iPhone case is the best one they’ve made, love the feel of the material, scratch resistant, has just enough static friction to hold it comfortably but slides in to pockets easy…make the whole phone out of that stuff so we don’t even need a case for it. 🥱ok, time to wake up now…
 
Rainbow Apple said:
A revolutionary update? We don't need revolutionary new ideas for that. There are enough revolutionary old ideas to bring back!

#1: Radio. Why would we have to use up our data limits just to listen to music? Let the iPhone also be a portable radio. Also, a lifesaver for disasters (such as hurricanes), when the cellular networks go down.

#2: Replicable battery. That's faster than any so-called "fast-charging system": You put a charged battery into the phone, and put the old battery into the charger. Instent 100% charge!

#3: SD cards. Again, why should we have to use up our data limits just to listen to music? Let us add an SD card, so that our iPhones will store all the music we want.

#4: Expandable antenna. Poor reception? Pull the phone's antenna up, and get more bars.
Click to expand...
When I had phones with exchangeable batteries, long ago, there were some problems. Like knowing how charged the other batteries are. And even buying one that you know is good quality.

Not insuperable, of course.

Both battery exchange and SD cards - along with SIM cards - also potentially impair water resistance.

eSIM disappearance is taking care of one of those. MagSafe could deal with the battery issue but a bit clunky and tends to be heavy and less efficient than desirable.

It would be great to have a universal non-contact high speed SD design that doesn't need any holes in the case.
 
When I think about it I think we already had the ultimate "revolutionary" phone with the X/Xs as that was what I consider the peak of iphone designs. I wish they would have kept that design longer than two years, and hope they come back out with it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: tomtattoo
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back