I hear the same argument every year but I upgrade every 6 years. I kept hearing how each iteration was a disappointment, but going from 7+ to 13 PM was a great update. I will probably upgrade iPhone 19 PM from 13 PM. It will be an great upgrade. If you don’t think it’s worth upgrading, don’t.
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Other Why assume iPhone 17's are going to be 'the one' to upgrade to after disappointment?
- Thread starter thadoggfather
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It certainly peaked a few years ago. If it wasn’t for the terrible battery life, I'd probably still be perfectly happy with my 12 mini. I upgraded to the 14 Pro, and I think it's a bit overkill for what I need in my phone. I might get a battery replacement in the next few months, but I see no reason to upgrade to anything newer for a while.
As much as people like to say they prefer function over form, I think design changes have a greater impact on upgrade decisions than some people are willing to admit. If the 17 Slim doesn't have too many compromises compared to the Pro, I expect it will attract a lot of upgrades from those who are bored with the modern iPhone's drip fed improvements.
I enjoy seeing what new model brings each year but I upgrade my stuff as rarely as possible. That way when I upgrade I can really feel the difference. At this point it’s strange to me that people are expecting earth shattering changes upgrading every year or even every second year. Btw, I guess I’m one of those few people who actually was excited about phones getting thinner and lighter during iPhone 6 era. I don’t take much photos so camera bumps and the weight are huge downside for me. Wish Apple would release like an iPhone Air which would be flat (no bumps) and thin. I’m talking iPhone 6 Plus flat and thin but with boxy design like current models and all-screen front.
I don‘t think it is solely Cook based. I think phone tech has matured and Apple is not in the habit of releasing iPhone hardware features that they don’t believe will work well and integrate in the ecosystem.
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I think you’re focusing on the wrong thing. The amount of memory is less important than how efficiently the memory is used and how involved the CPU is. We see this today with Apple Silicon; memory management is incredibly efficient.
Reading this thread I’m already getting FOMO of not getting next years 17 PM or Air, which I probably shouldn’t get according to reasoning.
Will have to remind myself, as this year, that the 14PM will continue to do its job just fine, keep that trigger happy finger away. Basically it’s just extremely clever and successful marketing isn’t it?
Will have to remind myself, as this year, that the 14PM will continue to do its job just fine, keep that trigger happy finger away. Basically it’s just extremely clever and successful marketing isn’t it?
I was very surprised and disappointed. I thought the 3000 nits of the Watch Ultra screen would come to the Pro line. I am very confident however that next year the Pro screens will indeed be brighter.
I prefer incremental upgrades. It means each iPhone iteration is reliable and just works. This is the single most important thing.
It still matters. It is why 8GB is ok for Apple Intelligence, but 6GB is not. AI stuff is RAM dependent. It is why on the Pixel side, Google reserves 3GB of RAM exclusively for AI stuff.
I just upgrade every year. I travel for work a lot, so it is nice to have a new toy to play with.
The 15 P/PM was the year to buy… I came from the 14 Pro and it was garbage compared to my 15PM. If you were thinking of upgrading for most features or change and you didn’t get the 15, you missed it…
The Ultra 2 in 2023 was the year to buy (since you get 2 years of it being the flagship… unless you had a U1 and reeeeeaaally wanted black. If you skipped then you get a little bonus)
The S10 got LG’s MLA or meta layer for extra brightness and viewing angle. I’m sure they are saving that for the 17 so there is a reason to upgrade again.
I’m getting the 16PM cause I have the IUP and that works best for me. Then I have the option to upgrade or not depending on if it feels worth it.
The Ultra 2 in 2023 was the year to buy (since you get 2 years of it being the flagship… unless you had a U1 and reeeeeaaally wanted black. If you skipped then you get a little bonus)
The S10 got LG’s MLA or meta layer for extra brightness and viewing angle. I’m sure they are saving that for the 17 so there is a reason to upgrade again.
I’m getting the 16PM cause I have the IUP and that works best for me. Then I have the option to upgrade or not depending on if it feels worth it.
Not sure any one feature is going to make any release overly compelling. Given the mature state of iPhones and Apple‘s dominance they afford to, and do, slow walk the updates on not only the iphones, but their overall lineup.
Don’t get me wrong as I’m not complaining…just an observation. I’m actually a bit of two minds on this topic. Part of me likes the slow walking. That means I can implement my Apple purchase strategy (which I do use) and buy things like the M3 MBP, AW Ultra 2 a generation behind and at a deep discount and feel fairly confident my investment is not going to be obsolete any time soon. The other part of me loves feature rich updates. But, we’re in a time where those are few and far between….which is not necessarily bad 😊.
In the meantime I can sit comfortably with my 15 Pro, which I‘ve had for a year now, for a couple of more years and enjoy it!
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The iPhone, whether a 16, 17... no longer matters as far as being a cellular phone. These devices now are about everything, and anything else that Apple can manage to stuff into a rectangular box, increase the size of the device, and convince it users to buy the device.
This is why I still use a 7+, I am not enticed by gaming, or FaceID, or storing medical, financial or other personal data on the phone or in the cloud. Many people are though and that is why Apple can still offer piddling nick-nack software gidgets and continue to sell them. Had Apple had the common sense to put USB-C 3 on all the 16 models, I would have gone for a basic 16. If I am going to be stuck with low data port speeds, then I will stick with the 7+.
The future phones will likely offer very little in the way of 'user valued' hardware, face it, how damn many of us really need the camera quality that comes on the 16? There will be plenty of added software functionality that the masses will be convinced they need, and the U.S. market will jump at it, no doubt. How much the rest of the world is enthused by the 16 and upcoming 17 remains to be seen. I am waiting to see what the SE 4 will offer, hopefully Apple does not exceed a 5.5 inch screen size on the SE 4.
This is why I still use a 7+, I am not enticed by gaming, or FaceID, or storing medical, financial or other personal data on the phone or in the cloud. Many people are though and that is why Apple can still offer piddling nick-nack software gidgets and continue to sell them. Had Apple had the common sense to put USB-C 3 on all the 16 models, I would have gone for a basic 16. If I am going to be stuck with low data port speeds, then I will stick with the 7+.
The future phones will likely offer very little in the way of 'user valued' hardware, face it, how damn many of us really need the camera quality that comes on the 16? There will be plenty of added software functionality that the masses will be convinced they need, and the U.S. market will jump at it, no doubt. How much the rest of the world is enthused by the 16 and upcoming 17 remains to be seen. I am waiting to see what the SE 4 will offer, hopefully Apple does not exceed a 5.5 inch screen size on the SE 4.
I never assume the next year is going to be 'the one'. I just upgrade annually and always get to enjoy the latest and greatest.
Almost every year will be an incremental upgrade over the previous year. That's just where the limits of technology are. Every once in a while there may be a cool new feature, or a shift in appearance that people dig, but beyond that waiting for some huge shift and assuming it'll be any particular year is just setting yourself up for disappointment.
Almost every year will be an incremental upgrade over the previous year. That's just where the limits of technology are. Every once in a while there may be a cool new feature, or a shift in appearance that people dig, but beyond that waiting for some huge shift and assuming it'll be any particular year is just setting yourself up for disappointment.
Nothing compelling and everything compelling.
It's always the next one that turns the tide and attains perfection. Hope springs eternal. And then hopes are dashed, and the one after that is anointed as the holy grail. It's human nature.
It has to be good! Because if not I am not upgrading lol. And I am not alone here. My 11 Pro and SE perfectly hold up still, yet to see them crippled with iOS update.
Baseline 16 is everything but not great. The ugly design, boring and childish colors, basically same phone as 15. It would surely impact sales and I think Apple already knows about that. I think they need to change their approach of “one feature at a time” to something adequate.
I was especially angered by the amount of software features that are hardware locked to new iPhones, such as photographic styles 2.0. Like, what? Those are just fancy filters, it barely needs any processing power of new smartphones. Some app like DazzCam can do the same thing and any old iPhone up to 6s I guess
Baseline 16 is everything but not great. The ugly design, boring and childish colors, basically same phone as 15. It would surely impact sales and I think Apple already knows about that. I think they need to change their approach of “one feature at a time” to something adequate.
I was especially angered by the amount of software features that are hardware locked to new iPhones, such as photographic styles 2.0. Like, what? Those are just fancy filters, it barely needs any processing power of new smartphones. Some app like DazzCam can do the same thing and any old iPhone up to 6s I guess
Do you want to know a secret? It’s that the new iPhone isn’t made for you.
It’s made for the average user. For the person who needs something familiar. For the person who needs something to just work. For the person who holds on to their phone for years.
If I had an iPhone 15 would I upgrade? Only if there was a great deal where I could get the new phone for nearly free after a trade in. Otherwise, no.
I have a 13 Pro and might upgrade this year. I was waiting by default for the 17 to upgrade about every 4 years, but the changes this year are very compelling for me. The camera changes alone are worth it for me (extra zoom and other updates).
Again, the phone isn’t made for you or for me. It’s made for large groups of people, people who have all sorts of different desires, uses, and needs.
It’s made for the average user. For the person who needs something familiar. For the person who needs something to just work. For the person who holds on to their phone for years.
If I had an iPhone 15 would I upgrade? Only if there was a great deal where I could get the new phone for nearly free after a trade in. Otherwise, no.
I have a 13 Pro and might upgrade this year. I was waiting by default for the 17 to upgrade about every 4 years, but the changes this year are very compelling for me. The camera changes alone are worth it for me (extra zoom and other updates).
Again, the phone isn’t made for you or for me. It’s made for large groups of people, people who have all sorts of different desires, uses, and needs.