Will future versions of the Plus always have better features?

[justinf77]

This year, the 6+ has OIS, a higher resolution screen, and a better battery. Do you think that in future iterations, the Plus will always get additional features to distinguish it from the regular sized version?

I'm just curious to hear your thoughts on how Apple sees the relationship between these phones. iPad Air and rMini are exactly the same, with the only distinguishing feature being screen size. But I suspect that the Plus will always get something extra. What do you think?

 

[accountforit]

No, and if the small current feature gap gets any greater, I am sure a lot of customers will look elsewhere (Samsung).

 

[D1G1T4L]

Higher resolutions and bigger battery but besides those wouldn't think so

 

[TRC-WA]

Whatever the changes I'm sure it won't be enough to justify a full price upgrade.

It was worth it to me to upgrade from the 5s for the bigger screen... Battery and better camera. Not so sure next years changes will be miles above what I have now.

I know for a fact 5.5 is enough screen... It's perfect.

I sold my 5s for $450 so this was a $50 upgrade.

 

[Trebuin]

This year, the 6+ has OIS, a higher resolution screen, and a better battery. Do you think that in future iterations, the Plus will always get additional features to distinguish it from the regular sized version?

I'm just curious to hear your thoughts on how Apple sees the relationship between these phones. iPad Air and rMini are exactly the same, with the only distinguishing feature being screen size. But I suspect that the Plus will always get something extra. What do you think?

I think it will be minimal at best. At some point, we'll see a memory upgrade, then design upgrade that more people like. Maybe glass on back, and CPU upgrades that will be pretty moot in a lot of cases. The 5-6 was the biggest upgrade I cared about...got a new battery, cost $100 less than my 5 for the same memory, and it didn't cost a dime after I sold my 5.

 

[lordofthereef]

I think it's going to be a tough sell going forward to ask $100 premium for the plus version if all it is is a bigger screen and battery...

 

[The Doctor11]

Well the plus will always have higher resolution. It's the PPI you should be looking out for.

 

[Supermallet]

No, and if the small current feature gap gets any greater, I am sure a lot of customers will look elsewhere (Samsung).

That's an odd statement, considering that Samsung puts different specs on the Note phones than they do on the Galaxy S phones, and even include different enhanced functionality on the Note line with the inclusion of the stylus. They're about to release a Note with a curved screen with special functionality for that. Compared to that, the OIS, 1080p screen, and landscape mode of the 6 Plus seem trivial.

Besides, the iPhone 6 is a fantastic phone even without the few extras the Plus has. I don't know what about it would make someone think Samsung is a good alternative.

 

[12vElectronics]

I do believe that the Plus models will always have better specs.

 

[Surf Monkey]

There will probably always be a small feature gap between the two but I suspect it'll remain small enough that it won't factor into most peoples' decision making process. Size and battery are always going to be the differentiator between the two.

 

[iPhone7ate9]

This year, the 6+ has OIS, a higher resolution screen, and a better battery. Do you think that in future iterations, the Plus will always get additional features to distinguish it from the regular sized version?

I'm just curious to hear your thoughts on how Apple sees the relationship between these phones. iPad Air and rMini are exactly the same, with the only distinguishing feature being screen size. But I suspect that the Plus will always get something extra. What do you think?

Ois isn't a big deal but it was only limited to 6+ because of a physical component. Resolution is required to fit the screen size. That doesn't make it better it just means people get a choice of screen size.

 

[rGiskard]

This year, the 6+ has OIS, a higher resolution screen, and a better battery. Do you think that in future iterations, the Plus will always get additional features to distinguish it from the regular sized version?

I'm just curious to hear your thoughts on how Apple sees the relationship between these phones. iPad Air and rMini are exactly the same, with the only distinguishing feature being screen size. But I suspect that the Plus will always get something extra. What do you think?

iPad Air and rMini are distinguished by both screen size and color gamut, hard to say if Apple went cheap or intentionally gimped the rMini.

Margins are far higher for the 6+, so Apple clearly would prefer everyone opt for it. I can't find the link but the BOM for the 6+ is estimated to be only about $20 higher than the 6. So they'll keep it differentiated for sure, and I wouldn't be surprised if they widened the gap between the phones in future versions. Perhaps an entirely different camera sensor for the Plus.

It's a fine balance however since if the + is too far ahead the non + ends up looking like the runt of the litter. So something like a Sapphire screen cover would go to both phones, as would the SoC and something like AMOLED displays.

Essentially, they want "Better, Best" and not "Basic, Best".