Will the iPhone 14 Be a Disappointment?

[DotCom2]

I used to buy a new iPhone every year, now it's every two years while I can still get a good amount for trade-in. I won't be disappointed but my biggest wishes are small. Better front facing camera, and everything USB-C. So tired of diff cables.
EDIT:
Oh, and a better battery. The 12 pro Max has been a disappointment in that regard.

 

[Mr. Dee]

Started buying my iPhones unlocked a long time ago. Best decision ever. Got tired of dealing with monthly fees, 😂.

I would just easily swap the SIM card depending on which color I’m feeling for the day.

I bought both my iPhone 6s and X full price unlocked. I’m using a cheap T-Mobile plan for $18. Too much access to free access to WiFi to justify those crazy expensive plans.

 

[Dorv]

Just like I never understood the fascination for wireless charging, except in my car. Overall wireless is still wired, that <5mm gap has no benefit, except in a few situations e.g when you have buildin chargers e.g car console. I would say wireless has more drawbacks than benefits, but having both is fine. E.g you can’t hold it in your hands and use while charging, else it’s wired.

I get that. I’m must be an outlier, I trickle charger all day and rarely would ever need to plug in/still use.

 

[elmaco]

The iPhone 12 mini was the perfect size, much better than iPhone X.

I'm surprised not more people bought the mini, compact with lots of capabilities. If iPhone 14 will only feature larger phones, I will probably keep my mini and wait for iPhone 16.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Just like I never understood the fascination for wireless charging, except in my car.

Same for me
I totally get it in the car, but that said -- even in the car, I would want to have both options.

Wireless for in/out, errands, day to day sort of thing..
But road tripping, I would much rather be firmly plugged in and maybe even have the phone tucked away.

 

[FunkyTang]

You clowns should have skipped the 13, that way the 14 would seem almost free.

 

[snipr125]

Will be most likely getting the 14 Pro as an upgrade for my Day 1 12 mini, so wont be a disappointment for me (Pro-motion, larger battery, A16, SS Frame etc), although will miss the Mini form factor. If the Mini comes back in some form later then will likely go back to it.

 

[Wildkraut]

Same for me
I totally get it in the car, but that said -- even in the car, I would want to have both options.

Wireless for in/out, errands, day to day sort of thing..
But road tripping, I would much rather be firmly plugged in and maybe even have the phone tucked away.

Yeah the car wireless charging just makes sense if you use it also with a wireless carplay or android auto, if your car supports it, mine does.

 

[GhostOS]

Will be most likely getting the 14 Pro as an upgrade for my Day 1 12 mini, so wont be a disappointment for me (Pro-motion, larger battery, A16, SS Frame etc), although will miss the Mini form factor. If the Mini comes back in some form later then will likely go back to it.

I‘d jump on a Mini if it came with 120Hz screen. My 13 Pro’s Promotion has spoilt me, can’t use anything else now.

 

[Tagbert]

The 14 will be the same as the 13 of this year basically. Even old 13 pro will be better than the next 14.
The 14 is a joke “smaller notch”?, more pixels camera?, 1mm thinner bezels?. The competitors have much better specs since years ago!.
How about a one hand form factor for the Max size?. As it is is impossible to operate with one hand, if you grab most Androids, the form factor is much more friendly to the hand AND the screens are much larger, in square inches, than in a Max.
Is this the best a trillion dollar company can do every year????.
No wonder the government blocked you know who Chine company. Now there is no competition nor incentive for Apple to improve hardware, software or even prices. But I will buy the “new” anyway because of my 12 month upgrade plan.

"sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast." - Alice

 

[FaustsHausUK]

every iteration of the iphone is a disappointment to someone on these forums. there's no escaping that. I think there will always be someone who is at that right stage where the newest iteration of the iphone is exactly what they need. so essentially, water is wet.

People on tech blogs want to have their minds blown by every new tech announcement, but that’s not realistic with an established product line.

My bandmate just upgraded from a 6 to a 13, and HIS mind was blown. The 14 will be a huge update for anyone coming from an X or below, that’s what matters.

 

[Tagbert]

Absolutely yes. I think we hit peak innovation by the 12…5g was thrown in. It will be several years before 6g is a thing and something disruptive comes to the smartphone industry.

Some can argue the cameras are still getting better and we will get usbc soon, but for most casual photo takers, they won’t be taking the photo later and putting it in photoshop for post processing nor would they care much about usbc .

5g wasn't innovation, it was an evolution of technology that provided incremental improvements in functionality just like most new phone features from any company today. Most phones achieved their mature state a decade or so ago with very little room or need for major changes. This is to be expected and not a failure of the companies. True innovation will need to happen in other spaces where there is no establish and mature product that already provides most of what people need.

 

[Tagbert]

What about from an 8?

it will definitely be a big improvement over the 8

 

[FasterQuieter]

It would be a good year to put out a disappointing iPhone. Give the current state of supply chains etc.

 

[JoeShades]

every iteration of the iphone is a disappointment to someone on these forums. there's no escaping that. I think there will always be someone who is at that right stage where the newest iteration of the iphone is exactly what they need. so essentially, water is wet.

And in this place you would have people complaing that water is too wet and it is Apple's fault

 

[6787872]

It’s such a stupid idea that each annual phone release should be amazing. After the first few years, phones became mature products and each year there are only a few new features that can be added along some refinements. If you are someone who upgrades each year, the differences will always be minor. The only way that differences are significant is if you are someone who waits 3-4 years to upgrade and then the sum of the interim changes can be exciting again.

that's literally why my post spans years.

context clues. reading is a useful skill.

 

[paulovsouza]

I think we need to shift how we perceive new models. It used to be what new features and form factors. Now it’s what phone will give me longevity. So most important is really just battery. USB-C would be nice, better camera would be ok (I’m not seeing improvement in peoples picture quality regardless). I seriously think Apple should upgrade iPhones every 2 years.

 

[Black Magic]

Started buying my iPhones unlocked a long time ago. Best decision ever. Got tired of dealing with monthly fees, 😂.

I would just easily swap the SIM card depending on which color I’m feeling for the day.

Same. Also, when you buy unlock from Apple, you avoid the carriers taxing you with the upgrade/activation fees plus you can leave for another carrier whenever you please as the phone is unlocked at purchase.

 

[turbineseaplane]

I wish they'd make more sizes/varieties

Every thing is just one big huge hunk of metal/glass

How about something truly Mini -- and something even bigger, but with different tradeoffs?

Lots of old people want "Massive screen" and "amazing cameras" -- but don't care about it being the best/Pro at everything else.

The whole lineup is just so conservative and stale in my view.

 

[Shreducator]

Everything is a disappointment on the internet.

 

[DiamondGCoupe]

Everything the last few years has been disappointing but the only thing that needs to be changed is lightning to USB C, was hoping for this since iPhone 12. iPad has it not sure what’s going on? They’ll make billions selling apple USB C cables lol

 

[Zensō]

We passed peak iPhone (smartphone) some years ago. Now, I believe most people just replace their phone when needed, not in response to some new feature that is unlikely to improve their experience anyway.

 

[AF_APPLETALK]

If it has better battery life, then no it won't be a disappointment. If it uses the same ugly colors the 13 series had, that'll suck.

Really, at this point I'm not sure I care about much more than battery life and color options. Everything else is nailed.

 

[AlexESP]

It would be much better if it finally had USB-C. Cannot believe it is 2022 and the iPhone still has an archaic Lightning port. It's laughable.

It’s not, because:
1. Lightning is not more archaic than USB-C.
2. In some ways USB-C is better, in some other Lightning is, but anyway:
3. No one* cares about the connector. In any case, people care about not being able to use their accessories, or not having other features as a result.

 

[jclardy]

It all depends on their justification for the ugly dot pattern over the notch. If they gloss over it as just an aesthetic change, we can know apple has jumped the shark on the iPhone.