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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.
Which 2 years? Should we all synchronize our purchases? Or should we should we just opt to buy new phones every 2-3 years instead of every time a new model comes out? Many do that and find that the new phones are appreciable upgrades when they do.
 
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.
It’s there to visually open up that area a little. There will likely be more room for some of the icons and messages in the status area. This is part of a multi-year plan that started last year with a slightly smaller notch and will eventually result in some or all of the components moving under the display as they are able to minaturize them and get them to work well behind the screen layer.
 
To me, it almost certainly will be.
It either won't have a fingerprint sensor or, if it does, it will also have facial recognition sensors installed in such a way as to make it impossible to cover the lenses with black electrical tape. But, I accept that I am probably in a very small minority.
 
Disappointment to who?

My iPhone 13 Pro Max is less than a year old. How many iPhone users upgrade after just a year, or even two? For me it is typically three years between new models, so I'm more interested in the innovations that will be coming with the iPhone 15 and even iPhone 16!
This. If you are upgrading to a new phone every generation, you're going to be disappointed. If you are a "normal" person and upgrade when your old phone starts to feel old (bad battery life, glitches or bugs, etc), then every new phone is a huge improvement, even if it wasn't a complete overhaul of last year's model.
 
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I don’t understand why they can’t put it on the side/power button like with the iPad Air.
Probably something to do with cases, specifically the greater frequency with which they are used to cover the sides of iPhones versus with iPads. I suppose cases could start being manufactured with appropriately-sized cut-outs (such as those for accessing the ringer/mute switch) through which one could sufficiently lay their digit against the sensor-equipped button, but that all might be a bit too convoluted in execution.
 
Apple is more aesthetically conservative than I would like. Perhaps they don't want to jinx a good ($$$$) thing...

imo Conservative or tired design (in its current product cycle):
iPhone
iPad
MacBook Pro
Mac Mini
Mac Studio
Apple Watch


Not so:
24'' iMac
AirPods Max
XDR and Studio Displays
Mac Pro
 
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the 14 and pro both seem to be a disappointment. I get not every year is going to be a huge advancement, but the pill seems like a worse option than the notch (I am not one bothered by the notch) since most likely more space will not be utilized by the pill, seems a wash. New camera? Alright but again nothing groundbreaking. I'm still waiting for the tear drop iPhone shape that was rumored like 4 years ago lol. Maybe with the iPhone 15 and USB-C (if rumors are true) then it would be a more interesting upgrade.
 
I would be open to the idea of upgrading each year, or year and a half, if promotions didn't require 30-month agreements. The last 12-month promo I remember was for the LG Juke.
Bill credits are the new contracts that carriers love to claim they went away from.
 
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John Lydgate said it best: “You can please some of the people all of the time, you can please all of the people some of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time”.

Of course some people are going to be disappointed that the iPhone 14 didn't go far enough to met or exceed their expectations. Obsessing over rumors and leaks for a whole year (between releases) doesn't help either.

While Apple's desire is to produce the best phone on the market each year...they also know they need to stagger new features over time to give users something to look forward to in the future and keep them coming back. ($$$)
 
The boring updates are the best. Solid quality non-pro max will be something many people have waited for. It will be lighter than the pro max and more affordable. The new color options look promising.
 
Apple should have the MacBooks charge by lightning port to silence those complaining about lack of USBC on iPhones.
I respect whatever people value, but it seems like a silly debate to me. Even if I prefer Lightning, the connector is the last thing I care about in a phone, and I’d say the majority of customers agree.

It’s amazing that some of you find the new models *not exciting*, and what would make it *exciting* is USB-C. In any case, it would be useful. Cameras, LiDAR, ProMotion… that’s exciting.
 
It will be a "disappointment" for the tech journos who keep getting wrong in their predictions.

In the meantime, I'm predicting the iPhone 14 Max will be breaking sales records and Apple will announce yet enother record breaking quarter.
 
Probably something to do with cases, specifically the greater frequency with which they are used to cover the sides of iPhones versus with iPads. I suppose cases could start being manufactured with appropriately-sized cut-outs (such as those for accessing the ringer/mute switch) through which one could sufficiently lay their digit against the sensor-equipped button, but that all might be a bit too convoluted in execution.
Nah, my android phone has a case and power button fingerprint reader, and it works well. It's just a cutout...
 
Probably something to do with cases, specifically the greater frequency with which they are used to cover the sides of iPhones versus with iPads. I suppose cases could start being manufactured with appropriately-sized cut-outs (such as those for accessing the ringer/mute switch) through which one could sufficiently lay their digit against the sensor-equipped button, but that all might be a bit too convoluted in execution.
Plenty of case already have cutouts for the power button and others could do so if there was a need.
 
With this in mind, what upgrades and features are the standard iPhone 14 models expected to offer later this year?

Take the iPhone 13 Pro and strip off the telephoto lens/camera and LiDAR. That gets a list of upgrades .

Step 0 is that Apple could not raise the price , but bump the 'Pro' models with inflationary price hike they want to slap on it. ( e.g. , iPhone SE 3 .. got a price bump).

1. a 'full' A15. [ The 13 'regular' is stripped of a 1GPU core. Put it back at the lower price . ]

2. screen nit bump.

3. the 13 Pro has a bump in battery (has longer video battery play time)

4. dribble ProMotion down ( don't recall if Apple used slowed down screen refresh to save battery life. )

5. Aperture and lens upgrades ( 1.6 -> 1.6 Wide 2.4 -> 1.8 Ultra Wide )

6. Apple ProRaw ( like the fused off GPU core .. this was capable before. )

7. Night Mode Portraits ( again was there but 'market segmented turned off' . If no critical LiDAR dependency here . There are some but if lean on more computation photo improvements could have "a bit less than complete night" mode improvements..)

8 RAM upgrade. ( probably enables ProRAW and Night Mode more smoothly )

9. Macro Photography



Throw on top better 5G Radio; newest Qualcomm . ( last before "version 1.0" Apple radio). [ If Apple is penny pinch on bill-of-material and development support costs then same radio as iPhone 13 Pro to minimize R&D and component costs. ]

So can markets as "iPhone 13Pro at regular new iPhone prices". That isn't going to 'hurt'. Can get a 'Pro' iPhone for $200 less in 2022. That should work pretty well. Even more so in the inflationary pricing on everything else.
( Apple uses components with R&D paid off by iPhone 13 to lower the delivery price point. )

If a while the iPhone 13 Pro sold in numbers about as high as the regular iPhone. It is popular, Apple could continue to sell it for another year with a 'new' badge at about at higher numbers. (minus the mego fans of the telephoto lens)


The 14 Pro takes on 48Mp for pixel doubled better sensor output ( 48-> 12Mp) than 'plain 14'. Still will have telephoto. If the computational photography from 48 pixels to 24 RAW is really good then has better ProRes RAW also. Pro has a new Soc (A16). Faster storage read/write. If emphasizing more better ProRes and RAW capture then could start storage baeline higher ( 256GB) . Still have all the focus and depth gaps enabled by LiDAR. Perhaps a next gen cellular radio advantage if Apple leaves the 'plain' 14 on iPhone 13 Pro parts. Ditto on WiFI 6E.


For the folks buying the Pro model as a better camera it would work. The hipsters who just gotta have the latest A-sereis SoC. Again, it would work. For folks that need 1+ TB storage it would work (as previous year Pro models generally disappear from sale... so can't buy "last year's" model from Apple at cheaper price. Same issue of iPhone Pro 13 versus an almost same feature set iPhone 14; old Pro is gone. ).

If had some reduction in PWM effect on screen that would be selling point too.


Rise and repeat in 2023 where the iPhone 14 Pro has largely paid for the R&D in initial ramp component costs for iPhone 15 (except perhaps radios if Apple is in hurry to dump Qualcomm).
 
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We can talk about spec (A15 vs A16, RAM, cameras, lightning, etc) as long as we want. But the general public will see that they can get a Max iPhone for less than $1000, and it will sell like hotcakes.

Remember the iPhone 6 Plus? It only had 1GB of RAM (the same as iPhone 5), the A8 was underpowered (already "lagging" out of the box driving the 1080p screen), bendgate, and yet it's the best selling iPhone ever.

I expect the 14 Max becoming the second coming. Add on the potential "scarcity" due to manufacturing bottleneck, people will be scalping it left and reight.
 
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I upgrade very year, and I pass down my old iPhone to my wife. Then she passes down her iPhone to our oldest daughter. Then our oldest daughter passes down her iPhone to our youngest daughter. In short, this is a no-brainer upgrade every year, and I imagine several families are like this. I buy a new iPhone, and in total we have 4 people who get upgrades. So yeah, I'll be purchasing the iPhone 14 Pro.
 
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