7s disaster?

[ET iPhone Home]

No, they've done to with the 5C.

 

[Beenblacklisted]

will the release of both a budget and premium model be disastrous for Apple's brand?

its about the dumbest thing, why play both your ace and trump card?

 

[nviz22]

Not at all. The 7S isn't a budget device by any means because it will be priced at a premium level. A budget device is something like the iPhone SE ($199) or Moto G5 Plus ($229).

 

[marty1980]

The budget iPhone was/is the SE. Creating a middle tier SE -> 7S -> Pro is not going to cause any financial troubles. Apple is expanding their reach by going for enthusiasts and people who wont/can't pay the "normal" cost of iPhone but also having a middle ground for everyone else.

 

[nviz22]

The budget iPhone was/is the SE. Creating a middle tier SE -> 7S -> Pro is not going to cause any financial troubles. Apple is expanding their reach by going for enthusiasts and people who wont/can't pay the "normal" cost of iPhone but also having a middle ground for everyone else.

Yeah, there is nothing wrong with expanding the brand to people who want low cost alternatives. China is a major battle ground Apple needs to grow in. India is also another major area too. An iPhone should not be an albatross priced product. It should be basic price points that will not be fragmented like major Android OEMs.

SE 4" enthusiasts and budget conscience people, 7 for the regular Joe who wants an awesome phone that isn't 4", 7+ big screen and a bit more affordable, 7S/7S+ flagship caliber device with the regular crowd in mind, 8 for the tech enthusiasts and aggressive spenders.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

To be honest, unless you bump into a member of Mac Rumors or an enthusiast who camps outside Apple stores for fun, you'll be hard pressed to find anybody who cares or is impressed by what iPhone you own.

I predict all three rumoured releases will be successful to their different target markets. The 7S and 7S Plus will be the major sellers due to its standard premium price and the 8 will be the iPhone you see every now and then. It'll sell enough to be classed as a success and next year all models will adopt the features it has unless Apple get greedy again. I'll get it next year cheaper or the 7S.

 

[Radon87000]

To be honest, unless you bump into a member of Mac Rumors or an enthusiast who camps outside Apple stores for fun, you'll be hard pressed to find anybody who cares or is impressed by what iPhone you own.

I predict all three rumoured releases will be successful to their different target markets. The 7S and 7S Plus will be the major sellers due to its standard premium price and the 8 will be the iPhone you see every now and then. It'll sell enough to be classed as a success and next year all models will adopt the features it has unless Apple get greedy again. I'll get it next year cheaper or the 7S.

Apple never reduces prices on its products or the number of products in a product line released every year. This pricing tier is here to stay and if you want real updates you will have to plunk out 1k for the 64GB variant which is overpriced imo. I think even the PLus variant is going to get the same treatment its smaller brother used to get every year and get only spec bumps while all the design,camera and feature upgrades go to the premium model.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

Apple never reduces prices on its products or the number of products in a product line released every year. This pricing tier is here to stay and if you want real updates you will have to plunk out 1k for the 64GB variant which is overpriced imo. I think even the PLus variant is going to get the same treatment its smaller brother used to get every year and get only spec bumps while all the design,camera and feature upgrades go to the premium model.

Well if that is the case then so be it. They'll lose a lot of customers as the lions share of consumers in the smartphone market can't afford anything close to that. I'll simply take my money elsewhere, their loss not mine.

 

[kiranmk2]

Apple have definitely tried to push towards the luxuary market before with the Apple Watch Edition. I'm guessing that didn't go so well given the 2nd gen dropped the gold watches and $10k price tag for a ceramic watch and order of magnitude lower price.
We'll may never know what the original plan for the 2017 iPhone was because Apple will likely not talk about it. My guess is that they planned for the iPhone Anniversary to be one model (replacing the regular and plus models) using an OLED screen curved around the edges (like the S8) to allow a smaller size phone to give a plus-sized screen. It would be the same price as before (perhaps using the Plus pricing or slightly less by the savings from only having one production line). With this in mind (and with the anniversary occuring in an 'S'-year), Apple presumably thought it could get away with recycling the iPhone 6 design again expecting it to change in a major way in 2017.

Then the problems started... First, they couldn't secure any 'flexible' OLED displays (I suspect due to the arrogance of Apple thinking they could just demand exclusive supply and get it), then even regular OLED panel availability was severely constrained meaning that they couldn't get enough to support the numbers of iPhones Apple expect to sell. Thus the 7s/Plus were back on the table with shorter than usual notice so no time to use anything other than the iPhone 6 design again. Then the integration of TouchID under the screen didn't worked as planned leading to much longer engineering development time and an ever-increasing R&D cost.

To be honest, my 6s still doesn't miss a beat and even thought I know it won't support encoding HEVC in iOS11 I think I'll stick with it for another year as the A9 is such a powerhouse and surely next year the OLED design will become the standard.

 

[Radon87000]

Apple have definitely tried to push towards the luxuary market before with the Apple Watch Edition. I'm guessing that didn't go so well given the 2nd gen dropped the gold watches and $10k price tag for a ceramic watch and order of magnitude lower price.
We'll may never know what the original plan for the 2017 iPhone was because Apple will likely not talk about it. My guess is that they planned for the iPhone Anniversary to be one model (replacing the regular and plus models) using an OLED screen curved around the edges (like the S8) to allow a smaller size phone to give a plus-sized screen. It would be the same price as before (perhaps using the Plus pricing or slightly less by the savings from only having one production line). With this in mind (and with the anniversary occuring in an 'S'-year), Apple presumably thought it could get away with recycling the iPhone 6 design again expecting it to change in a major way in 2017.

Then the problems started... First, they couldn't secure any 'flexible' OLED displays (I suspect due to the arrogance of Apple thinking they could just demand exclusive supply and get it), then even regular OLED panel availability was severely constrained meaning that they couldn't get enough to support the numbers of iPhones Apple expect to sell. Thus the 7s/Plus were back on the table with shorter than usual notice so no time to use anything other than the iPhone 6 design again. Then the integration of TouchID under the screen didn't worked as planned leading to much longer engineering development time and an ever-increasing R&D cost.

To be honest, my 6s still doesn't miss a beat and even thought I know it won't support encoding HEVC in iOS11 I think I'll stick with it for another year as the A9 is such a powerhouse and surely next year the OLED design will become the standard.

I really doubt as to whether Apple rushed things which is the impression your post gives. Apple has likely had this planned for years and given advance notice to suppliers. My bet is they are just testing the waters by pricing that OLED model so high in addition to OLEDs being in short supply. If its a success, then next year expect to pay 1K from hereon in for real upgrades. Apple is running out of ideas on what to do with the iPhone and in an effort to bring the ASP up they are pulling this stunt.

What I hate about this iPhone is that despite charging 1K for it Apple has the guts to give customers merely 64GB of storage when I usd to get 256GB for the same price. This product clearly reminds me of NVIDIA’s overpriced TitanXP card which is more of luxury product except this card has no competition whereas the S8 already has most of the features of the iPhone 8 at a significantly lower price. Not cool Apple,not cool at all.

 

[Vanilla35]

Thats my point though. You go to buy a new iphone, you know how much it will cost because thats the price you have always paid for the new iphone and the staff say to you "heres the iPhone 8; its got a brilliant OLED screen, tiny bezels, the screen is the same size as the old + models, the battery life is better, its got advanced AR capabilities, faceID unlock".

Ooh that sounds like a great upgrade on my 6/6S. They then tell you its going to cost you £300 more than your old phone and you can't afford it. Thats OK though because we have a cheaper model you might be interested in. Oh OK, I'll have a look at that then. "Heres the iPhone 7S, its got the same screen as the last 3 iphones, same everything really but we have put a faster processor and a bit better camera in it". OK so thats cheaper you say? Well, its not cheaper, its the same price as always.

So now you have a customer who has seen the new iPhone they really want but they can't afford it so they will have to fork out a still very large sum of money for a phone that is almost identical to the one they might have bought 3 years ago. I can't see many people walking away from that happy.

That's not going to be the prospective line-up though.

They will go into the store, and Apple employee will tell them that the 7S is the upgraded version of their iPhone 6, 6S, 7, etc. It's going to have thew newest processor, updated glass back design, wireless charging, probably a better display, etc. It's what you would expect from an S model iPhone, which it will be. Same cost as their old phone was.

Then they will mention there is another new iPhone, the iPhone Pro or Edition. It's x price, but has a full-display design, with additional camera features (including face ID) and battery life.

Based on my assumption of the typical progression stated above, the 7S will certainly be way more common than the iPhone 8.
[doublepost=1503146451][/doublepost]

I'm scared that apple will go the iPad route. I will probably be purchasing the 7s due to price. Apple slashed down the price of the iPad(cheaper) and this is why sales of iPad went up this year. But it also has a slower processor, no promotion ( unlike the pro.) if apple is focused on making a budget phone(cheaper but not same specs) I will be disappointed. If the 7s doesn't have the a11 chip, I seriously might go somewhere else.

It's part of why iPad sales went up, but wasn't the only reason. The Pro model and 12.9" actually drove higher sales then they/analysts expected.

They will likely follow the iPad route in the likes that I'd guess there will be a normal (7S) and Pro model, however it will not be like what Apple did with the iPads in the sense of cutting out features on the new 7S. That phone will be upgraded with the newest processor, and have a new design. I would guess it gets some sort of display update (saturation, color reproduction, etc), but not the higher resolution and rumored ProMotion component), and it will also get wireless charging.

Yes, they are further fragmenting the line, and this means the most expensive model has the most new features and upgrades, but it's not as bad as one would think.
[doublepost=1503146967][/doublepost]

Apple never reduces prices on its products or the number of products in a product line released every year. This pricing tier is here to stay and if you want real updates you will have to plunk out 1k for the 64GB variant which is overpriced imo. I think even the PLus variant is going to get the same treatment its smaller brother used to get every year and get only spec bumps while all the design,camera and feature upgrades go to the premium model.

I think you're getting a little carried away. Next year there will be two full-display iPhone models released, a 5.8" and a 6.4", or maybe it was 6.6". Either way, I think there is a possibility for changes next year depending on if they make the "Pro" lineup their primary line up, and the plus model incorporates into the "Pro" lineup, or if possibly this year is a one-off "Edition" device, and next year they will only have full-display devices, and the 7S face design will retire.

 

[SoYoung]

Personally I’m more interested on a 7s plus just for the aspect ratio.

 

[I7guy]

It's not about spec though, it's about the fact that on launch day Apple will have a really shiny, exciting-looking all new iPhone that will inevitably be the centre of all the hype and praise, and then they'll have the 7S.

Nobody is going to be excited for the 7S. Everyone is going to have to decide between getting "the new iPhone" or settling for the 7S. Or, of course, looking elsewhere - if they can't buy apple's new flagship they can probably still get somebody else's.

I'm excited for the 7s. I'll let others work out the kinks in the iPhone "x".

 

[Radon87000]

That's not going to be the prospective line-up though.

They will go into the store, and Apple employee will tell them that the 7S is the upgraded version of their iPhone 6, 6S, 7, etc. It's going to have thew newest processor, updated glass back design, wireless charging, probably a better display, etc. It's what you would expect from an S model iPhone, which it will be. Same cost as their old phone was.

Then they will mention there is another new iPhone, the iPhone Pro or Edition. It's x price, but has a full-display design, with additional camera features (including face ID) and battery life.

Based on my assumption of the typical progression stated above, the 7S will certainly be way more common than the iPhone 8.
[doublepost=1503146451][/doublepost]

It's part of why iPad sales went up, but wasn't the only reason. The Pro model and 12.9" actually drove higher sales then they/analysts expected.

They will likely follow the iPad route in the likes that I'd guess there will be a normal (7S) and Pro model, however it will not be like what Apple did with the iPads in the sense of cutting out features on the new 7S. That phone will be upgraded with the newest processor, and have a new design. I would guess it gets some sort of display update (saturation, color reproduction, etc), but not the higher resolution and rumored ProMotion component), and it will also get wireless charging.

Yes, they are further fragmenting the line, and this means the most expensive model has the most new features and upgrades, but it's not as bad as one would think.
[doublepost=1503146967][/doublepost]

I think you're getting a little carried away. Next year there will be two full-display iPhone models released, a 5.8" and a 6.4", or maybe it was 6.6". Either way, I think there is a possibility for changes next year depending on if they make the "Pro" lineup their primary line up, and the plus model incorporates into the "Pro" lineup, or if possibly this year is a one-off "Edition" device, and next year they will only have full-display devices, and the 7S face design will retire.

It will be good if they can retire the 7S model next year and make the OLED model affordable. LCD has had its day in the sun including that dated design.
Either ways it's either the iPhone 8 or continuing with my 7 Plus this year. Not spending any more cash on this dated phone.

 

[Radon87000]

It's not about spec though, it's about the fact that on launch day Apple will have a really shiny, exciting-looking all new iPhone that will inevitably be the centre of all the hype and praise, and then they'll have the 7S.

Nobody is going to be excited for the 7S. Everyone is going to have to decide between getting "the new iPhone" or settling for the 7S. Or, of course, looking elsewhere - if they can't buy apple's new flagship they can probably still get somebody else's.

The 7S is just a way for Apple to milk their customers while they get all the kinks in the design sorted out. It's a filler phone and not designed as a upgrade for 7 Plus owners. Heck they didn't even give dual camera to the smaller 7S. I think the 8 will be the most popular model as people have been clamouring for an OLED iPhone for a long time.

 

[Radon87000]

Oh yeah ProMotion 120HZ IS AWESOME. Loving it on my Pro 12.9. The smoothness is unbelievable. Imagine the iPhone 8 having an OLED display with ProMotion 120hz along with FaceID. Just thinking about it makes my mouth water. This is Apple at its best and the upgrade I have been waiting for for over 4 years.

 

[Vanilla35]

The 7S is just a way for Apple to milk their customers while they get all the kinks in the design sorted out. It's a filler phone and not designed as a upgrade for 7 Plus owners. Heck they didn't even give dual camera to the smaller 7S. I think the 8 will be the most popular model as people have been clamouring for an OLED iPhone for a long time.

Completely disagree with that, and would actually reference that the iPhone 7 was the filler phone. The 7S is going to be a better upgrade than the 7 was.

Oh yeah ProMotion 120HZ IS AWESOME. Loving it on my Pro 12.9. The smoothness is unbelievable. Imagine the iPhone 8 having an OLED display with ProMotion 120hz along with FaceID. Just thinking about it makes my mouth water. This is Apple at its best and the upgrade I have been waiting for for over 4 years.

Yeah I'm extremely excited for this feature to potentially make it to the iPhone

 

[NBAasDOGG]

I really doubt as to whether Apple rushed things which is the impression your post gives. Apple has likely had this planned for years and given advance notice to suppliers. My bet is they are just testing the waters by pricing that OLED model so high in addition to OLEDs being in short supply. If its a success, then next year expect to pay 1K from hereon in for real upgrades. Apple is running out of ideas on what to do with the iPhone and in an effort to bring the ASP up they are pulling this stunt.

What I hate about this iPhone is that despite charging 1K for it Apple has the guts to give customers merely 64GB of storage when I usd to get 256GB for the same price. This product clearly reminds me of NVIDIA’s overpriced TitanXP card which is more of luxury product except this card has no competition whereas the S8 already has most of the features of the iPhone 8 at a significantly lower price. Not cool Apple,not cool at all.

Well said sir, well said.

Nvidia does indeed offer you $1000 performance without competition.
Regarding to iPhones, I can buy a Galaxy S8 for €625 and the standard iPhone 7 32GB costs €769.

The Samsung phone offers QI-charging, fast-charging (in the box), longer battery life, better camera, larger edge to edge screen, OLED panel, Bluetooth 5.0, 3.5mm headphone jack, universal USB type C, IP68 water/dust resistance, Iris-scanner, facial recognition, 64GB standard, SD-card slot, $100 AKG earbuds (in the box)....

It blows the iPhone 7 out of the water, yet the iPhone is more expensive.
Now Apple will release one year old Samsung phone and charge you €1500 (if $1100 in US it will be €1500 = $1700 in EU)

 

[RSmith2023]

will the release of both a budget and premium model be disastrous for Apple's brand?

I personally do not think so:
- the advances for the iPhone 8 (primarily the OLED screen and perhaps wireless charging might only be available on this model ) will probably only exist for a single cycle to celebrate the 10th anniversary
- next year all phones should have the OLED screen and wireless charging

BUT... and this is just speculation... going OLED edge to edge on a phone the size of the current 7+ would allow them to sneak a "mini apple pencil" into the body. (The rumored iPhone Pro) And they'd probably make it capacitive so they wouldn't need a battery in it like the pencil in the iPad pro. (I know some of you will immediately begin flaming against the horror of a stylus and how they'd never do that, but remember Steve Jobs is no longer calling with us. His disdain for the need of a stylus is legendary as well as large screens and tablets, but we now have large screens, ipads and the apple pencil.)

 

[Radon87000]

Completely disagree with that, and would actually reference that the iPhone 7 was the filler phone. The 7S is going to be a better upgrade than the 7 was.



Yeah I'm extremely excited for this feature to potentially make it to the iPhone

How so? The 7 vs the 6s had better Taptic feedback integration, DCI P3 screen which is a big deal as I found the 7 display to be more saturated than the 6s, no more mechanical home button, water resistance, dual cameras.

The 7S is basically a 7 with a bumped up CPU, glass back and wireless charging. The smaller 7S doesn't even get dual cameras and is actually a downgrade from my 7 Plus.

I am certain Apple won't touch the display on the 7 and import it into the 8. ProMotion and TrueTone is reserved for high end iPads and it will be reserved for high end iPhones. The iPhone 8 will get ProMotion and TrueTone.

 

[Radon87000]

Well said sir, well said.

Nvidia does indeed offer you $1000 performance without competition.
Regarding to iPhones, I can buy a Galaxy S8 for €625 and the standard iPhone 7 32GB costs €769.

The Samsung phone offers QI-charging, fast-charging (in the box), longer battery life, better camera, larger edge to edge screen, OLED panel, Bluetooth 5.0, 3.5mm headphone jack, universal USB type C, IP68 water/dust resistance, Iris-scanner, facial recognition, 64GB standard, SD-card slot, $100 AKG earbuds (in the box)....

It blows the iPhone 7 out of the water, yet the iPhone is more expensive.
Now Apple will release one year old Samsung phone and charge you €1500 (if $1100 in US it will be €1500 = $1700 in EU)

If you will observe NVIDIA and Intel vs AMD you will find a lot of similarities with the current smartphone market. Samsung was basically the Ryzen(Galaxy S8) which prompted the pushed back release of Coffeelake(iPhone 8).

The Galaxy S8 is truly a marvellous piece of engineering and lit a fire under Apple as they were being surpassed by the Korean company in design and screen, areas where Apple used to lead. Samsung truly knocked it put of the park with that one.

 

[ForumChick]

How so? The 7 vs the 6s had better Taptic feedback integration, DCI P3 screen which is a big deal as I found the 7 display to be more saturated than the 6s, no more mechanical home button, water resistance, dual cameras.

The 7S is basically a 7 with a bumped up CPU, glass back and wireless charging. The smaller 7S doesn't even get dual cameras and is actually a downgrade from my 7 Plus.

I am certain Apple won't touch the display on the 7 and import it into the 8. ProMotion and TrueTone is reserved for high end iPads and it will be reserved for high end iPhones.

Marketing is going to be tricky for these 3 models. Very.

 

[_Kiki_]

my Dell Tablet Android has OLED screen and I paid less than £200 for refurbished over 2 years old, nothing to excite

 

[Radon87000]

Marketing is going to be tricky for these 3 models. Very.

Everyone was calling the 7 upgrade as "Meh" for owners of the 6 and 6s. 7S basically redefines that expression. I am glad I plonked 1000 bucks on the 7 Plus a year back as it's got to be annoying for the 6s owners to be rewarded a spec bumped 7 after 2 years of waiting lol.

 

[ForumChick]

my Dell Tablet Android has OLED screen and I paid less than £200 for refurbished over 2 years old, nothing to excite

I don't understand the hype about this new "8". Oh it's going to have OLED! Great! Something that android phones have had for years. Wireless charging , again, something that android has had for a long time. No bezels! Something that android have had for years. Apple fanboys pretend to not care about fancy features until they get them. This phone is going to be revolutionary! No, it's not. OLED is not revolutionary.