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Phones need to be thin and light like credit cards, not the fat ugly bricks with notches/holes they currently are. Apple's phones are the very definition of boring.

Having said that, I'd never buy a phone, TV, or appliance from Samjunk.
 
Are people even supposed to get excited about tools like that? We don’t get excited about new hammers or toasters, do we?

I've worked as a carpenter on and off for many years, also ran shops where I had to buy the tools. I was pretty excited by my new Estwing rip hammer when I got it in the 1980's (?), also a nice Craftsman fiberglass claw hammer. Still have both and enjoy using them for home remodelling projects. People get excited by all kinds of tools that might surprise others who haven't spent time working with their hands. When you spend hours a day pounding nails, you get interested in hammers. 😁 Probably the same thing with toasters if you spend all day making toast.

Having said that, phones no longer excite me. Will continue using my 12 ProMax until it dies. But obviously, I'm in the minority or Apple wouldn't sell new phones and we wouldn't have much to discuss here at MacRumors. :)
 
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I agree. I’ve kept my iPhone 12pro and abstained from the new phones. This phone does all the things I require.

For me, It’s hard for me to justify the new phone’s price when it rivals the entry level MacBook Pro.

I guess I’m just sick of paying over $1,000 for a cellphone.

I could also be nostalgic for when phones had actual character, now they are just a rectangle and boring.
 
12 pro max here. It was run over by a car - back glass is broken, screen has a crack. One lens glass was replaced with cheep chinese... zoom camera doesn.t work properly. Battery at 86%. Not sure if I will look at 17 yet if this doesn't die...
 
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that iphone 12 mini blue never leaves the house. i feel confident enough not to attached
or feel that false security of emergencies which rarely happens.
even just now pedaled 30 miles of undisturbed comfort.
 
I've worked as a carpenter on and off for many years, also ran shops where I had to buy the tools. I was pretty excited by my new Estwig rip hammer when I got it in the 1980's (?), also a nice Craftsman fiberglass claw hammer. Still have both and enjoy using them for home remodelling projects. People get excited by all kinds of tools that might surprise others who haven't spent time working with their hands. When you spend hours a day pounding nails, you get interested in hammers
This is a nice synapse of how we approach item we dont really need to progress just for upgrading.

Im contemplating a racing bicycle upgrade to carbon fiber, Shimano Ultergra's
from a 1/2 carbon 1/2 Reynolds metalframe with shimano claris, lowest end gears.
since i am turning sixty years old this year this sound silly for that investment
but im riding the same speed-time as i did 15 yrs ago and can ride on a road that is not forgiving on steel.

meanwhile my neighbor asked me when i will ditch the old hand held turn drill for a nicad battery one.
after i upgrade my cycling equipment i guess!
 
For phones, there hasn’t really been anything ground breaking for a long time now.

For me I’ve been an iPhone user since the 1st gen and for a while I was upgrading every 2 years.
Original > 3GS > 4 > 5 > 6+ > 7+ > 12PM > 15PM
(iPhone 4 was an exception because AT&T said I qualified for an upgrade so why not and it was a significant change).

My most recent upgrade from 12 to 15 I kind of regret, outside of 120hz promotion and USBC the experience has been mostly the same.

Hopefully by the time the 18 rolls around there will be enough to entice me to upgrade otherwise I’ll wait for the 19.
Wow your upgrade path was exactly the same as mine. Except I went 12 pro to 15 pro.
I do like the usb c and the lighter chassis but other than that… did it change my life? No.
 
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I still use a 2018 iPhone(XR), and the only things that bothers me about it is that it's gotten quite laggy with iOS 18 and that it's rather large and heavy.
I don't miss ANY feature of todays iPhones. Zero progress in 7 years as I see it.
In 7 years, obviously a lot has changed. That the XR is still supported after 7 years is great. However, I understand you may be using the phone in a very baseline manner so as to not make a difference in your usage. 7 years for me, between my xs max and iphone 15pm was a world of difference. Speed, screen, battery life, camera, to name a few. Huge incremental progress. Action button, love it.
Today you should be able to get a much smaller and lighter phone that does the same thing faster. But no, they're still large and heavy.
The limiting factor is the battery. Apple tried that with the mini and I guess it wasn't a good sell. Android based phones should have some options.

For me I get excited about a new phone. A personal device that I am on many hours a day, mostly due to work life. It makes my life more convenient.
 
I have never bought the latest phone. It's a tool not a status symbol.
I recently upgraded from 12 mini to iPhone 14 because of the battery life. I don't regret my decision yet and this was a huge upgrade for me in terms of battery life. In terms of performance etc, no
 
I may be the only one but truthfully the iPhone never spoke to me loudly enough to make me want to spend $$$ on phone and more $$ on some monthly plan or another. The new ones still fail to have any appeal whatsoever.

Honestly I would never have bought the M4 mini, if the writing was not on the wall for internet browsing in Sierra and the older systems I use on my MacPro.

It all comes down to the newer the gear the more bells and whistles, none of which I find at all useful.
 
Yeah I agree. The only thing that piques my interest is better cameras but Apple's camera quality is always a letdown compared to what they advertise. Otherwise, the phones are great and also that leaves them completely boring

Another thing I think causes that is that Tim is sooo good at the upsell. New features always debut on the most expensive phone first. Then us plebs get the features years later. That's not very exciting

There was a time when there was one iPhone and everyone got the newest features. No wonder it was more exciting
 
Phones need to be thin and light like credit cards, not the fat ugly bricks with notches/holes they currently are. Apple's phones are the very definition of boring.

Having said that, I'd never buy a phone, TV, or appliance from Samjunk.
How would you have a camera in a phone as thin as a credit card? I guess if it didn't have a camera, that might work. Which would be an interesting product. I wonder if people would buy it
 
I got the 16 Pro Max, replacing the 13 Pro Max. Ultimately, I'm happy because I like the better battery life but other than that, there is really nothing different. This was the first time I went 3 years before upgrading. Previously, I always upgraded every two years. I may go longer than 3 this time unless something blows me away.
We are the same - We notice a difference on the camera but outside of that not much else.
 
iPhones haven't been particularly exciting for a while. While I appreciate increased RAM, processing speed, decent camera, and improved battery life, I don't find anything else particularly thrilling about the next generation phones. Now make them jewelry/brooch-ish, foldable/expandable, or holographically empowered, that would be interesting to see.
 
Almost everyone I know, including myself, keeps their phones for 3-4 years. Some longer. My manager, for example, is still running an 8 Plus..she just doesn't care.

Phones are tools, and not terribly exciting tools. I was excited to get a cordless Makita oscillating tool recently, but not my iPhone 16 Pro. Smartphones are boring.
 
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Yup. I had the 16 Pro for a month then the S24 Ultra for a couple of months. I was going to wait for the S25 Ultra but couldn't resist the OnePlus 13.
 
Samsung promoted the phones as having 7 years of longevity. Why would I upgrade with incremental updates with that kind of schedule? There really isn't anything new that a phone offers and this whole AI thing is still something I haven't adapted into my daily use. The only reason I would switch would be the only reason I switched from the 15 Pro Max to the S24 Ultra, and that is if I buy a new car that has working Car Play, then I would go back to Iphone. Don't need a new phone every year.

Getting software updates is like getting a new phone anyway, and I'm excited for One UI 7.
 
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You should do what makes you happy. But maybe find a different hobby besides buying phones? Could be it's time to find your fulfillment elsewhere.
 
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I get a new phone every two years (carrier contract). I don’t get excited, but do upgrade when my contract is over.
 
The last change that made me "wow!" was iPhone 6 -> iPhone X (and of course switching from i7 MBP to M1)... amazing! Next move was X to 12 Pro - and it was the first time ever I was experiencing a "well, okay."-Feeling with a new Apple product (after +20 years on the Mac). Now I'm using an iPhone 14 Pro and after reading all the comments about the lackluster experience of Apple Intelligence I'm not willing to do any upgrades as long as the 14 Pro does it's daily job well.
The smartphones really got to the same point the PC/Mac once did. It is what it is. Thought through. (Yeah, you may also fold some of them. Yay!) Some MHz more here next year, some megapixels there... so what? No argument for +1000 bucks again and again every year. I love my Apple products, but I've stepped away from that "junkie-mode". I love my MBP M1 13 inch - it still does everything amazingly smooth and fast, my Watch Series 4 is now +5 years old, doing it's job just fine with 82% battery capacity remaining.... There's just no need anymore for yearly upgrades because of a new button or 0,5 pixels less border.
 
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