Other anyone else have iphone fatigue?

[p96]

the snail paced incremental updates, the AI fiasco, intentionally grotesque design, recent price gouging (of apple products in general) - anyone else have general iPhone & Apple fatigue and just losing all interest?

I replace my Apple devices roughly every 5 to 8 years. What are you doing that is so fatiguing?

 

[Jumpthesnark]

I don't know anyone who uses tools who isn't concerned when their quality falters. In fact, the more serious the user, the more seriously they regard the quality of their tools. Come to think of it, are you sure you even know what a tool is?

There's a big difference between knowing the quality of a device and going online to post to strangers about how they subjectively feel about said devices, and that they're "losing all interest." In a thread that asks those strangers if they feel the same way.

As for tools, I know what a tool is. This place is full of examples 😉

 

[xxr]

I don’t understand the problem. My iPhone (and all my Apple products for that matter) work better today than they ever have. Now they just issue incremental upgrades that aren’t all that exciting. But the product works great.

I don’t see what there is to be “fatigued” about. You mention “the snail paced incremental upgrades”. So what? It’s a mature product.

It seems to me like Apple conditioned people to get high on the expectation of paradigm shattering technological advancements year-after-year, and they’re no longer getting that high anymore, and they’re bitter and resentful about it. But that technological ramp wasn’t sustainable. It’s just that the early smartphone offerings were so ****** that Apple could just do the things that obviously needed doing, and it was groundbreaking. And now, Apple has essentially “solved” the smartphone. And if you don’t like Apple’s version you can get an Android which is also essentially “solved”.

Honda Accords have, likewise, been “solved” for some time. A 2026 Honda Accord isn’t much different from a 2016 Honda Accord. So there is not much to get excited about. And that’s fine. There is nothing to feel “fatigued” over.

Honda accord is the wrong car example. ICE supercars are. Due to a mix of regulations / bizarre design choices many car enthusiasts are also entirely fed up with the direction of the industry there

Apple didn’t position itself the Honda accord of personal tech, that was Nokia, HP, Dell, IBM etc

Its entire identity is “think different”

You’ve decided there’s no room left for development based on the fact that there hasn’t been any, chicken egg situation.

 

[Attirex]

As you get older and more mature you realize what’s actually important in life, and it’s not a $2,000 phone and all the crap you have. Material things don’t matter. And no, im not jealous, broke AF etc.

 

[turbineseaplane]

As you get older and more mature you realize what’s actually important in life, and it’s not a $2,000 phone and all the crap you have. Material things don’t matter. And no, im not jealous, broke AF etc.

Well said.
It brings to mind this quote below.

For me, having the "latest cell phone for $2k" definitely falls in the camp of "nonsense time is wasted on".

Obviously everyone is different of course and to each our own.

 

[jbachandouris]

Honestly between being 58 and a crappy economy has me fatigued of everything. 😢

 

[jbachandouris]

As you get older and more mature you realize what’s actually important in life, and it’s not a $2,000 phone and all the crap you have. Material things don’t matter. And no, im not jealous, broke AF etc.

Same. 58. People ask how’s your new phone and I usually respond with at the end of the day it’s just a phone.

 

[Le_Chiffre]

Not everyone enjoys being forced to keep giving Apple money because Apple decides to rug you.

Naturally, Le Chiffre (the Bond character, not you) may have differing views on rugging folks. 😂

True but life’s too short and some things aren’t worth the hassle.

It’s not like they won’t upgrade eventually either. 😂

Only Bond. 😉

 

[Attirex]

Well said.
It brings to mind this quote below.

For me, having the "latest cell phone for $2k" definitely falls in the camp of "nonsense time is wasted on".

Obviously everyone is different of course and to each our own.

View attachment 2645672

Agreed! And yes, I know in tech world it is lame to get old and be a sentimental p*ssy, and I should be listening to Noah Kahan, slamming energy drinks, looksmaxxing, gaming on five 65" 4K OLED TVs while filling my bitcoin wallet, b*nging chicks, pumping iron, cheering on Hegseth, etc but when the people and places you are familiar with start slowly disappearing, you gain perspective, ie, mainly that you don't give a fck about all that other *****. It is liberating.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Agreed! And yes, I know in tech world it is lame to get old and be a sentimental p*ssy, and I should be listening to Noah Kahan, slamming energy drinks, looksmaxxing, gaming on five 65" 4K OLED TVs while filling my bitcoin wallet, b*nging chicks, pumping iron, cheering on Hegseth, etc but when the people and places you are familiar with start slowly disappearing, you gain perspective, ie, mainly that you don't give a fck about all that other *****. It is liberating.

The death of people and the changes to familiar things and locations really hits.

It’s something that younger people just don’t get because they can’t until it happens.

It’s quite a perspective shift, isn’t it?

 

[AppleWes]

the snail paced incremental updates, the AI fiasco, intentionally grotesque design, recent price gouging (of apple products in general) - anyone else have general iPhone & Apple fatigue and just losing all interest?

Not at all.

Why overthink it? I'm not being an apologist for mega corporations, however my iPhone (and Mac products) in general work fine, and I upgrade / trade in resell every year or two.

I enjoy following fan sites like this but not worth creating stress as your post makes things sound truly horrific.
"to each his own"

 

[mthomas184]

True but life’s too short and some things aren’t worth the hassle.

It’s not like they won’t upgrade eventually either. 😂

Only Bond. 😉

That's the thing. Once this thing dies, that's it. Im not replacing it and will just go back to a regular watch. Spending $800 on a watch like that to only get 3 years of software support is crazy. That's just me though.

 

[ThePinkChameleon]

Same. Tech fatigue got me to abandon my Apple Watches and higher-end Garmin and now I am using a basic Garmin Instinct. Would absolutely love to ditch the smartphone for a basic flip, but there are so many apps necessary for work that I cannot. And unless my job decides to issue me a phone instead of giving me a cell phone stipend, I will never be free lol.

Ahhhhhhh, the infamous flip phone. I would also love to go back to the first style of the LG Chocolate phones they made, the pink one of course

But I’m not locked into work apps on my phone, for me it’s health apps. in example, could I go back to using a manual glucose meter and stick my finger 4x’s a day…sure but why would I want to. My FL3+ keeps track of every second. I can just open the app and see my glucose level without fumbling with a test strip and needle prick. Amongst other things, especially at 3am if my sugar is taking a dive on me…etc.

In addition to the phone fatigue…the constant incremental iOS updates. I get we need security updates etc but here’s my tiff with it. I’m have a 16 Pro, 1tb. On ios18 my battery was stellar. IOS26 ruined that for me. My battery with every update seems to be worse. The latest update 26.5.2, has made it worse. Off my charger at 8am this morning, as of now 1:30pm, my battery is down to 30%….and I barely did anything with my phone today. Checked some emails, ordered some house hold items on Amazon & stuff for the pups on Petco. Listened to an hour of my audiobook, and used my AnyList app for food shopping approx 30mins. Nothing else. So my frustration and fatigue grow with that everyday because I feel like every time I turn around I have to charge my phone AGAIN.

It’s almost like Apple is forcing us to either deal with it(and stay tethered to a power source) or upgrade to the latest and greatest to get the best options & battery life….i don’t want to drop another $1500 to get a 17 Pro….id rather remove my spleen with a shrimp fork at this point.

So my fatigue comes from a different point of view than what some of you are expressing. I think in some way most of us are fatigued with the tech world as a whole at some point

 

[doolar]

the snail paced incremental updates, the AI fiasco, intentionally grotesque design, recent price gouging (of apple products in general) - anyone else have general iPhone & Apple fatigue and just losing all interest?

The Air is a breath of fresh…air. It is a very beautiful piece of engineering.

AI is not something I need on my iPhone so I just turn it off.

I got my 512Gb Air for almost 50% off so happy with the price, in fact it was only €100 more than what I sold my 15 PM for.

Pretty happy with my iPhone.

 

[TruthAboveAllElse]

I have a lot things going on i my personal life so no I don’t have phone fatigue. It’s a phone. Not a source of identity.

We are on macrumors. Presumably where people who like to take joy in new tech gather.

 

[macbookj0e]

I got iPhone fatigue around about the iPhone 7. New releases didn’t seem as exciting as the tech was maturing. My phone is just a phone now, I don’t really get excited about it and upgrade less than I used to.

I’m still overall happy with the iPhone though and getting the Air has been a superb experience. I’m not a fan of liquid glass but Apple software has been the weakest link for many years now.

I do also clamour for a smaller iPhone but it’s too niche a product for a company the size of Apple it seems.

 

[Le_Chiffre]

That's the thing. Once this thing dies, that's it. Im not replacing it and will just go back to a regular watch. Spending $800 on a watch like that to only get 3 years of software support is crazy. That's just me though.

Why wait? 😂

 

[apple2022]

Yes, I do.

All I want is a small, light, pocketable iPhone to do the essentials ...

And every year all the options seem to get a little thicker or heavier or add more stuff I don't want or care about.

I'm nearly into the camp of wanting an iPhone that runs WatchOS at this point.
That's how ridiculous it has gotten.

That’s called an Apple Watch bro.

 

[Happy_John]

Agree with you but I think both things are true.

Don’t know much about guitars but I am a photographer. So let’s take Sony alpha rumours for instance.

Far less of an interesting device than an iphone and photos / videos are of course more important than the camera

But the idea of a new comprehensive portable camera with built in nd filters, advanced codecs, high frame rates, sensor technology etc etc is still exciting for many. It’s the “what’s possible” aspect of a product

With a phone you’ve got the added wearable / design aspect plus the fact it’s such a commonly used device

My initial post was just highlighting the decline of that anticipatory aspect more than anything related to the utility side of things

Smartphones have matured. They'll get incrementally better, but, as you know yourself, better cameras on an iPhone pro only really have value if you are a photographer, professional and enthusiastic amateur.

We're surrounded by tech, so it's not going to be thrilling or exciting. I'm pretty sick and tired at this point of the tech industry marketing wing still pushing the "this next version is really exciting" - it's not anymore.

In an odd way, I really liked the WWDC keynote, this year, for exactly that reason. It wasn't thrilling or exciting, and they toned down the "this is thrilling and exciting!" spiel.

I do appreciate improvements and incremental advancements, but it's not exciting. Sad to say, the area of technology that has excited me the most in the past three years or so has been small NAS and containerisation.

The rest of it I appreciate, but I appreciate it because it enables me to do and enjoy the other things I find exciting and interesting. The tech is the means, not the end. And the tech for tech's sake I really am interested in, about from NAS stuff, is old tech, stuff you can get your hands dirty opening up and tinkering with.

Bringing it back to iPhones, yes, they're pretty boring, but what new innovation or amazing new feature or function do they need? They can be thinner, bigger, smaller, longer battery, better screen, better cameras, better speakers, etc, but there's not that much new that can be added. I'd prefer a boring, stable, fats and efficient iPhone over an iPhone loaded with gimmicks I simply don't need and probably won't ever use.

This came up a while back on another thread, but there's a reason why almost all laptops look like MacBooks, and it's not that other companies simply want to emulate Macbooks; it's that the basic design: big screen, small bezels, keyboard up top, trackpad centred below, ports on the sides -changing any of that would be a change for the worse. In terms of the basic overall design, laptops have gotten as good as they're ever going to be, and it's simply going to be improving the already existing aspects.

Smartphones are hitting the same point; slabs or foldables / flippables.

 

[AppleWes]

We are on macrumors. Presumably where people who like to take joy in new tech gather.

Yes I think both things can be true. Love new products and following along here.

I'm not a fan of people who take it to extreme "iOS 26 RUINED MY LIFE & FAMILY" yet after reading thread it's just a small change to settings, or update and they're happy again.

 

[Black_Mage]

I don’t have iPhone fatigue, but I also don’t buy every iPhone. I enjoy my iPhone as a very useful tool and I’m grateful that I have it because I am old enough to remember life before iPhones, and I don’t want to go back.