Other Detailed iPhone Pro Max Wishlist (2020-2022)

[Armani316]

Now that the iPhone 11 Pro lineup has been officially unveiled, what are the hardware-related (non-iOS) specs / features / design changes that you, realistically, would like to see in the next iteration of the iPhone Pro Max? It seems that Apple has moved to a 3-year major update cycle. since the iPhone X, iPhone Xs & iPhone 11 all have the same design, at least from the front.

Based on that, and the recent leaks we currently have about the 2020/2021 iPhones (I've provided a source whenever possible), here is my iPhone Pro Max Wishlist for the next 3 years. Some of these are a given since they're a natural progression from the current specs. Others are realistic enough to happen, even though we may not have read anything about them in the recent leaks. Most also apply to the smaller 5.8" iPhone Pro. Here it goes:

• General:

1. 5nm CPU
   Even more power efficient than the current 7nm architecture, and is likely to happen in 2020.
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2. 8GB+ LPDDR5 RAM
   Even more power efficient than the current LPDDR4X RAM, and is likely to happen. Even though iPhones do not typically need as much RAM as Android phones, I still face RAM management issues every now & then on my iPhone, so more RAM is not a bad idea. 8GB is reasonable to expect, although I wouldn't mind 10GB+.
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3. 1TB storage option
   Likely to happen since we already have this option on the iPad Pros. It's not for everybody and will likely come with a hefty price tag (even though Apple slashed $200 off the price of the 1TB iPad Pros earlier today), but I would go for it since I like to keep a lot of my videos & photos stored locally on my iPhone for a while.
   
   
4. 5G support
   This is a given, and may happen as soon as 2020. This may or may not be relevant to you depending on where you live around the world and the status of 5G coverage in your area.
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• Display:

1. Notchless & bezeless display design, as close as possible to 100% screen-to-body ratio
   This is by far my top priority, and I do mean completely notchless and bezeless (or with super thin bezels all around like the side bezels of the Samsung Note10 lineup), with no hole-punch camera. Some people don't mind the notch, but I can't stand it.
   
   I get that the notch is a necessity at the moment to house all the complex Face ID components as well as the speaker, but this will not be the case forever. Apple is in the process of either trying to make the notch smaller or getting rid of it altogether. It all depends on whether they can hide the TrueDepth Camera below the display without affecting the image & video quality, which seems to be the bottleneck at the moment, since many of the Face ID components can be hidden below the display. We don't know how far Apple has gotten on this front, but I'm confident the notch will be gone sooner rather than later. It's just a transitional phase.
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2. Under-display Touch ID
   I still personally prefer Touch ID to Face ID. I don't want nor do I expect Apple do get rid of Face ID, but I do expect them to make it even faster & more accurate. Having said that, I would also love to see Touch ID make a comeback to complement Face ID, as long as the fingerprint scanner is seamlessly embedded underneath the display. Apple can give users the choice between using either Face ID or Touch ID to gain access to the iPhone, or a combination of both for an even more secure access. This will likely happen by 2021.
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3. 6.7"+ display
   I'm all for bigger is better when it comes to smartphone displays, they're just more comfortable to use and you can get a lot done, but I get that large displays are not for everybody. However, a notchless & bezeless design will enable larger displays without an excessive increase in the phone's footprint. We've already read that 6.7-inch is the likely size for next year's Pro Max model, and I'm happy about that. I'd keep pushing the Pro Max display size past the 7" mark (Huawei Mate 20 X has a 7.2" display and it's great), but would keep it below 7.5" because that's iPad mini / Foldable phones territory. To me, the sweet spot for the largest display on a non-foldable smartphone should be around the 7.2" - 7.5".
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4. 120Hz ProMotion Display
   OLED displays with 120Hz are slowly becoming a reality, as the LG has done it on 55" 4K OLED TVs, Alienware has done it on 55" 4K OLED gaming monitors, and AU Optronics has recently introduced 17.3" 4K OLED 120Hz displays for laptops. This is something that iPhones need to have ASAP, and it may happen next year.
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5. 500+ PPI
   I would also love to see the iPhone Pro Max display break the 500 PPI barrier. It's about time for Apple to do that, since the likes of Samsung, Sony, OnePlus & Huawei all have flagships with > 500 PPI (643 in the case of the 6.5" Sony Xperia 1), and it does make a noticeable difference.
   

• Charging, battery & port:

1. USB Type-C port supporting USB4
   The Lightning Port has run its course. The cable & charging situation between the iPad Pros, MacBooks & iPhones would be much simpler, cleaner & unified once iPhones switch to USB-C. And while we're at it, why not support the newly released USB4 spec? I still need to connect my iPhone to my laptop every now & then, and the USB 2.0 speed (480 Mbps) of the Lightning Port is just unbearable. I would love to be able to transfer data at 40 Gbps, which is maximum speed of USB4, once both laptops and iPhones support it. We may not use the USB-C port on the iPhone the same way as the iPad Pro (e.g. connecting external displays, external storage devices, etc.) but why not have the option?
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2. 4000+mAh battery
   Even though the battery life in the iPhone Pro Max 11 has 5 more hours compared to the Xs Max, the size (3500 mAh) is still considerably smaller than almost all of the similarly-sized current Android smartphones, which have at least a 4000+ mAh battery. A slight increase in the overall weight to make room for the larger battery is not an issue for me personally.
   
   
   
3. Graphene battery
   This is the next big thing in battery evolution, and probably the biggest thing to happen to smartphone batteries in a very long time. Samsung is likely to introduce it to their smartphones in the next couple of years, and I'd love to see it in iPhones as well. Compared to Lithium-ion, Graphene charges up to 5 times faster, holds its charge longer, weighs less than Lithium-ion at the same capacity level, and is less susceptible to degradation over time.
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4. 45W fast charging with SuperCharge capability
   All Android flagship phones have fast charging capability, with Samsung (45W) & Huawei (55W) being the fastest. It's a shame that the iPhone 11 lineup only fast-charges at 18W. I would love to see at least 45W fast charging capability for future iPhones, even if the 45W+ adapter is sold separately. This is certainly possible with Power Delivery 3.0 (which is a mandatory part of USB4) over the USB-C port. I would also love to see a feature similar to that of Huawei's SuperCharge, whereby the battery can charge up to 85% in just 30 minutes.
   
   
5. Bilateral wireless charging
   This was heavily rumored for the iPhone 11 Pro lineup but never materialized. I think it would be very handy to charge the Apple Watch & AirPods with an iPhone.
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• Other

1. 16 Megapixels on all cameras
   I'm not particularly a fan of pushing the megapixels count to DSLR levels (32 to 64 megapixels) like some Android phones do. I think that's unnecessary on smartphones (for now). I prefer Apple's & Google's focus on the actual processing of photo to produce high quality images. Having said that, I think it's reasonable to upgrade all lenses, front & back, to 16 megapixels to further improve the image details on the hardware front. This will also keep the megapixels count right below that of the highest end point & shoot cameras (e.g. Sony RX 100 VII), which is at 20.1 Megapixels. That’s where smartphone cameras should be in my opinion.

I understand other things will come along, such as MicroLED displays, but that's unlikely to happen within the next 3 years (it'll most likely arrive on the Apple Watch first), which is why I did not include it on my list. I also read about iPhones possibly supporting a smaller version of the Apple Pencil, but that's not something I'd need to use on a phone, so I didn't include it.

That's my full list of 15 or so things that I would love to see on the iPhone Pro Max by 2022.
What's on your wishlist?