Other Giving up on Apple for iPhone

[Marty80]

I have a feeling I'll have my 15 Pro for another few years, throwing a new battery in when the time comes. And I'm okay with that - as others have said it's a pretty mature technology at this point. I don't see any manufacturer doing anything that's super interesting these days.

I have a feeling I may have to hang onto my 12 pro max a few more years until Apple rids us of that dynamic distraction.

Every one complained about the notch, what did Apple do they invented another MacBook Touch-bar that is aging badly with little need or use.

I am hoping for a design change next year, but my gut feeling is that the iPhone 18 pro max may bring design changes like riding us of the Face ID camera, and making the iPhone slimmer.

 

[Rradcircless]

If Apple Intelligence was "mainly powered by ChatGPT" why did they take so long to build Apple Intelligence instead of slap a chatbot on everything like Edge did?

 

[baummer]

There’s a business reality here that it makes no sense to release a wildly different iPhone every year like they did before.

 

[baummer]

If Apple Intelligence was "mainly powered by ChatGPT" why did they take so long to build Apple Intelligence instead of slap a chatbot on everything like Edge did?

Not the Apple way.

 

[C-Dubs]

I don’t know if I’m alone and I very well may be in the minority here but Apple is getting really lazy to me.

Here’s my thought, let’s only go back as iPhone X- when a “new iPhone era was born”. Now grant every year there’s a better camera, better cup and potentially better battery life - but that aside:

iPhone X - truly a worthy upgrade from any other iPhone including iPhone 8
iPhone XS - bigger screen - yay!
iPhone 11 - slightly larger screen, better camera - ultra wide, and CPU (same upgrades every year)
iPhone 12 - brings back a similar iPhone 4 design, 5G, brings 3 back cameras, and MagSafe - fun upgraded nothing revolutionary , but MagSafe is fantastic to me
iPhone 13 - smaller notch (improvement, but nothing mind blowing)
iPhone 14 - Dynamic Island - again fun, but other than moving down a few mm and creatively creating a “Dynamic Island” out of it, crash detection, satellite connectivity, and eSIM, while impressive and satellite and 5G very welcoming, nothing too mind blowing
iPhone 15 - swap mute button for the action button, and due to EU regulation, finally, USB-C port. Again, it took some creative engineering but nothing mind blowing

And now 16… AI (mainly powered by ChatGPT), and adding yet another camera feature with the new button, again nothing mind blowing.

iPhone X to iPhone 16 you can see incremental upgrades which are nice, but nothing is “revolutionary”. And I feel Apple has embraced the fact that they will sell no matter what and gave up on trying to innovate.

Of course this is pure subjective speculation but am I the only one who feels like Apple just stopped caring because they know they will sell?

 

[C-Dubs]

I would say that the iPhone has matured like a car or PC- which is great! It’s actually the software where Apple needs to start working harder on.

I’m still gonna stay Apple because of the ecosystem.

 

[frost_horizon]

What people want from the phone nowadays? The phone market is super mature right now. Time of the rapid progress has passed. People don’t need to change their phone every year, or two, or three. They are just being bored, often – with their own life. And they try to offset it on something external to their lives, like iPhone or other gadgets. They want to consume new evolving things to feel the progress in their own lives. It is not Apple here to blame. Apple just a corporation that produces high quality products that people don’t need to buy every year, but they want to to feel better. And if in a new year Apple brings a little changes to the iPhone, those people stop feeling progress in their lives and get upset or anxious.

 

[AxiomaticRubric]

Of course this is pure subjective speculation but am I the only one who feels like Apple just stopped caring because they know they will sell?

For me, Apple stopped caring when they killed off the Xserve and the AirPort range of wireless routers.

If fans want to go all in with the Apple ecosystem then the hardware options should exist. This is the bit of magic (beyond just iPhone and Mac) that makes an ecosystem complete.

Without a dedicated macOS server machine like the Xserve, and without the AirPort range, the magic is just not there anymore. I get that the bean counters at Apple felt that these products were not profitable, but sometimes profits need to be secondary to the user experience. These decisions also severely hindered Apple’s progress in enterprise business.

Apple could have been a leader in smart home automation. Apple could have pushed incredible innovation with the Internet of Things. When the AirPort line was canceled this window of opportunity was closed.

 

[MayaUser]

OP i have the same feelings with samsung models..so you are not alone about Apple and iphone

 

[jtgil]

What people want from the phone nowadays? The phone market is super mature right now. Time of the rapid progress has passed. People don’t need to change their phone every year, or two, or three. They are just being bored, often – with their own life. And they try to offset it on something external to their lives, like iPhone or other gadgets. They want to consume new evolving things to feel the progress in their own lives. It is not Apple here to blame. Apple just a corporation that produces high quality products that people don’t need to buy every year, but they want to to feel better. And if in a new year Apple brings a little changes to the iPhone, those people stop feeling progress in their lives and get upset or anxious.

Unfortunately you are right, these are the same people that don’t realise that our society’s progress has slowed down for the past 20-30 years in many areas and we have been flying pretty much the same aircraft’s for the past 50-70 years, or the same car mechanical technology as 100 years ago, (yes, all the technology nowadays like I.e direct injection, etc… was invented by ie. Mercedes over 100 years ago). Or for this matter cpus have nowadays effectively slowed considerably, sure lower nm construction can give us some improvements but the costs of these factories and how many there are should give an indication that we are really on diminishing return territory.

But hey, let’s complain about a company that does not owe us **** and they should pacify our desires because reasons.

These are the kind of people that will complain the phone is too heavy if they were to put a bigger battery, or the ones that would complain it’s more expensive when apple puts some of the ridiculous ideas some have put forth that I have seen in these thread (or others of course).

When I hear all the complains all I hear is “I don’t have money” for the new iPhone, in which case tough luck. The other side is “I have the money” but will complain because Apple is charging the same for old hardware or because too expensive and they are entitled to discounts in exchange for loyalty points, tough luck too.

Well what can we do? The wheel keeps on rolling and I will continue to be entertained here on my new iPhone 👍🏻

 

[Ctrlos]

You’ve got to zoom out and look at the bigger picture. To put it bluntly upgrading on an annual basis is a fools errand. The average person changes every 3 years. At this point the glacial pace of evolution has snowballed into something significant.

If you’re upgrading annually and getting diminishing returns then you need to take a step back, stop using the tech news cycle as a form of entertainment and come back in 2026 when things will be meaningful. Think of your phone like a laptop or car which you don’t upgrade annually.

tl;dr save your money and don’t bother.

 

[Webcat86]

You’ve got to zoom out and look at the bigger picture. To put it bluntly upgrading on an annual basis is a fools errand. The average person changes every 3 years. At this point the glacial pace of evolution has snowballed into something significant.

If you’re upgrading annually and getting diminishing returns then you need to take a step back, stop using the tech news cycle as a form of entertainment and come back in 2026 when things will be meaningful. Think of your phone like a laptop or car which you don’t upgrade annually.

tl;dr save your money and don’t bother.

Exactly my thoughts too. I am buying my wife a phone outright and am tempted to do the same for myself. I upgrade because when you're on a monthly payment it ends up feeling like a free upgrade, because the monthly price stays similar. Yesterday I realised I hate the thought of paying monthly for an iPad or computer, so I buy them outright and upgrade only when I have to or the upgrade is a significant improvement. I kept my MBP for about 6 years until I accidentally damaged it, then upgraded to a new MBP which I kept for 3 years before getting an iMac — the laptop was fine but in that phase where the Pros had a lack of ports, and I wanted a desktop rather than laptop. And my iPad I upgraded because I went from a secondhand Air 4 to M4 Pro, so it was a big jump.

I'm thinking that by having a paid off phone, I'll view the upgrade cycle differently and wait until the phone is on its last legs or the upgrade is significant enough to justify another £1200+ outlay.

 

[Ctrlos]

Exactly my thoughts too. I am buying my wife a phone outright and am tempted to do the same for myself. I upgrade because when you're on a monthly payment it ends up feeling like a free upgrade, because the monthly price stays similar. Yesterday I realised I hate the thought of paying monthly for an iPad or computer, so I buy them outright and upgrade only when I have to or the upgrade is a significant improvement. I kept my MBP for about 6 years until I accidentally damaged it, then upgraded to a new MBP which I kept for 3 years before getting an iMac — the laptop was fine but in that phase where the Pros had a lack of ports, and I wanted a desktop rather than laptop. And my iPad I upgraded because I went from a secondhand Air 4 to M4 Pro, so it was a big jump.

I'm thinking that by having a paid off phone, I'll view the upgrade cycle differently and wait until the phone is on its last legs or the upgrade is significant enough to justify another £1200+ outlay.

I'm not saying everyone would get the same mileage as usages vary. But my personal Apple collection is an iPhone 13 that still holds its charge, a 2011 11" Macbook Air I refuse to let go of because Apple don't make them anymore and an iPad Mini 4 for gaming, writing and reading. I also still have an Apple Watch Sport because I prefer the squarer design. I see no reason to upgrade any of it when a battery swap would likely be enough.

I do have an M1 iPad Pro provided by work for LiDAR Scanning that I use when I'm travelling for my job which smokes the lot! But this is my work machine and I'm fairly conservative about what I run on it. Just because work tell me its ok to use it for gaming doesn't mean I want to.

If I were in the market for an upgrade I have been tempted by an M1 iPad Air. I get good mileage from the Pro and could happily run 99% of things on it given the chance. I'd maybe get an iPhone SE 3rd Gen to take phone calls and WhatsApp as an additional device.

 

[9646829]

iPhone X and 12 were the only upgrades in recent years, everything else has been an S upgrade at best.

 

[jtgil]

You’ve got to zoom out and look at the bigger picture. To put it bluntly upgrading on an annual basis is a fools errand. The average person changes every 3 years. At this point the glacial pace of evolution has snowballed into something significant.

If you’re upgrading annually and getting diminishing returns then you need to take a step back, stop using the tech news cycle as a form of entertainment and come back in 2026 when things will be meaningful. Think of your phone like a laptop or car which you don’t upgrade annually.

tl;dr save your money and don’t bother.

I guess this is the short way to put what I was trying to say. Just step back and enjoy life, upgrade if you need to or just want to and are able to.

People these days expect a lot and to the life of me feel entitled like never before.

 

[EmanuelF]

Do something else besides being obsessed with a gadget? Upgrading every 3 years looks pretty amazing to me.

 

[The Game 161]

if you aren't happy try and get a new flagship android phone. That's the only choice here if apple aren't doing enough. there's plenty of great android phones out there.

 

[Bungaree.Chubbins]

Do something else besides being obsessed with a gadget? Upgrading every 3 years looks pretty amazing to me.

View attachment 2418898

I like the visualised progression.

If I repeat the last gap, I'm due to upgrade to an iPhone 19. That should be an impressive leap. Hopefully they don't switch to rounded edges in the meantime! I was disappointed by the 6 and 8's edges, and very happy to get the 14!

 

[The Doctor11]

We all should have been expecting this back in the early days of smart phones, nothing can progress rapidly forever, tech levels off. I’m pretty excited about this years updates, particularly the camera button, I travel a ton and take so many photos quickly, that I’m so looking forward to getting my hands on. And I’m coming from a 13 Pro Max to a 16 Pro max, so I’ll see decent upgrade all around. This will be my first 3 cycle, coming from upgrading every other.

I think we should all start looking at smartphones similar to cars, every year a new one comes out, and it may have a few new nice to haves, but none of us are going to upgrade year to year. But when you do after your lease ends, or hopefully even longer like 5+ years you’ll have a pretty nice upgrade on your hands.

 

[dominiongamma]

if you aren't happy try and get a new flagship android phone. That's the only choice here if apple aren't doing enough. there's plenty of great android phones out there.

I think that’s my issues with most people on here. They complain about Apple, but not willing to switch to another platform. I don’t buy the whole lock in ecosystem nonsense. You can leave whenever you want.

 

[neuropsychguy]

Do you know what happens if Apple made some revolutionary change? People would complain at things being different. What happens if Apple does not? People complain about things being the same.

It's okay to offer criticisms, but do so with suggestions for improvements otherwise it's just complaining. Even if they are not necessarily feasible, at least take time to think through possible improvements. If suggestions are made, think about how they could be implemented.

For example: longer battery life. How can that happen? One way is a bigger battery. Now what does that mean for the design of the phone? What does that mean for the weight and thickness of the phone? How do you keep larger screens (which people do like -- yes, there are some who want the mini screens too!) and not have the device weigh a kilogram? Switch to plastic instead of metal? Make a phone with a fat body and small screen? Slow down the CPU a lot? Make the screen e-ink?

 

[surferfb]

And now 16… AI (mainly powered by ChatGPT), and adding yet another camera feature with the new button, again nothing mind blowing.

I keep seeing this - almost NONE of Apple Intelligence is powered by ChatGPT. The only part that is: you ask Siri a “world knowledge” question it doesn’t know the answer to. Then, and only then, will it ask you if you want to ask ChatGPT.

That’s the only part that uses ChatGPT. Everything else is 100% Apple

 

[waquzy]

Maybe I’m old school, but I find all this AI thing rather boring. I would rather do me own thing.

 

[rgeneral]

I don’t know if I’m alone and I very well may be in the minority here but Apple is getting really lazy to me.

Here’s my thought, let’s only go back as iPhone X- when a “new iPhone era was born”. Now grant every year there’s a better camera, better cup and potentially better battery life - but that aside:

iPhone X - truly a worthy upgrade from any other iPhone including iPhone 8
iPhone XS - bigger screen - yay!
iPhone 11 - slightly larger screen, better camera - ultra wide, and CPU (same upgrades every year)
iPhone 12 - brings back a similar iPhone 4 design, 5G, brings 3 back cameras, and MagSafe - fun upgraded nothing revolutionary , but MagSafe is fantastic to me
iPhone 13 - smaller notch (improvement, but nothing mind blowing)
iPhone 14 - Dynamic Island - again fun, but other than moving down a few mm and creatively creating a “Dynamic Island” out of it, crash detection, satellite connectivity, and eSIM, while impressive and satellite and 5G very welcoming, nothing too mind blowing
iPhone 15 - swap mute button for the action button, and due to EU regulation, finally, USB-C port. Again, it took some creative engineering but nothing mind blowing

And now 16… AI (mainly powered by ChatGPT), and adding yet another camera feature with the new button, again nothing mind blowing.

iPhone X to iPhone 16 you can see incremental upgrades which are nice, but nothing is “revolutionary”. And I feel Apple has embraced the fact that they will sell no matter what and gave up on trying to innovate.

Of course this is pure subjective speculation but am I the only one who feels like Apple just stopped caring because they know they will sell?

I don’t know if I’m alone and I very well may be in the minority here but Apple is getting really lazy to me.

Here’s my thought, let’s only go back as iPhone X- when a “new iPhone era was born”. Now grant every year there’s a better camera, better cup and potentially better battery life - but that aside:

iPhone X - truly a worthy upgrade from any other iPhone including iPhone 8
iPhone XS - bigger screen - yay!
iPhone 11 - slightly larger screen, better camera - ultra wide, and CPU (same upgrades every year)
iPhone 12 - brings back a similar iPhone 4 design, 5G, brings 3 back cameras, and MagSafe - fun upgraded nothing revolutionary , but MagSafe is fantastic to me
iPhone 13 - smaller notch (improvement, but nothing mind blowing)
iPhone 14 - Dynamic Island - again fun, but other than moving down a few mm and creatively creating a “Dynamic Island” out of it, crash detection, satellite connectivity, and eSIM, while impressive and satellite and 5G very welcoming, nothing too mind blowing
iPhone 15 - swap mute button for the action button, and due to EU regulation, finally, USB-C port. Again, it took some creative engineering but nothing mind blowing

And now 16… AI (mainly powered by ChatGPT), and adding yet another camera feature with the new button, again nothing mind blowing.

iPhone X to iPhone 16 you can see incremental upgrades which are nice, but nothing is “revolutionary”. And I feel Apple has embraced the fact that they will sell no matter what and gave up on trying to innovate.

Of course this is pure subjective speculation but am I the only one who feels like Apple just stopped caring because they know they will sell?

It’s ok. Do what you want. It’s just a phone. Don’t need to tell the world.

 

[Extoll]

It seems to be more of smartphone market total. Not just Apple. The market is mature at this point so big leaps and bounds not really going to be found each year. Even the foldable's is starting to be copy/paste each year.