You're probably right. And I absolutely agree about Dynamic Island - it annoys more than it helps. I'd rather have the notch, in all honesty.
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Other Giving up on Apple for iPhone
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You're probably right. And I absolutely agree about Dynamic Island - it annoys more than it helps. I'd rather have the notch, in all honesty.
The big upgrade from 8 to X was the face ID and design. It was the same as the 4S with Siri. It felt like the future. Nothing since Face ID has felt like the future. Of course there have been tremendous change in iPhones since the X but nothing with the WOW factor.
This year should have been that feel with A.I. but it wasn't because Apple are so far behind.
As a big technology nerd, it has becoming extremely frustrating for the iPhone to go years and years with new releases that are exactly the same as the last model.
I'm definitely jealous seeing cool stuff like the Pixel 9 Pro Fold and Mate XT come out on the Android side.
However; I'm exactly where Apple wants me. Way too invested into the iOS ecosystem to even consider making the switch. I actually tried this once a few years ago with a Pixel and despite trying my hardest to fully move myself over to Android, leaving the house with the Pixel made me feel like I didn't have my phone with me...just because it's not an iPhone.
I truly believe Steve Jobs is rolling in his grave watching what has become of Apple with these sleep-inducing product releases that lack any speck of innovation. Apple is leaving the market wide open for disruption but the fact is that there is still nothing close to the iOS ecosystem.
I'm definitely jealous seeing cool stuff like the Pixel 9 Pro Fold and Mate XT come out on the Android side.
However; I'm exactly where Apple wants me. Way too invested into the iOS ecosystem to even consider making the switch. I actually tried this once a few years ago with a Pixel and despite trying my hardest to fully move myself over to Android, leaving the house with the Pixel made me feel like I didn't have my phone with me...just because it's not an iPhone.
I truly believe Steve Jobs is rolling in his grave watching what has become of Apple with these sleep-inducing product releases that lack any speck of innovation. Apple is leaving the market wide open for disruption but the fact is that there is still nothing close to the iOS ecosystem.
Just stating what Apple said when it was released. That’s a fact. They will be charging for this and AI when they can. Right now, everyone is being oversold on AI. It’s being included free so many places. As far as satellite, it’s free on T-Mobile with all phones anyways. So it all depends on the person and their desires.
They gave up innovating ever since the iPhone 6. Nothing really changed except larger displays, larger chassis, more cameras and new processors/more RAM.
With that being said, I am not going to jump ship to Android. It is 1000000 times worse in most aspects, as well as major manufacturers no longer cater to my own needs (no more SD card in flagship samsungs, neither I had ever been into pixels).
And I never was a yearly upgrader. I try to push my each and every phone to the limit of their lifetime. Planning on using my 11 Pro until 17 at least and maybe will even wait until 18
With that being said, I am not going to jump ship to Android. It is 1000000 times worse in most aspects, as well as major manufacturers no longer cater to my own needs (no more SD card in flagship samsungs, neither I had ever been into pixels).
And I never was a yearly upgrader. I try to push my each and every phone to the limit of their lifetime. Planning on using my 11 Pro until 17 at least and maybe will even wait until 18
How much disrupting did Jobs’ Apple do through new category generation rather than fine tuning product categories that had already been well established for years prior?
I’d argue since the iPod on, the main categories of Apple truly crafting novelty were the Apple Watch and AirPods. Apple Watch came at a time of nerd fitness Garmins and dumb Fitbit step trackers. AirPods were the first of their kind truly wireless.
iPod? Meet Rio, SanDisk, etc which predated it by a few years. iPhone? See Treo, BlackBerry, etc. iPad? See windows tablets.
They disrupted categories by moving slowly and intentionally. I don’t think that ethos changed but I think people don’t have patience anymore and demand instant gratification as a reflection of being uncomfortable with boredom and stability.
My only issue with Android phones is Android. 99% of the time it works as advertised and is brilliant. I'm not saying its rubbish.
But there will be that 1% when your phone just refuses to make a contactless payment, when a game you might fancy only comes to iOS or how you can extract your Google data but not sync it that the rose tinted specs come out.
Android has some incredibly good handsets pushing all sorts of boundaries. But Apple sweats the little things and they all add up.
The question might be: has anybody else? Sony are lauded for keeping around the SD slot, headphone jack and shutter button. Folding phones are interesting but a folding spoon is still a spoon.
And how come nobody gives any computer manufacturer a hard time for not really doing anything since the PowerBook G4?
And both of those examples aren’t really moving mountains with consumer sales either.
Apple has forever been harangued by tech obsessives for lacking innovation and being behind the times, but I am always glad they stick to their focus and make small changes annually. If I had to talk my elderly parents through something revolutionary I’d lose my mind.
I wish I had so little going on in my life to be this upset over an iPhone release
Up until the iphone 12 I basically went back between iphones and samsung note models. It really isn't hard to switch back and fourth and is likely even more seamless now. Like others I can't really even think of any major changes that could even be made to the iphone at this point.
I have stayed with apple for a couple reasons:
1) I think they have a better privacy policy and so sell us as product as much as google - at least for now.
2) They just work a bit more smoothly. The ecosystem just has fewer bugs generally.
3) I prefer their product designs.
I have considered the flip and folding smart phones, but they aren't quite there yet. The Fold 6 had me seriously consider it. If they can get rid of the crease, give it more durability, and have all of their top tier tech in it, I might consider it. They have really good trade in incentives gen to gen. The $2300 price tag on the top models is kind of insane though really.
I have stayed with apple for a couple reasons:
1) I think they have a better privacy policy and so sell us as product as much as google - at least for now.
2) They just work a bit more smoothly. The ecosystem just has fewer bugs generally.
3) I prefer their product designs.
I have considered the flip and folding smart phones, but they aren't quite there yet. The Fold 6 had me seriously consider it. If they can get rid of the crease, give it more durability, and have all of their top tier tech in it, I might consider it. They have really good trade in incentives gen to gen. The $2300 price tag on the top models is kind of insane though really.
I totally agree with you. The X was a great upgrade (my wife has it now). The 12 was also a good choice (my daughter is happy with it). I’m writing this on a 15 Pro under 18.1 because I’m not a native English speaker with the help of Apple AI. Maybe the future is all about software.
The Jobs ethos was taking longer to release the BEST version of something in a growing category. iPod with mp3 players, iPhone with smartphones, iPad for tablets, MacBooks for laptops, etc. etc.
The innovation of something being the absolute best, most intuitive version of something seems to have gone out the window. Folding phones are an example, Jobs' Apple would at least already be working on / teasing a version of these that perfected all of the flaws and introduced it to the masses.
The initial introduction of touchscreens had been lessened somewhat by the popularity of the Nintendo DS console as well.
I think there's an expectations problem where Apple just isn't able to deliver earth-shattering upgrades every year.
It might help tamp down expectations if they went back to alternating in the 4/4s, 5/5s vein. They could sort of save up larger improvements for the new-numbered models, and do more incremental refinements for the s models.
So instead of "this is what I found on the web", you get a prompt asking for permission to ask chatGPT. Basically apple intelligence is setting timers and summarizing emails/messages.
ChatGPT is 1 out of like 20 upcoming AI features...
Maybe take a read at the official page, where ChatGPT is just one section at the bottom ?
Apple Intelligence
Apple Intelligence helps you write, express yourself, and get things done effortlessly. All while setting a brand-new standard for privacy in AI.
www.apple.com
Apple's marketing is brilliant. That's one way they lock you in; you feel a part of you is missing when you leave which causes insecurity. It can be FaceTime, notifications, iMessage, Music, iCloud...whatever. Apple knows this and that many people come right back after trying to switch.
That said, as someone who broke out of the Apple ecosystem earlier this year and loving my Pixel 9 Pro XL, you aren't missing out on anything Android by staying with Apple. The folding phones get scratched by a fingernail. No way am I spending $1800 on that. The Pixel 9 Pro Fold is extremely fragile, watch Jerryrigeverything durability test. The Huawei, again not spending all that money (I am in the U.S.) for something that will have no support and extremely limited functionality as a phone. As badly as Huawei and all the other Chinese brands want to be Apple they won't come close to Apple, outside of mainland China.
And yet you found time to comment here.
I think it’s more than marketing.
The ecosystem is cohesive, synergistic, and is a joy to use. The stickiness isn’t purely a product of marketing; it’s also the experience. It’s hard to leave because in many ways the alternatives you’re forced into if you exit the ecosystem is worse.
You could maybe argue that the fact one can’t opt in to many of the components of the ecosystem a la carte the “brilliant marketing move”, but this is true in the other direction as well. I can’t run Pixel camera software on my iPhone. But again, I think this is more than marketing; there are legitimate technical roadblocks to supporting an entire ecosystem on multiple OSes and hundreds of phone models.
Well said. I’m going to take a leaf out of your book - this sounds like the correct upgrade plan.
Apple isn't giving away the iPhones for free or at discounted prices.
You just have to use standards, apple can't lock you in with standards, that's why they create proprietary stuff like air play instead of using Bluetooth and HDMI.apple tv doesn't have HDMI because they can't lock you in with HDMI.
Honestly, what else can the iPhone do?
The Camera control, is a massive technological feat. It's not a button, it connects to the Taptic Engine, you can change functionality and zoom by sliding your finger.
The Cameras are unbelievable, you have 5x in the palm of your hand. Yes, it could be 48MP (the only downside I can think of) and Apple Intelligence looks unbelievable.
I used to upgrade every year from iPhone 3S to iPhone 8; then every 2 years: XS, 12, 14, and now I'll get the 16PM, but this is normal with tech. Is like comparing CRT TV, Plasma, LCD, Oled. You don't change TV every year. You don't change gaming console every year.
I feel I don't get all the value I can get from the phone, as I just started playing with shortcuts.
We have reached the maturity curve of the tech on a handheld device. I think that people have lost the power of surprise.
Honestly, what is missing from the iPhone that would make "Apple (or any other tech company) not lazy"?
The Camera control, is a massive technological feat. It's not a button, it connects to the Taptic Engine, you can change functionality and zoom by sliding your finger.
The Cameras are unbelievable, you have 5x in the palm of your hand. Yes, it could be 48MP (the only downside I can think of) and Apple Intelligence looks unbelievable.
I used to upgrade every year from iPhone 3S to iPhone 8; then every 2 years: XS, 12, 14, and now I'll get the 16PM, but this is normal with tech. Is like comparing CRT TV, Plasma, LCD, Oled. You don't change TV every year. You don't change gaming console every year.
I feel I don't get all the value I can get from the phone, as I just started playing with shortcuts.
We have reached the maturity curve of the tech on a handheld device. I think that people have lost the power of surprise.
Honestly, what is missing from the iPhone that would make "Apple (or any other tech company) not lazy"?
It is also a button. I think that is what makes it so cool to me is that it is a physical button while also having the controls on top of it. I am looking forward to seeing what all it ends up being able to do down the line.
