Upgrading solely for USB-C. Ready to ditch as many cables as possible. Otherwise, my 13 Pro works fine and dynamic island etc aren’t that compelling to me. The 5x optical zoom would be a bigger deal for me, but having had an XS Max, they’re just too big to comfortably put in a pant pocket. So, onto the 15 Pro.
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Hands-On With the New iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro Models
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The thing is, you're harking back to the early days of the smartphone, when every new generation brought major new features and functionalities. That time is never going to come back: the basic feature set of a smartphone is now more or less established. The innovation you want has already happened. Improvements are much more incremental and to do with processor power and materials.
I’ve got a 13 Pro Max and it’s still an amazing phone in 2023. It’s fast, reliable, takes a good picture and does everything other iPhones do on the whole. I wouldn’t be rushing for the 15 Pro if you can wait another year for a more significant jump to what you have now.
I think iPhones got to the point where you can skip several years of models, unless you really cannot help it and need to change every year for whatever feature you convince yourself you need. In practice, the phones run very well for years without slowing down. My 13 mini is still as fast as it was when I bought it. My partner just changed the battery on his 11 and he says the phone is fast. Neither of us use phone cameras as primary, we have dedicated mirrorless and DSLR for that and once you use a proper full frame camera, no amount of marketing and tech reviews will convince me that iPhone Pro line cameras are better than a full frame.
I think Apple knows that their phones have become mature and each year they deliver tiny increments. They probably have much more in line, but throwing it out on a single year release makes no sense to them.
I think Apple knows that their phones have become mature and each year they deliver tiny increments. They probably have much more in line, but throwing it out on a single year release makes no sense to them.
How many people sit and backup their iPhones to computers? The internet, WiFi, both at home and at work and on the road has made wireless connectivity much more reliable and accessible since the early iPhones. The first iPhones literally could only connect to EDGE and cellular data networks were incredibly slow (2G). There was simply no way you could backup your device in a reasonable time other than by using a wire.
Today things are different. Not only this but it is simply a better UX not having to worry about manually backing up a device and losing your data. iOS continuously backups the entire device all the time to iCloud.
Regarding innovating in hardware, the iPhone has come a long way. But one can’t expect a bunch of engineers to come up with something brand new every year. If you have tried to build a product yourself, you will understand.
IMO this "new" design should've been more different, considering Apple keeps designs for a while.
X, XS, 11 had one design concept, then a change for 12, 13, 14, so I somewhat expect this iteration to also stay for 15, 16 and probably 17.
That's going to be 6 years of almost the same design.
X, XS, 11 had one design concept, then a change for 12, 13, 14, so I somewhat expect this iteration to also stay for 15, 16 and probably 17.
That's going to be 6 years of almost the same design.
What if it's the right design though?
I thought the early days of 3/4/5/6 were a bit silly, constantly rounding then squaring then rounding the corners.
Imagine if car manufacturters started screwing with the shape of their cars every single year just for the sake of it. Would be crazy and pointless.
Yes, but it's an industry standard technique to compare to 35mm. Every single phone, webcam and compact camera has always done this.
My biggest disappointment is that the 'best' new camera is only in the giant phone which I can't buy because I only have human hands. I've had an 11 Pro for 4 years and the only vaguely compelling (yet still tenuous) reason to spend a grand on an almost identical gadget is for the better camera. And yet the new model doesn't have it.
I might do what I've done for the last couple of upgrades and just treat myself to a new case and screen protector and change my homesceen layout and wallpaper. Seriously, it ends up providing exactly the same feeling, just saves me about 990 quid.
I might do what I've done for the last couple of upgrades and just treat myself to a new case and screen protector and change my homesceen layout and wallpaper. Seriously, it ends up providing exactly the same feeling, just saves me about 990 quid.
I'm in for the 15 Plus, but trying to decide on a color. Unfortunately, every hands-on video is about the Pro.
That still does not make it any better. Those smartphone manufacturers all sit in the same boat. They all want to make us believe that a smartphone camera can replace a real camera.
Those smartphones already have a tiny sensor and if they crop that image even further to simulate a 2x zoom for example, they only use a quarter of that tiny sensor.
If they make the sensor a little larger - as they did this year - they always mention that the bigger sensor catches more light and therefore delivers a cleaner image and performs better at low light. So they give the viewer really good reasons to buy a camera with a really big sensor instead.
Works for me. Its a new design compared to my XR, and when I upgrade again in like four or five years I will enjoy a new design.
And they can, a good consumer level camera. But they can’t replace a high end professional camera which costs thousands of dollars, nor are they telling you that.
It is mind boggling to compare high end video equipment that studios use and an iPhone. Of course that high end up equipment is better. Nobody including Apple would say differently. It also costs a ton more so I sure hope it is better!
The naming against 35mm equivalent is just to give context and meaning. It's a lot simpler to expect people to understand what '28mm equivalent' is compared to '6.5mm with a crop factor of 4.3x' for example. It's not a claim of quality, just explanation of view.
I'm going to be coming from a 13 Mini. Appreciate the reduced weight and frame of this model, will probably get one in January.
At this point I don’t know what people want from phones. Laptop are the same every year. They get a little faster. There are occasional upgrades to other components. Phones are now the same. They get a little faster with a few other tweaks. I guess if my question is should I upgrade every year it can seem disappointing but just stop having that expectation and things will be fine.
This phone is fine. It’s an amazing upgrade from the 12 and anything before it. If you game on your phone having raytracing is bonkers amazing. This generation of console has raytracing. On a phone? Wow. But if that doesn’t do anything for you then just wait a few years and it will seem like a big upgrade.
In all these years, Apple has not had one design that has been ergonomic and comfortable when held in the hand. The sharp edges of the 12 through 14 dug into the palm, and the subtle rounding off for the 15 will only slightly minimize the discomfort, but is still not ergonomic.
I bought my father the Pixel 7, and noticed how comfortable the phone feels in hand. It is because the curvature of the metal frame is asymmetrically rounded off - more curved towards the rear so it feels nice in the hand, while gently flattening out as it meets the front display glass. It is a subtle, thoughtful design that feels ergonomic. What's been stopping Apple from executing such subtle design changes than make a real-world difference?
I bought my father the Pixel 7, and noticed how comfortable the phone feels in hand. It is because the curvature of the metal frame is asymmetrically rounded off - more curved towards the rear so it feels nice in the hand, while gently flattening out as it meets the front display glass. It is a subtle, thoughtful design that feels ergonomic. What's been stopping Apple from executing such subtle design changes than make a real-world difference?
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