Has the new P30 Pro made the iPhone obsolete?

[Shanghaichica]

My top 5 reasons to buy an iPhone:
- iOS
- excellent hardware
- ecosystem
- longevity
- Support

The camera isn't even in the top 5, for me.

And I want to have as much fun with Animoji’s as the camera. What you believe people want might be different than what people actually want.

The camera is important but it’s not the most important feature. If it were I’d have a pixel phone. iOS, the ecosystem, reliability, availability of high quality apps and services is much more important to me. A better camera can make me upgrade from one iPhone to another but a good camera alone cannot get me to switch operating systems.

 

[JPack]

99% of my camera use is taking a pic of some item on Walmart's shelf so my wife can see what she wants me to bring home for her.

Does she really need to see it in high def?

Honestly people are just overboard on phone cams. I get people want to take pics but beyond good quality I don't see a point unless you're a pro.

A bazillion megapixels or not other people still don't want to see pics of your vacation or family outing. So the only person this caters to is the self-obsessed. My opinion.

Uploading high quality photos might be self-obsession, but it's what people are doing. Social media trends are up each year and the number of photo uploads is increasing.

A typical 22 year old adult has known about Facebook since elementary school. An item on a Walmart shelf doesn't need to be in HDR but there's a huge wave of smartphone buyers who are more interested in camera quality than iOS updates.

 

[I7guy]

Uploading high quality photos might be self-obsession, but it's what people are doing. Social media trends are up each year and the number of photo uploads is increasing.

A typical 22 year old adult has known about Facebook since elementary school. An item on a Walmart shelf doesn't need to be in HDR but there's a huge wave of smartphone buyers who are more interested in camera quality than iOS updates.

Any smartphone meets the low bar of acceptability for social media.

 

[Shanghaichica]

I get it, IOS ecosystem. I’m just an iPhone user, nothing else Apple.
So if we just used phones as a basis and not an eco system.

Let’s point out a couple main features stacked up.

Battery: over 1000mAh more on P30

We all know the CPU will always be better on the iPhone. But really, does opening an app a second sooner matter that much? It seems like with all the tests video editing is where iPhone really flex’s it muscles but everything else is basically the same.

More apps can be held in the ram on P30

More storage options

Fastest charging standard out of the box, 85% in 30 min..(including wireless 15w)

I could go on but it just seems Apple doesn’t care to be the Top dog in the world anymore as far as innovation. And when we pay more for a phone then rivals and get way less in a lot of areas it is depressing.

I’d be more worried about whether battery life is consistent now on android. You always have apps messing up battery life and spend all your time trying to figure out what the hell was going on. Then there are the rogue battery days and the updates which wreck battery life which you wait months for a fix.

 

[StralyanPithecus]

For me a phone is much more than a camera, Period.

 

[JBGoode]

Most consumers probably don't even understand or care about camera specs. The iPhone still takes great pictures and that's all that matters to most. It's not likely that they care there's another camera out there that may be better because it's still not an iPhone. I'm half convinced that a lot of people aren't even aware that other smart phones exist.

 

[JPack]

Any smartphone meets the low bar of acceptability for social media.

If that were true, apps like Instagram wouldn't have a dozen settings to tweak photos and videos.

 

[I7guy]

If that were true, apps like Instagram wouldn't have a dozen settings to tweak photos and videos.

Why do you think the settings are there? Because all modern smartphones meet the low bar of acceptability for social media.

 

[Shanghaichica]

If that were true, apps like Instagram wouldn't have a dozen settings to tweak photos and videos.

The ones that are obsessed with social media are mostly concerned about the front facing camera. They aren’t bothered about 10 x optical zoom. They aren’t posting pictures of landscapes or buildings. They are posting pictures of themselves doing their best duck impressions.

 

[EM2013]

Any modern phone takes good pictures.

If someone really is trying to get the best picture possible they shouldn’t be looking for a phone for that. They should be looking at professional cameras.
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I respect that. Everyone will be different and care about different stuff. It’s just sad to me to see all these beautiful New buildings being built around me and I’m stuck in the older so so building. Lol

The grass always seems greener on the other side. I know plenty of people that switch from iPhone and end up regretting it and coming back.

 

[JPack]

Why do you think the settings are there? Because all modern smartphones meet the low bar of acceptability for social media.

So there's no way to stand out with better quality photos? Just because the bar is low doesn't mean people don't appreciate higher quality photos.
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The ones that are obsessed with social media are mostly concerned about the front facing camera. They aren’t bothered about 10 x optical zoom. They aren’t posting pictures of landscapes or buildings. They are posting pictures of themselves doing their best duck impressions.

I don't know who your friends are, but people are often posting high quality experiences. That includes evening events, vacations, cars, cooking, new home purchases, etc.

Being obsessed with social media and sharing daily life isn't limited to teenagers with low income.

 

[C DM]

If that were true, apps like Instagram wouldn't have a dozen settings to tweak photos and videos.

For most typical users it's really more to make things look cooler/different than anything really technical. Didn't really seem like there's much correlation between those for the majority.

 

[I7guy]

So there's no way to stand out with better quality photos? Just because the bar is low doesn't mean people don't appreciate higher quality photos.
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I don't know who your friends are, but people are often posting high quality experiences. That includes evening events, vacations, cars, cooking, new home purchases, etc.

Being obsessed with social media and sharing daily life isn't limited to teenagers with low income.

Social media limits the resolution is the point. Heck, look at macrumors as an example. Their forum software does compress images. This is strictly about resolution not skill of the photographer.

 

[BR4DOKYBrazil]

Except the zoom and some night shots, the rest I prefer the iPhone. Much more calibrated and natural.

 

[H3LL5P4WN]

I get it, IOS ecosystem. I’m just an iPhone user, nothing else Apple.
So if we just used phones as a basis and not an eco system.

Let’s point out a couple main features stacked up.

Battery: over 1000mAh more on P30

We all know the CPU will always be better on the iPhone. But really, does opening an app a second sooner matter that much? It seems like with all the tests video editing is where iPhone really flex’s it muscles but everything else is basically the same.

More apps can be held in the ram on P30

More storage options

Fastest charging standard out of the box, 85% in 30 min..(including wireless 15w)

I could go on but it just seems Apple doesn’t care to be the Top dog in the world anymore as far as innovation. And when we pay more for a phone then rivals and get way less in a lot of areas it is depressing.

1. Apple always demolishes any robotphone on battery. So much so that I was able to go with the X and XS instead of the Plus/Max sizes.
2. Apple's custom SOC are integral to the fact that iPhones outlast robotphones. It's not that apps load faster, it's that they're more efficient.
3. iOS apps run better than their robotphone counterparts, thus using less ram. Robotphone OEMs keep upping the amount of ram because robot OS is inherently inefficient.
4. I don't care about a greater number of options, I care about capacity. There's a reason I bought the 512gb model and would have bought a 1tb model if it was offered. Micro SD cards and Adoptable Storage don't count because they don't work as advertised. It's rather ironic that the only app I've used on robot OS that uses AS as it's intended is Apple Music.
5. You can keep your janky proprietary to one single phone charging. I'll stick to proven, standards based options. And did I mention that a XS lasts all day with its, by your logic, tiny battery?

TL;DR: I smell a plant.

 

[JPack]

Social media limits the resolution is the point. Heck, look at macrumors as an example. Their forum software does compress images. This is strictly about resolution not skill of the photographer.

Low resolution doesn't negate the fact that good cameras produce photos with better exposure and details.

In direct sunlight, photos can look dark because of poor exposure. In dark scenes, light sources can look like blobs or they can be well defined because of better sensors. Not even Google can write software to sharpen photos that compares to true 5x or 10x lenses.

 

[Dreads]

I’m sure Huawei will bring out a p40 in 3 months time plus another 5 different handsets so people can then rave about those cameras too... for me iPhone just works it makes calls send messages gets many updates and apples aftersales service is second to none...

 

[I7guy]

Low resolution doesn't negate the fact that good cameras produce photos with better exposure and details.

In direct sunlight, photos can look dark because of poor exposure. In dark scenes, light sources can look like blobs or they can be well defined because of better sensors. Not even Google can write software to sharpen photos that compares to true 5x or 10x lenses.

I’m relation to the thread topic, the p30 camera is not putting apple out of business. We could wax philosophical about photography until the cows come home, but photography I s not what is being discussed in this thread as the main topic.

 

[Shanghaichica]

Low resolution doesn't negate the fact that good cameras produce photos with better exposure and details.

In direct sunlight, photos can look dark because of poor exposure. In dark scenes, light sources can look like blobs or they can be well defined because of better sensors. Not even Google can write software to sharpen photos that compares to true 5x or 10x lenses.

The camera is impressive. However it’s not enough to make me switch. The camera on my XS max is good enough. I mainly take pictures of my kids and if I take pictures on outings its usually during the daytime in good lighting. The iphone camera is good enough.

For me it’s not about a phone in isolation. It’s about how the phone integrates with my other devices. It’s not a simple case of just replacing my current devices with android/android friendly devices. The iPad is the best tablet on the market imo. Getting an android tablet or chrome tablet would be a compromise. Add to this that there are no smart watches of the same quality as the Apple Watch. I don’t like windows computers and I’m not ready to switch to chrome just yet (even though I like it). I have an Apple TV, chromecast and fire TV. I only use the Apple TV.

So yes there are better phones out there than the iphone in terms of features, specs and price. However to switch I would be loosing out on a cohesive workflow. Changing up my devices to gain some kind of integration with an android phone means I end up with inferior devices.
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I’m sure Huawei will bring out a p40 in 3 months time plus another 5 different handsets so people can then rave about those cameras too... for me iPhone just works it makes calls send messages gets many updates and apples aftersales service is second to none...

That’s what it comes down to. Although I do other things with my phone like watch videos, go the net, shop, pay bills, use apps, listen to music etc I’m not going to do anything differently on an android phone. After a while the novelty of customisation will wear off, a lot of the power features are great but I wouldn’t use them on a daily basis.

When I used android the main reasons why I wouldn’t switch back to the iphone were:

Bigger screen
High resolution screen
Expandable memory


Once the 6 plus came out all of androids benefits for me were nullified. The 6 plus had a larger screen, 1080p and 128GB of memory. I’m not saying these are not the only advantages of android because there are many. These were just the main ones for me when I used android.

 

[44267547]

With the tech they add every year and the huge camera strides they make. The P30 Pro is sounding like the best smartphone ever made as a whole on the World level! I know the screen isn’t as good as it should be but everything else is top notch. The low light function and 50x zoom is INCREDIBLE! The dual video view is my favorite of all and it’s $200 cheaper than an iPhone. And after hearing the iPhone 11 rumored to not be anything special. It seems like the iPhone is an afterthought on the World level! If only they could sell Huawei in the US I would be buying one for sure and making the switch.

I’m not buying your post, It almost seems like it’s an exaggerated sales pitch on purpose against the iPhone. Now I know you’re entitled to your opinion, but by no means is your thread conclusive of obsoleting the iPhone altogether. Maybe the P30 has some strengths over the iPhone, but generally speaking, it’s all about the software experience today over the hardware primarily. I always like to say that hardware is primarily superficial in the beginning, but long-term, it comes down to the software experience for the user. That’s basically case in point.

 

[AustinIllini]

Most consumers probably don't even understand or care about camera specs. The iPhone still takes great pictures and that's all that matters to most. It's not likely that they care there's another camera out there that may be better because it's still not an iPhone. I'm half convinced that a lot of people aren't even aware that other smart phones exist.

This may be true but it's not a laurel Apple can rest on.

 

[nfl46]

Well, OP, that backfired. Lol.

And, hell no, it doesn't make the iPhone obsolete. The P30 Pro won't be the first phone with better specs than the iPhone.

 

[alpi123]

I really enjoy the 5x optical zoom but that's it. Nothing else would make me switch.

 

[michael9891]

No, of course not. Just because the P30 Pro brings photo capabilities that other phones don't have, it doesn't make phones without them obselete. If you're someone who really likes iOS and dislikes Android, it makes no difference what features an Android phone has.

 

[Arni99]

Both have their pros and cons and I own both.

@_Apple - please use the same bigger 1/1,7" inch sensor size for your iPhone 11 => better low light etc.

@Huawei: try to release software updates in time and at the same time (not in waves over 8 weeks) and world wide and for 5 year old devices as well just like Apple does AND @_google is it so hard to make a bit by bit full backup like Apple has been doing for years already?! Everytime I restore an Huawei or Google backup I need to set up my email accounts from scratch...except the gmail of course

We should thank Huawei for pushing others like Apple and Google to improve their camera every year and not every 2nd or 3rd year.