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And yet…Apple can design the iPhone 4 and 5 series without a camera bump. And flat sides on later models.

There will be a day when the camera bump is flush again and it won't be because I or others asked for it. It will be because Apple designed it that way, just like they always do.

Right now it's a physics issue and I get that. I own an 11 Pro Max and a 6s+, both iPhones with camera bumps. It's a desire of mine for the casing to be flush and I am expressing it. That's all.
I have no experience other than the 13 Pro.
Do the 4 and 5 series have the equivalent camera capabilities of the 12, 13, or 14?
 
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There will be a day when the camera bump is flush again and it won't be because I or others asked for it. It will be because Apple designed it that way, just like they always do.
I really hope this is true! But with people asking for greater and greater optical zoom in addition to thin phones, I fear more robust telescoping lenses will keep the bump where it is for years to come.
 
Totally agree. But there will be a day when technology is advanced sufficiently that the camera bump becomes a design feature (if it isn't already).

It's at that point where this reasoning is no longer a handy defense of the camera bump and people's true stand on the issue comes out. Are you okay with the bump if it's no longer necessary?

Be interesting then to see what the answer will be.



Ah yes, the same old, same old. As a non-case user you have absolutely no idea how many times your 'solution' has been suggested to me since 2014.

There's another one as well. "Do you stare at the back of your phone all day? Flip it over and the bump is gone".

And a third, "Apple designs the phone for cases, so that's why the bump is left there. Use a case."

Thank you though for the suggestion. I don't use cases and I will continue to not use them.
If you use no case, then the bump is going to be a problem when you set your phone flat on its back. it wiggles.
if you don't want it to wiggle and don't want to use a case, maybe you could get something that will stabilize it, like rubber feet or similar. Or even better: if you can find a thick enough piece of tempered glass to attach to the back that would be flush with the camera bumper, you may solve this issue.

if you don't use a case, I really hope you have AppleCare for it.
 
If you use no case, then the bump is going to be a problem when you set your phone flat on its back. it wiggles.
if you don't want it to wiggle and don't want to use a case, maybe you could get something that will stabilize it, like rubber feet or similar. Or even better: if you can find a thick enough piece of tempered glass to attach to the back that would be flush with the camera bumper, you may solve this issue.

if you don't use a case, I really hope you have AppleCare for it.
The bump is only an aesthetic problem for me.

2022-12-15 07.03.17.jpg2022-12-15 07.04.11.jpg

As for AC+ I had it until a month ago or so. It replaced my 11PM in May 2022 when I dropped it.

That said, since 2011 when I got my first iPhone (a 3GS) there's been only one screen cracked (6+) and one phone with cracked screen and back glass (11PM).

I pay attention to how I handle my phones, where I put them and how I hold them. Those things that most case users don't usually have to think about because having a case means they don't have to.
 
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I have no experience other than the 13 Pro.
Do the 4 and 5 series have the equivalent camera capabilities of the 12, 13, or 14?
No they do not.

However, I don't need all that. A great deal of the pictures I take are so my wife can tell me which product to bring home from Walmart.

Others do (or want it) and again, I understand the physics of the camera bump. Doesn't mean I have to like the aesthetic.
 
I really hope this is true! But with people asking for greater and greater optical zoom in addition to thin phones, I fear more robust telescoping lenses will keep the bump where it is for years to come.
I don't doubt it. I don't see it happening overnight but at some far point in the future. But, hey, you never know when.
 
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14PM 1TB 2099 Euros in Germany. At todays rate it’s over 2200 USD.

The Euro has gotten stronger (or the USD has gotten weaker) since the iPhone 14 models launched. However, even with the stronger Euro/weaker USD, various European prices are still fairly similar to U.S. prices. For example, a regular 128GB iPhone 14 in Germany before VAT is 834 (around $809 USD when iPhone 14 launched and currently around $889 USD) while a regular 128GB iPhone 14 in the U.S. before sales tax is $829.
 
The bump is only an aesthetic problem for me.

View attachment 2128701View attachment 2128700

As for AC+ I had it until a month ago or so. It replaced my 11PM in May 2022 when I dropped it.

That said, since 2011 when I got my first iPhone (a 3GS) there's been only one screen cracked (6+) and one phone with cracked screen and back glass (11PM).

I pay attention to how I handle my phones, where I put them and how I hold them. Those things that most case users don't usually have to think about because having a case means they don't have to.
In my case, I'm also very careful. But I use a case because it makes it easier to handle it, otherwise it gets slippery.
But the main reason, it is to protect it from other people around me who may accidentally drop it or damage it.
Also, the Spigen case I use has something that allows me to make it stand.
 
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In my case, I'm also very careful. But I use a case because it makes it easier to handle it, otherwise it gets slippery.
But the main reason, it is to protect it from other people around me who may accidentally drop it or damage it.
Also, the Spigen case I use has something that allows me to make it stand.
There's a divide with case users (I've no formal study or numbers, just based on observations and conversations here). Some are quite careful (as you are) and others admit that because they use a case they willingly toss their phone around. Near as I can tell it's a fairly even split.

I don't hate cases, I just don't like them for my own use. I have used them in the past for specific things and will in the future for those same things. If I had a physical job I'd be using a case. But I do not. I've sat behind a computer all day for my employment since 1999 and since 2020 I work from home 100 percent.

The majority of the time my phones go into business card holders. I have one for each space I occupy. My desk in the front room, the desk in the bedroom next to the bed, in the garage where I have another setup, etc. In cars, my phone goes either in a cupholder or in a space before the shifter in the case of my older car. When I'm out the phone will go on a table or on my seat/chair under a thigh so it doesn't move. When walking, it's in a back pocket.

I handle my phone with two hands. Explaining to my wife how I damaged a ~$1000 phone because I one-handed it is not on my list of favorite things to do. If I'm in crowds, I cradle my phone or put it away.

I have two kids, one is 19 and has learned to protect his phone and doesn't use cases either. My other kid is 14 and since I got her a new phone earlier this year I made her put it in a case. I can't trust her to not drop her phone. My wife uses cases. Aside from the fact that her job sometimes requires physical activity she'd still use cases. It's just her thing and she likes the whole design of cases thing.

When my kids were younger they were taught not to touch our stuff. They had their own toys and eventually they had their own devices so going after ours became less of a thing. My daughter managed to ban herself from using my iPad when she was 10 or so because she put a dent in it. So, stuff has happened. As careful as I try to be, things do get damaged. But in general, being as careful as I can has led to devices being undamaged.
 
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Don't know how this became a thread about cases?

However the fact that most phones are made of two sheets of glass with a metal frame means that using a case is pretty much mandatory.

I remember the day after I bought a phone I dropped it from pretty high right on the concrete of the sidewalk by accident. I am usually very careful with things that cost a lot of money and never buy insurance. Luckily I had a pretty good case on it and there wasn't even a scratch.

Now I use a tempered glass screen protector and case on my phone's. It has saved me numerous times. I am tall so when I drop a phone it usually has enough distance to cause damage.

As careful as I try to be I end up dropping my phone at least a few times I own it and it only takes once on an unforgiving surface at the right angle to cause a lot of damage.

I don't really like using a case. I feel like it covers up the design of the device. I also feel like it makes my phone bigger and slightly heavier and I don't like it. But having had to replace a phone due to dropping it or having the screen damaged I have learned my lesson.

I completely understand why people use a phone without a case and wish I could do so without damaging it.
 
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Oakley will custom build sunglasses with the components that you choose.
They're expensive but not as expensive as customizing an already built pair to suit your liking.
With a tech product, though, I forsee a logistical nightmare should the item need diagnosis, repair, or replacement.

Apple offers BTO options for most of it's other product lines?

It is a 6 of one, half a dozen of the other, I suppose? Either an ever expanding number of iPhones and variations of each, (We're at 8 different iPhones for sale now, before you count the various storage and color options..) or three base models, each with a handful of BTO options... In addition to a few "off the shelf"/"Ready to go" Good Better Best options to quickly click and order.

I'm not entirely sure that adding a similar BTO option that exists for their other products to a smaller number of iPhone models would make things any worse in terms of service/repair? At worst, I'd think it'd be a wash?

And, let's all be honest, all of Apple's product lines are feeling very much like the 90s in terms of an ever increasing number of SKUs that many people can't really tell apart/which one is really better, etc (Looking right at you iPads)

I mean, the exponentially expanding product lines would actually be worth it if we could get some WiFi 6E Airport gear out of it? Sadly...

apple.com/feedback
 
However the fact that most phones are made of two sheets of glass with a metal frame means that using a case is pretty much mandatory.
I know you're being dramatic here, but neither Apple nor T-Mobile required me to sign any sort of waiver about not using cases when I bought my 11 Pro Max.

In the two instances where I have either cracked a screen or broken front and rear glass I was ill and not paying attention. When you're loopy and unbalanced because you're sick stuff happens.

In any case I have phones that have gone for 7+ years (and longer) without damage. And still do.

I will continue to not use cases.
 
I pay attention to how I handle my phones, where I put them and how I hold them. Those things that most case users don't usually have to think about because having a case means they don't have to.

I don’t use cases, never have, I use iPhone wallets in leather rather. Never had a phone break or being damaged due to lack of care. So I agree with you.
Now to my Mini, I use the same wallets I used to iPhone 4 and 5 😁 I even had 2 of them saved, one well used and one not much at all. Perfect.
I dropped my XR a few times on the floor, not outdoors, never a scratch or that something happened with it. That one was a lot more slippery than the new Mini. But ok, the Mini have more glass. Hope it holds for a normal drop at home, because that might happen. Outdoors, doubt it.

It Apple release a new iPhone Mini every 3-5 years I would be very happy with that. Now I have a new one, so I am good until 2025-27-ish.
One can always hope….but a phone is a phone. If they don’t release more Mini's, I'll adjust 😊
 
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Don't know how this became a thread about cases?

However the fact that most phones are made of two sheets of glass with a metal frame means that using a case is pretty much mandatory.

I remember the day after I bought a phone I dropped it from pretty high right on the concrete of the sidewalk by accident. I am usually very careful with things that cost a lot of money and never buy insurance. Luckily I had a pretty good case on it and there wasn't even a scratch.

Now I use a tempered glass screen protector and case on my phone's. It has saved me numerous times. I am tall so when I drop a phone it usually has enough distance to cause damage.

As careful as I try to be I end up dropping my phone at least a few times I own it and it only takes once on an unforgiving surface at the right angle to cause a lot of damage.

I don't really like using a case. I feel like it covers up the design of the device. I also feel like it makes my phone bigger and slightly heavier and I don't like it. But having had to replace a phone due to dropping it or having the screen damaged I have learned my lesson.

I completely understand why people use a phone without a case and wish I could do so without damaging it.
We got to cases by way of the bump. I totally get your viewpoint.

Naked phones are pretty much a status symbol, however, a phone with a carefully-selected case adds a bit of personality. I have multiple cases depending on my mood and occasion, just as I will have in bands when I finally spring for an Apple Watch since I am a person that loves variety. So I am guilty of having multiple items for the same task. No big deal to me, as long as it’s not overboard.

I will admit, though, I do try to babysit my tech products as much as possible, sometimes to the point of helicopter-parenting them. As beautiful and elegant as Apple iPhones are, they still need to be protected from happenstances, just like there are still car bumpers on BMWs. And besides, there are too many cases to choose from which portrays our mood, tastes, and/or aura with additional functionality like card holders, light rings, pop sockets, etc… to boot.

My preference is to use a case (and screen protector in which I still NEED one — recommendations?), but I do appreciate a gorgeous Naked iPhone, as well.
 
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