Other In your view, at what point did the iPhone become “mature”?

[Seanm87]

As the topic states, at what point did you think the iPhone reached a point where the upgrades have become minor and the phone is perfectly capable for most people?

In my opinion the iPhone X (the one I am still on) was the point in which the iphone hit its full potential, with the bezel-less design, OLED screen, excellent camera, fast speed and stainless steel design. Everything since then has been pretty meh as far as I’ve been concerned e.g. better cameras, faster speed which isn’t even noticeable in day to day etc. And not only that its got thicker and heavier too. This is just my opinion though I’m sure others will disagree.

So when do you think it became mature? Or do you think it still hasn’t matured yet?

 

[Ethosik]

I think the 6 series. Every time a new one comes out, they are focusing so much time on photos and camera. Its not something I am interested in.

 

[imp3rator]

11 Pro - all day battery life in smaller form factor without any drawbacks...

 

[phillytim]

The iPhone 6s Plus in 2015.

I have been an iPhone user ever since the 3GS, and could not wait to get launch upgrades every other year ... the 4S, the 5S, then the 6s Plus .... I happily kept the 6s Plus until the 11 Pro Max came out (my current phone).

Heck, I wanted to keep my 6s Plus until the 5G iPhone 12 came out, but I couldn't make it another year with my 6s Plus - due to it being dropped and killing my speaker. I still had all day battery life with it!

Part of it was that i much preferred TouchID over FaceID. But I realized that the 6s Plus phone was plenty fast enough for any app I could throw at it. Even to this day, Apple provides iOS updates for it, and the performance is reported only slightly lower. I did not feel that I missed any 'feature' that newer iPhones obtained over the following several releases.

The only real sparkle that I felt about my new 11 Pro Max was the updated camera, which was 4 years newer and tangibly better than what the 6s Plus had. I pretty much felt that I had just bought a $1250 2x optical zoom camera.

And BINGO - I realized the iPhone peaked maturity with the 6s Plus, ever since 2015. Even my best friend is still happy on her 6s Plus, but she does plan to upgrade when the 12 comes out.

 

[JPack]

iPhone 6 series

Particularly the 5.5" Plus. Once the iPhone reached the mainstream display size of 5.5", it satisfied most consumers. The NFC feature introduced with the iPhone 6 is still being used today, whether it's for Apple Pay or for transit.

After the iPhone 6, the features introduced were nice to have, but not critical.

 

[Lwii2boo]

For its time iPhone 6S/6S+ for sure.
One of the longuest software support. Still smooth and updated on iOS 14.
It's the perfect iPhone 6 with future-proofing enabled thanks to 2 GB RAM in 2015. IMO iPhone 6 can't be considered as good one because poor spec for a good longevity + the "Plus" one could bend a bit too easily.

But some other products were very strong too like iPhone 4 (Retina), iPhone 5S (64 bits, Touch ID, full LTE/4G in ALL countries, longuest support). I think about the X too just because of the new form factor - a bit too early to be sure on that one and the photo is not insane for 2017 phone vs competitors.

 

[iphonehype]

When it had 3G haha.

 

[Feyl]

I’d say with the 5S. It had everything good enough plus it added 64-bit and biometric security with mobile payments. From that time Apple only makes everything better and faster but doesn’t add anything really new. Actually, they like to get rid of features, like a headphone jack and 3D Touch.

 

[eyoungren]

As the topic states, at what point did you think the iPhone reached a point where the upgrades have become minor and the phone is perfectly capable for most people?

In my opinion the iPhone X (the one I am still on) was the point in which the iphone hit its full potential, with the bezel-less design, OLED screen, excellent camera, fast speed and stainless steel design. Everything since then has been pretty meh as far as I’ve been concerned e.g. better cameras, faster speed which isn’t even noticeable in day to day etc. And not only that its got thicker and heavier too. This is just my opinion though I’m sure others will disagree.

So when do you think it became mature? Or do you think it still hasn’t matured yet?

Mature in design - iPhone 5. That's the design form I like. If Apple ever sells an iPhone 5 in the size of the iPhone 6+, I'm there as I do prefer the larger size.

Mature in technology - iPhone 6 series. Apple's just been reiterating since then.

 

[compwiz1202]

As the topic states, at what point did you think the iPhone reached a point where the upgrades have become minor and the phone is perfectly capable for most people?

In my opinion the iPhone X (the one I am still on) was the point in which the iphone hit its full potential, with the bezel-less design, OLED screen, excellent camera, fast speed and stainless steel design. Everything since then has been pretty meh as far as I’ve been concerned e.g. better cameras, faster speed which isn’t even noticeable in day to day etc. And not only that its got thicker and heavier too. This is just my opinion though I’m sure others will disagree.

So when do you think it became mature? Or do you think it still hasn’t matured yet?

I agree once FaceID came, there hasn't been anything else substantial.

 

[freeagent]

I’m a little indecisive on this. Part of me says the 5S, and another part says the 7, but I also want to say the X is when it all came together. But really, it’s all just a work in progress, as it hasn’t stopped maturing. Yes they add new features yearly, but they are mostly building on what they already have. That why each year it seems like an incremental update.

 

[rui no onna]

For its time iPhone 6S/6S+ for sure.
One of the longuest software support. Still smooth and updated on iOS 14.
It's the perfect iPhone 6 with future-proofing enabled thanks to 2 GB RAM in 2015. IMO iPhone 6 can't be considered as good one because poor spec for a good longevity + the "Plus" one could bend a bit too easily.

Yep, same here. The performance jump with A9 was very impressive. That was roughly when Apple chipsets matched Intel Core 2 Duo level which boded very well for longevity.

 

[javisan]

iPhone X in my opinion. The change from the 6/7/8 form factor to the X was the last big/significant design change and peak in terms of *useful/important* features.

I don't foresee that happening again unless they release a foldable iPhone, which I think they never will. The fad will die down before they do.

The only other thing they could do is full screen display (100% screen, no notch and ports like Ive wanted) but even that would have mainly the same look as the X.

 

[JPack]

I don't foresee that happening again unless they release a foldable iPhone, which I think they never will. The fad will die down before they do.

I'm not sure why it's considered a fad. The display size of the iPhone is increasing every couple of years. Is there a better engineering solution that maximizes display area?

 

[QCassidy352]

I think you could make an argument for practically any iPhone model (maybe not the original or the 3G), but my choice is iPhone 5 (first model with LTE and a 4" screen). That's the point at which I stopped yearly upgrades because the year-over-year value-add didn't seem to be what it had been.

 

[javisan]

I'm not sure why it's considered a fad. The display size of the iPhone is increasing every couple of years. Is there a better engineering solution that maximizes display area?

That is a solution for the population who want an ultra small device with a large screen. To date, the only people excited about foldables appear to be a select few tech enthusiasts, just for the novelty. As of today, I don't think the general public is clamoring foldables. We geeks get excited because its something new/different.

The trend will now be the opposite: smaller screens & phones. Apple will begin the trend again with the 5.4" iPhone and you'll see the Android copycats follow suit shortly afterwards. I think the era wanting large screens in your pocket has peaked. Maybe it is just me, but I see more people excited about downgrading from a Pro Max model to the 5.4" iPhone than people wanting to go to the Pro Max model. Pricing might also be a factor in the desire for a smaller phone.

 

[MTD's Mac]

I’d say 2014 with the iPhone 6 series.

The jump from 4 to 4.7 inches (or more with the +) meant you could actually do new things on your iPhone that have been possible ever since, but hadn’t been before.

A strong case could be made for the iPhone X in 2017, but the changes had more to do with the subjective experience of using it, not the phone’s actual capabilities.

 

[McScooby]

3GS to become proper, maturity is an ongoing development.

 

[HandsomeDanNZ]

I agree with those that are saying the iPhone matured at the X...
Form factor, screen tech, cameras etc all really got to the point where everything else has just been somewhat iterative.
I have the 11Pro, which I love, but I would have stayed with my X or XS Max had the rest of the family not needed upgrades (which because of selfish reasons and cost, they always get my hand-me-downs).

 

[KittyKatta]

As the topic states, at what point did you think the iPhone reached a point where the upgrades have become minor and the phone is perfectly capable for most people?

Home Button: iPhone 7
Notch: iPhone XS

Our kids play Pokemon Go so on the weekends we have a lot of old phones that we randomly hotspot for them. 6, 6S, SE, 7 and 8. To me, the 7 is the model where I no longer feel “this is old” or “this is slow”. The 6, 6S and SE definitely feel a bit laggy but in basic usage the 7 feels identical to the 8.

(Sidenote: With Notch phones then I think the 11 series is the sweet spot.)

 

[Dkka1]

Iphone 6s.

The X is not mature. FaceId is crap in a huge amount of scenarios, steel is a gimmick to charge more for a supposedly luxury line during a booming economic cycle, OLED and bigger screen was a given considering the competition. The oled sceeen wasn't even good.

It's probably the less mature phone in a way since the first one.

 

[Jimmy James]

5s. Fast 64 bit processor that didn’t require a year over year upgrade to remain great. Camera was good for its era.

 

[K4VKS]

i agree with many here, the 6 was when it changed for me

 

[millerj123]

Really the 5S. After that, it stopped being a phone. I'd happily give up my 6S and SE2 for something the size of the 5.

 

[klasma]

Two answers:
1) 3GS: At that point the iPhone had become mature enough that I decided to buy one.
2) SE (2016): That’s when I stopped upgrading and it has been fine ever since.