iPhone 15 Pro Expected Next Week With These 12 New Features

[solq]

At the next ITU-D meeting, I will let the delegates from Airtel Kenya and Safaricom know that they have been wasting their time offering iPhones and promoting eSIMs for their iPhone customers since:

I will also suggest they remove the iPhones they offer for sale.


To which market are you referring? More and more markets now support eSIMs, because they want to be able to serve international travelers, for whom eSIMs are much easier. Apple still offers physical SIM versions of their phones in markets where no carriers offer eSIMs, but a desire to capture high revenue expats is a strong incentive.

Man, beat up that strawman, have no mercy! Show them at that ITU-D meeting!

Tell us again about the pressure, please. Use actual figures if you can.

Adding eSIM management to a network will probably cost a few million in software and contractor fees. Please tell us how many iPhone customers do they need to recoup that investment? How are they going to do that in most of Africa? You know, Kenya is like the nice, rich part? Even with the shanty town in Nairobi...

Apple has no leverage here. They're going with the flow in high income countries where there's enough disposable revenue for carriers to implement fluff like eSIM. In much of the world, nobody cares and Apple can't force them.

What do you care so much, do you sell eSIM management software?

 

[Alan Wynn]

And second I prefer local backups to iCloud so I'm plugging in regularly for that. Restoring 256+ GB backups over Lightning is a huge PITA (literally takes hours). That finally goes away with fast transfer speeds (on the Pro at least).

I like both kinds of backups, but I prefer to use WiFi for my local Mac backups using iMazing. It means that I can back up from anywhere in the house, rather than just when I am cabled to the machine.

 

[5232152]

I own 0 Apple stock. 🤦‍♂️

So you just hate the environment for the sake of the environment? Got it.

 

[5232152]

Sorry, not sure how this decision is "pro-environment". I expect at most one or two more generations with any cable port and that means that many people will have to throw out many perfectly good Lightning cables they already have, in order to buy a whole new set of new USB-C cables that are a compatibility nightmare.

It's called recycling. You throw them in the right bin and they get stripped for rare metals. Sure, some third-world countries might not have that infrastructure, but they also don't have excessive amounts of iPhones. Most likely the polyester in people's clothes (that they don't recycle) creates a bigger weekly impact than all the lightning cables in the world. Not whataboutism, but more about scale and context.

 

[mongobongo]

I like both kinds of backups, but I prefer to use WiFi for my local Mac backups using iMazing. It means that I can back up from anywhere in the house, rather than just when I am cabled to the machine.

You don't need iMazing for that. WiFi backups also work through Finder. I still prefer wired local backups though. To each their own.

 

[mike2q]

If the “lesser” brand is selling product at a price overlap (which is happening) then the premium brand needs to increase prices to hold on to the “premium” moniker. Otherwise, the lesser brand becomes The premium brand, if customers are willing to pay.

That is categorically false and a scary president to set for yourself. If you're basing quality solely on price then you're already on the road to ruin. Consider if the motel 6 decided to raise its rate above that of the Ritz-Carlton with no changes to its rooms or the service it provides. The Motel 6 would not become the premium brand just because they decided to charge more. There would be no action required on the part of the Ritz as they are still the superior experience. By that logic the Samsung S23 Ultra is the better smartphone because it costs more than the iPhone 14 Pro Max.

 

[bobcomer]

For what do you need to connect your iPhone via cable?

Fast reliable data transfer.

 

[bobcomer]

I cannot think of the last time I needed to connect one of my iPhones using a cable to solve a problem. WiFi 7 (probably a year or two out) is more than fast enough for most applications.

Wifi 7 will also be VERY expensive if the first wifi 7 routers are any indication. I've shopped for them and wont be upgrading anytime soon!

Not to mention the iPhone 15 or 16 will probably not use wifi 7. Apple's always been slow upgrading to standards like that.

 

[bobcomer]

Basically a software problem for most people who still need it.

I've rarely had to fix a software problem, but it has happened, and I want to be able to without sending it in to Apple. But mainly safe, fast, secure, data transfer is what I use the cable for most often.

 

[bobcomer]

That is great. Should make your purchasing choice that much easier.

It does, but I don't buy the cheapie androids for myself.

That is great as it means one fewer reason to care about your iPhone.

I doubt if I upgrade this year, but we'll see. Gotta see what the specs really are.

Your use case clearly and needs are clearly not going to be addressed by Apple. No premium iPhone is going to sacrifice camera quality in the way you want. If that is a requirement for you, I would suggest looking at other devices.

We'll see, but I think you're right, at least until people stop buying. It would be no big change for me to have 2 android phones rather than 1 iPhone, and one android.

 

[return2sendai]

I'm in the EU and when I get my 15 pro max I'll have to replace all the lightning cables and chargers I've collected over the years and which serve me well. At home, at work, in the car and when travelling. Which would have served me well until Apple and the ecosystem get rid of wired connection altogether (which I only really need for wired carplay btw. no massive videos or anything). So from a personal perspective it's hardly a big win environmentally or financially speaking.

Then a back of an envelope calculation. My guess is that given Apple has a notoriously high customer satisfaction AND iPhone market share is not growing at a huge rate => the majority of people buying new iPhones will be existing Apple customers and NOT switchers. By the same token not a huge number of people are switching to Android.

QED the majority of purchasers will have an experience similar to mine and be having to replace perfectly good cables.

So yeah, I concur with the cynical tone.

(Fair disclosure I actually live in Brussels, have daily experience of the EU thing and observe time and time again how well-meaning bureaucrats tamper naively with complex systems to produce unintended results.)

Recycle your lightning cables and reuse the USB-C cables you already use for everything non-lighting.

 

[Alan Wynn]

Man, beat up that strawman, have no mercy!

Got it. When you make the statement that they cannot afford it, it is meaningful, but when I point out that you are wrong it is a straw man.

Adding eSIM management to a network will probably cost a few million in software and contractor fees. Please tell us how many iPhone customers do they need to recoup that investment? How are they going to do that in most of Africa?

Here is a list of some of the African countries that already offer eSIMs:

• Algeria
• Angola
• Burkina Faso
• Burundi
• Cameroon
• Congo
• Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Egypt
• Ghana
• Guinea
• Guinea-Bissau
• Ivory Coast
• Kenya
• Madagascar
• Malawi
• Mali
• Mauritius
• Morocco
• Nigeria
• Senegal
• Seychelles
• South Africa
• Sri Lanka
• Sudan
• Tanzania
• Tunisia
• Uganda
• Zimbabwe

A year ago that list was much smaller. In a year it will be bigger.

You know, Kenya is like the nice, rich part? Even with the shanty town in Nairobi...

Apple has no leverage here. They're going with the flow in high income countries where there's enough disposable revenue for carriers to implement fluff like eSIM. In much of the world, nobody cares and Apple can't force them.

Interesting. In this article about eSIM being approved for use in Egypt, it only mentions one phone with eSIM capability and notes that iPhone offer the option to have up to 8 eSIMs on the device. While you may think it does not matter, apparently it is important enough to be mentioned.

What do you care so much, do you sell eSIM management software?

I care because I do a lot of international travel and eSIM makes getting a local SIM much easier. My only disappointments on Apple eSIM implementation is that I can only have 2 active numbers at a time, and that I can only have 8 eSIMs on the device at once. For me, 4 active and 16-24 would be great.

Why is a SIM tray so important for you? How often do you need a local SIM in a place where eSIM is not supported?

 

[Alan Wynn]

It's called recycling.

You do understand that recycling these cables and being forced to purchase many new ones has a worse environmental impact than just continuing to use them and not needing to replace them, right?

 

[Alan Wynn]

You don't need iMazing for that.

I was not arguing that one does, just that is the software I use for it. (It is a great product and I recommend it highly.)

I still prefer wired local backups though.

I am curious why you prefer to only do your backups when you are sitting next to your machine, rather than whenever your phone is inactive anywhere in the house? With WiFi 7 (at most a few years from now), this will be even more convenient. Not arguing that wired backup is bad, just much less convenient (so I am curious why you prefer it).

 

[Alan Wynn]

Fast reliable data transfer.

You do not get fast, reliable data transfer from WiFi 6E? You do not think that WiFi 7 will be fast enough for your iPhone needs? Curious what you are transferring on a regular basis that makes this an issue for you?

 

[Alan Wynn]

Wifi 7 will also be VERY expensive if the first wifi 7 routers are any indication. I've shopped for them and wont be upgrading anytime soon!

The first generation are always expensive, but by the time that Apple includes it - about a year or two (as I mentioned in the post you quoted), they will be quite affordable.

Not to mention the iPhone 15 or 16 will probably not use wifi 7. Apple's always been slow upgrading to standards like that.

Again, as I said, it will likely next year’s or the year after that, at which point I would expect Apple to get rid of the cable altogether. WiFi 6E is fast enough for the incremental backups I do and has the advantage of working everywhere in my house, not requiring me to leave my device by the machine to which I am transferring.

I prefer wired connections for fixed devices (hence all my Macs are connected using 10Gb/s Ethernet), and wireless connections for mobile devices.

 

[gaximus]

That is categorically false and a scary president to set for yourself. If you're basing quality solely on price then you're already on the road to ruin. Consider if the motel 6 decided to raise its rate above that of the Ritz-Carlton with no changes to its rooms or the service it provides. The Motel 6 would not become the premium brand just because they decided to charge more. There would be no action required on the part of the Ritz as they are still the superior experience. By that logic the Samsung S23 Ultra is the better smartphone because it costs more than the iPhone 14 Pro Max.

Its not actual quality its perceived quality and part of marketing, if Motel 6 started charging more, (and kept renting rooms and the higher price, that's important) then Ritz-Carlton would become a "perceived" lesser brand. Otherwise, why would people pay more for less, and this usually doesn't happen. Its the same reason that GM would never let a spec'd out Chevy Suburban be priced higher than their spec'd out Cadillac Escalade, there the same vehicle, owned by the same company, but it would lower the perceived value of Cadillac. My original argument is that Apple increase the price of the iPhone 15 Pro/Ultra so that it be more expensive than Samsung S23 Ultra at the same capacity, so that Apple will hold on to the "Premium" brand, and keep making "better" phones.

 

[Alan Wynn]

Why not just reuse the USB-C cables we already own, reducing new cable production?

Because I have very few USB-C cables, but have a large number is Lightning cables for a very large number of Apple devices (Airpods, keyboards, mice, iPhones, remotes and trackpads).

 

[Alan Wynn]

Recycle your lightning cables and reuse the USB-C cables you already use for everything non-lighting.

Recycling my cable is still a much worse environmental impact then just being able to continue using them until I no longer need them.

 

[mongobongo]

I was not arguing that one does, just that is the software I use for it. (It is a great product and I recommend it highly.)

I wasn't arguing either 😀 Just making sure you weren't using iMazing for that reason alone.

I am curious why you prefer to only do your backups when you are sitting next to your machine, rather than whenever your phone is inactive anywhere in the house? With WiFi 7 (at most a few years from now), this will be even more convenient. Not arguing that wired backup is bad, just much less convenient (so I am curious why you prefer it).

To be honest I haven't played around with wireless backups for a long time. I think it might be good enough for incremental backups as you say. But I can't imagine it's good enough for a complete restore of 256+ GB, come to think if it, is that even possible? For a restore you still need a fast reliable wired connection. I used to dread migrating to a new phone just for that as it would take several hours to transfer my photos and music. The restore would often fail as well. This year I'm looking forward to see just how much the process will improve!

As for WiFi 7 a few years from now, I think you might be right about that as well. The only downside is that I live in the present and not in the future. But I'll see you there when it gets here 😉

 

[tripsync]

So you just hate the environment for the sake of the environment? Got it.

Nope. You're completely misunderstanding what I said.

Have a good one.

 

[bobcomer]

You do not get fast, reliable data transfer from WiFi 6E?

Not really. It's better than 5, but I still prefer wired.

You do not think that WiFi 7 will be fast enough for your iPhone needs?

It's possible it will be, I wouldn't know since I don't have a wifi 7 router or a device that can use wifi 7. My internet provider doesn't even have 6E yet in their router.

 

[bobcomer]

The first generation are always expensive, but by the time that Apple includes it - about a year or two (as I mentioned in the post you quoted), they will be quite affordable.

We'll see, though I think you're underestimating the timeframe.

Again, as I said, it will likely next year’s or the year after that, at which point I would expect Apple to get rid of the cable altogether. WiFi 6E is fast enough for the incremental backups I do and has the advantage of working everywhere in my house, not requiring me to leave my device by the machine to which I am transferring.

I really don't work anywhere in my house, so that's not a concern of mine -- I have a dedicated workspace where I have everything I need, and that fits the way I do things well. 6E's not quite as fast or reliable as I'd want, even in my dedicated workspace. There's a lot of EM noise nearby...

 

[mongobongo]

It's possible it will be, I wouldn't know since I don't have a wifi 7 router or a device that can use wifi 7. My internet provider doesn't even have 6E yet in their router.

Same here, my internet provider just the other day replaced my router. It's their brand new model and it's only WiFi 6.

 

[compwiz1202]

And don't forget more cost Or is that less filling

And they taste great. You can lick them this time and they taste like their color like in Willy Wonka