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Other Is it just me or is the iphone getting a little...boring?

ericwn said:
I don’t think you void the Apple warranty. Doesn’t that only extend to hardware components and issues with the workmanship? If you find a warranty agreement from Apple that covers software please point me to it.
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I think I was mistaken. I was corrected earlier. For some reason I could have swore that was a thing. I remember people saying they had to wipe their phones to make sure Apple couldn’t tell they had jailbroke their phone. But maybe I just be wrong.

Edit: A Google search indicates that if Apple became aware that you jailbroke your phone, whether it be for repair or service, it voided the 1 year warranty. If you were able to restore to factory settings first, you were good to go.
 
lordhamster said:
I have zero interest in widgets or custom icon packs. Even on my previous Pixel 4XL, I never found a single widget that I'd want on my home screen. Custom icon packs... I just don't care enough to waste my time.

That said, I totally get why people don't want to jailbreak just for these UI customizations. Jailbreaking comes with all sorts of security concerns, not the least of which is you constantly need to worry what updates will break your jailbreak.

Many apps (especially MDM work apps) simply won't even run on a jailbroken phone. Personally, it is too much hassle for me just to get a different shape or color icon.
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100%.
Most people that have iPhone has it because they just want something that works. I had a lady today who sits on a few boards and bxn her and her husband their liquid net worth is over $100mm, reach out to me and say, “oh, can I download (your mobile app) on the Apple store?”.

i’ll bet a month’s worth of pay her iPhone isn’t the 12 or even the 11.

if you’re spending more time customizing your phone and/or wanting your phone to do all sorts of gimmicks beyond call/text/FaceTime and reading articles online or listening to podcast (and ok, the occasional tweet or Instagram or...nah not tiktok) I would hope you’re either under 18 and riding on your parents coattails or over 60 and retired (or under 60 but retired).
 
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Seanm87 said:
The iphone is such an iconic product and for years it was always exciting when a new phone came out. Sure some years weren’t as interesting as others but it mostly always felt like a good upgrade even if you did it every year.

But now, all it seems to be every year is better camera, faster processor and (sometimes) better battery life. The last time a truly exciting thing happened IMO was the all screen design with the X. I have an iphone 12 but I’m not really sure what it does that my XS didn’t do (yeah i know there are things but i mean for my personal circumstances). It all just feels the same. I upgrade every 2-3 years on average, maybe i just need to hold on for them for longer.

Anyone else feel the same way?
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Absolutely. Which is why I've been desiring a folding iPhone for years now. And that will most likely become a reality in 2022 judging by recent rumors. I love my 12 PM but we have reached a limit for the potential of this device category in its current form factor.
 
iPhone has come a long way since 2007
Hardware changes are possible in the future such as a foldable iPhone etc
However major changes such as AI VR AL. are still a few years away
Remember Apple will incorporate new changes once available. They have plenty of patents to draw from
 
Aren’t all smartphones rather boring if you’re specifically looking at what they offer in terms of excitement?

I’ve done the same tasks daily with my smartphone that I’ve done for the past decade. They are an every day tool that we are just accustomed to and use. Whether you use Android or iPhone you’re likely doing the same things anyway.
 
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After years of using only Android phones and telling everyone that asked for suggestions to get Android phones, my number two reason for finally moving to an iPhone starting with the 6s Plus was what others might consider a boring phone. As I got older, I just couldn't keep up with all of the gimmicks that Android phones were trying to implement. I know there are people that love (and show off) all of the "hover your palm over the screen to do this" and "swipe with your finger to do this but swipe with your knuckle to do this" and "knock on the screen to do this" and "two fingers do this but one finger does this" and "shake your phone to do this" and "swipe in this exact spot to make icons appear on the side of the screen," but to me, it was too overwhelming. As @RRC wrote: "...the simplicity and function of iOS is the draw."
 
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I wouldn't say boring rather not exciting.
Seanm87 said:
The last time a truly exciting thing happened IMO was the all screen design with the X.
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Agreed. Although, for me, it was also how that change essentially made the 'regular' iPhone a "Plus/Max" with little increase to the entire device size. I have considered the phablet size, but continue to believe it's just too big for a pocket device -- and, no, I don't want a dual screen folding phone. Oh, and FaceID was intriguing as well as proved very helpful for me. With TouchID, I need to wipe my hands off throughout the day, whether I've dirtied them or not, or it stops recognizing.

Anyway...

Camera enhancements are nice and performance improvements are always welcome, however, I'm not dissatisfied with those aspects of my iPhone X.

The only other notable addition would be the UW camera. I assume, most people utilize it for group shots, but it can also be an alternative to pano when taking scenery/landscape shots.
 
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bobmans said:
All upgrades are incremental right now, which is totally fine. We're starting to reach the peak of what a phone can do.

Just think about it, what more "major changes" can they do with a phone?
Face ID under the screen? Still a few years out probably, possibly 2022 model I guess
Major new battery technology? Also definitely still a few years out

There's only so much you can do in a device as small as a phone and imo peak smartphone has already been reached and the only thing that can be added are incremental improvements on the existing hardware.
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Agreed that they are pretty much incremental here on out with a few exceptions. I think the next big step has already been pushed around quite a bit but hasn’t caught on I think for company financial reasons (they want to sell more devices).

One device (your phone) with the brains and all other larger devices are just larger empty shell screens and keyboards the phone docks into.

I would pay good money for an iphone with a ton of storage, great camera and the ability to dock into a TV to Facetime, Skype etc then turn around and dock it to a workstation and get a proper OS. The transition away from Intel may make this happen.
 
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Seanm87 said:
The iphone is such an iconic product and for years it was always exciting when a new phone came out. Sure some years weren’t as interesting as others but it mostly always felt like a good upgrade even if you did it every year.

But now, all it seems to be every year is better camera, faster processor and (sometimes) better battery life. The last time a truly exciting thing happened IMO was the all screen design with the X. I have an iphone 12 but I’m not really sure what it does that my XS didn’t do (yeah i know there are things but i mean for my personal circumstances). It all just feels the same. I upgrade every 2-3 years on average, maybe i just need to hold on for them for longer.

Anyone else feel the same way?
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This is an old question and one that's been asked after every game changing update (like the original iPhone) the old argument of where's the innovation anymore? but the truth is once a new concept has been around for more than 10 years innovation becomes incremental by nature.

Samsung and co "Innovate" every year with bleeding edge options, but how many stick around?

I understand your point and there's part of me that wants the next big game changer but the mobile market has been so saturated with new ideas since the first iPhone that there's not much left to work with.

I've stuck with Apple because they don't jump on every new and fancy idea, to me it seems they sit back see what works then work to perfect new options rather than throwing everything at the wall to see what sticks.

In my opinion mobile phones will get incrementally better over time but unless someone can figure out holograms there's not much left to do.

Instead I think the next big innovation will be AR, it's still in it's infancy and just like the Apple watch if Apple can figure this out it's not going to be phones that matter anymore it'll be wearables like the rumoured Apple Glasses.
 
It doesn't matter if they're boring now or not. Old iPhones will become deprecated and unusable in one way or another and we'll all have to buy new ones within 7 years whether we want to or not
 
Seanm87 said:
The iphone is such an iconic product and for years it was always exciting when a new phone came out. Sure some years weren’t as interesting as others but it mostly always felt like a good upgrade even if you did it every year.

But now, all it seems to be every year is better camera, faster processor and (sometimes) better battery life. The last time a truly exciting thing happened IMO was the all screen design with the X. I have an iphone 12 but I’m not really sure what it does that my XS didn’t do (yeah i know there are things but i mean for my personal circumstances). It all just feels the same. I upgrade every 2-3 years on average, maybe i just need to hold on for them for longer.

Anyone else feel the same way?
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The xs max is imo the perfect phone and ever since I’ve had it, I’ve had no real motivation to upgrade (and I’ve upgraded annually from iPhone 2G to the xs max). Only reason i upgraded to a 12 pro max is because I was due for an upgrade with my carrier.

im enjoying the new phone but it’s honestly not much different than my xs max. I guess the camera is a lot better but that’s not something I really care that much about.

iPhones are so good these days that it’s difficult for apple to really make groundbreaking upgrades.
 
MacDevil7334 said:
Smartphones have been around for 13 years and are a mature category. You’re simply not going to see the huge leaps like you saw in the first few years of the industry. Think about what you use your phone for. What’s really left to do but improve performance, camera quality, and battery life? The screen already covers almost the entire front of the device. And even removing the notch isn’t going to be some sort revolution in how you use the device. The phone is a tool to do things (call, message, browse, navigate, photograph, etc.). If you’re looking for the phone itself to be a source of excitement, you are likely to be disappointed.
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13 years, are you kidding me? Do you really think smartphones started with the iPhone? Lol. The first iPhone wasn’t even technically a smartphone - i.e. no apps. I’ve had smartphones for about 19 years now. Real smartphones.
 
Barbareren said:
13 years, are you kidding me? Do you really think smartphones started with the iPhone? Lol. The first iPhone wasn’t even technically a smartphone - i.e. no apps. I’ve had smartphones for about 19 years now. Real smartphones.
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Sooo...you’re saying I’m wrong because smart phones have actually been around for more than 13 years? Not sure what your point is...
 
MacDevil7334 said:
Sooo...you’re saying I’m wrong because smart phones have actually been around for more than 13 years? Not sure what your point is...
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I was simply correcting you. That’s all. Smartphones were available years before the introduction of the iPhone and the App Store. Also, I don’t see why my comments need to be 'moderator approved' lol.
 
If you go with the more recent definition of a smartphone i.e. a phone with a camera, packet data transfer (GPRS) and the ability to install 3rd party applications, then the Nokia 7650 was the first smartphone widely available. If not, the Simon Personal Communicator released in 1994 by IBM was the first smartphone.
 
Barbareren said:
No, it wasn’t, because you couldn’t install external apps until later in 2008 with the introduction of the App Store. By your definition of what a smartphone is, the first one was the Simon Personal Communicator released in 1994.
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Which means original iPhone could install apps in 2008, making it a smartphone. Potato potato.
 
Seanm87 said:
The iphone is such an iconic product and for years it was always exciting when a new phone came out. Sure some years weren’t as interesting as others but it mostly always felt like a good upgrade even if you did it every year.

But now, all it seems to be every year is better camera, faster processor and (sometimes) better battery life. The last time a truly exciting thing happened IMO was the all screen design with the X. I have an iphone 12 but I’m not really sure what it does that my XS didn’t do (yeah i know there are things but i mean for my personal circumstances). It all just feels the same. I upgrade every 2-3 years on average, maybe i just need to hold on for them for longer.

Anyone else feel the same way?
Click to expand...
Define boring.

Whenever Apple release a new iPhone, their target market is not the owners of the previous gen. Their target is the previous 2, 3, or even 4 gen older users. Hence the release of the 12 mini now, instead of the Xs mini/11 mini. It's also why we saw the iPhone 7 (6ss) and 8 (6sss) using the same base design as the iPhone 6. And it matches the market. Majority of people are no longer upgrading yearly ob every 2 years. More and more people are keeping their phones for 3, 4 years or even longer. The only ones doing yearly upgrades are basically the youtubers since they get free review units.

So the 12 might be boring from the perspective of an iPhone 11 user. But from someone using iPhone 8 or older, the 12 is a huge upgrade with FaceID, new design, 5G, ultra wide angle, night mode, OLED, etc etc.
 
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