Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Other The thrill is gone

I have an iPhone 11 Pro and I have just shelled out on an Apple Watch Series 6 SS with SS link bracelet and milanese loop. The 12 just doesn't have enough to make me 'waste' another 1K. Strangely I kinda don't like this years phone very much except maybe the pro in graphite. It just feels like it has nothing to warrant an upgrade and some of the new things such as MagSafe seem a little janky to me.

Saying that having an iPhone, for me, is essential and I would never switch to Android. I love having the latest tech but don't like being foolish and throwing money away and this year from an 11 Pro > 12 Pro, that's what it would feel like.

Also anyone who thinks these phones are a status symbol, I don't know where you are from, but here in the UK nobody cares what phone you have. Your value as a person isn't gauged by the model of iPhone you own. It would be cringey and sad to think that's the case 😄
 
  • Like
Reactions: ShadowGuardian87, valinda and Zazoh
nickdalzell1 said:
There was a time when a year would mean a massive spec or feature jump. Like going from the iPhone 2G to a 3G, or a 4 to a 4S. Or a Samsung Galaxy SII to an SIII (4G over 3G to name one there)...
Click to expand...
4 to 4s was basically a spec bump. What one defines as “massive” vs another’s definition is up for debate.

2020 the reveal has been more familiar, but not less exciting than 2010 as I see it.
 
To be perfectly honest, it is really hard to recreate the wheel every year. Yes each phone is an incremental upgrade, but this year we got 5G (big deal IMHO) and that is why I am upgrading from my XS. I also promised myself not to upgrade unless they upped the minimum memory to 128gb, which was finally done.

On the next big change, I will upgrade again. If the 13 is a minor spec bump, I am going to pass.
 
I7guy said:
4 to 4s was basically a spec bump. What one defines as “massive” vs another’s definition is up for debate.

2020 the reveal has been more familiar, but not less exciting than 2010 as I see it.
Click to expand...

i was a spec bump, but a huge spec bump. It was like 3X (300%) CPU power increase and 5 times (500%) GPU power increase. Nowadays bumps are 15-20% and in many cases negligible in real life performance.
I used to upgrade on a yearly basis, but I am sitting this one out for the first time. I don’t think I gain anything I value by doing this upgrade.
 
Rangers94 said:
When you upgrade to the new iPhone EVERY single year then yes of course the thrill will eventually be gone. I like waiting at least 2 years to upgrade. Upgrading every year is overkill and a waste of money imo.
Click to expand...
I suppose. I know people who get a new car every year. They don't seem excited, they just do it. I think it's overkill and a waste of money. But who am I to foist my opinions on someone else?
 
Sir Ruben said:
I have an iPhone 11 Pro and I have just shelled out on an Apple Watch Series 6 SS with SS link bracelet and milanese loop. The 12 just doesn't have enough to make me 'waste' another 1K. Strangely I kinda don't like this years phone very much except maybe the pro in graphite. It just feels like it has nothing to warrant an upgrade and some of the new things such as MagSafe seem a little janky to me.

Saying that having an iPhone, for me, is essential and I would never switch to Android. I love having the latest tech but don't like being foolish and throwing money away and this year from an 11 Pro > 12 Pro, that's what it would feel like.

Also anyone who thinks these phones are a status symbol, I don't know where you are from, but here in the UK nobody cares what phone you have. Your value as a person isn't gauged by the model of iPhone you own. It would be cringey and sad to think that's the case 😄
Click to expand...


Pretty much agree with everything you said. I like having the newest tech as well and the new 12 and 12 pro models are cool and have compelling reasons to upgrade. But anyone who thinks having the newest iPhone or apple watch every year is some kind of status symbol or makes you better than others is kidding themselves. This has been a rough year for a lot of people and even if there weren't a pandemic and some people sadly losing their jobs and stuff, for some it's not a priority to upgrade a phone every year.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Sir Ruben
Using the pro today feels boring the bezels are huge and feel a lot bigger than the 11 pro because they are rounded, MagSafe is a joke and the phone feels the same as soon as you put a case on it, camera is slightly better but not noticeable and 5g is terrible no improvement over 4g in the uk
 
This may not be your priority but maybe waiting on the launch of the phone does give people a sense of normalcy. The thrill of the Apple Store never coming online at the right time 😂😂 and then tracking shipments. So much has changed in the world this year that it does seem a little normal, at least to me. My one big change was going with my gut on color so it pushed my shipment out by a week and I got tracking info today but I will still be excited when it comes.
 
  • Like
Reactions: bevsb2
nickdalzell1 said:
...
The future is flat, oversized, has less features, and too much nagware. Sorry, I tried it, and the past or at least, 2012-era tech just works better for me.
Click to expand...
Nagware on IOS? But I agree there are trends in tech, similar to trends in fashion.
.....
There's a ton of features that either don't exist or got taken away that I find greatly useful:

1. Voice control unlock. I can say 'unlock' to my S Relay, and it unlocks. I can also dismiss alarms without that nasty swipe mark on the screen. I can also start music playback or open apps, all done offline, no internet needed.
Click to expand...
Unlock by voice in today's day and age seems like a security breach waiting to happen. However, voice control does exist on IOS.
2. SD Cards, Don't need to be connected or have a decent signal to enjoy music, as all of it is on an SD Card, not harming my internal storage. I don't have to be like those poor saps at work who listen to ads on Pandora while bleeding off our wifi, only to hear them complain when it stops because they went outside of wifi coverage and their iPhone 11 Pro has no signal.
Click to expand...
Yeah, an SD card would be nice, but would be even nicer is some way to extremely easily just copy music to your iphone. Drag and drop as it were.
3. Sliding keyboards. They're useful, are there when you need them, gone if you don't, the on-screen keyboard is there also if you want it. It's a nice feature to leave your screen visible without an on-screen keyboard taking up space, or staring through smudges. Accuracy is better--just ask a BlackBerry user.
Click to expand...
I loved the physical keyboard on my Blackberry.
4. Notification LEDs. They're one of my favorite features, and use far less battery and don't burn in the screen like an AOD. It's nice to, at a glance, know if I missed a call, or text, or email, or see my device's charge status, just by the color of the LED.
Click to expand...
It was a nice feature, however, I don't know if I could go back to having the dang thing blink.
5. Headphone jack. Ever want to listen to music but realize too late you forgot to charge up your Airpods case or bluetooth headset? I have, multiple times, and had to go without during a hike or when I wanted to listen to music and not bother everyone else by using my phone as a speaker.
Click to expand...
I don't have an issue with this at all for a few reasons. If I'm going to be out of range of a charging brick, I have battery packs of several sizes I can take with me. Additionally, I have lightning earpods and a lightning to headphone dongle.
Just a few things my older devices do that most newer ones took away or don't support. I don't need a dozen cameras, especially when I have a DSLR. I don't want to revisit the graphic design of Amiga WorkBench or Tandy Deskmate. I don't want a phone that looks like every other phone out there. I like standing out. Older devices were just far more interesting to me, and instead of me having to lament it and 'get used to' a device I hate that doesn't fit me well at all, why not just let me be happy with the stuff I got from Amazon that is old, sure, but works for me best?
Click to expand...
The camera is perhaps the biggest reason to upgrade for me. Even though I have a DSLR and red-ring lenses, I do not carry them everywhere. And taking pictures of my family is a thing I love to do.
 
JCCL said:
i was a spec bump, but a huge spec bump. It was like 3X (300%) CPU power increase and 5 times (500%) GPU power increase. Nowadays bumps are 15-20% and in many cases negligible in real life performance.
I used to upgrade on a yearly basis, but I am sitting this one out for the first time. I don’t think I gain anything I value by doing this upgrade.
Click to expand...
For me, I get a whole lot to the iphone 12 pro max, considering I have an xs max.

However, back to the spec bump. All they did was go from single core to dual core in 2011. Don't know why that is such as big deal. (which is my point about what we consider to be important and awsome) We are so accustomed to hearing Apple say things like: "the a14 is 14% faster, and since the iphone x has been touting the neural engine"... that the small 14% in it's entirety is more capacity than the a9 in total.(as I see it)
 
ECUalum03 said:
This may not be your priority but maybe waiting on the launch of the phone does give people a sense of normalcy. The thrill of the Apple Store never coming online at the right time 😂😂 and then tracking shipments. So much has changed in the world this year that it does seem a little normal, at least to me. My one big change was going with my gut on color so it pushed my shipment out by a week and I got tracking info today but I will still be excited when it comes.
Click to expand...

Yea there is nothing wrong with being excited about upgrading if you can afford it. It's your money after all, but the folks that down others who choose not to upgrade every year or simply can't afford to do so is very immature and wrong.
 
  • Like
Reactions: DarArchibald, DigitalGrl, saber32au and 2 others
It's all one's own personal experience, but the thrill was lost for me after the iPhone 4. This type of tech was coming into its own around then and pretty much since, it is just all the same to me. Doesn't matter the device or manufacturer.
 
I7guy said:
4 to 4s was basically a spec bump. What one defines as “massive” vs another’s definition is up for debate.

2020 the reveal has been more familiar, but not less exciting than 2010 as I see it.
Click to expand...

It was far more than specs. It had Siri, the lightning port, and IIRC a faster CPU, along with support for 4G instead of 3G

I never can get into 'edge-to-edge' displays. Without a case especially, too easy to unintentionally trigger actions when say, reading ebooks or service manuals. There is nothing wrong with 'some' bezel. Obviously we don't want to go back to say, iPhone 2G style monster bezels but some are better than none. Hands have to hold it somehow, unless you like just 'using two fingers to hold the edges' which is a great recipe for a drop.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: turbineseaplane
nickdalzell1 said:
It was far more than specs. It had Siri, the lightning port, and IIRC a faster CPU.
Click to expand...

Edit: lightning was introduced on iphone 5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightning_(connector)

Seems like far more than specs as well. Fairly big update.
  • 2.5x vs 2x telephoto optical zoom
  • Sensor Shift OIS vs Single OIS
  • 5mm larger 7P vs 6P lenses
  • F/1.6 vs F/1.8 wide angle lens aperture
  • Larger sensor and pixels for better low-light shots
  • LiDAR camera for AR/VR apps
  • Dolby Vision video, Smart HDR 3, Deep Fusion 2, Night Mode Portraits
  • 5G
  • Magsafe
 
Mostly cameras. I have never cared a darn about a smartphone camera. The only use they even get is taking reference shots of golf car battery wiring (especially when the owner rigged up stuff such as radio, light kit, turn signals or underbody lighting without labeling the wires properly) and a 5MP camera is good enough for that.

I haven't had much use for a camera since my pet deer died. I probably snapped a few hundred of her doing various tricks and was my first intro to social media back when Flickr and MySpace were still around. Only back then, I'd have killed for a camera the likes of the ones in the Samsung Galaxy SIII, or iPhone 4S (I still had a 3GS). The better photos of her were taken with a Kodak EasyShare 4MP camera someone gave to me (they were about to toss it into the garbage). It offered things such as OIS, SD storage, and limited editing features.

26725_113816845317558_569250_N_113816845317558.jpeg


Outside of that, I only occasionally take shots of landscapes to use as wallpapers. It's not worth drooling over. Now, a holographic display? Now, we're talking! Oh and Magsafe should have never been taken away from Macs either.
 
janeauburn said:
So there are some new iPhones out. Who cares, really? I don't know whether it's the year (pandemic). Perhaps this year has made me realize that phones aren't a very important thing in life, especially when the phone I have is more than sufficient. Spend another $1,000 on something that really doesn't matter, adds no meaning to life, will be a temporary "wow" and nothing more? Nah.

Am I alone? These new phones don't excite me. Beyond that, they're downright boring. There are just more important things to lust after--like normalcy.
Click to expand...

...congratulations? Not sure this is the proper place to wax poetic about the meaning of life.
 
  • Like
Reactions: bevsb2
nickdalzell1 said:
Mostly cameras. I have never cared a darn about a smartphone camera. The only use they even get is taking reference shots of golf car battery wiring (especially when the owner rigged up stuff such as radio, light kit, turn signals or underbody lighting without labeling the wires properly) and a 5MP camera is good enough for that.

I haven't had much use for a camera since my pet deer died. I probably snapped a few hundred of her doing various tricks and was my first intro to social media back when Flickr and MySpace were still around. Only back then, I'd have killed for a camera the likes of the ones in the Samsung Galaxy SIII, or iPhone 4S (I still had a 3GS). The better photos of her were taken with a Kodak EasyShare 4MP camera someone gave to me (they were about to toss it into the garbage). It offered things such as OIS, SD storage, and limited editing features.

View attachment 973480

Outside of that, I only occasionally take shots of landscapes to use as wallpapers. It's not worth drooling over. Now, a holographic display? Now, we're talking! Oh and Magsafe should have never been taken away from Macs either.
Click to expand...
Nice photo.

However, this is what you said a few posts up.
"It was far more than specs. It had Siri, the lightning port, and IIRC a faster CPU, along with support for 4G instead of 3G". Lightning was on the iphone 5, and that leaves Siri, faster cpu, 4g and didn't mention the camera updates plus others.

Equivalently between the iphone 11 and 12 you have a number of updates. Based on ones biases, requirements, needs, wants, budget etc, the updates have different importance to different people, but that doesn't diminish the list. And the same can be said that the update was far more than specs and we can debate this endlessly as there are different strokes for different folks.
 
In a way I do get you're point Jane.

It's like anything really.
A new "toy," it's exciting to look forward to, exciting to buy...the wait is exciting, the delivery is "WHOA!"

Playing with the new toy is fun.
...and yes, like past phones the thrill will probably die off in a a few days, a week or 2? (Kinda like my 5 year old nephew getting bored with his Xmas presents in 20 min.)

Personally - and as sad as this may sound for some, I really.... really need something to look forward to right now.
Right now, this phone, the new cameras, night time lapse, High quality video...more storage (for me at least), I'll be happy with it. AND it will get heavy use.
 
  • Like
Reactions: JM and bevsb2
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back