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Other What were the best and worst upgrade years for iPhone?
- Thread starter xxray
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I think my favorite was the X. The bigger screen because of getting rid of the home button and the addition of Face ID. I know some people aren't fond of Face ID but I love it.
Most underwhelming upgrade was to the XS.
Most underwhelming upgrade was to the XS.
Question was best upgrade. Not best value. Coming from an iPhone 3g/3GS the iPhone 4 was a game changer. You stood in lines for this thing. Double the res. It’s where the retina branding was born.
iPhone 6 Plus was lag city. I went back to a faster iPhone 5 with no lag. This was the point you started to figure out why apple couldn’t switch to larger screens sooner (transition started with iPhone 5). iOS was the culprit. Apple had to compromise and downsample with 6 plus. It was obvious. Many looked past this because hey it’s a large screen.
Though the same downsampling occurred on future plus phones the processor got much better.
iPhone 6 Plus was lag city. I went back to a faster iPhone 5 with no lag. This was the point you started to figure out why apple couldn’t switch to larger screens sooner (transition started with iPhone 5). iOS was the culprit. Apple had to compromise and downsample with 6 plus. It was obvious. Many looked past this because hey it’s a large screen.
Though the same downsampling occurred on future plus phones the processor got much better.
If you read the OP’s post, it’s clear he’s asking about best value.
That is a really good point. The retina display was 🤯 back in the day.
iPhone 6 is my choice, only iPhone I've ever sold after only a month.. The my 5S was not only a better looking phone but performance difference was negligible so I had no problem using the 5S until the 6S was released. The 6S was spectacular as well as the X..
Can't vouch for them all as I haven't tried them, but the 6s must be good because I still haven't bothered to upgrade it!...
- Still runs all the stuff it needs to absolutely fine and not noticeably laggy (unless maybe you do lots of super-high-spec 3D gaming or something, but I'm not)
- Still runs latest iOS and works with my Apple Watch 5.
- Still has a headphone jack so I can plug it into any 3.5mm jack lying around anyones house, or into anyone's car stereo aux in without carrying a dongle all the time for the very few times I need to (but would be completely out of luck otherwise).
- Has force-touch still so I can still press and hold on the keyboard and slide my cursor around on the screen (don't get me started with how much my iPad Pro annoys me with it accidentally thinking I'm 2-fingering it or dwelling on the space bar fractionally too long, selects chunks of sentences I'm in the middle of typing, then delete/overtypes bits of them, I get to the end of the sentence then find a chunk of it has disappeared! Drives me nuts as I also can't seem to turn the 'king thing off anywhere and just live with no form of cursor repositioning from the keyboard - so totally stuck with it driving me nuts. Just using a single typing thumb with added pressure to move the cursor is FAR superior IMO.)
- And I still like touch ID. If it's lying on a table next to me I can quickly unlock and look at something without having to pick it up and point it at my face, which is also less reliable at unlocking given my iPad Pro vs iPhone unlocking performance.
It’s a nightmare isn’t it. Typing on an iPad without an external keyboard for more than a few words at a time just isn’t worth it.
Great updates for the time in my view:
Iphone 4 - huge update over the 3GS, new design, FaceTime camera, Retina display.
iPhone 6 - although nothing special internally the much needed bigger sized screen made a huge difference
iPhone X - Full screen and stainless steel sides. Still the best looking design IMO.
Lacklustre updates
7 - disappointing and basically the 6sss
8 - again, was basically the 6ssss
XS - barely any different to the X
11 pro - 3rd camera I feel most average people will never use
12 pro - too similar to the 11 pro
Basically I feel the iPhone matured a few years ago.
Iphone 4 - huge update over the 3GS, new design, FaceTime camera, Retina display.
iPhone 6 - although nothing special internally the much needed bigger sized screen made a huge difference
iPhone X - Full screen and stainless steel sides. Still the best looking design IMO.
Lacklustre updates
7 - disappointing and basically the 6sss
8 - again, was basically the 6ssss
XS - barely any different to the X
11 pro - 3rd camera I feel most average people will never use
12 pro - too similar to the 11 pro
Basically I feel the iPhone matured a few years ago.
Hurrah! I'm not the only one.
Just give me a feature somewhere in the keyboard settings, or even in Accessibility to just turn off cursor repositioning from the keyboard area. If I have to press and hold in the text field where the cursor is that's fine by me, just stop driving me nuts when I'm trying to type fast by accidentally deleting chunks of what I'm typing! It's been a big annoyance to my first iPad experience and made me wish I'd bought the cheapest lowest-spec iPad rather than a top-spec 1TB iPad Pro because I can't type fast on it, so isn't nearly as useful as I hoped without some included annoyance.
Sure I could get an external keyboard, but then it's heavier, thicker, and defeats the point of an iPad in the first place!
Agreed. When the 6/Plus came out, I was already really wanting a larger phone/phablet. When I read that they only had 1 GB of RAM, I decided to wait another year. What a great decision that turned out to be!
As you said, with 2GB, a stronger frame to combat the bends and the large jump in performance from A8 to A9, 6S/Plus was a huge upgrade. Mine is still going strong after I replaced the battery. It was my backup for a while; now it’s my Mom’s and running iOS 14 perfectly well.
Good points on 11 as well, but after the 6s Plus, my path was X, then 12PM.
iPhone 6 was the worst phone for value, design, and performance. There's no contesting that.
iPhone X was the best. It gave us new design, edge-edge to screen, swipe gestures, Face ID.
iPhone 6s was the worst. I updated from iPhone 6 and noticed that nothing was different other that 3D touch, which felt super gimmicky
iPhone 6s was the worst. I updated from iPhone 6 and noticed that nothing was different other that 3D touch, which felt super gimmicky
Best:
- 4
- 6 (bigger screen and 128gb storage was great at the time)
- X (I think this is the best iphone ever, but too expensive when it came out)
- 11 pro
- 12 mini (my personal favorite)
Worst:
- 3G (it's basically the first phone but with 3G, and also plastic was a downgrade)
- 5C (bad colors, horrible case and expensive)
- XS (99% similar with the X)
- 4
- 6 (bigger screen and 128gb storage was great at the time)
- X (I think this is the best iphone ever, but too expensive when it came out)
- 11 pro
- 12 mini (my personal favorite)
Worst:
- 3G (it's basically the first phone but with 3G, and also plastic was a downgrade)
- 5C (bad colors, horrible case and expensive)
- XS (99% similar with the X)
I don't think so... at least for the 7. 7 Plus was great! I had it and I loved the portrait mode. Also, it was also the first iPhone with the 12mp cameras. The only downgrade was the headphone jack, but they gave you a free earbuds though!
I loved the upgrade from the OG to 3GS, then the 4 (still beautiful) , then the 5 but more so for the 4G's rather than the chippy "chamfered" edges, then 6 for the screen size, next up the 10 no home button, then the 12 Pro Max (nearer the design of the 4 but light years ahead).
I agree, a lot of people underestimate the iPhone 7/Plus without looking under the hood.
Water resistance
Haptic feedback
Stereo speakers
Front camera (1080p)
Much brighter display (625 nits)
Bigger battery (8%)
These are not flashy upgrades, but they're all very practical.
The two WoW phones that changed my life and I have awesome memories.
iPhone 5, remember this was the time there was just 1 device it’s was $99 or $199 on two year contract thats it. Massive lines everywhere but UPS delivered it on launch day Zero issues. The feel and fit and finish of a unified metal slab.
iPhone XS Max wow huge OLED Display and Free from Sprint with a trade in deal. Wow 😯
iPhone 5, remember this was the time there was just 1 device it’s was $99 or $199 on two year contract thats it. Massive lines everywhere but UPS delivered it on launch day Zero issues. The feel and fit and finish of a unified metal slab.
iPhone XS Max wow huge OLED Display and Free from Sprint with a trade in deal. Wow 😯
Great thread! My best upgrade was from the iPhone XR to the iPhone 11 PM. As good as it felt going from my iPhone 8 to XR in 2018, the 11 PM is a different animal altogether. I love the frosted back finish and the screen. It is my first OLED phone and the wait was worth it! The battery is an absolute tank as well. Best iPhone Apple made.
The worst has got to be from my first gen SE to the iPhone 7 back in 2016. My first 7 had the hissing coil sound and weak battery life too. My second one didn’t have the hiss but the battery life was the same, which is subpar.
The worst has got to be from my first gen SE to the iPhone 7 back in 2016. My first 7 had the hissing coil sound and weak battery life too. My second one didn’t have the hiss but the battery life was the same, which is subpar.
The 4S.
Only just a little faster than the 4, with the main selling points being that the antenna issue from the 4 was fixed... And the debut of Siri.
The TLDR version:
I think it depends what iPhone you are coming from!
In recent years, this is complicated by the fact that the iPhone is basically a mature product.
So I’d argue that from 2017 onwards, the upgrades have been incremental and that you’d still having a very good experience with the 8 & X (with battery replacements) right now.
Although with the addition of 5G, you could make an exception here for the 12 series (not that we are out that much in our big cities to use it much, however).
Only just a little faster than the 4, with the main selling points being that the antenna issue from the 4 was fixed... And the debut of Siri.
The TLDR version:
I think it depends what iPhone you are coming from!
In recent years, this is complicated by the fact that the iPhone is basically a mature product.
So I’d argue that from 2017 onwards, the upgrades have been incremental and that you’d still having a very good experience with the 8 & X (with battery replacements) right now.
Although with the addition of 5G, you could make an exception here for the 12 series (not that we are out that much in our big cities to use it much, however).
I bet. You'll really, really notice a difference in performance.