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con2apple

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 25, 2024
124
474
Germany
I want to take up the cudgels for the iPhone and what it can do.

Most people won't know me, but very briefly:
I'm annoyed by the high prices, I'm annoyed by how Apple no longer thinks many functions through or deliberately leaves them unfinished. But in comparison, Apple continues to be very good. No other company comes close to its quality. Especially not when it comes to support.
If you take Apple's own claim as a benchmark, the company fails every year.
But if you see this claim as marketing and advertising, compare Apple with other companies, then the company is still at the top.
I would like to show this using the current iPhone 16 Pro. With a few examples.


Wired charging connection.
I would like to see Thunderbolt on the iPhone. Or completely wireless.
Apple offers USB3 10 Gbit/s.
But is that little? What does the competition offer?

  • Samsung Fold 6 or Galaxy 24 Ultra, brand new: USB 3.2 Gen. 1
  • Honor Magic V3, brand new: USB 3.1 Gen 1
  • Huawei Pure 70 Ultra: USB 3.1 Gen 1
All offer only 5 Gbit/s. That means Apple offers the fastest connection.
And did you know that Apple takes full advantage of the standard, including offering DisplayPort mode to stream the iPhone to a monitor?
The company had to be forced by the EU to use USB. But they got the best out of it. They are several steps ahead of the competition.


Wireless charging connection.
The iPhone 12 mini offers not only MagSafe but also Qi2.

Why can't the Fold 6 or Huawei do that? Instead of the open standard that Apple supports, Huawei relies on its own proprietary solution. The same goes for Honor.
Incidentally, I had to laboriously gather this information from various tests. Because, unlike Apple, the other manufacturers are very stingy with data and... can you call it deception when the words promise almost more than the device delivers?
You decide.

By the way, Samsung has said that the Galaxy 24 does not support Qi2 because the standard was not finalized until after the smartphone was developed. In other words, Samsung doesn't care about the product even during the development of the devices.


Zoom
This brings us to zoom and the fraud of other manufacturers.
In 2016, Huawei had a phone with 10x optical zoom. Where is it now?
I'll tell you: it's cheaper for manufacturers to advertise with absurd digital zoom instead of investing in the camera.

Apple is the only manufacturer that offers more than 3.5x optical zoom in the "small smartphones". Often, manufacturers only have 3x or even 2x. They solve the rest with AI.
Look at the page for the Honor Magic V3. 3x optical zoom is still reasonably ok, 10x and 20x result in images that any of you can upscale for free on your own computer.
And do you remember that Samsung is cheating you directly? By incorporating things into the pictures that the camera can't even see? For example, a moon when actually only a gray disc can be seen?
Do you know this from Apple? I don't.


Service and support
Have you ever tried to get repair services from Huawei or Samsung?
I live in Europe. That means we have consumer protection laws here that Americans don't even dare to dream of.
And yet these companies still fail to provide good service. They do the bare minimum. They send devices abroad for repair, have no plan, and deny any responsibility for damage.

How does Apple do it?
You can see immediately on their website what a display replacement costs. When you make an appointment at the store, employees take their time. You have time to read the terms and conditions. No pressure. Extensive photos are taken and every single step is recorded and discussed. Apple is also accommodating (if you are polite and friendly yourself).


Four examples, and I bet you can find even more if you compare the devices a little more closely.

As I said, with Apple's own standards, it's easy to criticize the company.
If you think you're the greatest, you need a slap in the face every now and then to see how small you really are.
But compared to the competition, Apple is huge. In quality and features.
Yes, the company likes to copy and is ingenious in marketing.
But that doesn't make the objectively better performing functions worse.

On the one hand, it's good that even at MacRumors the critics are now in the majority. The Apple fans, who think everything is great, can no longer gloss over every mistake the company makes.
On the other hand, we should occasionally go into more detail about the devices. Not rely on marketing blurb, but actually compare. And then we realize that Apple is technically much better than we want to believe from advertising (I also include most “test reports” in this).

Thanks for reading.
 
TL, sort of skimmed it.

I say not state of the art and meh-boringggg.

Still use multiple Mac's; ditched iPhones after 8 Plus.

I've enjoyed being able to purchase mobile phones on sale (or with upgrades and extras during initial release), USB-C for 4+ years, better performance, great battery runtime, higher display quality and refresh rate, fast charging, ...

I still purchase unlocked refurb iPhones from Apple for my wife and friends sometimes.
 
I'm just in it for iOS. I need a phone for calls, texts, light email and light web browsing. Everything else I have Macs for and a 55" HDTV. I work from home and even if I didn't, my profession requires computers. In fact, I have two work-issued Macs, one's an M2.

99 percent of the pictures I take are stuff on the shelves at Walmart so my wife can see what she wants me to bring home. The rest is usually stuff I end up posting here. Zoom? Ok, sure. thanks.

AFAIK, Android phones can do what I'm asking of my iPhone. In fact, I was on Android for nine moths. Still have my Pixel, right next to me. Great phone, I liked it. Android over time, not so much. So, it's down to iOS and how I use my phones/Macs.

With the exception of customer support (which hasn't been a great experience for me the last few times), I'm not really relating to anything you typed in. I mean, it matters to you I guess.
 
TL, sort of skimmed it.

I say not state of the art and meh-boringggg.

Still use multiple Mac's; ditched iPhones after 8 Plus.

I've enjoyed being able to purchase mobile phones on sale (or with upgrades and extras during initial release), USB-C for 4+ years, better performance, great battery runtime, higher display quality and refresh rate, fast charging, ...

I still purchase unlocked refurb iPhones from Apple for my wife and friends sometimes.
Ha, yeah, we need a TLDR for that. I appreciate the effort, but that was too long.
 
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Reactions: edubfromktown
I used Android for over 10 years exclusively and currently have the 16 Pro. I think the iPhone is state of the art in its overall package. Sure it isn’t 10/10 in every minute category but as far as an overall package that delivers speed, convenience, security, quality and ecosystem integration it’s still the best on the market. My $.02.
 
I want to take up the cudgels for the iPhone and what it can do.

Most people won't know me, but very briefly:
I'm annoyed by the high prices, I'm annoyed by how Apple no longer thinks many functions through or deliberately leaves them unfinished. But in comparison, Apple continues to be very good. No other company comes close to its quality. Especially not when it comes to support.
If you take Apple's own claim as a benchmark, the company fails every year.
But if you see this claim as marketing and advertising, compare Apple with other companies, then the company is still at the top.
I would like to show this using the current iPhone 16 Pro. With a few examples.


Wired charging connection.
I would like to see Thunderbolt on the iPhone. Or completely wireless.
Apple offers USB3 10 Gbit/s.
But is that little? What does the competition offer?

  • Samsung Fold 6 or Galaxy 24 Ultra, brand new: USB 3.2 Gen. 1
  • Honor Magic V3, brand new: USB 3.1 Gen 1
  • Huawei Pure 70 Ultra: USB 3.1 Gen 1
All offer only 5 Gbit/s. That means Apple offers the fastest connection.
And did you know that Apple takes full advantage of the standard, including offering DisplayPort mode to stream the iPhone to a monitor?
The company had to be forced by the EU to use USB. But they got the best out of it. They are several steps ahead of the competition.


Wireless charging connection.
The iPhone 12 mini offers not only MagSafe but also Qi2.

Why can't the Fold 6 or Huawei do that? Instead of the open standard that Apple supports, Huawei relies on its own proprietary solution. The same goes for Honor.
Incidentally, I had to laboriously gather this information from various tests. Because, unlike Apple, the other manufacturers are very stingy with data and... can you call it deception when the words promise almost more than the device delivers?
You decide.

By the way, Samsung has said that the Galaxy 24 does not support Qi2 because the standard was not finalized until after the smartphone was developed. In other words, Samsung doesn't care about the product even during the development of the devices.


Zoom
This brings us to zoom and the fraud of other manufacturers.
In 2016, Huawei had a phone with 10x optical zoom. Where is it now?
I'll tell you: it's cheaper for manufacturers to advertise with absurd digital zoom instead of investing in the camera.

Apple is the only manufacturer that offers more than 3.5x optical zoom in the "small smartphones". Often, manufacturers only have 3x or even 2x. They solve the rest with AI.
Look at the page for the Honor Magic V3. 3x optical zoom is still reasonably ok, 10x and 20x result in images that any of you can upscale for free on your own computer.
And do you remember that Samsung is cheating you directly? By incorporating things into the pictures that the camera can't even see? For example, a moon when actually only a gray disc can be seen?
Do you know this from Apple? I don't.


Service and support
Have you ever tried to get repair services from Huawei or Samsung?
I live in Europe. That means we have consumer protection laws here that Americans don't even dare to dream of.
And yet these companies still fail to provide good service. They do the bare minimum. They send devices abroad for repair, have no plan, and deny any responsibility for damage.

How does Apple do it?
You can see immediately on their website what a display replacement costs. When you make an appointment at the store, employees take their time. You have time to read the terms and conditions. No pressure. Extensive photos are taken and every single step is recorded and discussed. Apple is also accommodating (if you are polite and friendly yourself).


Four examples, and I bet you can find even more if you compare the devices a little more closely.

As I said, with Apple's own standards, it's easy to criticize the company.
If you think you're the greatest, you need a slap in the face every now and then to see how small you really are.
But compared to the competition, Apple is huge. In quality and features.
Yes, the company likes to copy and is ingenious in marketing.
But that doesn't make the objectively better performing functions worse.

On the one hand, it's good that even at MacRumors the critics are now in the majority. The Apple fans, who think everything is great, can no longer gloss over every mistake the company makes.
On the other hand, we should occasionally go into more detail about the devices. Not rely on marketing blurb, but actually compare. And then we realize that Apple is technically much better than we want to believe from advertising (I also include most “test reports” in this).

Thanks for reading.
Nice list and you didn't even mention build quality, product design and OS, which are all clearly better than the competition, although you could argue they are subjective.
 
my criticism isn’t about the overall iPhone package, but the price is just way to high compared to the competition.

And talking about Apple vs Samsung, it’s time apple finally invents something like DeX. My S8 from 2017 was more capable when connected to an external monitor than any iPhone and iPad currently is
 
TL, sort of skimmed it.

I say not state of the art and meh-boringggg.

Still use multiple Mac's; ditched iPhones after 8 Plus.

I've enjoyed being able to purchase mobile phones on sale (or with upgrades and extras during initial release), USB-C for 4+ years, better performance, great battery runtime, higher display quality and refresh rate, fast charging, ...

I still purchase unlocked refurb iPhones from Apple for my wife and friends sometimes.
Better performance, in what?
 
Ha, yeah, we need a TLDR for that. I appreciate the effort, but that was too long.
I can't help your attention span the length of a TikTok video.

Anyone can make claims. Read Mark Gurman for that.
Only arguments make an opinion worth reading.
Unless someone wants to fall into the trap of cheats, liars and populists.

By the way, every good text has a TLDR. Namely the conclusion at the end. Or were the last 2 paragraphs already too long for you?
 
Better performance, in what?

Not that I am totally benchmark Kool-Aid centric... used iPhones for years and still poke at 14 and 15 Pro's when family members need guidance (from someone who avoids them as much as possible but still knows a thing or two) lol

Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 still driv'n the bus in last month's benchmark for one.

Then ya have better display quality, easier to navigate and far better config options and customization capabilities; and (for those who use Samsung Knox Secure Folder) excellent containerized security that is completely isolated from apps and data stored in the default storage location.

Screenshot 2024-10-08 at 11.30.57 AM.png
 
We can spend ages trying to convince ourselves otherwise but the iPhone hasn't been particularly cutting edge or exciting for a while. There is nothing wrong with this; Apple continue to make quality, reliable phones that last for years. Phones have become normalised, to the point that I would list them alongside vacuum cleaners and washing machines as useful, unexciting everyday items. Dyson make great vacuums and Miele have the best motors. But this doesn't make the act of buying one particularly thrilling.
 
Not that I am totally benchmark Kool-Aid centric... used iPhones for years and still poke at 14 and 15 Pro's when family members need guidance (from someone who avoids them as much as possible but still knows a thing or two) lol

Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 still driv'n the bus in last month's benchmark for one.

Then ya have better display quality, easier to navigate and far better config options and customization capabilities; and (for those who use Samsung Knox Secure Folder) excellent containerized security that is completely isolated from apps and data stored in the default storage location.

View attachment 2434735
So we are comparing last years iphone to a reference phone? The iPhone 16 A18 smokes both single core and multi-core bench mark vs the reference phone. Not to mention the A18 Pro. I am not a benchmark fanatic but facts are facts.
 
TL, sort of skimmed it.

I say not state of the art and meh-boringggg.

Still use multiple Mac's; ditched iPhones after 8 Plus.

I've enjoyed being able to purchase mobile phones on sale (or with upgrades and extras during initial release), USB-C for 4+ years, better performance, great battery runtime, higher display quality and refresh rate, fast charging, ...

I still purchase unlocked refurb iPhones from Apple for my wife and friends sometimes.
Same, I ditched of iPhones when I wanted to upgrade my X and realized that nothing meaningful happened over the three years I held onto the phone and Apple was skimping on features which were widely available among competition. At the same time, I am still loving my MBP and iPP and not moving anywhere. OP is clearly very emotional and sounds as if they never tried anything outside of the Apple's walled garden for a prolonged period of time ;)
 
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