[Closed] New iPhone release

Standby for the hate.

I’m curious to see what is due to be released after seeing the leaks but I’ll not be getting one.

I got last year's model last year. I expect it to last me 4 years.

They are expensive things, if you don't need the latest/greatest then they usually have a lower/last years model for significantly cheaper. Apple do a 20 months interest free payment plan if you do buy the latest version - which is how I'm paying for mine.

I'm actually more interested in the watch, I managed to smash my series 2 over the summer so either looking for a new version or a cheaper series 4.

You’ll get a better deal on the outgoing model and coming from a 6yr old phone will appear to be magic...

Might be time to upgrade my i phone 4...

I believe it’s a faster X and XR series now with the dubiously useful wireless charge sharing thing.

An iPhone 8 based ‘SE’ would be nice, but I think they’re pushing premium again.

Tbh they’re all so expensive again I find it hard to get excited, even though I don’t pay for mine.

I’m actually more interested in the watch, I managed to smash my series 2 over the summer so either looking for a new version or a cheaper series 4.

Yes eventually I'm now becoming interested in an Apple Watch thta was until I seen Garmin's new ones.

Tbh they’re all so expensive again I find it hard to get excited, even though I don’t pay for mine.

I know exactly what you mean. The counter is that I basically live in it and my last one has lasted over 6 years, though that does include a free warranty replacement. If I keep it 4 years then £250 per year for something that organises my life is not too unreasonable.

My SE is two and a half years old and still as good as new, cannot fault it. Agree a new SE would be nice but I can wait as I'm in no rush to replace it.

I went from a 6s to an XS last year.

As above, it'll do me for the next few years and agree that you might be better off looking at deals on that model really as (from what I have heard) the improvements aren't going to be significant and the only big change is in the camera. Apparently clocked speeds on the new models when using multiple apps is not much better than on current models (although single app clock times are improved).

XR was the sweet-spot when replacing the wife's 7 this year. £100 off on Prime day too, so didn't think bad for £650 (plus the old phone eBayed for £200). I'd look for deals on these unless you're desperate to have the latest and greatest.

I got an iPhone X last year after my 5 completely died on my. I'm not impressed with it. The operating system and capabilities are fine, the face ID is brilliant, Apple Pay is brilliant. But not a fan of the form factor, the edge to edge screen is a PITA and ultimately a gimmick and the glass construction is rubbish. I cracked the back of my X and you cannot repair it as the internals are bonded into the chassis so you need to replace the whole phone, so I've not bothered. Also the prices are just getting stupid. I appreciate a modern smartphone is so much more than a phone and can understand they're getting more expensive, and I don't even mind paying a bit of a premium for Apple, but they're starting to take the P now.

Yes eventually I’m now becoming interested in an Apple Watch thta was until I seen Garmin’s new ones.

They are expensive things,

I’m in no rush to replace it.

this is the challenge for the whole sector really. There used to be a drive to push forward the technology as there were more an more new things you could use a phone for and those things were often at the limit of or beyond the capability of the phone you already had. But really there's a few uses that everyone has settled on - browsing the Internet, navigating the real world and social interaction. You can keep jamming in more pixels and more hertz but neither of those things are a bar to what people are actually using their phones for right now.

We seem to be reaching a point where once people have a phone they like they want it to last - and importantly -  they of want the next one they get to be more or less the same. Rather than get excited about the next new thing people view new launches with a bit of a dread that the kind of phone they like might cease to be available (Says 5SE user) Now that the market has matured rather than trying to add more and more features and capabilities I think a lot of people would rather choose something that does a few things well and carries little extra baggage.

Unless theres some sort of new revolutionary,  game changing use for a phone in your pocket that hasn't been foreseen yet (and there might be) then theres going to have to be a big change in business model away from an R&D race and towards selling cheaper, simpler phones and selling them less often

But not a fan of the form factor,

I would like them to be a bit more robust,and a bit smaller. The big screen is obviously nice, but adding a case makes it bulky enough to be uncomfortable in a jeans pocket.

There is talk of an updated 'SE' model in 2020, but it might just be talk...

Re: stagnation, I expect a lot of 5G based services to come online in the next few years - that will drive the new hardware cycle for a few years.

Tbh they’re all so expensive again I find it hard to get excited, even though I don’t pay for mine.

I know exactly what you mean. The counter is that I basically live in it and my last one has lasted over 6 years, though that does include a free warranty replacement. If I keep it 4 years then £250 per year for something that organises my life is not too unreasonable.

No, it's not bad if you can keep them that long.

I guess for me the excitement has gone, maybe it's my age, but I think it's more because the product has long matured. They've been fast enough for years, and whilst new features are nice they're become increasingly less "game changing".

For me it's been more of a case of replacing a worn, cracked and generally grubby smart phone for a shiny new one that's mostly the same.

You’ll get a better deal on the outgoing model and coming from a 6yr old phone will appear to be magic…

This for me. My 7 is getting to the point where I could do with a new one...maybe. But I'll go for one of the current X models probably. As the quote above says, any of those will feel like magic. But if You can afford the new one, it'll feel like magic with a little extra. :o)

I use an iPhoneX, bought it to replace an iPhone6s that i'd had for years, and sold that on here.

I like the X, think its a great mix of usability, easy to see/read and capable for my simple requirements. Yeah i'll change it, maybe in a few years time.

My Wife still uses my original 6..

From all the leak info I've read the iPhone 11 looks to be the least interesting version for ages, it's all just minor fluff until the big changes (hopefully in the following version) are ready. If I had to get a new(er) iPhone now I'd just wait until the new one was out and buy the current one at a discount.

I upgraded to an XR just before summer, and the biggest difference is the 2 day battery life compared to the 1 day I could get out of the Samsung S7+ it replaced. Other than that there don't seem to be any particular advantages - the camera's a bit better, applications open a bit faster, but that's about it. (And given I'm not getting on with iOS I'm seriously considering giving it to my daughter and going back to the S7+ - there really is that little in it when it comes to performance).

I went 3G, 4, 4S, 6, 6S and then completely lost interest in upgrading...

the biggest difference is the 2 day battery life

I'd agree - that is the best thing about my upgrade (along with the better camera). I replaced the battery (on the warranty programme) on my 6S shortly before upgrading but it still struggled to get through a working day (I could burn through 40% on the 30 minute train commute in a morning).

But not a fan of the form factor, the edge to edge screen is a PITA and ultimately a gimmick

I don't see this at all. I mean, I understand you're entitled to your opinion but I think the form factor and gesture control on the X is beautiful. I just love using my iPhoneX - it's one of the best things I've bought in recent years. My wife recently bought an iPhone 8 and it just feels like a last-gen device by comparison.

this is the challenge for the whole sector really.

Nail, head.

Back in "the day" you had to spend a lot of money on a PC to get anything remotely approaching usable. Required specs leapt up astonishingly quickly, on going from Windows 98 to XP - a gap of just 4 years - the RAM requirements jumped like tenfold. These days, hardware has overtaken software and bargain basement PCs are "good enough" for the majority of users. Maybe once a week someone will post on STW asking "what PC for email, surfing the web and light Office usage" and the answer really is "absolutely anything."

Phones are inevitably going the same way. I spent years buying the next Latest And Greatest Thing only to be disappointed with slow performance, limited apps, or it otherwise just not working as I'd expected. By the time your 12 month contract (remember those?) had expired most folk were going "ooh, 'free' phone upgrade time!" These days though, just like with PCs the hardware is catching / caught up with software demands and there's no longer a desperate need to run out and buy flagship phones as soon as you're done paying for the last one. The last handset I bought cost £200, it's absolutely fine apart from a couple of minor niggles, and it replaced a four year old HTC One which I'd probably still be using today had the charging port not blown up. It's difficult to justify spending £600 on a phone (for me personally) these days when I can get ostensibly the same thing with a slightly inferior camera and a charger I actually have to plug in for £200.

My xiaomi lasts all day regardless of what I’m doing.

Will apple ever offer an iphone with a battery twice as big? That would be a winner for me.

For those considering the watch - just be warned that the e-sim's are locked to the UK.
Won't work outside of their geographical areas due to licensing despite the likes of O2, EE, etc operating in europe. The watch won't.
So if you're thinking of leaving your phone at home on a euro trip - it becomes just a digital watch without the phone and wifi.

Amazed it's taken this long...

https://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/science-technology/shiny-thing-make-it-all-better-201001282420

😉

^^^ Not sure if you are being sarcastic or not CF?

*28th January 2010*

My xiaomi lasts all day regardless of what I’m doing.

Will apple ever offer an iphone with a battery twice as big?

Not sure about 'twice as big' but my iPhone will last two days comfortably unless I am really hammering it with Google Maps or streaming. I charged it before the Great North Run (on Saturday afternoon). I used it to find my way around Newcastle on Saturday evening (using the new live view Google Maps thing) then all day on Sunday with social media updates, run tracking, getting in touch with friends and family, more social updates, picture uploads, more Google Maps etc. My girls also used it for playing some games and Facetimed their friends for a bit. By last night it still had about 25% charge.

If an updated SE came out, I'd be interested (if it could accept 2 SIMs). In terms of size and shape, it's pretty much the pinnacle for me. Would prefer it to run Android as I've bought various apps, but the OS doesn't really matter to me. My current phone is fine, but thanks to its size and slippery metal body, it flies out of my hand at every opportunity so needs a rubber case making it even bigger. Seems like nobody is making a decent smaller handset though.

Seems like nobody is making a decent smaller handset though.

They simply need to be bigger to fit all the tech in (and a large enough battery to run it all). For example, the latest iPhone is rumoured to have rear three cameras + two front facing. All that has to fit somewhere.

A friend just bought a new XS after dropping her old phone on the floor 3 times in two weeks and then dropping it in the loo where it broke into two pieces (probably committed suicide!) .... cost £1300!!!
And I thought £500 for my OnePlus was a lot !

Only good bit is that her company pays for it!

Seems like nobody is making a decent smaller handset though.

Yeah, it's been the case for a few years now. I don't need a big daft phone, I have decent eyesight and a tablet for anything that requires a bigger screen. Yet the arms-race seems to be for ever-larger phones and what little does come out in a smaller form factor tends to be horribly crippled.

I need a new phone, and the only thing I'm interested in is the price reductions on the outgoing models,which is what I'll be going for.

Just another device now innit. I mean, by all means buy a new phone but not much point in getting excited about a launch of a few slightly improved features that will have little to no impact on anything.

I went from a iPhone 7 to the iPhone XR, the first annoyance and one I have every year is that I have had to go from a 128gb 7 to a 256gb XR as they dont do a 128GB XS, this was the same when I got my 7, they didnt do a 64gb so went for a 128gb... The other annoyance is the weight of the thing, it is heavy and the last thing is the bigger screen is actually slightly more annoying to use one handed. There are some positives like the battery life and portrait mode on the camera, but they are few and far between.

They need to make phones more robust i've said this before that designing something that will inevitably get dropped out of the world slippest glass (Samsung) is either stupid or a given the hardware is so good now a way of forcing us to update as or phones are smashed to pieces. I've been through 4 S8/9s breaking them in the nano second they are out of the case (luckly i don't have to pay for them).

last thing is the bigger screen is actually slightly more annoying to use one handed

A friend just bought a new XS after dropping her old phone on the floor 3 times in two weeks and then dropping it in the loo where it broke into two pieces (probably committed suicide!) …. cost £1300!!!

Yep, when a new one was £500-£600 I could stomach that, but over £1k is just insane IMHO. Hence not upgraded for several years...

designing something that will inevitably get dropped out of the world slippest glass

My work phone is an old Nokia 735. I swear it's the slipperiest thing in existence, it's like making phone calls on a lightly greased otter.

Surely the first thing you do when you get a new phone is get a case for it? All the top end phones I've handled are (relatively) heavy and slippery.

Lightly greased otter?
Surely a heavily greased one would be slippier?

It doesn't weigh much, so a heavier grease would be stickier. With a light grade of grease, you pick it up, it squirts out your hand, pick it up again, slips again, it's a viscous circle.

Surely the first thing you do when you get a new phone is get a case for it?

their not really designed to have a case on though, they just spawned a case industry

hate having a case on mine, half a rubber half shell thing on my X purely because i smashed the back recently and I'm not upgrading/replacing so late into the cycle

their not really designed to have a case on though

I would argue the opposite. The protruding camera on the rear of all the recent handsets suggests the designers are assuming everyone is going to use a case of some kind.