Now is probably a good time because it seems like there is less pressure for new features. Apple is so far ahead of the rest right now that they can afford to release almost exactly the same phone a second time and it wont hurt.
Back in the 2010s, Apple used to be the best phone making companies, and everyone used to have them. Getting the latest iPhone was a big flex and was just cool.
Nowadays, there are better or equally good phones (my opinion), and Apple has also increased the relative cost for the newer models. People are really wondering whether they should spend more money to get pretty much the same phone. With more availability of phones and more options, there are just going to be more people who dislike the product/like the product but buy something else.
Additionally, there are still people waiting in the cold for new iPhones, it just may not be you because you have grown as a person and you feel waiting for new technology is behind you.
Those due for upgrading their phones while being wary of the current state of the economy and their own cash flow situation, can just going for this phone, and not bother about upgrading for an another 3-4 years.
Also a great way for Apple to widen their funnel for first time iPhone / Apple customers!
True, but Apple likes to keep products around for a long time, unlike other phone makers. Their latest and greatest high end monstrosity comes with premium performance and a premium price tag. Meanwhile Apple is plenty happy to sell you their flagship from two or three years ago a more budget-oriented option.
Since they only release once a year, this one doesn't only have to hold its own against the competition right now, but also against whatever the others put out in 10 months.
Yeah, some people will always wait for the next iPhone. But for others, who have a more "neutral" point of view, this iPhone might look very bad in 10 months.
I do think that phones are in a sorry place - but this isn't exactly why. The industry is still based on the concept of a new model every year, but it has been years since there were obvious & universal reasons to get a new model. The striking thing about this fact isn't that Apple is "ahead" - it's that even though Apple has basically lapped the competition on a technical level it doesn't matter much.
People look at older models as older models, even though they may be good enough and may provide software updates for longer compared to many Android phones in that price range. It also looks odd (to the purchaser) when one is buying something that's a four year old model. Android phones, with the range of hardware differences, don't yield to such simple comparisons, and many of them offer slightly better hardware Year on year at the same price points.
Apple probably needs to come up with newer, refreshed (hardware), low priced models to beat this. But I wouldn't hold my breath on such a move happening.
The market is basically in a holding pattern. New features tend to be situational and the performance improvements are pretty modest year-over-year. What's more, even old phones are fast enough for most uses, so even when the new one is 50% faster that's not a huge deal. It's hard to justify $800 to make a webpage load in .75 seconds instead of 1 second.
I'm still using my iPhone 6 and iOS 10 (I have some 32 bit apps that I still use). I'm considering swapping the battery instead of buying a new phone. Right now I would only upgrade if I severely broke it.
In some ways it would be a downgrade, because I use the headphone jack to wire it into my car's audio when doing navigation, and plug it into the cig lighter because navigation is a battery hog. It's pretty clear that Apple has no intention of ever bringing back the headphone jack.
Maybe I could find a bluetooth adapter on a headphone jack? I wonder if it could draw enough power from the headphone jack to not need a battery? Probably not.
This is in part because it's assumed that everyone will get the cool new model once it's out and, in particular with iPhones, there's a marketing push to acquire newer models, lest yours feels outdated or stops being supported by the company.
ya but you have to look at it in terms of the consumer. not everyone is buying a new iphone every year. most wait two years and two years of 18%+ improvements leads to a phone that feels like a substantial upgrade especially for mobile games, 4k video and computational photography
It's kinda funny. Apple users are realizing that they should wait until the next release for something better. I guess it's true for any piece of technology.
For a technology company in a consumer electronics market, it's so rare to see them take their product off the market at its peak and then replace it. This is a common practice in the computing world, but not for consumer electronics, like TV's, etc.
It's taking some getting used to, as the market penetration for the iPod and related product is increasing. Are iPod users willing to consistently shell several hundred dollars every 1 to 2 years to keep up with newer, cooler products? The answer is yes if they can see the benefits.
Who knows? Maybe, this is the major move from iPod to iPhone.
I think the point is that nobody is going to want to use their current iPhone in 7.5 years, let alone 75. That is partly because people like shiny new things, but also because your current iPhone will lose iOS compatibility long before that time.
I'd also argue that consumers are savvy enough to predict a new iPhone coming out later this year — after all, it has been on a yearly cycle since its launch.
They may be holding out for a new release rather than committing to a contract/service now.
seems fairly inevitable, though. with the release of the iphone, apple shook the mobile phone business down to its very core. it's hard not to wonder if they are about to do it again.
Since Apple typically caters their decisions to the majority of their buyers (as opposed to those power users who look specifically for the most up-to-date tech specs) this decision makes a lot of sense. Having more battery time is rather large plus.
It could still be lackluster and sell more than previous versions. The iPhone is still spreading out into the world I assume, and the proportion of the world that wants or can buy an iPhone keeps increasing for a while longer.
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