iPhone 7: Why Do We Even Care?

[HardOCP News]

It's funny how, even faithful iPhone owners are wondering why bother upgrading to the iPhone 7? For Apple's sake, let's hope they have some huge surprises up their sleeves because anything short of a mind-blowing new design is going to go over like a lead balloon.

So why do we need to put ourselves through all of this? Do we really need an iPhone 7? Is there anything, at least based on the rumors, that we really need? Sure, we usually give Apple a big fuss, but think about this. Be honest with yourself. Do you really care? Really?

 

[Jagger100]

You'll be able to drive it.

 

[86 5.0L]

Cause I have an iPhone 6 Plus with only 1GB of RAM

 

[Domingo]

Can't the same be said for every phone model out there? When is the last time anyone had a truly innovative new phone everyone had to have?
The only reason to get a new phone for Android owners is because your OEM bails on security updates or their bloated launcher doesn't jive with OS updates.

 

[Trepidati0n]

Can't the same be said for every phone model out there? When is the last time anyone had a truly innovative new phone everyone had to have?
The only reason to get a new phone for Android owners is because your OEM bails on security updates or their bloated launcher doesn't jive with OS updates.

Apple just tend to ignore security issues unless their balls are in a vice which means just as many people are most likely exposed as compared to android.

 

[bucket]

Cuz it ditched the ubiquitous analog headphone jack for some weird proprietary bluetooth-like wireless connection and added some RAM.

"MAGICAL AND INNOVATIVE"

 

[Gatecrasher3000]

Im going to at least wait after the press conference before judging, but yeah, iphone's no longer have those features you wished your phone had. They make great hardware, but I haven't had an iphone since the 4, so yeah, I don't really care.

 

[Deleted whining member 223597]

Apple just tend to ignore security issues unless their balls are in a vice which means just as many people are most likely exposed as compared to android.

What are you talking about? iOS 9.3.5 was out within a day or two of that text message exploit.

 

[ryang]

Of course you'll need one once Apple pushes out the usual "grind all last gen devices to a halt" updates.

 

[Deleted member 88301]

Nope.

 

[Ducman69]

Can't the same be said for every phone model out there? When is the last time anyone had a truly innovative new phone everyone had to have?

My Galaxy S6 Edge was a pretty big improvement to me, with a novel new super high resolution screen that rolls into the body, ability to watch movies and play games in virtual reality, wireless charging, 3gigs of RAM, a better camera, and a powerful 8-core processor.

The next big leap for me is that I want a 16-core processor, 6gb memory, second generation faster wireless charging, bigger battery, bigger screen, with 4K resolution, with a bonus being stereo cameras with a software option to create 360o pictures.

 

[wgm3446]

I've upgraded on every major release. Just about every year I see articles like this leading up to the release. Yet, some how, Apple seems to lockup on pre-orders. I'll order a 7 because I look forward to the new camera updates they'll be making to it.

 

[Darunion]

My Galaxy S6 Edge was a pretty big improvement to me, with a novel new super high resolution screen that rolls into the body, ability to watch movies and play games in virtual reality, wireless charging, 3gigs of RAM, a better camera, and a powerful 8-core processor.

The next big leap for me is that I want a 16-core processor, 6gb memory, second generation faster wireless charging, bigger battery, bigger screen, with 4K resolution, with a bonus being stereo cameras with a software option to create 360o pictures.

Love my s7 but the s6 was where they stepped down the battery size and not easily removable.

Overall they are all doing baby steps in my opinion.

 

[SuperSubZero]

I'm on an every-two-gens upgrade cycle. I just got a 6s this year, so I need the iPhone 7 to release so an iPhone 7s launches next year with a faster processor and longer battery life and then I can get that.

 

[DeChache]

Can't the same be said for every phone model out there? When is the last time anyone had a truly innovative new phone everyone had to have?
The only reason to get a new phone for Android owners is because your OEM bails on security updates or their bloated launcher doesn't jive with OS updates.

Pretty much this the only reason I've upgraded my last few phones was the lack of OS/Security Updates. Kind of over this while smart phone thing and wish that dumb phones would make a return.

 

[mat9v]

If we are playing offtopic
My next gr8 upgrade would be when phones get either 20k mah batteries (same size or less) or Extreme™ Charge version XXX that would charge my battery in 1 minute or less
I already use "phone" sized 6.44" so no problem here, screen resolution... meh, FHD is enough unless I suddenly start recording 4k videos (and watching them on the phone... who does that anyway).
Memory is always welcome, the more the better, it lends to less waiting everywhere - programmers wastefulness being the fact of life.
I'm one of those strange users that keep 50+ tabs open in the browser and scores of small programs in the background that help me with my everyday tasks, the same is happening on my phone
Oh and no phone of mine will ever have non-removable battery (like my current one has unfortunately) and "cloud storage only" option instead of good old sdcard.

 

[steakman1971]

I don't really find any of the new phones innovative or must-have features. Being the app development space, I use every major phone. The last few years have been very ho-hum or gimmicky features no one will use.
I have an iPhone 6 (personal device). It works well enough, I get a full day's use from a full charge, and like the size of it.
We'll see tomorrow, but likely will see Apple launch: better camera, more ram, faster processor (although not sure why I need a faster one that I have...), upgraded finger print sensor (again, my current one works well enough...), missing 3.5" headphone jack (doh), maybe the newer Gorilla Glass. Every one of these is a total "meh" from me.
Then again, I was also meh about Samsungs recent phones. They are nice phones, but not necessarily something I need.

Really, I think smartphones are a stable platform. They are now in the boring category. I hope one of the companies can surprise me.

 

[Domingo]

I've stayed on an 18-24 month upgrade cycle and haven't seen anything all that impressive since the iPhone 4 era. Faster processor, more storage space, slightly better battery, better camera, etc.
That's on both sides of the coin as I've been on Android for a while. Those are baby steps. Things like VR and wireless charging sound far better than they actually are, hence most manufacturers not really jumping on either function. If anything, the Qualcomm Rapid-Charge is probably the best actual innovation I've seen in recent memory. Going from 10% to 50% of your battery in 10-15 minutes is a pretty big deal and it's still not that big of a technological jump compared to 6-7 years ago. iOS and especially Android are only making tiny incremental improvements, too.

Apple's going to get a ton of sales because people are used to the 2-year cycle, but don't confuse that for actual excitement. It's more like people are ready to ditch their devices that have seen 34-36 months of wear and tear.

 

[M76]

I can only speak for myself, but I don't care. Never really did.

 

[Jovian]

My current iPhone 5S is due for an upgrade, starting to show its age and is pretty beat up.

I have been buying iPhones since the 3G but this year its most likely going to be an Android. The past few phones have been very boring and lack a lot of the features Android has and has had for a while now. I will miss the app store where I dont have to worry about what I download, and the "it just works" feel phone provides. That being said I cant wait to be able to actually change things in the OS of Android and very excited about using Waze in Android Auto (Apple Carplay is super locked down)

If the apple announcement tomorrow goes as expected it will be skipping the iPhone. Will likely wait for the new Google phones to show up early next month if this.

 

[cdabc123]

wrong place to ask this question as people on this fourm are generally more inteligent and put more thought into a phone purchase. will people care? HELL YEA because some people want to be seen with the latest name brand technology. apple is not successful because the make the most powerful hardware or are the most innovative they are sucsessful because people want to buy the latest apple products and apple will advertise and push them till its not "cool" to have anything else. currently i use a iphone 4 because it does everything a 6 does (but it does it alite slower) i would use a 3 if they could open multipal apps at once. and sadly their are already MANY apps I cant get because i cant get the latest ios on my phone, many of these apps i had before they released the 5. and i will be switching VERY soon i already have a phone coming that i will hard mod to meet my happyness, because i am tired of fixing the apple POS just to have it software bricked when it trys to update.

 

[TechLarry]

My Moto Pure has 10 times thepower I need.

I'd still predfer an iPhone, but they are too expensive.

I HATE Android.

 

[Shmee]

My Moto Pure has 10 times thepower I need.

I'd still predfer an iPhone, but they are too expensive.

I HATE Android.

Agreed. Android is a mess, and they keep making it messier. The email settings are in like five different places, and then hardware makers put their crap over the top and make it even worse. I hate Apple but at least iOS mostly makes sense. I was hoping Windows Phone would be the answer, but it is obviously not.

 

[InorganicMatter]

The entire device industry has become incremental. Everyone wants (and Apple/Samsung act like every new product is) another huge leap in technology like the jump was going from Windows Mobile brick-phones to the first iPhone. But those kinds of advances are far and few. For the most part, things improve slowly nowadays.

So, "why do we even care?" The folks (like me) who are coming from older phones care. The guys who just got a brand new 6S? Not so much.

 

[InorganicMatter]

Cuz it ditched the ubiquitous analog headphone jack for some weird proprietary bluetooth-like wireless connection and added some RAM.

"MAGICAL AND INNOVATIVE"

I for one am excited about the DAC/amp hardware now being in the hands of headphone makers, and not Apple.

But most of the audio gear I own costs 10x what the iPhone costs, so I guess I'm an outlier compared to the typical user.

 

[Ur_Mom]

If I were up for an upgrade (work phone), I'd grab the latest and greatest from Apple.

Otherwise, I'll wait until there is something better.

 

[Domingo]

If I still had an iPhone and had bought into their ecosystem, I'd probably get one. Not like it's going to be any worse than your last phone.
Apple lost me with having to use iTunes to organize everything. As an OS, I think it's better than TouchWiz Android and probably equal to vanilla Android.
Hardware-wise, it's not like there's a ton of difference amongst all of the flagship phones. I certainly don't want one of those giant phablet phones designed for Shaq.

 

[Mugato]

What I want is a communicator like they use in Star Wars. Everyone gets a "channel" or whatever and the voice recognition is superb you just say, call wife, as it's always on but only reacts with certain phrases. And to turn it on a specific channel where whoever is on there is in a conference.

 

[westrock2000]

I've actually just found stuff like continuum (or whatever Apple calls theirs), expanding iCloud capacity and Apple Music & Match to be the more useful things. The phone itself hasn't mattered that much to me.

 

[westrock2000]

What I want is a communicator like they use in Star Wars. Everyone gets a "channel" or whatever and the voice recognition is superb you just say, call wife, as it's always on but only reacts with certain phrases. And to turn it on a specific channel where whoever is on there is in a conference.

Wife broadcast coming in on a secure transmission.

Shields up!

 

[anthrex]

Cause I have an iPhone 6 Plus with only 1GB of RAM

This is the only thing that has me tempted to upgrade. The rest of my phone is fine, but we really got screwed on the ram amount.

 

[Mistral]

Kind of over this while smart phone thing and wish that dumb phones would make a return.

They've never really gone away, even if the market is niche currently.

 

[Deleted whining member 223597]

Pretty much this the only reason I've upgraded my last few phones was the lack of OS/Security Updates. Kind of over this while smart phone thing and wish that dumb phones would make a return.

You can still buy dumb phones.

 

[MavericK]

I for one am excited about the DAC/amp hardware now being in the hands of headphone makers, and not Apple.

But most of the audio gear I own costs 10x what the iPhone costs, so I guess I'm an outlier compared to the typical user.

A true enthusiast of that level wouldn't be using an iPhone for music in the first place.

 

[Mad Maxx]

As a long time iPhone user until switching to Android, back in April, I'm interested to see if Apple does anything to lure me back. I think both systems are excellent and would have no problem returning to iOS or staying with Android.

 

[Droc]

My old HTC one was having battery issues(would discharge 80% over 5min and get so hot you couldnt touch it). I was short on cash and my new company offered to port my number, cover my bill and get me a new flagship phone, but it had to be an iphone. I said sure, as my options were nil.....Terrible mistake. My iphone 6s has been nothing but trouble. Simple things like syncing contacts is shitshow as I had 400 duplicates.....and unlike my old android, apple refuses to include a duplicate option, or a contact merging option. The fact that google crashes my iphone. The fact that if I have my top of the line plantronics blutooth headset synced and step into my 2016 vehicle with blutooth, the phone turns my FM radio on and off and then hard locks. The fact that it is IMPOSSIBLE to get a keyboard with numbers above the letters(very useful for inputting service reports that use alphanumeric strings).
The icloud system is a shitshow....it syncs some stuff, not others...Want to copy a pdf file to your iphone from your PC and take it to work? Fat fucking chance of that.
Want a Rick&Morty ringtone? keep dreaming.

My "flagship" iphone cant do shit that my blackberry could do in 2009.

 

[steakman1971]

As a long time iPhone user until switching to Android, back in April, I'm interested to see if Apple does anything to lure me back. I think both systems are excellent and would have no problem returning to iOS or staying with Android.

I agree - iOS and Android are really not a whole lot different anymore. Both have their perks.
I only use a handful of apps, they exist on both platforms. So, I'd be set either way.

 

[Krenum]

Could give a shit less really. As long as I can send and receive calls / texts & occasionally browse the internet I'm happy.

 

[Eiolon]

I haven't cared about any technology from both sides of the aisle in a long time, it's not just Apple products.

 

[Tweak42]

I only care as a preview of what I *might* be purchasing in a year+. At Apple's prices for what they are offering, rather wait for bugs, kinks and prices to come down when the next model releases. Not to concerned with hardware quality and future software support as Apple has a pretty good track record in that department (compared to competitors).