The new iPhone is out soon. But aren’t all smartphones now getting a bit
boring?
Adrian Weckler
In a few weeks’ time, Apple will launch its new iPhone 15. But will many
people be bothered?
I scarcely thought I’d say this, but are smartphones now all a bit
boring and samey?
From what I’ve seen and heard, the biggest change in the iPhone will be
the charging port, going from the current ‘Lightning’ format to the
universal USB-C standard.
That’s undoubtedly handy, but won’t massively change your use of the
phone itself.
Otherwise, for the iPhone 15 Pro, we’re expecting slightly thinner
borders around the screen, a titanium frame instead of stainless steel,
a slightly faster engine and slightly better cameras. And all signs
point to yet another price hike, possibly bringing it over €1,300 for
the base ‘Pro’ model.
Most smartphones aren’t adding much that’s really new anymore
Does this sound like something you’ll stay awake at night hankering for?
On an earnings call 10 days ago, Apple CEO Tim Cook conceded that
smartphones sales are falling. Some of it is down to supply-chain issues
and inflation.
Some of it is down to market saturation. But it’s also down to the
creeping reality that most smartphones aren’t adding much that’s really
new anymore.
If I were to ask you what difference there is between your current phone
model and one from, say, three years ago, would you be able to say
anything much? Battery life, maybe. A slightly bigger screen, maybe. But
anything else?
You’re not alone. As arguably the person who reviews the most
smartphones in Ireland, I can tell you the meaningful differences that
even I notice are getting thinner and thinner.
If you have a Samsung S21 from two years ago, there’s genuinely almost
no real difference to this year’s S23. Similarly, the leap between the
iPhone 13 and iPhone 14 was the slimmest I’ve ever seen in an Apple phone.
From what we know of the upcoming iPhone 15, it looks like another set
of minor iterative changes.
That’s not to say that there won’t be demand. Apple has taken market
share from rival brands because iPhones are very reliable and also
generally high-performing. They live in people’s hands. Apple will still
sell a boatload of them.
But that’s not the same as saying that many will be queuing to get one.
Remember the days when a new iPhone or Samsung Galaxy was genuinely an
industrial-design event? There was, more often than not, some new
feature that made it legitimately amazing.
Like the original iPhone’s App Store. Or Samsung’s Note with its (for
the period) giant screen. Or the iPhone X with its buttonless facial
recognition. Or Huawei’s P30 Pro with its incredible, game-changing
long-zoom telephoto camera. Or even the iPhone 12’s steel design and
extra-long battery life. There have been genuine leaps at times over the
last 15 years.
But the last three years? Less so. It has become a little like the
laptop business – most new models look largely the same, with relatively
small differences between most of them, and little by way of
improvements with each year’s new variant.
There is, of course, one exception to all of this: folding-screen phones.
This was supposed to be the huge new leap. It certainly felt like it at
the time. I was there in San Francisco in February 2019 at Samsung’s
‘Unpacked’ event, when the first mainstream model – the Galaxy Fold –
was unveiled.
There were gasps in the crowd. It made the front pages of newspapers and
featured on TV bulletins. It was imaginative, bold and interesting.
People wanted to try it – even at its ridiculous price of over €2,000.
The problem was that it didn’t really work. Samsung had to withdraw the
phone before its commercial release after reviewers found that it was
easy to break and warp.
They released it again that September, but by then much of the buzz had
dissipated.
Samsung has released four subsequent versions of the Galaxy Fold (see my
latest review of the Fold5 on Independent.ie), as well as several
versions of a flip-up folding-screen phone, the Galaxy Flip.
They’re pretty good for some kinds of users. But I see few people
actually buying and using them.
This may be because the larger ones – like the Fold – are really, really
expensive. But it’s also possible that they just haven’t rekindled our
imagination in the way that we thought they might.
If and when Apple releases a folding phone (and it’s not imminent, I can
tell you), that might change: the company is very good at taking a
struggling format and making it into something mainstream that lots of
people want.
But right now, more and more of us are happy to hang on to our current
smartphones, or look for alternatives to spending €1,000-plus on a
device we use for work, WhatsApp, social media, a few games and
serviceable photos and videos.
Sunday Independent
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