“It might just be the same old thing,” Don Reisinger writes for Fortune. “The rumors surrounding Apple’s March 21 event have hit a fever pitch. But now there are questions over just how big the company’s announcements will be.”
“Apple will unveil a new iPhone at its March 21 event, but contrary to earlier rumors, the company’s new handset won’t come with an improved design, 9to5Mac reports, citing people who claim to have knowledge of its plans,” Reisinger writes. “Instead, the Apple-tracking site’s sources say that the new iPhone will come with a design that looks ‘almost exactly the same’ as Apple’s iPhone 5s.”
“If the new iPhone is expected to be a replacement for the iPhone 5s, it will struggle to match pricing,” Reisinger writes. “The iPhone 5s, which comes in 16GB and 32GB versions, starts at $450 off-contract, and is available from just $15 per month for those who want to pay monthly installments.
“Coming close to matching that price could be difficult, if not impossible, for Apple. All reports suggest that the next iPhone will come with updated components, boasting the A9 processor offered in the iPhone 6s, which will push production costs up,” Reisinger writes. “Add that to rumors of a better camera and overall improved performance, and the next iPhone could be a bit more expensive than the iPhone 5s it’s replacing. A new design would add even more to the cost.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: The 5s design is already better than the current 6/s/Plus models as it’s less “slippery” with the Sleep/Wake button on top where it belongs.
(Yes, we’re sick and tired of changing the volume when trying to sleep the phone or sleeping it when trying to change the volume.)
nothing wrong with the sleep button. maybe MDN’s thumb is shaped abnormally like a carrot
So in five years the only “innovation” that Cook has done on the iPad is the Apple Pencil?
You blind mice can’t even spell incompetent.
Now he’s using the “Pro” monniker to try and boost interest, when everyone on earth knows that iPad (in its current form) should NEVER be used with “Pro” in the same sentence… it’s just a joke!
If that lazy incompetent doesn’t actually change the look of the iPhone 7, the fortunes of the last Apple cash cow he has left to milk dry will spiral downward also!
As long as people ignore Cook’s incompetent and virtually non-existent leadership, Apple will continue to disappoint investors.
what the hell does that have to do with a carrot moron
Hey, “Wake Up”… there are lots of other phones, tablets, computers and companies to invest in. Off you go.
Take a look at laptops. From the 25 pound “Compaq” to the 2 pound iPad Air, it took almost 30 years. Now laptops are remarkably similar physically.
Smartphones will be similarly a “look-alike” until the day someone makes a ‘magic screen’ that rolls away.
Or until the day that everybody elso stops copying Apple physical design and information logic.
These dudes are real bitches when it comes to pleasing their tastes. Look how long cars have been on the road and actually 95% of them on the road look pretty similar in design. How long were desktop computers just rectangular boxes? For decades. Home audio systems have been around forever and they’re still basically rectangular boxes. Yet these bitches are always complaining how Apple doesn’t come out with something different. If something works well, there’s no reason not to stick with that design. Changing just for the sake of change is plain stupid. There’s no solid reason to believe that a “roll-away” display will make things better for users just because it’s different. These people don’t think. They just run their mouths in order to get attention.
Even if Apple made an indestructible iPhone, you’d have people complaining that Apple’s upgrade cycle would be too long and repeat sales would suffer. Apple can’t win no matter what it does.
The people writing stories in the press always want something sexy and cutting edge to write about. However, most people want something reliable, dependable, familiar and useful. Lamborghinis are gorgeous but I drive a ten year old car that gets me where I need to go.
If the new iPhone is sturdier with a little better battery life, a little better WiFi, a little stronger screen, etc. then it will do just fine.
No.
So I guess reaping 90% of smartphone profit worldwide isn’t successful enough?
I think that a significant percentage of sales are due to being able to say “this is the new iPhone”. Like maybe 5-10%
Making it more waterproof would be nice.
Making it so users didn’t have to cover the beautiful design with a case would also be nice.
I’m surprised Apple doesn’t build a waterproof iPhone. I thought there were chemical coatings that easily resisted water and don’t overheat electronics. I figured they could just spray or dip the innards with some chemical coating and that would be end of water damage. I keep hearing about this awesome Liquipel 2.0 nano-coating that works so well. Why can’t Apple use that? Apple seems to be missing a golden opportunity.
6s is waterproof. Apple won’t fess up, can’t blame them.
No. The 5s design is great (I’ve got the 4 still).
And I do prefer the Sleep/Wake button on top, too.
Having the sleep/wake button on the side was a horrible decision! I hope they come to their senses and put it back on the top.
The pressure that companies basically put on themselves to constantly redesign successful products is RIDICULOUS!!!
Samsucks tries to redesign as fast as they can always leading back to familiar territory, much as they laughably claim to have something new. Devices follow their optimum user interaction design. Once you have found it it would take a real paradigm shift to do something totally different. I love how the idiots here think it’s so easy to do that when they couldn’t design their way out of a paper bag.
Even if you did come up with something far more radical many people might not like it anyway. You can’t win and human nature is resistant to change. Paradigm shifts also have to make sense.
Needs a rotary dial.
Not a bad idea for unlocking the phone.
The scroll wheel is still alive and well on the Watch.
I think, to maximize sales , iPhone 7 should have some significant visual differances from the 6.
Ugh, THANK YOU MDN….I hate the location of the sleep/wake button. It needs to go back ON TOP. So sick of trying to take landscape photos and accidentally turning off the screen.
People like shinny new things. Selling old phone style is equivalent to selling clothing that went out of fashion twenty years ago. They might as well bring back the flannel shirt tied around the waste look. I mean OJ was recently in the news again. Maybe old is cool again, like the ’50’s were in the ’80’s. Maybe they will also resurrect The Smashing Pumpkins. That said, it could sell well in jungle nations.
Gotta get that *CLICK*BAIT* published on the net before the event! Crank up that *HYPE!* No one’s going to care how much you lied after the event is over and done. At that point it’s time to grind out some new *CLICK*BAIT* confabulations.
That’s how cynical I am about modern technology ‘analysts’. 😛