“According to news from well-connected Apple blogger John Gruber, next year’s new iPhones are going to be a complete reimagining of Apple’s smartphone lineup,” Zach Epstein writes for BGR. “It would normally be an ‘S’ year, but it makes perfect sense. 2017 marks the 10-year anniversary of the original iPhone, so Apple might be planning something big.”
“I’m already seeing chatter from people who have seen the rumors and are starting to turn negative on this year’s iPhone upgrade. In fact, I’ve heard this narrative from a number of people offline as well — people who could hardly be considered tech enthusiasts,” Epstein writes. “They already seem to know that this year’s iPhone 7 isn’t going to be a big redesign, and they have already heard that next year’s model will be. Several of them have said flat-out that they plan to skip the 7.”
Epstein writes, “The iPhone 8 could pose a serious problem if the iPhone 7 doesn’t have any truly appealing new features.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Don’t believe the anti-hype. iPhone users are really going to want to own this year’s iPhone, especially the lustworthy flagship model.
SEE ALSO:
Patent for 3D camera technology that could be used in Apple’s iPhone 7 dual lens camera surfaces – May 26, 2016
Specs and features expected for Apple’s iPhone 7 – May 24, 2016
iPhone 7 Plus may offer up to 256GB storage – May 23, 2016
Apple tasks suppliers with assembling 72-78 million iPhone 7 units, a two-year high – May 23, 2016
Citi: All of the new 5.5-inch Apple iPhone 7 Plus models coming this fall will feature dual cameras – May 20, 2016
Apple is making iPhone 7 the next killer device – May 17, 2016
Survey: Consumers are more excited about Apple’s ‘iPhone 7’ than they were for iPhone 6s – May 4, 2016
Why Apple’s iPhone 7 doesn’t have to be a ‘disappointment’ – May 3, 2016
iPhone 7 could sport a Smart Connector – May 2, 2016
What Smart Connector charging could mean for the ‘iPhone 7’ and beyond – April 26, 2016
Apple’s LinX acquisition: The Israeli startup that will give iPhones SLR-quality photos – April 15, 2015
Apple buys Israeli 3D/multi-image camera company LinX Computational Imaging – April 14, 2015
I’m old enough that I can remember when a car was only “new” if it LOOKED different from the previous model. So the manufacturers stopped making them better each year and instead added ‘fins’ and ‘jet-like grills,’ etc. No one woke up until the foreign imports started eating US-makers’ lunch.
Today, it seems, the naysayers (and stock analysts) tend to be just as fixated on the LOOK of the iPhone (perhaps so that everyone can SEE their iPhone is the latest model). That is, if it doesn’t LOOK different than previous models then it’s not really “new” (thus the yawn). Perhaps these folks are not really Apple’s target-audience. They don’t seem to understand that real improvements “under the hood” are what “new” is really all about.
While I understand your point of ‘new’, humans as visual creatures will still require some visual confirmation that something is ‘new’ regardless of what changed on the inside. I agree that changing only the outside would not constitute ‘new’ for me also.
I’ve gotten every non-S iPhone since the first one, I’m currently using an iPhone 6, and I’m seriously considering sitting out the iPhone 7 based on the marginal rumored improvements, the fact that phone subsidies aren’t really a thing anymore, and Apple seems to think only people who want a huge phone are worthy of the best tech. If the rumors pan out, 2016-17 is going to be a long year of negative iPhone growth year-over-year until the iPhone 8.
I respect your strategy.
In fact every year, for the last few years, I have decided to adopt the same strategy as you have. But, alas I seem to cave in at the last moment because I remember that the last iPhone had better features than the previous one. For instance the 6s plus is much faster and the Touch ID works much better (much more reliable).
So last year I decided to go on the installment plan and get a new one every year. The reason is that I use the iPhone constantly – it is so important that I am willing to get a new one every year for the foreseeable future.
Nice. That is a totally new BS strategy…
But hey! I’ve got an inside for you my friend. Wait until the iPhone 9 comes out. It will render obsolete the entire iPhones line…
I didn’t know so many BS writers had no life but to stay in the futur constantly hoping for the better… Wow. Wife must be pissed!
Facts are irrelevant in the court of public opinion. If people believe the iPhone 7 is underwhelming when compared to what they hear about the 8, then the 8 will overshadow the 7. That’s why Apple’s business model, and Steve Jobs’ view, that product secrecy be of the highest priority.
The simple, immutable fact is, news of the 8, accurate or otherwise, may very well have an adverse impact on sales of the 7, and Phil Schiller is likely already quite concerned.
Why not start the rumors about the 9 and the ten, so sales will drop off completely?
The problem isn’t that it doesn’t look different, the problem is threefold:
1) The smartphone market is entering maturity. Generally, peoples phones are “good enough” at this point. The rumored improvements to the iPhone 7 don’t seem to add much new, just “better”. Combine this with:
2) Cell phone companies don’t have hidden subsidies in their plans anymore. Tell the average person they can hold onto their iPhone 6 and drop $25-$30 off their bill, or get the iPhone 7 (that looks the same) but is “faster and has a better camera”, and a decent amount will just take the money.
3) Apple is pushing all the best tech to the Plus – an even more expensive model with a huge screen that a lot of people are not willing to use.
The subsidy argument is actually completely wrong. With the ‘subsidy’ model, people were overpaying for the phone twice:
First, the monthly plan was much more expensive than it needed to be, since the installment for the phone was completely hidden from the consumer, so the carrier could easily charge as much as they wanted;
Second, and more important, the ‘subsidy’ model had fixed monthly plan that would not change even if your contract expired. You would, in other words, continue donating free money to your carrier if you didn’t upgrade your phone right away.
And a bonus; third: if you wanted to upgrade early, the early upgrade fee would always be much higher than what you would probably owe for your phone if you were to pay it in 24 equal installments. Either way, your least bad option was to keep the phone for two years and immediately upgrade.
With ‘subsidy free’ plans, your monthly rate is much lower. More importantly, you get your phone on an interest-free two-year loan. You can pay it off anytime you want, and it is then yours to do with it whatever you want. You can replace it at any time by paying off the balance and getting a new one. The money you get for a used iPhone is always going to be greater than the balance you owe on the loan (the phone values approaches zero much slower than your loan balance, as the months go by).
For literally everyone, it is much easier and cheaper to upgrade every year, as soon as the new model comes out. You have no reason to hold onto your phone; carrier won’t punish you with ‘early upgrade’ fees, you can always get better money for your one-year old phone than if you wait for the contract to expire, and you will always come out ahead.
Without seeing the iPhone 7 and having absolutely no facts about what the iPhone 8 might bring, the ‘experts’ have already decided that this year’s narrative will be that the iPhone 7 is going to be a disappointment while the iPhone 8 will be amazing.
Whatever Apple releases as an iPhone 7 will obviously be criticised for being another failure ( just like every other model of iPhone was when launched ). Furthermore, when iPhone 8 comes around, that too i going to be declared another failure.
Meanwhile in the real world, iPhones will be sold in numbers that other manufacturers couldn’t even dream about and Apple will make incredible profits from their next ‘failure’.
Great comment alanaudio.
It’s sad when even Apple users get suckered into forming buying decisions based on nothing but rumors.
Wait until September.
If the new iPhone fits your use case, buy it. If not, don’t.
Of course I am going to wait until September to make my decision, that doesn’t mean I can’t start setting my expectations now based on the plethora of rumors. People really need to stop oversimplifying points of view. This is why we all have to choose between Hillary and Trump.
Excellent point. And it also points to the extremes of simplification that are responsible for tech illiteracy. Apple went too far in the drive for dead-simple simplicity, in the same way that Microsoft did with their Windows Everywhere concept. Both were ideological failures, and the suffering continues to this day.
All the leaks so far that I have seen are of the back of an iPhone that is reported to be for the iPhone 7. From that the experts believe they can extrapolate that virtually no major features are coming to the iPhone 7 and that innovation is dead at Apple. After a major surge in R&D spending, all that Apple is improving in their flagship product is a dual lense camera made by someone else, and moving the antenna lines. After a year of work, hundreds of millions of dollars, that’s it. Fire Tim Cook right now. To me, that analysis is ludicrous.
Since Google I/O everyone has written off Apple. Google Home is super awesome amaze balls, while Apple’s rumoured competitor is just me too and meh.
Google assistant will just blow you away, while Siri will never ever be improved, because Apple’s R&D must just be going towards fighting for gay rights.
The fact is we still know very little about the iPhone 7 or WWDC.
Yeah, I’ll keep my gunpowder dry too.
Although, isn’t it encased in brass?
Let’s see…. this year’s iPhone looks good. It works good. But if next years’s phone look like a phone we consider good looking this year it is a failure. And if next year’s phone works as well as or better than last year’s phone it is a failure because it looks the same. Hmmmmm………