“In recent years Apple has made one thing very clear: iPhone ‘Plus’ models are top dog,” Gordon Kelly writes for Forbes. “They have better cameras, far superior battery life and better screens. And now with the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus that gap looks set to get even bigger.”
“The iPhone 7 Plus is getting a much bigger camera upgrade than the iPhone 7 this year. Whereas the iPhone 7 will get a small upgrade, the iPhone 7 Plus will be moving to the much vaunted dual camera technology,” Kelly writes. “Dual modules can be used in different ways – either to mimic optical zoom or create wide angle lenses – so it remains to be seen how Apple will implement it for the iPhone 7 Plus. That said, it could prove the killer difference when millions come to upgrade.”
“Apple’s Smart Connector… will be an iPhone 7 Plus-only feature,” Kelly writes. “The iPhone 7 Plus is also expected to get 50% per more RAM which bumps it up to 3GB, a bigger boost in battery performance and potentially we may even see the arrival of a third 5.5-inch model – the iPhone 7 Pro (reports on it remain mixed).”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Imagine if Apple’s flagship iPhone is also the only one to offer 256GB storage? The differentiation will be extreme and lead to many upsales. Now imagine the new Plus, or an “iPhone Pro,” that’s the only one to get an OLED display (maybe even one that’s edge-to-edge 5.7-inch in the same case size as Plus). Upsales, upsales, upsales! (And severe supply-demand imbalance for protracted periods for that model.)
Apple’s 5.5-inch flagship iPhone is about to get even flagshippier! — MacDailyNews, May 14, 2016
SEE ALSO:
iPhone 7 Plus may offer up to 256GB storage – May 23, 2016
Apple’s iPhone 7 Plus to get OLED exclusively, other models to stick with LCD, analyst suggests – May 16, 2016
iPhone 7 leak reveals professional dual-camera system – May 14, 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’s iPhone 7 Plus to get OLED exclusively, other models to stick with LCD, analyst suggests – May 16, 2016
iPhone 7 leak reveals professional dual-camera system – May 14, 2016
Two technologies that could spur iPhone unit sales growth – May 4, 2016
Apple plans huge 5.8-inch iPhone with AMOLED display , sources say – March 8, 2016
Ming-Chi Kuo: Apple iPhone 7 Plus to offer innovative dual-camera configuration – January 28, 2016
Apple patent application reveals new dual camera zoom lens system – January 7, 2016
That’s dumb. For many people the Plus is simply too big. And differentiating it like this means the normal size will be considered an inferior product, not a premium product. Consequently this is a really dumb way to destroy your premium image for a large part of your users.
Where did all the experts on human behaviour go? They could have told them that, but it seems they left shortly after Steve died …
That’s dumb. For many the larger iPhone is simply just right. Differentiation is possible primarily because of the added size & space to add more technology or expand the technology. Because of this it does NOT destroy any perception of premium – more the reality of what’s doable.
Where did all the good posters go? It seems since disingenuous & specious Oracle types showed up they’ve only gotten dumber & dumber.
peterblood71, while there could possibly be some element of truth to your statement, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to believe that after almost 10 years of Apple packing significantly more technology into roughly the same sized phone, that the differentiation in the Plus is at least partially marketing driven. Is Apple not able to significantly increase the features in their phones anymore without making them bigger? I wonder if you would have made the same argument about the iPhone 6 when when it came out, yet here we are with a new SE that packs almost everything into the iPhone 5 chassis without even an external redesign.
The operative word here is “almost”
Given time and more R&D more features are able to be miniaturized but I’m sure you already know that. The Impatientazzi though wants it today. Tough luck. Apple as a company can market according to what’s good for them as any company does. Not unusual to see the best features on the most expensive phone with fewer features then on the smaller or cheaper phones. It’s been the way of the consumer electronic world forever and isn’t likely to change. And heck yeah a bigger object means more can be packed in. The real challenge is getting more packed into less.
I can verify that over the last few days there has been an effort, artificial or real, to bash on those of us who like Apple gear. These periodic inflections of vehement stupid are nothing new around here. Next week, another point on the sine wave…
I’ve noticed too a downward trend overall in the quality of posts and commentary on this site. Not that I’m sometimes helping, but most just seem to be coming in here and laying stink bombs and fleeing, and then rinse & repeat.
It’s the same-old-shite, typical of websites that don’t require user verification. Cowards are a dime-a-dozen. Then they yell at you when you point out that they’re cowards.
3 gigs of Ram. What could possibly need that much? That’s almost as much RAM as my Mac has. Really though, I don’t see much of a need for that, unless apps actually are able to utilize it.
Well isn’t that the point Bill Gates? So developers can make better use of RAM for apps? (BTW 640Kb of RAM wasn’t enough either.)
Well… you need more RAM in your Mac. Even my 2006 iMac has more than 4GB RAM!
That’s annoying. Screen size is a choice. I understand if things like battery life vary due to the larger amount of space they have behind the screen, but why should I be forced to have a bigger screen in order to pay for extra features that could be added to the smaller sized version AND which I would still be paying for? I have used a PLUS and I do not like the size of it, it is too large for me to comfortably use and carry day in day out. I would gladly pay extra for extra features, but why should I be forced to compromise the entire package?
Because – taking a wild stab here – those features aren’t possible in a smaller 4″ package without severe compromises?
I’m not talking about a 4″ screen, I’m talking about 4.7″.
Might be a borderline call then on size/features. You may see these on 4.7″ next go around. Sometimes this stuff eventually migrates down.
What is the point though? If it’s genuinely due to the size factor (bigger case – bigger battery) then that’s one thing, but if they don’t features in a smaller device they’re not going to force me to upgrade to a bigger one, I’ll just wait. I don’t have to update my device every two years, I choose to, and if they’re not giving me enough incentive to do so then I’ll keep my money.
You may want everything they can jam into an iPhone but you or anyone is certainly not entitled to it. Blame how companies market their products or blame the size limitations or both. I agree phones are so good now (depending on needs) they can go to a 3 year cycle. Maybe you’ll be rewarded for your patience if you wait another year, whether you actually WANT to be patient or not. My iPhone 6 Plus is still plenty good. I haven’t felt the performance decline as I did with prior iPhones resulting in an upgrade fervently wished.
I don’t want to be patient, I want to buy a new phone, but if they’re going to force me to buy a bigger phone by artificially making it a premium product by only including features in bigger models (that don’t need to be) then they’re just missing out on sales.
Possibly but they’re also making up for any missed sales with other models. You can’t please everyone (Android tries to be all things to all people but you’re welcome to it and the caveat of being a member of that club). At least they’ve finally stopped making ridiculous base 16Gb models, which is now 32b. IMHO that did more damage to the brand staying 16Gb for 2-3 years too long than feature-lack on smaller models. As did delaying the introduction of larger screen iPhones.
If it was just price that made people buy a 4″ phone they would just sell older models at those lower prices and let people have a bigger screen. They don’t though, they have updated their smallest model so there is obviously a market for people who want updated phones (and will pay for it), but don’t want a big screen.
Yes I have family members that infinitely prefer the smallest iPhone. But also those who like the largest one. Everyone’s mileage and preference varies.
Of course they vary, but the point is that they do and many people are not going to be shoehorned into buying something they don’t want just because it has a better camera or something.
I don’t think you can expect feature parity across any product feature line. It doesn’t usually work that way in any type of marketed device. And it’s doubtful Apple thinks iPhone power users prefer a 4″ phone so focus on the larger phones with the more advanced features and ample space to accomplish them. But I understand your frustration.
Biggest does not equal best. I’m convinced that the current interest in large smartphones will turn out to be just a passing phase and that sanity will eventually prevail.
The important thing to remember is that it’s supposed to be a mobile phone, with the emphasis on mobile. The implication of being mobile involves being a suitable size to always carry with you.
Large iPhones are already differentiated by being huge. It makes no sense at all to further differentiate them by including exclusive cutting edge features that could also be included in smaller iPhones.
Apple have found that the smaller iPhone SE has turned out to be very successful. That success has probably come too late to shape the iPhone 7 series, which would have been pretty well finalised by the time the SE was released, but I hope that lessons have been learned which can apply to next year’s iPhones.
I disagree. For me and for many, the ability to make calls is not the most important point. When I had a small screen, it was a phone first and a computer second. Now that I have the Plus, it’s a computer first and a phone more. Compare how much time you use it for messaging, weather, apps, and browsing and othe “computer” things versus the number of phone calls you make.
I appreciate the usefulness of a large screen, which is why I also have a cellular iPad. However a large screen is cumbersome and I don’t always have the iPad to hand ( but it’s rarely further away than my car ). A small screen that’s always with me is exactly what I need.
I acknowledge that your requirements are different to mine, but I’m not arguing that features that you enjoy should only be available in my preferred size of iPhone. I believe that all iPhones should be as similarly specified as possible and that when somebody chooses one screen size or another,they’re making that choice solely according to the screen size and not other features.
If you’re just making calls then you don’t need the other features
It’s a remarkable display of arrogance for a stranger on the internet to presume to tell somebody else what they need without knowing anything of what they actually require.
If I were only making calls and texts, then I wouldn’t have bought smartphones in the first place. We have a wonderfully reliable old Nokia that still holds a charge for 20 days and is excellent for calls and texts, but these days we only use it as a ‘loaner’ when friends visit from overseas.
I hardly every use my phone to make calls, but at the same time I don’t want a large screen in my pocket most of the time. If I needed a larger screen I would consider having an iPad with me. My father has a Plus and I’ve tried using it and do not like it. I really wanted the better camera but had to forego it because the size was more important. The added features will have to be incredibly compelling to make me upgrade the size, almost to the point of them not releasing a new model at 4.7″ and there not being an option to upgrade my 6 after 2 years other than going bigger.
Look at it in another way. The 7 Plus will enable to add in features earlier that they could not do if they had to shrink the components for the 7.
So consider it as a way to increase functionality to customers quicker and help improve the momentum for iPhone sales.
I can definitely see them not being able to do certain things like the camera on the smaller iPhone 7.
But it’s very disappointing when they don’t offer larger RAM or storage capacities just to upsell to a larger screen…
Sure, if the extra ram involves another RAM chip then yes… understandable… same thing for the flash…
But if the 6s and 6s plus are any indication they both use a single flash chip…
I agree with most of the posters who say that people who don’t want a Phablet to put up to their ear gets penalized? I simply don’t want a phone that large!! I dedicate a pants pocket to my phone and green is plenty large enough….if not I’ll fire up my iPad…Where’s the logic with Apple anymore???
It’s the whole point the iPad is useless there is no need for anyone to have one it’s not useful for a work environment and it’s nothing more then a basic let me see my email let me search the web let me look at pictures. All of this you can do on a phone.
I have an iPhone 5s. I have never been tempted to own an iPhone 6, 6+, 6s or 6s+. I will buy iPhone SE, as soon as Apple Stores actually have inventory (How long ago was that introduction, still no in-store inventory? Probably a message in there somewhere.) Bigger is not better for me. If it doesn’t fit in my pocket, it’s not always going to be with me. End of message. And I certainly won’t be tempted to upgrade to the next best second best. The SE could be with me for a long, long time.
Maybe the extreme differentiation will re establish the separate dedicated camera market. Rejoice, Canon and Nikon.
Hell No!
Because I have no desire to use a “Phablet” 7plus, I don’t get the features? That is STOOOOOPID!
I am happy to pay for features on a phone. Just not a phone sized for oh… Shaquille O’Neal or Andre the Giant or some other large person. Just give me the features on a normal sized easy to hold and operate phone and I’ll pay for them. Sheesh…
Phablets suck.
Nexus 6P, 5.7″ screen
Apple iPhone 6S Plus, 5.5″
Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, 5.5″
LG V10, 5.7″
Samsung Galaxy Note 5, 5.7″
Motorola Moto X Style Pure Edition, 5.7″
etc
A 5.5/5.7 inch phone is as stupid as a 19 or 24 inch iPad would be.
The height of cynical after years of refusing to sell a larger phone to now say to get all thats new you have to go for the biggest of all. Previously at least Apple was a tad subtle about such double dealing. A few differences is one thing and acceptable, especially where you could argue size makes it more or less practical to incorporate such a feature, but this, if true, sounds well over the top exploiting and compromising the dedicated Apple buyer for the sake of their hard earned cash when they should be arguably rewarding them for staying loyal during a relative plateauing of many of their devices and technology the last 18 months or so.
Does this explain what Apple is doing with auto technology? Harken back a few decades when you could add packages to get different things in your new car, the way you wanted. Where you paid multiple times for the same item, because each of the various packages had several of them, and you paid multiple times for the same thing. Gotta admit it was fun marching the salesperson through a custom order and then walking away, refusing to be bilked by paying three or more times for the same item across those packages.
Pass. No OLED = deal breaker. Waiting to see the next gen.
At this point in time, I can’t imagine 256 GB being outside the standard options range. The price for 256 GB has dropped considerably. Maybe 500 GB for the luxury model. Maybe 1 TB for the real gold planted models with diamond encrustation for government officials in India. 😉