Some people, especially on social media channels, are saying that Apple’s three-year iPhone design cycle too long. They long for the days of a new iPhone design every year. If you take an iPhone X, released in late 2017 and compare it to a current generation iPhone 11, it’s tough to tell the difference.
Beginning with the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, Apple moved from a two-year iPhone design cycle to a three-year cycle. That means instead of releasing new iPhone models with a fresh design every other year, Apple began to use the same smartphone designs for three consecutive years. And if there’s one broad complaint Apple fans have about the iPhone, that’s it: The iPhone has become a bit more “boring” because Apple releases phones that look almost identical three years in a row.
This is a complaint we get all the time from readers, and we see similar things on social media pretty often… Apple’s new iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro, and iPhone 12 Pro Max are already starting to dominate the conversation right now because leaks are starting to pick up. One of the big draws for these next-generation iPhones will be a refreshed design, which top Apple insider Ming-Chi Kuo says will be a modernization of the iPhone 5 design everyone loved with flat metal edges. But before you say that the iPhone 12’s design refresh is “long overdue,” take a look at Apple’s first-quarter earnings.
MacDailyNews Take: iPhones are meant to be a sheet of glass; to disappear for the users. We’re so close now that besides shrinking and eliminating the notch, the only things left to do are arrange/rearrange cameras, switch up edges, remove one more port, and decide on finishes.
BMW operates on a 7-year design cycle and it seems to work just fine for them. Good design holds up over time.
When foldable displays are really ready for prime time, that will be when we see something truly new in iPhone design.