Leaks reveal a trio of iPhone 11 releases to come from Apple this fall

Expect to hear all about the A13 chip and a new engine for touch controls this fall.

Read the whole story

 

[UshirouJoJo]

Maybe it's just me, but I can't find myself getting up in arms, or not, about spending thirty or forty bucks, or not, for a new set of cables for my new thousand-dollar smartphone.

Yep. It's like buying a $50k car and whining about the cost of the floor mats.

 

[Sarty]

I just can’t understand the disconnect between customers and manufacturers in this regard.

I use an iPhone SE and get a constant stream if comments from friends and colleagues about how they miss its form-factor, and would love to move back to a smaller phone if they didn’t have to sacrifice features and performance to do so.

Yet nobody is making flagship phones less than 2.5” wide. In fact, it’s difficult to find a phone at all with reasonable dimensions these days.

Economies of scale + profit margins + market capture

What are we going to do, not replace our SE (I love mine, too) when it dies?

I hate it, it sucks, but I get it.

 

[UshirouJoJo]

If they put out something with the shape and form of the iPhone SE, while upgrading its size...

To a lot of people (myself included) the size is the key feature

I’d love to see a new iPhone SE with these A13 innards and updated ID, but the same basic look and feel.

I just can’t understand the disconnect between customers and manufacturers in this regard.

I use an iPhone SE and get a constant stream of comments from friends and colleagues about how they miss its form-factor, and would love to move back to a smaller phone if they didn’t have to sacrifice features and performance to do so.

Yet nobody is making flagship phones less than 2.5” wide. In fact, it’s difficult to find a phone at all with reasonable dimensions these days.

Probably the same reason no one builds The Homer? If you and your friends actually amounted to a sizable market, they would build the product for you. That no one does seems to represent that you aren't as significant as you think.

 

[vassago]

muh USB-C

muh USB-C, muh switch to Android

What is USB-C going to allow your phone to do that Lightning does not?

Especially with wireless charging.
The only time I ever plug my phone in anymore is for CarPlay, and that cable just stays in the vehicle. So whether it's Lightning or USB-C, it really makes no difference (actually, a switch to USB-C would be annoying because if my wife then decides not to upgrade at the same time now we would have a cable problem where one did not exist before).

 

[Sarty]

Yet nobody is making flagship phones less than 2.5” wide. In fact, it’s difficult to find a phone at all with reasonable dimensions these days.

Probably the same reason no one builds The Homer? If you and your friends actually amounted to a sizable market, they would build the product for you. That no one does seems to represent that you aren't as significant as you think.

This analogy falls down somewhat, because until quite recently, people were happily buying The Homer in large quantities. "People prefer a larger phone" is consistent with the market trends we've seen (although it's not the only such explanation). "Actually, people hate small phones" is a tougher rhetorical sell.

 

[Marlor_AU]

I just can’t understand the disconnect between customers and manufacturers in this regard.

I use an iPhone SE and get a constant stream if comments from friends and colleagues about how they miss its form-factor, and would love to move back to a smaller phone if they didn’t have to sacrifice features and performance to do so.

Yet nobody is making flagship phones less than 2.5” wide. In fact, it’s difficult to find a phone at all with reasonable dimensions these days.

Economies of scale + profit margins + market capture

What are we going to do, not replace our SE (I love mine, too) when it dies?

I hate it, it sucks, but I get it.

Well, personally I’m not stepping up to anything much bigger. I’m at the point where, under normal circumstances, I’d be looking to upgrade by now. But there’s nothing to upgrade to, so I’ll keep the iPhone SE running until it physically stops working.

If it did die, it would be a toss-up between just going with an iPhone 8 (despite it being a tad too big and outdated), or jumping to Android and getting an Xperia Compact.

So it is definitely affecting purchasing behaviour. I have no financial costraints about buying a flagship phone. But I’d rather a phone, not a phablet.

 

[Marlor_AU]

Yet nobody is making flagship phones less than 2.5” wide. In fact, it’s difficult to find a phone at all with reasonable dimensions these days.

Probably the same reason no one builds The Homer? If you and your friends actually amounted to a sizable market, they would build the product for you. That no one does seems to represent that you aren't as significant as you think.

This analogy falls down somewhat, because until quite recently, people were happily buying The Homer in large quantities. "People prefer a larger phone" is consistent with the market trends we've seen (although it's not the only such explanation). "Actually, people hate small phones" is a tougher rhetorical sell.

Yep. There was no real period where there was a mix of flagship phones in both small and large form-factors. Phones just started getting bigger, like some form of screen-size arms race.

Perhaps people just switched to buying larger phones because the better phones all have bigger form-factors?

I’m not saying there’s no market for huge phones. There clearly is. But it’s difficult to jump from that to saying there’s no market for traditionally-sized flagship phones, when they just dropped off the product lineup overnight, and there’s no option to buy one even if you wanted to.

 

[KiwiPhred]

muh USB-C

muh USB-C, muh switch to Android

What is USB-C going to allow your phone to do that Lightning does not?

Don't worry about him, he probably made the same dummy-spit threat when Apple removed the 3.5mm headphone jack.

 

[ZhanMing057]

muh USB-C

muh USB-C, muh switch to Android

What is USB-C going to allow your phone to do that Lightning does not?

Charge devices from multiple manufacturers without having to bring different cables?

I mean, look, I get why Apple prefers using a proprietary connection. They control it, and keeping the same charging technology allows customers to keep their ecosystem of compatible devices. There are benefits to Apple in maintaining the status quo. But it's silly to pretend there aren't good reasons for customers to prefer them to a standardized charging cable.

Hell, just being able to charge a MacBook and an iPhone from the same cable, without a dongle would be a nice change. Being able to get USB-C headphones and have them work on your laptop or phone. Being able to borrow a cord from someone without needing to have the same phone. There's all sorts of reasons it would be nice.

It's not a deal breaker for me, but I can see why it might be for some.

Given the current $#!+show that is USB-C cables, I can see why Apple would be reluctant to allow them near any of their products. Would you want the headache of explaining to thousands or millions of customers that their suddenly dead iPhone isn't warranted against damage caused by shady Chinese Amazon sellers?

At least the kind of person who buys a Mac or an iPad Pro might have enough brain cells to rub together to figure out that they should stick to reputable, if not first-party products.

And while we're on the subject, has everyone seen the state of USB-C audio/headphone support in Androidland? As mediocre as it is, the only thing worse than a Lightning headphone adapter is a USB-C headphone adapter, and that includes Apple's first-party one.

As opposed to not being able to get unlicensed Lightning cables from Amazon?

One might be tempted to argue that Apple should both have moved to USB-C and never gotten rid of the headphone jack to begin with, but that ship has definitely sailed.

 

[Deleted member 174040]

The 11 is the usual "small step" ahead of the "next big thing".

Several sources/rumors point to the "12" as a top to bottom redesign, losing the notch, smaller in your hand with bigger screen, better zoom/FOV, OLED and 5G, better battery...

Enough potential for being really different that I'll wait for the 12. Or buy a less-expensive 11 later.

Sadly, I’m not sure my hoopty iPhone 6 has another 14 months left in it. I really need whatever they release this fall to be worth the steep price.

I'm glad the oldest phone in the household is a 6S, because 2020 is looking a lot more promising. :/

My 6S has suddenly started giving me “no service” errors and dropping all carrier connections on a weekly basis.

Time to upgrade methinks.

 

[xoa]

If they put out something with the shape and form of the iPhone SE, while upgrading its size...

To a lot of people (myself included) the size is the key feature

I’d love to see a new iPhone SE with these A13 innards and updated ID, but the same basic look and feel.

I just can’t understand the disconnect between customers and manufacturers in this regard.

I use an iPhone SE and get a constant stream of comments from friends and colleagues about how they miss its form-factor, and would love to move back to a smaller phone if they didn’t have to sacrifice features and performance to do so.

Yet nobody is making flagship phones less than 2.5” wide. In fact, it’s difficult to find a phone at all with reasonable dimensions these days.

Emphasis added. One basic issue is simply that a physically larger phone can handle a larger battery and has more surface area for thermal dissipation. It alsohas more room for additional sensors and the like. For two products released at the same time and thus with access to the same level of fabrication process technology, it will always be possible to get more performance/features out of a having more watts hours, TDP headroom, and volume. There isn't any getting around that reality. Of course, as performance improvements level out the compromises for reduction may shrink, and the phone form factor itself will be obsoleted by WDs eventually. With computing/storage/power decoupled once again, there will be a lot more room for experimentation. But the handheld bar form factor is a pretty harsh zero-sum game.

A second basic issue is a combo of inelastic demand, high barriers to low level entry, and economies of scale. All else being equal, it's cheaper for manufacturers to make a lot of one thing then an equal total volume divided across smaller batches of multiple things. It also simplifies logistics, supply chains, support, and so on. So there is strong pressure to consolidate as much as possible (and remember before you bring up wide varieties of phones, a lot of "variety" isn't real variety so much as modular tweaks and rebrands of something standardized in the basic core). That being the case it's not enough that you and lots of friends would buy a smaller form factor phone, you'd have to otherwise not buy one at all. Because if you'll grumble and be upset but then go ahead and pull the trigger on a larger phone anyway because having some sort of smartphone is pretty much a necessity, that lowers the single-party incentive to make something different. The only remaining incentive would come from competitors trying to steal away customers from another manufacturer. But that's made more difficult = by how cutting edge the tech is and the enormous capital expenditure required for R&D, combined with precisely the ultra competitive nature of the market meaning many manufacturer margins are razor thin. And those who have managed to preserve margins like Apple have done so through other unique strengths and R&D expenditures in other areas, which in turn plays against splitting up the hardware line like you suggest.

It seems Apple may continue to update the iPhone SE from time to time, and there may be some more stabs at smaller form factors from other manufacturers for specialty stuff here and there too. And as the market continues to mature there may be more pressure (and more breathing room) for differentiation and following more niches. Some of the core general tech makers like Arm could also release designs that encourage more variety there. But the market seems to have settled into something of an equilibrium for the last few years, which can take more than a few nudges to get kicked.

 

[Deleted member 174040]

Maybe it's just me, but I can't find myself getting up in arms, or not, about spending thirty or forty bucks, or not, for a new set of cables for my new thousand-dollar smartphone.

This.

 

[j17robotdancer]

I miss the days where thing weren't leaked months ahead of launches. After all you want to publish things ahead of time then there is absolutely no need to have journalists.

 

[Old_Fogie_Late_Bloomer]

muh USB-C

muh USB-C, muh switch to Android

What is USB-C going to allow your phone to do that Lightning does not?

Charge devices from multiple manufacturers without having to bring different cables?

I mean, look, I get why Apple prefers using a proprietary connection. They control it, and keeping the same charging technology allows customers to keep their ecosystem of compatible devices. There are benefits to Apple in maintaining the status quo. But it's silly to pretend there aren't good reasons for customers to prefer them to a standardized charging cable.

Hell, just being able to charge a MacBook and an iPhone from the same cable, without a dongle would be a nice change. Being able to get USB-C headphones and have them work on your laptop or phone. Being able to borrow a cord from someone without needing to have the same phone. There's all sorts of reasons it would be nice.

It's not a deal breaker for me, but I can see why it might be for some.

Given the current $#!+show that is USB-C cables, I can see why Apple would be reluctant to allow them near any of their products. Would you want the headache of explaining to thousands or millions of customers that their suddenly dead iPhone isn't warranted against damage caused by shady Chinese Amazon sellers?

At least the kind of person who buys a Mac or an iPad Pro might have enough brain cells to rub together to figure out that they should stick to reputable, if not first-party products.

And while we're on the subject, has everyone seen the state of USB-C audio/headphone support in Androidland? As mediocre as it is, the only thing worse than a Lightning headphone adapter is a USB-C headphone adapter, and that includes Apple's first-party one.

As opposed to not being able to get unlicensed Lightning cables from Amazon?

One might be tempted to argue that Apple should both have moved to USB-C and never gotten rid of the headphone jack to begin with, but that ship has definitely sailed.

You'll get no argument from me on the latter point; removing the headphone jack was a dick move.

 

[Totally Radical Liberal]

Why are phones all so big these days? It’s ridiculous. No one wants to buy giant phones but they keep making exclusively huge phones so we have no choice.

*gets in full-size SUV by himself and drives away*

 

[BullBearMS]

Does anybody else remember what an underpowered hunk of junk we were assured the iPhone SE was when it was brand new?

Funny how awesome we are suddenly assured those same things are as soon as they are discontinued.

 

[Crito]

I'm amazed at some of the abusiveness being hurled in this thread (from all sides).

My two cents, for the little it's worth because Tim Cook cares naught for any of our thoughts, as many have been so kind to point out: a USB-C switch would have been nice as "one cable to rule them all" - only needing to bring one charger when traveling that could charge a MacBook (Pro), an iPad (Pro), and an iPhone. From a user perspective - even users who are entirely on the iOS/OSx train - USB-C would be better, excepting the issues with shoddy implementations that would fry phones...

Would you want the headache of explaining to thousands or millions of customers that their suddenly dead iPhone isn't warranted against damage caused by shady Chinese Amazon sellers?

At least the kind of person who buys a Mac or an iPad Pro might have enough brain cells to rub together to figure out that they should stick to reputable, if not first-party products.

Not like dodgy Lightning cables have ever been an issue. Also, this is a bit logically inconsistent: if Apple users are inclined to buy reputable, first-party products, why are second-rate USB-C cables an issue? Also, why would Apple expose its users to those risks for the iPad and MacBooks...?

In any case, one less user-centric reason for not making the switch: accessory revenue is a non-rounding-error line item in Apple's revenue (not that they break it out - it's lumped in with wearables and home), and it's also a source of customer lock-in. Revenue growth on iPhones has been negative recently - there's a reason Apple has increasingly focused on services. Service usage is a function of the customer base, the more "locked-in" the customers are, the more services get used.

 

[BullBearMS]

muh USB-C

muh USB-C, muh switch to Android

What is USB-C going to allow your phone to do that Lightning does not?

Have to throw away all the existing accessories you have purchased?

Or since I am in the Android ecosystem, there’s nothing I can reuse for an iPhone. I have no incentive to switch to iPhone. See how proprietary standards work both ways?

If you were in the Apple ecosystem, you would probably know that the cable comes in the box with the phone.

 

[zogus]

muh USB-C

muh USB-C, muh switch to Android

What is USB-C going to allow your phone to do that Lightning does not?

Have to throw away all the existing accessories you have purchased?

Or since I am in the Android ecosystem, there’s nothing I can reuse for an iPhone. I have no incentive to switch to iPhone. See how proprietary standards work both ways?

If you were in the Apple ecosystem, you would probably know that the cable comes in the box with the phone.

And what I really fail to get with this “one cable for everything” obsession is: are you guys really charging only one device at a time? Whether I’m at home or on the road, the iPhone, the iPad, the Apple Watch, and the mobile battery (USB-C) don’t take turns being charged—I have a four USB port power supply and four cables so that I can charge all of them at once. Apple moving to USB-C would contribute exactly nothing to my cable mess, with the two Lightning cables simply being replaced by two USB-C cables.

 

[Crito]

muh USB-C

muh USB-C, muh switch to Android

What is USB-C going to allow your phone to do that Lightning does not?

Have to throw away all the existing accessories you have purchased?

Or since I am in the Android ecosystem, there’s nothing I can reuse for an iPhone. I have no incentive to switch to iPhone. See how proprietary standards work both ways?

If you were in the Apple ecosystem, you would probably know that the cable comes in the box with the phone.

And what I really fail to get with this “one cable for everything” obsession is: are you guys really charging only one device at a time? Whether I’m at home or on the road, the iPhone, the iPad, the Apple Watch, and the mobile battery (USB-C) don’t take turns being charged—I have a four USB port power supply and four cables so that I can charge all of them at once. Apple moving to USB-C would contribute exactly nothing to my cable mess, with the two Lightning cables simply being replaced by two USB-C cables.

Given items last for multiples longer than the charging time, yes.

I'm on an Android phone that uses USB-C with a 2018 MBP as my daily-driver, previously had an iPad Pro. It is convenient to travel and only need to keep track of one wall-wart and cable - both for the space savings packed & unpacked, as well as the reduced mental load keeping track of them (queue the "If keeping track of cables is a cognitive load, you need your head checked" jokes).

I tend to only charge one item at a time when traveling, though I always bring a short cable for my 20Ah power bank as a backup. Typically cell phone in the morning before heading out -- thanks QuickCharge/other-similar-proprietary-standard -- and the laptop or power bank over night. This (usually) gets me through the entire day while mobile/away from a power port, and the power bank can bridge any gaps as needed. If choosing between the bank and the phone on an overnight basis, I'll choose the bank and charge the phone from it in-transit.

 

[Old_Fogie_Late_Bloomer]

Would you want the headache of explaining to thousands or millions of customers that their suddenly dead iPhone isn't warranted against damage caused by shady Chinese Amazon sellers?

At least the kind of person who buys a Mac or an iPad Pro might have enough brain cells to rub together to figure out that they should stick to reputable, if not first-party products.

Not like dodgy Lightning cables have ever been an issue. Also, this is a bit logically inconsistent: if Apple users are inclined to buy reputable, first-party products, why are second-rate USB-C cables an issue? Also, why would Apple expose its users to those risks for the iPad and MacBooks...?

It's not logically inconsistent; I'm drawing a distinction between your typical iPhone user and the sort of person who uses an iPad Pro or a Mac.

Edit: I'm not saying that people are technologically unsavvy for using an iPhone, and I'm not saying that there aren't technologically savvy people using iPhones (I'm sure that many Ars readers, myself included, fall into that category). But I'm pretty sure the vast majority of iPhone users fall somewhere in a continuum between "reasonably intelligent but technologically unsavvy" and "dumber than a f--king brick".

If only technologically savvy people used iPhones, Apple wouldn't be the most valuable public company in the world.

 

[toasterwaffle86]

muh USB-C

muh USB-C, muh switch to Android

What is USB-C going to allow your phone to do that Lightning does not?

Charge devices from multiple manufacturers without having to bring different cables?

I mean, look, I get why Apple prefers using a proprietary connection. They control it, and keeping the same charging technology allows customers to keep their ecosystem of compatible devices. There are benefits to Apple in maintaining the status quo. But it's silly to pretend there aren't good reasons for customers to prefer them to a standardized charging cable.

Hell, just being able to charge a MacBook and an iPhone from the same cable, without a dongle would be a nice change. Being able to get USB-C headphones and have them work on your laptop or phone. Being able to borrow a cord from someone without needing to have the same phone. There's all sorts of reasons it would be nice.

It's not a deal breaker for me, but I can see why it might be for some.

I was looking at the new Macbook Pros - they're more than happy to force me to use USB-C adapters there. Who knows if the third party ones are quality (and many do power delivery).

Oh, and I just bought new headphones. Those are also USB-C. But people didn't complain that they'd have to buy new cables, they praised Sony for it.

At this point, my iPhone will be the ONLY thing that doesn't use USB-C. I keep charging cables in my car, office, and bedroom for convenience, and this forces me to keep duplicate sets.

 

[Obsydia]

Interesting that on an Ars forum, of all places, wouldn't have anyone mentioning one of the key advantages of USB Type-C vs Lightning: Lightning transfers data at USB 2 (480 Mbps) speeds, USB Type-C supports USB 3.0 (5 Gbps), 3.1 (10 Gbps), and now USB 3.2 (20 Gbps). 480 Mbps vs potentially up to 20,000 Mbps = no contest.

Bonus points for Type-C cables not requiring paying a tithe to Apple for every unit sold.

 

[kindlyours]

Was really hoping for a switch to USB-C. I'd like to simplify my life and what I have to carry with me.

Lightning is still used for their non-pro iPads, yes, but also their wireless keyboards and mice. I was hoping it would just get relegated to keyboards and mice.

USB-C has durability problems. It's flawed by design, especially for such a repeated plug-in/out phone function. It becomes so loose after a year or so. I could say, lightning port worker fine for more than 5 years until my 5s was recycled.

 

[AngusMacGyver]

Interesting that on an Ars forum, of all places, wouldn't have anyone mentioning one of the key advantages of USB Type-C vs Lightning: Lightning transfers data at USB 2 (480 Mbps) speeds, USB Type-C supports USB 3.0 (5 Gbps), 3.1 (10 Gbps), and now USB 3.2 (20 Gbps). 480 Mbps vs potentially up to 20,000 Mbps = no contest.

Bonus points for Type-C cables not requiring paying a tithe to Apple for every unit sold.

I get the (valid) point you are making about data speeds over the wire. But I can’t for the life of me remember the last time I plugged my phone in for any reason other than charging.

 

[Tyler X. Durden]

If they put out something with the shape and form of the iPhone SE, while upgrading its size...

To a lot of people (myself included) the size is the key feature

I’d love to see a new iPhone SE with these A13 innards and updated ID, but the same basic look and feel.

I would have, except I just ordered a replacement SE for my 3.5 year-old SE, whose power button has started getting flaky and has started getting a bit picky about which Lightning cable it'll work with. It's shipping direct from from some sketchy Chinese warehouse.

I didn't trust Apple to ship another SE-sized iPhone anytime soon. I expect I'll get at least one more year of current OS software updates, so I'm now covered for another 2-3 years more.

 

[Scruffy90]

“will still be equipped with Lightning ports rather than USB-C.”

I’m intrigued by the word “still” in this sentence. Do we expect Lightning to be replaced? Since when? And why do we expect it? Is it based on a solid rumor or just general run of the mill Internet rumor mongering?

I was expecting it to be replaced just because Apple has replaced every port on all but 3 of their products with USB-C.

 

[thedarkhalf]

So ... do we get an under-screen finger print reader? Still not sold on FaceID.

I was really hating the idea of not having the fingerprint scanner and thought face ID was gonna suck. I was hesitant going from the 6S to the new XR.. but man, Face ID works incredibly well. I haven't missed the 6S a all.

 

[NinjaNerd56]

The new models will be powered by Apple’s A13 chip

Wow! What news! /s


Every year since the iPhone 4 in 2010, the A-series chip number has incremented by 1.

2010 - A4
2011 - A5
2012 - A6
2013 - A7
2014 - A8
2015 - A9
2016 - A10
2017 - A11
2018 - A12
2019 - A13 : well that was a huge shock.

Hey Ars, for fifty grand I've got a scoop on what the 2020 chip will be called.

You know, I kinda thought they’d be slightly superstitious and jump to A14 now.

 

[Isaacc7]

“will still be equipped with Lightning ports rather than USB-C.”

I’m intrigued by the word “still” in this sentence. Do we expect Lightning to be replaced? Since when? And why do we expect it? Is it based on a solid rumor or just general run of the mill Internet rumor mongering?

I was expecting it to be replaced just because Apple has replaced every port on all but 3 of their products with USB-C.

Off the top of my head these still use lightning:
IPad mini
iPad
iPad Air
iPod touch
Smart trackpad
Smart Keyboard
All the iPhones
AirPods
Some Beats headphones

I can imagine Apple switching the iPhone to USB C. Would they keep lightning around for the other things?

 

[MrTimPA]

So ... do we get an under-screen finger print reader? Still not sold on FaceID.

You know, I was not either nor the lack of home button but once I switched to the XS I do not want to go back. Using my older iDevices makes we wish they had the same design.

First post for me - but, agree here 100%. I was dubious about the whole face ID thing, but I'm spoiled by it now. On top of that, I had neck surgery some months ago and even with my face puffed up and tubes - faceID still worked. I'll admit that the immediate post-surgical recognition took a bit more "aim" versus the casual glance I can give the phone now.

 

[Yes-today-is-awesome]

Its interesting to see that the iphone 11 itself can come up so soon. And its nice that they potentially allow 120fps slow motion support too. But will it be called the iphone 11 or something completely different?

 

[mschira]

muh USB-C

muh USB-C, muh switch to Android

What is USB-C going to allow your phone to do that Lightning does not?

Yes, buy a simple USB-C to HDMI (or VGA) cable and connect it to a screen, TV or projector for presentations.
Most current flagship Android phones simply do that. Curiously, the same cable as those one needs for a Macbook.

So let me spell it again:
One cable connects a Macbook or an Android phone to a nice screen, but not iPhones.
M
P.S. Edit, addendum:
To all the USB-C haters: Yes I know it sucks in many ways, but compared to lightening it is still and upgrade.

 

[genekellyjr]

“will still be equipped with Lightning ports rather than USB-C.”

I’m intrigued by the word “still” in this sentence. Do we expect Lightning to be replaced? Since when? And why do we expect it? Is it based on a solid rumor or just general run of the mill Internet rumor mongering?

The iPad Pro had its lightning port replaced with USB-C. A nice feature upgrade like that could be expected for the next iPhone as well. According to these rumors - we don’t get that nice upgrade. So they have a split product line operating on two ports for longer and that’s why it “still” has the lighting port.

 

[ecstatic]

I’d love if Apple ever shipped a phone with haptic feedback to simulate the tactile sensation of physical buttons, which has been a thing in prototypes for a decade now, or thereabouts?

They did this with the iPhone 8, the home “button” is no longer an actual button, it uses haptic feedback to simulate the button being “pressed”

 

[Legatum_of_Kain]

muh USB-C

muh USB-C, muh switch to Android

What is USB-C going to allow your phone to do that Lightning does not?

Charge devices from multiple manufacturers without having to bring different cables?

I mean, look, I get why Apple prefers using a proprietary connection. They control it, and keeping the same charging technology allows customers to keep their ecosystem of compatible devices. There are benefits to Apple in maintaining the status quo. But it's silly to pretend there aren't good reasons for customers to prefer them to a standardized charging cable.

Hell, just being able to charge a MacBook and an iPhone from the same cable, without a dongle would be a nice change. Being able to get USB-C headphones and have them work on your laptop or phone. Being able to borrow a cord from someone without needing to have the same phone. There's all sorts of reasons it would be nice.

It's not a deal breaker for me, but I can see why it might be for some.

Given the current $#!+show that is USB-C cables, I can see why Apple would be reluctant to allow them near any of their products. Would you want the headache of explaining to thousands or millions of customers that their suddenly dead iPhone isn't warranted against damage caused by shady Chinese Amazon sellers?

At least the kind of person who buys a Mac or an iPad Pro might have enough brain cells to rub together to figure out that they should stick to reputable, if not first-party products.

And while we're on the subject, has everyone seen the state of USB-C audio/headphone support in Androidland? As mediocre as it is, the only thing worse than a Lightning headphone adapter is a USB-C headphone adapter, and that includes Apple's first-party one.

I thought USB C was a wonderfully standard thing until I just jumped into it with my newest laptop with those ports.... wow was I in for a surprise.

Let's just say that the only third party cables and adapters to be used are top manufacturer, top price, which kind of justifies Apple's QA and pricing.

 

[NetMage]

"often"? Having released new hardware every fall for seven years in a row, often doesn't seem like quite the right word.

Yet nobody is making flagship phones less than 2.5” wide. In fact, it’s difficult to find a phone at all with reasonable dimensions these days.

Probably the same reason no one builds The Homer? If you and your friends actually amounted to a sizable market, they would build the product for you. That no one does seems to represent that you aren't as significant as you think.

This analogy falls down somewhat, because until quite recently, people were happily buying The Homer in large quantities. "People prefer a larger phone" is consistent with the market trends we've seen (although it's not the only such explanation). "Actually, people hate small phones" is a tougher rhetorical sell.

Yep. There was no real period where there was a mix of flagship phones in both small and large form-factors. Phones just started getting bigger, like some form of screen-size arms race.

Perhaps people just switched to buying larger phones because the better phones all have bigger form-factors?

I’m not saying there’s no market for huge phones. There clearly is. But it’s difficult to jump from that to saying there’s no market for traditionally-sized flagship phones, when they just dropped off the product lineup overnight, and there’s no option to buy one even if you wanted to.

How quickly history is forgotten. The iPhone SE was released six months after the 6s. It was a surprise to most because it contained the then current A9 SOC, the same RAM and the same back camera and was essentially a small flagship. But, in a year when the 5s was the only other small factor phone still being sold, the total sales of small form factors iPhones was 16% of Apple sales in a sales year when most large phones purchasers has been satisfied the previous year, and went down from there.

Those sales couldn't justify an annual refresh, and will be lucky if it justifies a new model this year.

I think the iPhone 5s/SE design (especially in real black) was the pinnacle of iPhone design, and certainly don't blame those who wish for an SE2, but I couldn't go back to such a small screen. However I am very disappointed the iPhone XI isn't going to use the new iPad Pro design (so similar to the 5s) and am hoping the iPhone XII will and essentially be an enlarged 5s in design.

 

[nedscott]

Was really hoping for a switch to USB-C. I'd like to simplify my life and what I have to carry with me.

Lightning is still used for their non-pro iPads, yes, but also their wireless keyboards and mice. I was hoping it would just get relegated to keyboards and mice.

USB-C has durability problems. It's flawed by design, especially for such a repeated plug-in/out phone function. It becomes so loose after a year or so. I could say, lightning port worker fine for more than 5 years until my 5s was recycled.

Bullshit. Lightning is a fine port, I've defended it several times. However, the spring component is inside the port on the phone. USB-C reversed this so that the spring component is in the cable. The spring will give out over time. We've seen this on other connectors. You put the spring in a part that you can easily replace, like the cable.

I've had to replace my own iPhone 6's lighting charging port, and I would have much rather just changed the cable.