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Also, more in general, all the obvious improvements to the current smartphone form factor/concept have been made now: capacitive touch screen (iPhone), retina d

Also, more in general, all the obvious improvements to the current smartphone form factor/concept have been made now: capacitive touch screen (iPhone), retina display (iPhone 4), fingerprint unlock/secure element (iPhone 5s), always listening Siri + Force Touch (iPhone 6s), plus huge improvements in CPU/GPU speed with all models. Where force touch was already quite a marginal improvement. I have an iPhone 5S and my primary motivation to upgrade would be to get a 64GB model. I just don't see any revolutionary changes in newer iterations (neither in Android). The same applies to the iPad. My wife has an iPad Air, but I have no clue telling how many generations it is behind, without checking Wikipedia. It works fine and there is no real reason to upgrade in newer iterations (except perhaps in specific niches).

shmerl 10y ago
There is always room for improvement in hardware and software. And such high end handsets were never meant to be replaced very often, so the drop in sales is not due to technology saturation, but due to more competition becoming better than Apple.
- TheSpiceIsLife 10y ago
  And such high end handsets were never meant to be replaced very often You're joking, right? If that were the case then why the rapid release cycle. Why do all these phones' screen break so easy. Why are all the batteries so terrible. No, I disagree. Here in Australia, I know at least one carrier (Telstra) who will allow you to pay an additional amount (AU$149) 12 months in to a 24 month contract to allow you to upgrade the phone earlier.[1] 1. https://www.telstra.com.au/mobile-phones/plans-and-rates/new-phone-feeling https://www.telstra.com.au/mobile-phones/plans-and-rates/new...
  - shmerl 10y ago
    > If that were the case then why the rapid release cycle. Competition. The fact that you don't need to upgrade doesn't mean you shouldn't be able to if you want to get something newer. Stronger competition forces them to move with good pace. Same as in for example regular PC hardware. Compare it to markets where competition is bad, like gaming consoles. There hardware release cycles are abysmally long.
    - TheSpiceIsLife 10y ago
      Good point.
TheSpiceIsLife 10y ago
My thoughts exactly. Push forward in to where? And I think this is great for users. In the same way that my Core 2 Duo ThinkPad running Windows 7 (with SSD) does everything I need, I don't want to have to upgrade my phone every 12 months due to planned obsolescence. I think one of the glaring areas for improvement is battery life. Won't someone give us the option of a 10+mm thick phone with a huge battery in it. Please.
- shmerl 10y ago
  > Push forward in to where? In software. Apple's lock-in / NIH mentality combined with their slowness to innovate because they grew too comfortable bites them now (browsers is a clear example). And the trend will continue until Apple will wake up.
- pdimitar 10y ago
  Apple has a real opportunity to modernize iOS a lot and kick Google in the nuts since they are very content sitting on their ass doing practically nothing for Android. - Dark theme. Customization = good. Sends a good message. - More separate volume controls. For me one volume level for notifications and phone ringer is absurd in 2016. - LCD displays, really? The iPhone 7/Plus and the iPad Pro 9.7" are first of Apple's devices with an almost 100% correct color reproduction on the professional scales. About time for [s]AMOLED displays. - More privacy settings and abilities to break the sandbox if the user so desires. If I want 3 apps to have access to the same vault of files, then I should be able to! Since I sold my 6S Plus back in July I forgot the rest of my complaints but I remember them being between 10-13 in total. > I think one of the glaring areas for improvement is battery life. > Won't someone give us the option of a 10+mm thick phone with a huge battery in it. Please. That I absolutely agree with. The obsessiveness with thin phones is something many of us hate with passion. I am a 115kg man at 184cm and pretty strong -- and a bit overweight :D -- and I honestly can't tell the difference between 140 and 200 grams in my hand. I'm sure a 300 or so grams of a phone would be perfect for many people.
  - jsz0 10y ago
    > Won't someone give us the option of a 10+mm thick phone with a huge battery in it. This option exists in the form of battery cases.

shmerl 10y ago

There is always room for improvement in hardware and software. And such high end handsets were never meant to be replaced very often, so the drop in sales is not due to technology saturation, but due to more competition becoming better than Apple.

TheSpiceIsLife 10y ago
And such high end handsets were never meant to be replaced very often You're joking, right? If that were the case then why the rapid release cycle. Why do all these phones' screen break so easy. Why are all the batteries so terrible. No, I disagree. Here in Australia, I know at least one carrier (Telstra) who will allow you to pay an additional amount (AU$149) 12 months in to a 24 month contract to allow you to upgrade the phone earlier.[1] 1. https://www.telstra.com.au/mobile-phones/plans-and-rates/new-phone-feeling https://www.telstra.com.au/mobile-phones/plans-and-rates/new...
- shmerl 10y ago
  > If that were the case then why the rapid release cycle. Competition. The fact that you don't need to upgrade doesn't mean you shouldn't be able to if you want to get something newer. Stronger competition forces them to move with good pace. Same as in for example regular PC hardware. Compare it to markets where competition is bad, like gaming consoles. There hardware release cycles are abysmally long.
  - TheSpiceIsLife 10y ago
    Good point.

TheSpiceIsLife 10y ago

My thoughts exactly. Push forward in to where? And I think this is great for users. In the same way that my Core 2 Duo ThinkPad running Windows 7 (with SSD) does everything I need, I don't want to have to upgrade my phone every 12 months due to planned obsolescence. I think one of the glaring areas for improvement is battery life. Won't someone give us the option of a 10+mm thick phone with a huge battery in it. Please.

shmerl 10y ago
> Push forward in to where? In software. Apple's lock-in / NIH mentality combined with their slowness to innovate because they grew too comfortable bites them now (browsers is a clear example). And the trend will continue until Apple will wake up.
pdimitar 10y ago
Apple has a real opportunity to modernize iOS a lot and kick Google in the nuts since they are very content sitting on their ass doing practically nothing for Android. - Dark theme. Customization = good. Sends a good message. - More separate volume controls. For me one volume level for notifications and phone ringer is absurd in 2016. - LCD displays, really? The iPhone 7/Plus and the iPad Pro 9.7" are first of Apple's devices with an almost 100% correct color reproduction on the professional scales. About time for [s]AMOLED displays. - More privacy settings and abilities to break the sandbox if the user so desires. If I want 3 apps to have access to the same vault of files, then I should be able to! Since I sold my 6S Plus back in July I forgot the rest of my complaints but I remember them being between 10-13 in total. > I think one of the glaring areas for improvement is battery life. > Won't someone give us the option of a 10+mm thick phone with a huge battery in it. Please. That I absolutely agree with. The obsessiveness with thin phones is something many of us hate with passion. I am a 115kg man at 184cm and pretty strong -- and a bit overweight :D -- and I honestly can't tell the difference between 140 and 200 grams in my hand. I'm sure a 300 or so grams of a phone would be perfect for many people.
- jsz0 10y ago
  > Won't someone give us the option of a 10+mm thick phone with a huge battery in it. This option exists in the form of battery cases.