Tag: iPhone

iPhone Memory Lane

This year, I upgraded my iPhone X to an iPhone 11 Pro Max. While, I was unboxing and setting it up, it dawned on me that this was my ninth iPhone. For the record, this is the thirteenth year Apple has released new models. Clearly, I didn’t get a new phone year over year, but I have been using an iPhone since 2008. So, I thought it would be fun to look back and review why I bought the models I bought and whether they were worthy upgrades.

iPhone 3G – Black 16GB (2008)

In June 2008, I purchased my first ever iPhone. Living in Canada, we never got the original iPhone as it was never released outside of the US. I bought my iPhone 3G through my carrier, Rogers, as Apple wasn’t selling it in store or online. I’m not sure what the supply and demand was at that time, but I was surprised to get my hands on one so soon after launch day.

As I mentioned, I never had the original iPhone, so this was my first smartphone of any kind and it was mind-blowing. Texting alone was a game changer. It was a whole new way of communicating and connecting, and there was no looking back.

However, looking back the device was very very slow, both because of the hardware itself and the fact that it was only a 3G device. Also, the build of the device wasn’t great. The back was made of plastic which was prone to cracking, especially around the 30-pin connector.

Of course, hindsight being 20/20, I can’t judge the 3G against future models. The iPhone 3G was the best at the time, and it was a must have for me.

iPhone 3GS – White 32 GB (2009)

Apple’s first S version of an iPhone promised speed improvements and introduced video recording. I wasn’t going to upgrade to this iPhone, but my carrier had a promotion where they would wave the remaining balance on my iPhone 3G if I started a new contract.

The iPhone 3GS was physically identical to the 3G, but was speedier and the video recording capabilities was amazing for someone who never had a video camera in their phone before. I also appreciated that I now had a whole 32GB of storage space. 2009 was a different time.

The iPhone 3GS was an improvement over the 3G, but it wasn’t a major upgrade, something we would soon learn about all S models. If it wasn’t for the upgrade promotion my carrier offered, I wouldn’t have upgraded, but having the speed bump and the video camera was a nice to have.

iPhone 4 – Black 32GB (2010)

The iPhone 4 was such a shift in design and technology, I could not have passed on this upgrade. The design was so elegant with the stainless steel frame and glass back and front. It was more square and flat than any iPhone before it. But, most importantly, this was the first iPhone with a Retina display, which instantly rendered all previous displays obsolete. This was also the first iPhone to have a front facing camera, which introduced FaceTime and, more importantly, allowed for making selfies.

I loved this iPhone. The departure from plastic was such a welcomed change. This piece of hardware felt so good in the hand and look amazing.

As many will remember, this was the antennagate iPhone. This was the issue where if you gripped the device in a certain way, you would affect the antennas which were built into the steel frame. Apple gave out free bumpers, that would cover the frame, to remedy the issue. I never had the issue, and I never used the bumper, so I didn’t have that negative experience. For me, this was a solid iPhone.

iPhone 4s – White 32GB (2011)

The big selling point of the iPhone 4s was the introduction of Siri. I remember watching the keynote and thinking, “this was going to change everything.” It didn’t. At least, not right away. Siri has come along way, but the first iteration of the smart assistant was very limited and just not very good.

If I recall correctly, I bought the iPhone 4s unlocked, directly from the Apple Store. I’ll come straight-out and say it. I regretted buying this iPhone. It was such a minor update and the flagship new feature wasn’t good and I never really used it. Sure it had spec bumps and an improved camera, but it just wasn’t worth the money to upgrade.

iPhone 5 – Black and Slate 64GB (2012)

Like the iPhone 4, the iPhone 5 was a must have upgrade. The design was another big leap forward. It was the first time the screen size changed going from a 3.5-inch display to a taller 4-inch display. The new larger, rectangular shape changed everything from the amount of content on the display, to the physical UI. Along with spec increases and the increasingly better camera, this phone was the biggest upgrade to date. The new monolithic design was impressive and felt great in hand. I absolutely loved this iPhone.

iPhone 6 Plus – Space Grey 64GB (2014)

I skipped the iPhone 5s, after learning my lesson from the 4s. The addition of Touch ID didn’t justify the upgrade for me. The iPhone 6 however, was not one I was going to pass up. The new form factor and increased size was such a major shift in direction, that its fundamental design is still the basis for the current iPhone models.

Clearly a response to other smartphone manufacturers, Apple finally released not one, but two large screen iPhone models. A 4.7-inch display and a 5.5-inch Plus sized display. I jumped in head first and went for the iPhone 6 Plus. The leap from the iPhone 5 to the 6 Plus was jarring to say the least. At first, it didn’t even feel like an iPhone anymore. It felt more like a mini iPad mini, hence why, for a time, these phone were dubbed phablets. But, once I adapted to the size and trained myself how to hold, it became second nature. Sure, you couldn’t reach the top of the screen anymore with your thumb, but I found using two hands wasn’t such a big deal.

I really loved the iPhone 6 Plus and it really changed my perception of what a phone can be. The old 4-inch and 3.5-inch iPhone screens just looked so small and restrictive in comparison. I couldn’t imagine going back and watching Netflix or looking at photos or even browsing on a smaller display.

iPhone 7 Plus – Black 256GB (2016)

Having skipped the iPhone 6s and waiting for another reimagining of the iPhone, I was initially a little disappointed with the iPhone 7. It was the first time Apple went three years with the same design and with the rumours of a newer design coming in 2017, it was clear Apple’s development train was taking a little longer between stations. But, what ultimately sold me on upgrading to the iPhone 7 Plus was introduction of the dual camera system. Specifically, Portrait mode is what hooked me.

In the end, I am glad I had Portrait mode for the year and a bit I had my iPhone 7 Plus, but if I were to do it again, I think I would have held off buying it. Sure, I would have had my iPhone 6 Plus for three years, but the iPhone 7 Plus really wasn’t that different.

A note on the storage size I chose. I really wanted to get the 128GB model, but all the store in my area had them all reserved on launch day. So, despite the iPhone 7 being very similar to the 6 and 6s, there seemed to be demand, at least for the Plus models.

iPhone X – Silver 256GB (2017)

Like the iPhone 6, and the iPhone 5 before it, the iPhone X was not an iPhone to be passed up. Despite having purchased the previous year’s model, there was no doubt I was getting this iPhone.

FaceID, no Home button, edge-to-edge display, stainless steel frame with a glass back for wireless charging, this was a very different iPhone even if the core chassis design was the similar to the iPhone 6, 6s, and 7.

This was an amazing device. It changed everything and made every other iPhone and any phone that still had a chin and forehead look like ancient technology. It looked and felt new and fresh.

A note on the storage size again. I still only needed a 128GB iPhone as I only used about 80GB on my iPhone 7 Plus. However, Apple no longer offered that capacity size and offered only 64GB, 256GB and 512GB models.

iPhone 11 Pro Max – Gold 256GB (2019)

Like the iPhone 6s and the iPhone 5s, I skipped the iPhone XS. It really didn’t offer any significant upgrade to the iPhone X. The only major difference was they offered a Plus sized model that they called the iPhone XS Max. It was a Plus sized phone, like an iPhone 7 Plus but with an edge-to-edge display, which made it a whopping 6.5-inch screen. But, having spent so much money on the iPhone X just a year ago, I passed this one up.

Jump ahead to present day, and I have in my hand an iPhone 11 Pro Max. It has been widely reported that the two major upgrades to this years flagship model is the battery life and the cameras. For me, the improved cameras are a huge highlight, producing images where I can instantly see improvements over previous models. But, the other major feature was finally getting the Max size screen. The screen is what brings me the most joy.

Looking Back

The reason why I wanted to write this article, was to look back and see how far the iPhone has come and revisit the features and designs that excited me over the years. I think it’s important to look back to see how far the iPhone has come and not get wrapped up in critiquing the lack of year over year improvements.

The Next iPhone: Predictions for 2019

Now that the iPhone Xs, Xs Max and Xr have been announced and released (as of this writing, the iPhone Xr hasn’t been released yet), it’s time to have some fun and speculate what next year’s iPhone models will be like.

The newest line up of Apple’s phones were updated versions of last year’s iPhone X, typical of a S-cycle revision. This paves the way for next year being a more dramatic upgrade to Apple’s flagship product, and based off rumoured features and changes we didn’t see this time around, I thought it would be fun to speculate what the 2019 iPhone line up will be like. Let’s look into our crystal ball…

The Name

I feel I could write a whole article on the history of Apple’s naming of iPhone models, but for now I will take a stab at what they will be naming next year’s models.

I think it’s safe to say that Apple has skipped the iPhone 9 and that we will never see an iPhone with that name. Now there’s a chance that the iPhone 8 could evolve into the iPhone 9, but I’m pretty certain that Apple is done with home button models and the iPhone 8 will be the last phone with a forehead and chin.

So, the next logical number after X (10) is 11. I could be making an obvious point here, but there are some interesting possibilities around this. First, if it will be called the iPhone “11”, will it be the iPhone 11 or iPhone XI? The iPhone X used a roman numeral numbering system, which I had thought Apple did away with after getting rid X from macOS. If Apple decides to continue with this numbering system, then we might have to deal with people saying iPhone ex eye. Sigh

Another possibility would be that Apple decides to ditch the romans and go back to regular old numbers. iPhone 11 has a nice look to it.

My prediction for this one is it’ll be called the iPhone 11. X looked good, a single, striking character. XI starts to look awkward, and in 2021, the iPhone XIII looks really weird. And what happens in 2057, when we have iPhone XXX? Not a good look.

To the Max?

Like it or not, Apple will likely stick with “Max” for the large screen version of the iPhone 11. I’m already getting used to saying it, so I’m sure by then no one will care.

iPhone 11 Max looks pretty plausible.

The Internals

Like every iPhone since the iPhone 4, the system on a chip has been an Apple custom designed A-chip processor. Apple will obviously continue to design their own silicon and will continue to name them with the A”insert number here” convention. This year saw the A12 Bionic chip, with the A11 Bionic chip being last year’s chip.

It’s interesting to note that the Bionic moniker was used two years in a row, which was a subtle signal by Apple that the A11 and A12 are very, very closely related.

We will most definitely see the A13 chip. It’s anyone’s guess what fancy moniker Apple will add to this new chip, but it won’t be Bionic again.

As for the specification of the chip itself, there will be more power packed into a 7nm processor. The A12 has a six-core CPU and a four-core GPU and a Neural Engine that can process 5 trillion operations a second. The A13 could have 8-cores CPU with four high performance cores and four power efficient cores. As for the GPU, we might see a five core chip, which could coincide with a new Metal 3 API from Apple.

The Camera

Earlier this year, rumours had been swirling that the iPhone Xs Max would have a triple camera system. But, closer to Apple’s September announcement, it was becoming clear that this wouldn’t the case. Now rumours point to next year’s model getting the new camera system.

Samsung has just announce a triple camera lens phone, while Huawei has had a tri-cam system for a while now. Samsung’s approach was to make the third lens an ultra wide lens that mimics what the human eye sees. Huawei’s approach was to make the third lens a monochromatic lens that would add lighting detail to images.

Apple’s approach to having a three lens array would be to assist in their ongoing efforts in AR. The third lens would be used for wider stereoscopic mapping to help with augmented reality, and for improved Portrait mode thanks to a wider parallax effect. As well, the third lens could be a ultra wide lens or even a macro type lens.

As for the image sensors for this new Camera array, we may finally see Apple up the megapixels count. Since the iPhone 7, the camera has had a 12-megapixel sensor. Might we see a 20-megapixel sensor? Not likely, but expect an upgrade of at least a couple megapixels. Also, expect to see a slightly larger f-stop for even better low light photos.

The Body

I think it’s safe to say that the overall body shape and size will be the same as this year’s lineup. Glass, front and back. Steel frame. Curved edges. The same basic profile since the iPhone 6 which I feel is still a solid look and feel.

We could see some small tweaking of the placement of buttons and switches, but Apple will be sticking with physical buttons a little while longer. This is due to the fact that the only way cases will work on an iPhone is that the buttons are physical.

USB-C

There are rumours of an October 2018 Apple event that will introduce new iPad Pro models with a USB-C port. If this proves to be true, and I think this could be true, I see this coming to 2019 iPhones. It’s going to be controversial, just like when Apple switched to Lightning back in 2012 with the iPhone 5. But, switching to USB-C makes sense as Apple would want to streamline all products to charge using the same power adapters and cables.

The Display

Okay, so the biggest change a year ago, with the iPhone X, was its display. People had their doubts, but within a year I think it’s clear that this is the future of all smartphones. The iPhone 11 will see Apple trying to push the display to the limits.

Apple has been calling the iPhone X and now iPhone Xs displays “edge to edge,” and yes there are less bezels then previous iPhone displays, but it’s not quite edge to edge. Expect Apple engineers to continue reducing the bezels to get a more edge to edge screen.

I can also see Apple upping the resolution of the display. With Apple heavily supporting Dolby Vision in it’s iTunes catalogue, it’s natural that Apple would want to get their displays to near, or even full 4k. It might seem like overkill for such a small screen, but if you consider the 6.5 inch iPhone Xs Max display, it could look amazing.

The Notch

Another area of improvement I’m sure Apple is targeting, is the TrueDepth camera array, or the notch. Pretty much everyone I know that has an iPhone X has gotten so used to the notch that they forget it’s even there. But, when watching a video in full screen, or playing games, you are often reminded of it’s presence.

I’m certain that Apple is going to reduce the size of the array and gain back space on the display. I could see the front camera and infrared camera being combined. The dot projector and flood illuminator could also be combined in some way and made smaller. I expect to see a narrower and flatter TrueDepth camera array that could be half the size.

For anyone who can’t stand the notch, it’s too bad for you. Clearly, Apple doesn’t want to go back to the chin and forehead, and until they can find a way to hide the array under the screen, there will be the notch.

The Sizes

The iPhone Xs comes in two sizes. 5.8 inch and 6.5 inch displays. I don’t see the iPhone getting any bigger than the Max. The Max is the same size as the previous Plus models and I think that’s as far as Apple is willing to go in terms of physical size of an iPhone.

I think the real question is, will we see a 5.8 inch iPhone next year? I will get into the iPhone Xr later in this article, but it’s screen size of 6.1 inch makes you wonder why Apple made it’s screen larger than that of the iPhone Xs.

As weird as having an in-between 6.1 inch screen in the mix, I think Apple will stick with a 5.8 inch model as people do find that size to be just right.

The Price

I’ll keep this section short and simple.

iPhone 11 is going to be expensive. iPhone Xs starts at $999 USD like the iPhone X before it, and the iPhone Xs Max starts at $1099 USD. Expect the same prices next year and start saving up.

What about the R?

This year Apple introduced not just one, but two new iPhone sizes. The 6.5 inch iPhone Xs Max and the iPhone Xr with a 6.1 inch LCD display.

What Apple does with the iPhone Xr next year is going to be interesting. It really depends on how Apple views this product. The iPhone SE was basically an iPhone 5s with an A9 chip. It was in the iPhone lineup for two years and served as an entry level device; or as an iPhone for people who just didn’t want to go bigger than a 4 inch display. Is the iPhone Xr the new iPhone SE? Or will Apple treat this differently and update it along side the flagship models every year as a lower cost variant?

Well, price-wise, the iPhone Xr is not the same category as the iPhone SE, but I feel it serves a similar purpose. I think Apple is planning on keeping this phone around for a while. I don’t think Apple will refresh it every year, maybe every couple years. The current model has an A12 chip. Next year it won’t be refreshed but the price will be dropped. Then the following year it will be refreshed along side the iPhone 11s.

September 2019 is going to be a big

There have been some major iPhone re-designs in the history of the device. The iPhone 4 with it’s sleek Leica-like design. The iPhone 5 had the first change in screen size. The iPhone 6 with the increase in overall size, and the introduction of the Plus size. And, the iPhone X with it’s edge to edge screen and removal of the Home button.

The iPhone 11 won’t be a major re-design, but will have some major refinements to the iPhone X/Xs design. Like the iPhone 7, and to a further extent the iPhone 8, there’s going to be enough changes to entice a lot of people to upgrade.