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Ask Slashdot: Are You Excited About Upcoming 4-inch iPhone or 9.7-inch iPad Pro?
If rumors are to be believed, at its 'Let Us Loop You In' event on Monday, Apple will launch a new smartphone dubbed "iPhone SE," and a new tablet dubbed "iPad Pro." According to 9to5Mac's Mark Gurman, who has a reliable track record with Apple news, the iPhone SE will sport a 4-inch display and have the same processor, RAM and other innards as the iPhone 6s, which was launched last year. The new 9.7-inch iPad will reportedly have the same hardware specifications as the 12-inch iPad Pro, which was also unveiled last year. The Associated Press reports that the forthcoming event hasn't stirred "much passion." It adds, "So far, however, there have been no hints of any dramatic announcements, such as last year's highly anticipated Apple Watch debut, or major initiatives like the company's long-rumoured but yet-to-materialize streaming TV service." Are you looking forward to purchasing either of the devices?
Don't buy their products, purely for philosophical/philanthropic reasons.
i was looking at buying one for my mom since she has an old and crappy android phone she hates, but i might as well just pass on my 6S to her and buy a 7 later this year. same with my wife's parents. she will just give them her 6 and buy a 7 as well
Not at all.
Apple has been the whipping boy of Slashdot ever since CmdrTaco's infamous slight of the iPod. Apple could come out with the best product in the world and you'd still have to contend with the Applebash fanaticism around here.
The bottom line is if you like Apple, so be it. If you don't, so be it. You won't find much in the way of real technological insight and definitely no business insight from the comments here. Save your time and go read something on PhysOrg. You may actually learn something worth knowing instead of fanboy vs fanboy wars that are pointless and only sway the kinds of insecure cretins who really never get beyond the entry level of life.
I'm not impressed
Those are much better sizes for portable devices. Large phones are cumbersome and add little, and heavy 13" devices are more difficult to use for long periods of time unless you're at a desk.
Twinstiq, game news
I thought the whole point of this press conference was more to get everyone in Apple's corner prior to their hearing against the DOJ this week. I think they're just rolling out these products outside of the normal release schedule (prior to WWDC) just so that they have an excuse to hold a press conference and talk about how Apple is doing the right thing. At least I hope that's why they're having this event today. The products mean absolutely nothing to me.
Since it has the same screen size as the Macintosh SE.
What would excite me? An iPad with color eInk/paper/whatever. iPad's are great universal eReaders but their bright screens makes it hard to read for long periods and something I can't use to read before bed.
My 4S is getting very long in the tooth, and I am ready for an upgrade. It all comes down to cost.
A 64GB 6s today costs $750. If the 64GB 4" version costs $650 or less, I'm sold. If it's the same price as the 6s, I will probably grudgingly shell out the $750 for the 6s.
I, along with my family, am too tied in to the Apple ecosystem to jump ship now.
"Diplomacy is something you do until you find a rock." --Richard Pound
Don't they know that 'SE' stuff usually means 'Stupid Edition'? Also, while at it, I would recommend they launch some sort of 'Extended' or 'Extra' edition. Name it 'iPhone SE X' :)
i am not
I've been going 'Squee' about the Cat S60 with integrated FLIR for a month or so, now.
Eagerly waiting an actual release, hoping my cracked nexus 5 holds out.
I am looking forward to it, though. I thought the 5S would be my last iPhone because I refuse to adopt anything larger, but it seems I'm not alone in my hatred of what I view as phones for the vision impaired.
My 5S' vibrate function recently died, so I am kind of champing at the bit to get a replacement since I use it as an alarm clock with a custom made silence ringtone and sleep with my infant son, so actual alarms are not ideal.
Excited? Nah. Anxious? Yes. I will most certainly be buying one.
I have owned an iPhone since the 3G arrived on the market and, up until the 6 came along, I upgraded to the latest and greatest major version each time. For me, the 5/5S were fine sizes and appropriate for what I want them for but the 6 and especially the 6+ were too large. When I needed an upgrade from my 5, I opted to go w/the 5S and have been seriously considering moving to another platform to stay at that size which I find most comfortable.
With this announcement, I am not "excited" but I am pleased that Apple has realized some of their users do not want something larger and are instead quite happy to stay at a comfortable size for them.
They'll get my money if they do this but they may not if they don't. Seems like a great business decision, at least to me.
He likes the very small screen. He says his old iPhone 4S is too slow on the newest version of iOS to keep using, however.
.
But, for example, try to get an AppleTV to work with a media server besides iTunes, and you're out of luck.
If you enjoy staying locked up inside Apple's Walled Garden, then you may have an interest in the new devices.
I have no interest in them.
Changed connectors, and thus obsoleted all of the devices in the house & cars that used the iPhone 4/old iPad interface.
Then made my perfectly fine iPhone 4s unusably slow with a software "upgrade".
Then disabled all the chargers that used to work fine (with an adaptor tip) for my kids iPhone 6, plus other cables for video out etc.
Got an Android now; could not be happier. Much cheaper too.
With SD card reader....
And I control the encryption and sync to my private servers.
Apple seems to be stuck in a rut - the products are all very similar in functionality. Form factor seems to be the only significant difference.
They are a bit like the auto industry at this point.
Invoke Betteridge's law.
Point of diminishing returns I look at a lot of the consumer technology and I see very little which impresses me. Sure each year smart phones in general get faster, better screens, a few things IMHO are gimmicks (force touch, finger print reading, etc), but we don’t get anything that says this new technology will make your life easier. Usually we get technology for technology’s sake.
I can now skip 2 or 3 generations of tech and not be a big deal. Where a long time ago I remember going from the 286 to the 386 and being like damn! Or going from EGA to VGA. Etc.
I know I am not the target market anymore and companies (like Apple) are making gobs of money so my opinion doesn’t mean to much if weighed against their bottom lines. I feel like consumer tech could go in so many useful directions but instead all we get is incremental upgrades that are all really disappointing.
My wife and I have apple products (my wife gets a top of the line macbook pro every 2 years from her grants..so “free” in some sense for us and I get her hand me downs) but even she is starting to say nothing interesting is coming out. I look at the new iPads and think if they had OS X on them and allowed me to dock them to external keyboards, monitors, etc. I would buy one in a second. Instead we get these half ass incremental upgrades. I am not sure why but more than likely it is because Apple makes a but load of cash on them so why change?
Most phone companies play follow the leader, and if Apple releases a 4" phone, that might bring about the end of this phablet stupidity, especially if the phone isn't gimped in any way.
4" iPhone to replace the aging, entry level iPhone 5s will be great. Friends are still stuck with the 5/4s/5/5s who don't want a much bigger phone. This gives them the ability to stay at a comparable size AND have the newer technology. (And for others to gain a "hand me down" phone.)
Win-Win!!!
9.7" iPad Pro to replace the aging iPad 2 Air which we have. Nice to be able to upgrade to the multi-program feature and have a great pen/stylus for all those things like taking notes, drawing, etc., etc. Faster, "smarter", and in the classic size. (The 12 iPad Pro is just too big for us to carry around.)
Win-Win!!!
...by my apathy towards this.
With all the emphasis on huge phones the last few years, I think it's good to have a powerful phone available in a more compact form factor. It also makes sense to have the pro version of the iPad available in a more traditional tablet size.
There's nothing revolutionary about either. I'm content with my 5s. I'd enjoy an iPad pro but there's other things I'd rather spend my money on.
we'd be all over this because we NEED one for mobile payments (squareup or similar).. but we only need it in our office or where there is already existing wifi.. we already have a hotspot (60 a month plus taxes and 'fees'), which we also use on the farm, so why the fuck would we pay 30-50+ extra a month to use a smartphone over a flip phone on top of every thing else. NO THANK YOU.
where is the FCC here?... banning mandatory data plans and surcharges on "smart phones" is long overdue. wifi data only plans would sell like crazy. wifi is pretty much everywhere these days, so why force the cellular data plan other than pure fucking greed?
> The Associated Press reports that the forthcoming event hasn't stirred "much passion."
Indeed. This isn't going to introduce anything new and therefore interesting unless they lump a Macbook Pro update with AMD Polaris GPUs into the mix.
Also, what is this doing here? Can't we just have concrete things, not vague crap like this?
The reason my answer is no is the same reason that I don't drive $250,000 cars. I can get by with less. Apple measurably has some of the top performing smartphone and tablets on the market. I don't begrudge people that want to spend the money to get the best things in life. I just don't need any of it. My $99 Moto E works good enough for me.
I don't want it.
No. Overpriced and inferior hardware, locked OS without any possibility of customization, really shitty way (iTunes) to retrieve or store musics/photos/etc. Why would I buy such a thing except to show to others that I am rich (status symbol)?
Religion: The greatest weapon of mass destruction of all time
Come on BIZX, this is too obvious.
Not excited for the 4-inch iPhone, but glad it is "back" in the line up. I was disappointed that Apple stupidly went bigger--after having spent so much time talking shit about big devices--without also hewing to their prior conviction that ~4" was the "best" size. Apple either HAS design credibility, or does not. Human hands haven't changed significantly since the iPhone 5 shipped and their iPhone design philosophy was either right or wrong. Can't have it both ways. So this is rectifying a mistake; can't get excited about that. Plus, no 3D Touch, that sucks.
Scott
"Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid."
It's just a phone and a tablet, there's no reason to be excited about them.
Eat the rich.
I will care about new phones in approximately 2 years or possibly in a new battery then. In case they are still available and the OS is not an equivalent to Swiss cheese, I could go on with the same phone for 3 more years.
And then I will check for a phone which is produced fair (or at least the fairest available), has a replaceable battery and a guarantee to deliver those batteries for the following 6 years. Repairability and robustness are also important.
I doubt that any iPhone or Samsung phone will suffice these requirements.
Still using a 5s waiting for something similar size. I'd love to use Android but too many security issues, delayed software updates and shitty manufacturer UIs. I don't need my phone to be any more "open" than my bluray player. I really don't give a shit if I can't root it and install some app I don't need. I've got a laptop for anything else I need. My phone is for email, light web browsing and a couple of apps (ie slack). And it's secure, fast and reliable.
Nope.
It's been a long time since I've been excited about the next iteration of a smartphone.
Apple's hardware has become notably more expensive in comparsion in recent years. Their phones lead the pack with 300-400 Euros premium on top of the regular market price of non-Apple products. I'm currently using a new Moto G2 (you can still get them online) for 130 Euros - it's better than the iPhone 5s that goes for north of 500 Euros.
Same goes for computers. For almost a decade the Mac Mini was a steal, with any compareable PC costing 200-300 Euros more. Now there are quite a few micro-PCs out there and the cheapest mac mini costs 200 Euros more than the last one I bought back in 2007 (WTF??? was my reaction to that).
The only innovative poducts that hold up today are the iPad Pro with the pencil stylus - just now giving Wacom the weeby-jeebies and for good reasons too - and the new, very small and very neat Macbook. The former costs roughly 1000€ - a tough call for a basically non-turing-complete consumer device but never-the-less intriguing for professional artists - and the latter costing 1400 Euros - also a tough call with Chromebooks and similar devices clocking in at less than a third of that price. The new black Macbook is neat and all that, but 1400€ is steep, especially with the netbook era behind us and regular laptops dropping well below 1000€ in price.
If I were to buy a new computer today, I'd very much consider an alternative to Apple, simply because they're to costly these days and have to little of the traits that make them usefully special. So no, their phones don't excite me the least. Quite to the contrary. Though I do like using OS X and am typing this on a pimped out refurbished 27" iMac. Very nice.
My 2 cents.
We suffer more in our imagination than in reality. - Seneca
Since I recently lost my iPad, I could do with a replacement iOS device.
iOS isn't the greatest, but it is the most popular among app developers so I need to have an iOS device for professional reasons.
I don't like iPhone, so iPad it is.
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled"
I need a new phone in my family real soon now(tm) due to an older iPhone 4S dying.
No one here wants a tablet in their pocket/purse, so we won't consider anything more than 4".
It's nice to get the small format on non crippled hardware again.
Tbh, this would be the first time i actually buy an Apple product on launch :)
I apologize for the lack of a signature.
I still can't believe people use these things. I suppose that Candy Crush and Tinder are more important than a modern interface to most people. Very surprising to me. I'm going to stick with my Windows Phone, thanks!
I don't respond to AC's.
I won't buy either but I wish there where a larger market for smaller mobile phones. I have quite small hands and prefer to use just one hand on the phone so for me something like 3.5" screen would be perfect. Even the Nokia N9's 3.9" display is a bit too big for me.
It's been a long time since I stopped getting excited about minor iterations in technology.
no
A brain is a terrible thing to waste... Mind? That's debatable.
Do they have an SD card slot?
Is the battery user replaceable?
Do they use a standard USB charging cable?
They called me up last night and asked if I've heard about Apple's new doohickey.
I don't think excited is the right word, but I don't want anything as large as Apple's latest offerings and a smaller form factor would be welcome IMO.
Slashdot has turned into "News for Hipsters, stuff that shills for Apple". It's dead, Jim.
No, I'm not excited. Why? Because, based on past experience, their release will no doubt be accompanied by essentially mandatory firmware updates that will degrade performance on my current, perfectly usable, Apple devices (iPhone 5S and iPad Air 2).
Mainly just so I can get more storage. My 5S is 16GB, and quite full. The 12MP camera will be a nice upgrade too. And I can keep my trusty designer case, and not have to buy one of those ugly orange cases everyone seems to put their 6 phones in. I thought about blowing $750 on the 6S for a while, but if I can get the same storage and have it fit comfortably in my backpocket for $500, then I'm in.
Wife said 9.7 inches... :D aside from that, when Apple will make an open platform with same cutting edge hardware...I might consider it...
It is nice to see Apple finally accept the fact that a lot of people do NOT want phones to grow larger and larger with every new generation. For me, the old iPhone 4/4s was the perfect size for someone who wants a smartPHONE and does not care about watching videos or playing games on his device.
nope
I want the iPhone 4S form factor and durability with LTE. I only upgraded my wife's 5S to the 6S to take her old 5S. It was closest in size / durability w/ LTE.
The 6 is a joke. Too big IMHO. I see people talking on their monster Samsung's and Apple's and frankly it looks ridiculous. Then again, I still have a land line (not really, VoIP'd 15 years ago, but still "house phones" :).
The only problem with what I want is my aging eyes. At 40 their ability to focus properly completely failed. I can't see my screen too good -- even with tri-focals.
Give me a 4" device with a 18" projected screen. Yeah.
I'd rather they come out with a true 5" phone. The current iPhone 6 is too small for my eyesight and the 6 plus is too large to conveniently haul around. I'd jump ship from Android to iPhone if they came out with a 5" phone.
than a full frontal lobotomy!
Build a Man a Fire, and He'll Be Warm for a Day. Set a Man on Fire, and He'll Be Warm for the Rest of His Life.
So I am not nearly as excited as when the first, admitedly revolutionary, iPad came out. Too bad they have not released anything remarkable after that. Apple should have licensed older, established products to partners while focusing on truly mind blowing technology to build in house. Then we could be talking about fully practical iPad VR today.
Least Interesting Man in the World
Nope, can't say that i am...
I see no reason to spend over ~180€ on a smartphone, since any features beyond that are only worth anything for mobile gaming, which is something i hate.
And i personally prefer an e-reader instead of a tablet because of the battery life and needing it only for reading documents and books, no reason to buy a tablet for additional features that i won't use.
That's about all i can say.
Doesn't buy Slave made goods.
This is like asking if you're excited about LG's new 34.5-inch monitor/TV which fills in the gap between their 30-inch and 39-inch models.
"OMG! OMG! I have this entertainment system where the bigger TV doesn't fit, an whenever my friends are over, they laugh at me and say I have a tiny penis because I have only a 30-inch monitor in there!! This is just what I needed! OMG!"
As copyright owner of this comment, I authorize everyone to defeat any technological measure which limits access to it.
Here's your computer with a tiny postage stamp screen!
Chas - The one, the only.
THANK GOD!!!
Yes!
No. My 4 inch iPhone 4s still works just fine just as my iPad 1 and 2.
"Are You Excited About Upcoming 4-inch iPhone or 9.7-inch iPad Pro?"
No, I have a life.
Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
Assuming it still runs iOS (and therefore can't do true multitasking) I just can't see why you'd go for one of these over something like a Surface...
Still waiting for any kind of update to my B15Q.
Wanna see a picture of the cheap assed bulging battery (it's an APACK btw) that developed over the past year?
damn thing pushed the backing out enough that it wasn't waterproof :)
(good thing mugen power is around)
Will probably buy the SE if my 4S breaks down anytime soon. Nice to have a smaller form factor. Can't say the same about the iPad Pro, though; not a lot of people need a workstation tablet.
As an Apple user and Apple fanboy, I have to say... not at all. I'll watch the Keynote but I'm not expecting anything groundbreaking, special or even "new". After the crap update to the Mac mini at the same price tag, I have lost all hope.
I'm more excited about the launch of the OLO 3D printer on Kickstarter, although they could have picked a better date and hour for their Kickstarter launch - it's exactly the same as Apple's Keynote.
I upgraded to the iPhone 6s when it came out because of the better performance compared to my old iPhone 5s, however, I don't like the fact that it is so big. I will buy an iPhone SE if it has the same specs (CPU, RAM, Flash) as the 6s because I prefer the smaller size. Same price would be fine.
I like my larger iPhone since with my eyes aging a bit I like the big screen. I work from home so the mobility isn't an issue so much. On the bonus side my 6plus has great battery life IMHO. However I know a lot of people wanted a 4 inch phone and was sad that Apple stopped making one. Those people are going to be happy if the phone is any good. If you use the phone mostly as a phone and have a tablet or other mobile device for extended web browsing, mapping, etc then a 4 inch phone might be great for you. I am going to guess this phone is not going to be the 'cheap apple phone'. I think its going to be a premium phone but with a smaller screen. There will be some cost reduction because of the smaller screen and smaller batter but this is not going to be a phone to compete with $300 android phones.
I am a little excited to see what the new iPad is going to be like. my wife and I have older minis, which we like because of the weight, but I find the screen is a bit small for reading unless I am holding it at 'book reading distance.' I'd like a device I could put on the kitchen table with coffee and read the news without needing to pick it up. My eyes find that hard to do with the mini. The 10 inch model has been getting lighter recently, so if there's a model light enough for me to comfortable hold when I am reading in bed I might opt for that over a new mini. My guess is this device might not be lighter however. :(
Peace, or Not?
No.
Just anti-hipster-douche-bag that tend to be the majority of Apple's client-base.
Next tablet will be a good and cheap chinese tablet bypassing the greed good for nothing middlemen. This is posted from Chuwi 10" that's great. Ipad? bleah more money for nothing but a name?
Now fan bois can say "Mine is smaller than yours!" And you'll have to ask what they mean.
I'd say NO, if I gave a flyin' rat's ass about iPhones.
And I don't support with my money people who a) want to be a monopoly, and b) heavily overcharge for commodity hardware.
mark
Didn't buy an iPhone 6 because it was too fat.
I'm not a sizeist, but this is a good move.
Especially like the wireless and near field charging!
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
The 6/6s/plus are too big for her. She likes her iPhone 5, though it's too full to apply updates anymore. I'm really looking forward to getting her a new phone that she likes.
I'm still on a 4-inch 5S because I so dislike Big Fat Phones.
More power to Apple if they build a new one with a mechanically stabilized camera. I'll buy it a few months after it comes out -- to allow any bugs to be shaken out.
Hell, I would love a 3.5 inch phone. I still feel that was the most practical format for one-handed operations.
The "Civilized World" jumped the shark ca. 1973.
Seriously? About yet another new shiny from Apple? Uhm... let me check...
Nope. Not the least bit excited. I may not have much going on, but I have far more of a life than one in which a new widget makes me giddy.
The mobile market is rapidly turning to high volume low cost sales.
Like the mp3 market the initial boom has been good for Apple and their tightly integrated hardware/software experience. However, not Apple brings to the table justifies the prices of what amount to gadgets.
In all reality the same can be said for the 600+ dollar Android phone market. It's a sad joke for fools who have money to burn and will in no possibly way get their investment back out of that phone or tablet. They are toys that get updated very very rapidly.
The markets will be dominated by low cost Android and perhaps even Windows mobile devices soon. We've seen Motorola and LG really aren't pulling any punches on providing low cost smart phones with about as many features as you can expect. The Motorola Mini for 108 dollar is a hell of a phone for the money. Apple has nothing that even remotely competes in that market, because that market only recently came into being.
I don't see how Apple is ready to compete in the low cost market, but users will flock to low cost gadgets. They will give them a shot and they likely realize that this 100 dollar phone does 90-100% of everything their overpriced phone did. Same goes for tablets, they aren't designed around productivity and have very limited real uses. That also means the market tops out, because there is no market for high end gaming tablets or CAD workstation tablets.
That means, without a doubt, the markets will eventually be dominated by the low cost options, just like we generally see in most markets. The fact is the low cost options have only really just starting rolling in and they will rapidly reshape the market. People are only just realizing that an 80-130 dollar Android or Windows tablet is just as good if not more useful than a smaller and less powerful 300 dollar iPad. For 130 bucks you can now get a 10 inch FULL windows 10 tablet with keyboard. That's a 130 dollar 'tablet' that can also function as a full blown windows desktop.
It's not going to take long for people to fall in love with that idea of multiple cheap tablets around their home and once Cortona or Android's voice offering have improved people will want that much of a higher volume of those gadgets. In other worlds, they will want one in 'every room in the house', figuratively speaking of course.
I don't see where Apple has prepared for the coming market shift to higher volume sales. Nor are they ready for MS and Intel's new low powered x86 offerings. If that turns out to be a great platform, Apple is kind of fucked because they have no ability to move iOS over to x86 like MS can and all in all there is nothing special about the Android or iOS platforms that make them in any way irreplaceable. The biggest issue would be things like integrated televisions that ppl plan on users for years, but they are often forgotten platforms anyway. Tablets and phones are fairly disposable.. so there is nothing solidified about today's mobile markets.
Apple should be afraid because more likely than not down is their only real option in market share.
Just announced.
No wireless. Less space than a Nomad. Lame.
No one came up with this yet?
No.
No.
Next question?
Many more "articles" like this and the ones pandering to feminists and I will just stop reading /. altogether.
I logged in, just to add my name to this statement.
People make fun of my iPhone 4S because it's "tiny". It's only 4 years old. I shouldn't have to buy a new phone every year... I mean I use a phone case. This phone hasn't broken yet. It sucks and freezes up but it hasn't broken yet. Been with me backpackibg, hydro demolition jobs, hydraulic and water pump mechanic jobs, skateboarding competitions, 14 states and 2 countries... Hate to say that the speaker is going out... But it hasn't broken yet.
Almost every anti-Apple comment here can be attributed to jealousy.
Who gives a flying fu** about Apple devices?
Honestly I'm completely mystified by the popularity of "giant phones" - it makes no sense to me and I seldom would want that. If I want I big screen, that's what my iPad or laptop are for.
Really don't get all the fuss over iphones, my nieces got the 6 and apart from a bit bigger and fingerprint scanner was the sane as mybsons 4s. They are just so boring, reminds me of the Motorola RAZR, you got this nice new phone and the OS was the same asbevery other Motorola youbever owned. Say what you want about Android but at least there is choice.
The price point is way too high. But the real killer are the ridiculously expensive data plans. Who has the money to drop 50$ or more per month and line? I mean, other than those who do this already and forgo food or rent or both for paying for their mobile plan. Apple can move a lot more product if they start offering their own global cell service with truly unlimited data at 20$ or less per line with discounts for annual contracts. With that available the upfront cost of the hardware becomes secondary...assuming the phones will be supported for more than three years.
and I'm still not interested.
Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"