Slashdot Mirror
Apple To Extend iPhone's Product Cycle; Shift To 32GB Internal Storage On Base Model: Reports (nikkei.com)
According to Japanese outlet Nikkei, which has a good track record, Apple is planning to extend its iPhone's product cycle. The Cupertino, California-based company, which currently utilizes the same design language for two years, now plans to make major refreshes to its iconic smartphone every three years. The report claims that Apple is changing the refresh cycle as it struggles to innovate and provide new features and substantial improvements to its iPhone. For those planning to purchase the next iPhone, don't expect any design changes, the report adds. From the report: The new version slated for this autumn will look almost identical to the current iPhone 6. Functions such as the camera, water resistance and battery capacity will likely be improved, and the headphone jack will be removed. Also, a high-end version of the model will give users better-quality photo capabilities via correction functions. On the sidelines, the media is abuzz with reports that the next iPhone will have 32GB internal storage in its base model.
why would you do this? to artificially inflate battery life or make it slimmer, not worth it, this is a stupid move.
Wow!
why purchase $5.00 headphones to listen to highly compressed lossy music, when I can purchase the same headphones, at 10-20X the price, because of a proprietary connector.
Also, they should have a DRM chip in the headphones themselves, so users can't plug in headphones from someone else's device, they can market this as an anti-theft feature, it's helping the users!
Also, the connector should be as flimsy as possible, breaking at the slightest use.
Headphones are disposable anyway, a 3 month life time should be considered normal.
On the other hand, I'm old enough to remember when Macs dropped the serial port in favor of USB, and all the squalling about "b-b-but my cheap modems!" Heck, I remember the complaints about non-standard (i.e. not DB9 or DB25) serial connectors.
Maybe it'll look boneheaded five years from now, maybe it won't. I'm going with "will", but I've been wrong before betting against Apple.
"and the headphone jack will be removed"
Is this what people want? I mean, I know a lot of people like their wireless ones... but I prefer wired. I hate charging the stupid things. I hate pairing the stupid things. I like just being able plug them in and go. I like that by being plugged in the headphones stay with the phone; and don't get left behind. I like that they are cheap and easy to replace.
Plus I still occasionally connect it to aux inputs and such in cars. My daughter uses headphones with her iphone all the time. Everyone i know has wired headsets and headphones... only a handful prefer wireless/bluetooth solutions.
You don't need a jack when you have Beats(tm) Bluetooth headphones. Beats(tm): All the Cool Athletes Wear One. Why Don't You?
You are holding it wrong.
The 32GB base absolutely makes sense as 16GB is not nearly enough for anyone but a casual user. Load up a couple dozen Apps, store email on your phone and take some photo's and BAM, your 16GB is done.
As far as the headphones, I personally do not care. I use bluetooth and for those that still want to use headphones, there will be a lightning adaptor to do so. I really do not get the reason, though. To make the phone .xxx MM thinner? IMO, it's already too thin and quite cumbersome to use w/o a case on it.
Apple is no longer able to convince people to upgrade as frequently as they had in the past, because Apple is no longer able to come up with good reasons for those customers to upgrade.
It is only the Square magstripe reader that connect via the headphone jack. The chip reader and contactless Apple/Google pay reader connects wirelessly. Unless you have been living under a very large rock, you should be aware that magstripe is now legacy tech. If you continue to accept it at point of sale as a vendor, you now eat any and all fraudulent charges instead of the bank or card issuer. You can always keep an iPhone 5, 5s, 6, or 6s around for pint of sale use, and it is possible that Square will come up with a lightning connector model. I am also sure there will be an Apple headphone to lightning adapter.
Some mornings it's hardly worth chewing through the restraints to get out of bed.
I bought a 32 GB flash thumb drive the other day for about $10 retail. I assume Apple gets it cheap buying in bulk. No reason why anything as expensive as the iPhone should come with anything less than 64 GB.
One of the big wins Apple scored in the past decade, outside their own industry, was the way they spurred automobile manufacturers to add iPod/iPhone integration. Now, the average car on today's roads is about 11 years old. Most cars of the mid-2000's provided just a 3.5mm aux Jack. I realize Apple's customer base skews to the higher end of the income spectrum, and likely drives newer cars, but that still will leave a large number of customers out in the cold because they don't have the means (or willingness) to change their car.
This is a $88 problem to solve. I put a Sony head unit in my car for $300 back in 2012. Best decision I ever made. handles calls and streaming bluetooth audio. The new ones are $80 now with the same feature set.
And there are even cheaper options. There are standalone bluetooth A2DP receivers with a 3.5mm output jack for $12.
I've owned and used one for close to a decade now.
-- Sometimes you have to turn the lights off in order to see.