So they discontinued the Mini because it’s apparently too small to have good battery life, and now they’re releasing a phone that’s got the same battery space limitations but none of the overall...
So they discontinued the Mini because it’s apparently too small to have good battery life, and now they’re releasing a phone that’s got the same battery space limitations but none of the overall compactness. I kind of see why some people will like it, but seriously Apple, if you’re going back down that route you really can’t just release an actually small phone as well?
They discontinued it because it sold poorly. Battery life is one part of that, but given the way that big screens won so decisively in the Wild West of the android market, I suspect the small size...
They discontinued it because it sold poorly. Battery life is one part of that, but given the way that big screens won so decisively in the Wild West of the android market, I suspect the small size of the screen was a bigger issue.
It's sad because the 13 mini sold extremely well by Android standards. But Apple only wants products with mass market appeal - except in the case of the Vision Pro for some unknown reason.
It's sad because the 13 mini sold extremely well by Android standards. But Apple only wants products with mass market appeal - except in the case of the Vision Pro for some unknown reason.
Well, it sold well by Google standards maybe. Roughly speaking the 13 mini sold ~6m, which is fairly bad by Apple or Samsung standards. But moreover, there is an opportunity cost - the mini...
Well, it sold well by Google standards maybe. Roughly speaking the 13 mini sold ~6m, which is fairly bad by Apple or Samsung standards.
But moreover, there is an opportunity cost - the mini versions use much if not most of the same components of the other iPhone models. If they're by far the worst selling ones, it only makes sense to redirect those components to the phones that people prefer.
The vision pro is a new market segment. It doesn't directly take from the iPhone product line, and it's somewhat expected that a new product line can have mixed sales - that was true of the apple watch, but it found its niche eventually.
There is value in making products like the vision to prevent yourself from being Nokia or Blackberry - unwilling to experiment, and ultimately destroyed within a few years by Apple themselves. It's a hedge, essentially.
Given the failure of the Plus, I'm hoping that we'll someday return to a small screen phone. Honestly I would love a 17e mini, even. Just one phone option below a 6" screen (or more importantly,...
Given the failure of the Plus, I'm hoping that we'll someday return to a small screen phone. Honestly I would love a 17e mini, even. Just one phone option below a 6" screen (or more importantly, below 14cm height) would make all the difference.
I wonder if an ideal world is a 2 year flip-flop between "big screen, skinny" and "small screen, fat"?
I think a non-annual new model like the SE had would be ideal for most people that want those kinds of phones, they probably aren't going to go out and swap it for the new model the next year...
I think a non-annual new model like the SE had would be ideal for most people that want those kinds of phones, they probably aren't going to go out and swap it for the new model the next year (probably one reason why the 13 Mini didn't sell as well with a lot of its target audience already on the 12 Mini).
Interestingly the Air doesn't have the 17 attached to it so maybe they learned and won't refresh it as often as the base model.
Planning on sticking with my 13 Mini for at least another year, battery's starting to show its age a bit but that can be replaced. Doesn't even seem like there's a comparable Android model out...
Planning on sticking with my 13 Mini for at least another year, battery's starting to show its age a bit but that can be replaced. Doesn't even seem like there's a comparable Android model out there with decent specs and a small size or I'd consider switching despite being mostly in Apple's ecosystem these days.
It feels rough to ride or die my 13 mini after "ride or die" on my 2016 SE for so many years. But it seems the modern phone industry hasn't figured out that some people just don't want a big...
It feels rough to ride or die my 13 mini after "ride or die" on my 2016 SE for so many years. But it seems the modern phone industry hasn't figured out that some people just don't want a big screen or a big brick.
It’s insane how few choices there are for smaller phones. When I got my iPhone 15, it was begrudgingly after doing a ton of research and finding out that it was basically the smallest phone I...
It’s insane how few choices there are for smaller phones. When I got my iPhone 15, it was begrudgingly after doing a ton of research and finding out that it was basically the smallest phone I could get that supports 5g and has USB-C and a half decent camera. The only other choice was the Zenfone 10, which is only marginally smaller and is a markedly worse phone. Despite me getting my 15 early last year, I almost wish I had bought the iPhone 13 mini anyways, but too late now. I think I’ll stay on this one until it literally no longer functions, but if apple made another mini, I would buy it.
The Air is getting the most attention, but to be honest I think the most significant aspect of today's announcement is that the base model iPhone finally has a 120 Hz display. Also I think the 17...
The Air is getting the most attention, but to be honest I think the most significant aspect of today's announcement is that the base model iPhone finally has a 120 Hz display.
Also I think the 17 Pro is hideous. But the Pixel-derived camera bar on the Air looks good to me.
IMO the Air looks more like the Nexus 6P. Except with an extra annoying camera protrusion on the mesa. Agreed about the Pro, though. I love the orange color, but god damn that two-tone mesa-with...
IMO the Air looks more like the Nexus 6P. Except with an extra annoying camera protrusion on the mesa.
Agreed about the Pro, though. I love the orange color, but god damn that two-tone mesa-with bump back looks awful to me. Are they trying to push people to the non-Pro? And no black option to boot, only navy blue?
Can't lie, the iPhone Air is very intriguing IMO. Personally I would love a phone with the same screen size but lighter, and this seems like it. I'll have to wait until reviews to see how much the...
Can't lie, the iPhone Air is very intriguing IMO. Personally I would love a phone with the same screen size but lighter, and this seems like it. I'll have to wait until reviews to see how much the battery life is sacrificed, but it's definitely something I'm considering more than either the 17 and 17 pro.
The gap between the 17 and 17 pro went down quite a lot this gen. It's almost just the camera + USB3 speeds on the port. So the 17 pro seems very much like a "creator" camera, product segmentation wise.
My guess is the battery isn't great. They didn't talk about battery life and then immediately introduced the battery pack to put on the back. The tech spec page also dedicates several points to...
My guess is the battery isn't great. They didn't talk about battery life and then immediately introduced the battery pack to put on the back. The tech spec page also dedicates several points to the battery life WITH the external pack.
Seems they're very self conscious about it and I'm gonna bet it's a major talking point once reviewers get their hands on it.
As a sometimes-user of Apple products (phone, one particular Apple Silicon computer) I'm just consistently not a fan of a lot of their direction as a company, its a begrudging relationship for me...
As a sometimes-user of Apple products (phone, one particular Apple Silicon computer) I'm just consistently not a fan of a lot of their direction as a company, its a begrudging relationship for me as it is with mostly any "big tech", so most of the alternatives would be just as annoying. I think I'll use my 14 Pro until it becomes completely unusable. I'm so glad it doesn't run most of their AI shtick either. Sick of their obsession with "thinness" and other garbage. They do a number of things exceedingly well, while at the same time doing things that are endlessly frustrating
The thickness of that camera bump on the 17 Air is as thick as the phone's body, looks crazy from the side! Also, how sharp is it gonna feel in the hand? My 13 always leaves a kind of dent in my...
The thickness of that camera bump on the 17 Air is as thick as the phone's body, looks crazy from the side! Also, how sharp is it gonna feel in the hand? My 13 always leaves a kind of dent in my palm when I use it for more than like 15-20 minutes at a time and it even becomes a little sore after like 30 minutes or more. Hope they go back to more rounded edges in future.
Think I can safely keep that 13 for now anyways. Still working perfectly fine although I'm a little bit nervous about it becoming too slow from further software updates.
Little side-bar: the iPhone Air was actually on the ABC national news tonight. Kinda wild to me to see a product announcement get a spot on the already-crowded national news.
Little side-bar: the iPhone Air was actually on the ABC national news tonight. Kinda wild to me to see a product announcement get a spot on the already-crowded national news.
The Air looks cool. Except for the large camera bump, which I know is unavoidable. But I just got a 16 Pro earlier in the year to replace my former 13 Pro. So I'm not upgrading anytime soon....
The Air looks cool. Except for the large camera bump, which I know is unavoidable. But I just got a 16 Pro earlier in the year to replace my former 13 Pro. So I'm not upgrading anytime soon. Ideally, next one will be in 3-4yrs.
17 Pro in Orange is certainly a choice. Kinda surprised they don't have a black or at least dark gray option. Though the Deep Blue is nice.
So they discontinued the Mini because it’s apparently too small to have good battery life, and now they’re releasing a phone that’s got the same battery space limitations but none of the overall compactness. I kind of see why some people will like it, but seriously Apple, if you’re going back down that route you really can’t just release an actually small phone as well?
They discontinued it because it sold poorly. Battery life is one part of that, but given the way that big screens won so decisively in the Wild West of the android market, I suspect the small size of the screen was a bigger issue.
It's sad because the 13 mini sold extremely well by Android standards. But Apple only wants products with mass market appeal - except in the case of the Vision Pro for some unknown reason.
Well, it sold well by Google standards maybe. Roughly speaking the 13 mini sold ~6m, which is fairly bad by Apple or Samsung standards.
But moreover, there is an opportunity cost - the mini versions use much if not most of the same components of the other iPhone models. If they're by far the worst selling ones, it only makes sense to redirect those components to the phones that people prefer.
The vision pro is a new market segment. It doesn't directly take from the iPhone product line, and it's somewhat expected that a new product line can have mixed sales - that was true of the apple watch, but it found its niche eventually.
There is value in making products like the vision to prevent yourself from being Nokia or Blackberry - unwilling to experiment, and ultimately destroyed within a few years by Apple themselves. It's a hedge, essentially.
Given the failure of the Plus, I'm hoping that we'll someday return to a small screen phone. Honestly I would love a 17e mini, even. Just one phone option below a 6" screen (or more importantly, below 14cm height) would make all the difference.
I wonder if an ideal world is a 2 year flip-flop between "big screen, skinny" and "small screen, fat"?
I think a non-annual new model like the SE had would be ideal for most people that want those kinds of phones, they probably aren't going to go out and swap it for the new model the next year (probably one reason why the 13 Mini didn't sell as well with a lot of its target audience already on the 12 Mini).
Interestingly the Air doesn't have the 17 attached to it so maybe they learned and won't refresh it as often as the base model.
Planning on sticking with my 13 Mini for at least another year, battery's starting to show its age a bit but that can be replaced. Doesn't even seem like there's a comparable Android model out there with decent specs and a small size or I'd consider switching despite being mostly in Apple's ecosystem these days.
It feels rough to ride or die my 13 mini after "ride or die" on my 2016 SE for so many years. But it seems the modern phone industry hasn't figured out that some people just don't want a big screen or a big brick.
It’s insane how few choices there are for smaller phones. When I got my iPhone 15, it was begrudgingly after doing a ton of research and finding out that it was basically the smallest phone I could get that supports 5g and has USB-C and a half decent camera. The only other choice was the Zenfone 10, which is only marginally smaller and is a markedly worse phone. Despite me getting my 15 early last year, I almost wish I had bought the iPhone 13 mini anyways, but too late now. I think I’ll stay on this one until it literally no longer functions, but if apple made another mini, I would buy it.
The Air is getting the most attention, but to be honest I think the most significant aspect of today's announcement is that the base model iPhone finally has a 120 Hz display.
Also I think the 17 Pro is hideous. But the Pixel-derived camera bar on the Air looks good to me.
IMO the Air looks more like the Nexus 6P. Except with an extra annoying camera protrusion on the mesa.
Agreed about the Pro, though. I love the orange color, but god damn that two-tone mesa-with bump back looks awful to me. Are they trying to push people to the non-Pro? And no black option to boot, only navy blue?
Can't lie, the iPhone Air is very intriguing IMO. Personally I would love a phone with the same screen size but lighter, and this seems like it. I'll have to wait until reviews to see how much the battery life is sacrificed, but it's definitely something I'm considering more than either the 17 and 17 pro.
The gap between the 17 and 17 pro went down quite a lot this gen. It's almost just the camera + USB3 speeds on the port. So the 17 pro seems very much like a "creator" camera, product segmentation wise.
My guess is the battery isn't great. They didn't talk about battery life and then immediately introduced the battery pack to put on the back. The tech spec page also dedicates several points to the battery life WITH the external pack.
Seems they're very self conscious about it and I'm gonna bet it's a major talking point once reviewers get their hands on it.
As a sometimes-user of Apple products (phone, one particular Apple Silicon computer) I'm just consistently not a fan of a lot of their direction as a company, its a begrudging relationship for me as it is with mostly any "big tech", so most of the alternatives would be just as annoying. I think I'll use my 14 Pro until it becomes completely unusable. I'm so glad it doesn't run most of their AI shtick either. Sick of their obsession with "thinness" and other garbage. They do a number of things exceedingly well, while at the same time doing things that are endlessly frustrating
The thickness of that camera bump on the 17 Air is as thick as the phone's body, looks crazy from the side! Also, how sharp is it gonna feel in the hand? My 13 always leaves a kind of dent in my palm when I use it for more than like 15-20 minutes at a time and it even becomes a little sore after like 30 minutes or more. Hope they go back to more rounded edges in future.
Think I can safely keep that 13 for now anyways. Still working perfectly fine although I'm a little bit nervous about it becoming too slow from further software updates.
Little side-bar: the iPhone Air was actually on the ABC national news tonight. Kinda wild to me to see a product announcement get a spot on the already-crowded national news.
Is it just me or does the comparison drop-down on the product page exclude all 16 series models?
That would reveal how little things have changed since last year's model. Apple always does this.
The Air looks cool. Except for the large camera bump, which I know is unavoidable. But I just got a 16 Pro earlier in the year to replace my former 13 Pro. So I'm not upgrading anytime soon. Ideally, next one will be in 3-4yrs.
17 Pro in Orange is certainly a choice. Kinda surprised they don't have a black or at least dark gray option. Though the Deep Blue is nice.