The hype of the past few years is over. Everyone knows that new iPhones are coming in September, and everyone knows that you can no longer expect spectacular innovations from them. But does that make the devices boring? It depends on how you see it, or better yet, how Apple sells it.
Smartphones are largely developed. Manufacturers hardly conjure much more than every year more powerful processors and more sophisticated cameras out of the hat, even the meaningfully usable possibilities of machine learning seem to have been largely exhausted. Devices like the Nothing Phone (1) are just an interesting ray of hope. Apple also only cooks with water and hasn't really been able to surprise anyone for a long time. It won't be any different with the upcoming iPhone 14, but the company is gearing up for a smashing sale nonetheless. how come
In detail will be Tim Cook
You might recognize the newcomers by their fresh colors, otherwise you'll have to take a very close look at the design to find any differences to the current models. You will probably recognize the new Pro variants by the fact that they no longer have a single wide display cutout (notch). Instead, Apple accommodates the camera and sensors for face recognition separately in a circular and a pill-shaped hole.
The Normalo models, on the other hand, will probably not only take over the notch from the 12s. In order to make the Pros stand out more as premium variants, Apple probably doesn't equip them with its latest A16 chip, but with the current A15. After all, this time they could also get displays with a refresh rate of up to 120 Hertz (Hz) instead of staying at 60 Hz. Except for an economical 1 Hz for still images, your screens will not be able to turn down one way or another, which remains a pro feature for the time being.
The Pro models will also, in all likelihood, be a bit thicker than the standard 13s. This is probably mainly due to the fact that only their main camera has been upgraded from 12 to 48 megapixels (MP). After all, according to Apple expert Ming-Chi Kuo, buyers of all four iPhone 13 variants can look forward to a new front camera with autofocus and aperture f/1.9. So far there is a camera with a fixed focus and an aperture of f/2.2.
Although these are all welcome improvements - especially for the pros - they are not individually spectacular innovations that have not already been seen in other smartphones. Every September, Apple always gives its loyal customers just enough to make a new purchase interesting for owners of older devices, but users of younger iPhones don't get the feeling that they have outdated smartphones. And whether that's sustainable or not: the upgrade policy often fits perfectly with mobile phone contracts that regularly guarantee users "free" new devices.
Apple not only has very loyal customers who are reluctant to switch to the Android camp, they are also grateful for relatively simple improvements that they often have to wait longer for than buyers of other smartphones. According to "Bloomberg", this also includes a so-called always-on display, which can display the time or other information on the lock screen. This feature, which has been common in the Android world for a long time, could again be reserved for the Pro models, since it consumes less power at 1Hz than at 60Hz.
According to the industry magazine "Digitimes", a treat for those interested in the simple iPhone 14 is an upgrade from 4 to 6 gigabytes (GB) of RAM, which the current Pro versions already have. The models will probably not be the same in this respect. According to the report, the simple 14s should stay with the slower LPDDR4X memory, while the top iPhones should be upgraded to the faster and supposedly more energy-efficient LPDDR5 standard.
The tactic seems to be working. According to "Digitimes", Apple could again increase its sales and market share despite the difficult market situation, in contrast to most or even all of its competitors. Kuo attributes this primarily to high demand in China. One possible reason for this is that Apple has dominated the high-end segment there since Huawei withdrew from the 5G smartphone market. That's why Apple has more potential premium buyers in China. According to Kuo, the company also has little trouble maintaining its supply chains, relying primarily on its biggest smartphone competitor, Samsung.
So it doesn't necessarily matter if the iPhone 14 gets boring or not. Apple knows what keeps its loyal users engaged and knows how to capitalize on opportunities when it comes to attracting new customers. And you don't have to be a prophet to know that the small but fine improvements will once again be enough to push the devices to the top of the Stiftung Warentest and other leaderboards. Anything else would actually be a surprise.
