What Happens When the iPhone Peaks?

Are we at peak smartphone, or it just a hiccup from the chip shortage?

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[supaxkawaii]

The iPhones and phones in general used to seem to be more fun waiting for the release but now I don’t think the hype is there as much.

[TheGroovyGuitarDude]

It seems like maybe we are at more of a plateau for smartphones, rather than a peak. There are a few companies doing some bleeding edge tech that are moving the needle forward a little, but most of the major brands are playing it super safe and not making any leaps and bounds forward anymore.

[yezralumapas]

IMO, while smartphones themselves haven’t really reached the “peak” where they stop seeing improvements, I think that user experience has or, at least, will reach that plateau first. It’s reached a point that people are pretty much satisfied with what is currently available and aren’t actively hyped about rumored improvements since it doesn’t really affect the overall phone experience that much. At least, this is a thought about conventional smartphones (the brick ones). Once the folding ones start to become mainstream, it might allow for more creative directions that are sure to cause hype

[nonsudunk]

Technologically we aren't at the peak, but from a usage perspective I'd say we are. Like, phones have been the last years giving us basically the same experience, every new phone doesn't really add anything changing it. The innovation is more on the apps/software

[anon]

to me after the iPhone 10, every upgrade to a phone of any kind has been incremental upgrades imo, at this point I would only notice a difference in phones that have 3+ years gaps between them, I've been on the pixel 2 xl since release and won't upgrade until the main functions stop working, but when that happens I cant wait to see the differences, it makes upgrading phones way more exciting for me

[BardiaZ]

This video was published about 4 months before the new iPhone 14 and 14 Pro came out, but yet every single leak you mentioned about the new iPhone ended up being correct. Good work Marques!

[AAABeatbox]

You know what Marques. I'd really like to know just how long and when planning starts from start to launch date with new phones. For example, I wonder, what stage is the iPhone 14 in? Is it being tested? Is it being mass produced? And once the 14 gets into the market when does the 15 get started or I bet you it already has started.
Please do a video on this I'm really curious. All the best.

[toshineon]

I hope that this slowdown when it comes to technical innovation can allow companies in general to re-focus on standing out from a design perspective. Outside of Apple, and maybe Samsung's Z series, I really can't see a reason to go with one company over others when everything looks the same and has the same specs. Unlike 10 years ago, I can't take a quick look at someone's phone and go "Oh, that's a Samsung" or whatever, now it's just "Oh, a phone". I hope I made some sense.

[RedlineGaming]

I think Smartphones are at its peak now. I recently replaced my 3 year-old Note 10+ with an S22 Ultra, but I didn't feel like I was getting a better phone. From the display to the daily user experience, it all feels the same. The only difference I noticed was the 120Hz display and camera, but even those aren't much of an upgrade for a three year newer phone.

[scienceriot]

Since Apple started making "Max" versions of their iPhones it has always been a "Pro Max". If you wanted the larger screen you had to get the Pro whether you needed the features or not. But, if the rumors are true, this year there will be a 14 Max (without the Pro features and Pro cost). So what if the 14 Max takes the expected price slot of the 14 this year and the 14 is cheaper? This feels more likely to me than Apple swapping a number but keeping essentially the same specs.

[autodidactistic]

Despite the incremental upgrades
I think the overall feeling that tech has peaked is the novelty wearing off, we’re used to a high powered computer and camera in our pockets

[gabriellacassemiro]

I think we're reaching a point where it's common sense that releasing a new phone every year just doesn't make sense anymore - and I think Apple is finally ready to admit that. We're not at peak smartphones in a long term, but short term? Maybe yes. Adding that up to the chip crises, maybe Apple will take this context to do what they do best: not new tech, but marketing. If they, for example, decide NOT to launch the basic iPhone, they'd have the perfect excuse for that: a new Apple, that values the environment, that cares about the planet, and so on. We know that in a capitalist world, scarcity (or at least the illusion thereof) is what builds value. So what would make the actual new iPhone more valuable? The lack of a new, but lower-tier one.

[Andru]

I imagine they’ll use the chip from the iPhone 13 Pro in the 14 non-Pro, which has an additional graphics core making it about 25% faster in graphics performance than the previous year - that way the standard phone still sees some sort of upgrade 👀

[elevatorz]

Smartphones have stagnated at this point that a lot of people just don't really care about the shiny new device anymore. It doesn't help that iPhones have the least deviation between devices of any brand, making people stay on old phones for longer.

[gmarefan]

I haven't gotten excited about a new smartphone in years. There was the pivotal moment where some of the mid tier phones became as powerful as an average laptop that was cool but I haven't cared much for the other stuff. I still can't justify the cost of a high tier phone, when I barely spend that much on a gaming PC that I expect to last mean for 5 years.

[nasherz]

I’m still using an IPhone 7 Plus and the performance is absolutely acceptable for my use case. I am going to upgrade later this year though due to iOS 16 not being supported. Thinking of going for the 13 mini especially if the processor is the same in the standard 14 models.

Update: I eventually went for an Iphone 13 pro. Only reason being that i got a pretty good deal on it. Im very happy with it.
Also just to answer some of the replies. I have used many android phones in the past. I used to be a die hard android fan in my early teens but nowadays I just dont care. IOS does everything i want it to do very well.

[AlpineAddict]

It's so sad they're stopping the mini. I just got my 13 mini and absolutely love it. The standard size just feels way too big now! A mini pro would be the best phone ever!

[qgtljkz]

From an innovation standpoint, smartphones are definitely starting to reach their peak. There really isn’t that many breakthroughs anymore and all that’s going on is marginal improvements over existing features. Which partially explains why you now see Apple marketing their phones new design and color in order to use that as the deciding factor for consumers.

[edisjd]

We are definitely at peak smart phones for a few years now, all bc companies make slight improvement doesn't mean it's "getting better" for the avg consumer. Most people don't care or can even notice these incremental upgrades now. It's only the super tech geeks that care even when they can barely tell the differences

[KaleWheat]

Marques, you are forgetting about how the iphone 13 pro has that extra gpu core over the iphone 13 regular, yet theyre both still called the a15. So if the iphone 14 regular gets the a15 from the iphone 13 pro, it would still technically be an upgrade from last years iphone 13 regular.