zlacker

>>alphab+(OP)
It's starting to feel silly, having a yearly release cycle for smartphones. So much of this product page is focused on new software functions that may have some vague relationship with the slightly upgraded hardware, but that could mostly be released to existing phones. Every new iPhone, Pixel, or Samsung phone basically claims the camera is marginally better and hey, look at these software features that have very little to do with the hardware and should not fundamentally be a reason to upgrade to this phone.

There is so much time, effort, and physical waste that is generated by slightly redesigning phones every year purely for the sake of making sales (as opposed to meaningful improvement upon the existing design or introduction of a new hardware feature). Think not only of people upgrading for the sake of it, but all of the cases, screen protectors, and other assorted accessories cast in plastic for previous models that are garbage now.

It would be nice if we could just space these things out to 5 years or so now, because that's probably how long it takes for anything to change enough to justify a new model.

>>kimber+T71
Not everyone lives on the same upgrade cycle, you can, but you're not supposed to change your phone every year. With iPhone 15, the majority of people upgrading would be 12 and older device owners.

>>karoli+t91
Apple has a few products like the ipad mini and imac that don't release on yearly schedules and it creates this situation where there are good and bad years to buy. Where the product hasn't been refreshed for 3/4 years and is now severely outdated and a major refresh is something like 6 months away. It's pretty bad for the customer and the seller. Meanwhile it's always a good time to buy an iphone. There is no point waiting for the next model because it won't be meaningfully different.