haters assemble (iPhone 15 launch) 😃

Time to change my 11 for a new 15 I reckon. Probably a Pro but haven’t decided yet.

its hard to get excited about any new phones - the gains are so marginal. The only significant shift in the last decade is folding screens, but they're so fragile/expensive as to be an irrelevance..

Possibly if you’re looking at it from a form over function perspective, but personally I am not. You can do things on a phone now which would not have been possible, or even imaginable, 10 years ago.

I agree that the gains are less significant if you already have last years model, although I wouldn’t quite say marginal. If you have a phone that’s 3+years old the differences are a lot more substantial.

its hard to get excited about any new phones – the gains are so marginal

they are but the serviceable  life of the phones is longer too. So the difference between a 14 and a 15 might pretty slim but between a (phone you’re still using) and (the latest thing) there may well be some meaningful improvements. Against the phone I’ve got better low light photography and LiDAR have got real world utility for me. Neither of those thing are new new, but their application has improved and integrating them together is interesting -  Not ‘game changing’ nor queue outside the shop amazing but really useful and something to look forward to when my current phone craps out.

@<span class="bbp-author-name">zilog6128 </span>Get rid of that 12 soon. Its got high radiation levels.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-66795168

Had to get a titanium one to match my bike, natch.

Well, the new 15 might finally tempt me away from my 2020 SE

Mainly based on the camera. Means I can ditch a couple of compact cameras that I use occasionally.

Maybe the max, we’ll see.

I love all the people moaning it’s not an exciting new design - what exactly can you do with a slab of screen!? Pop-out mini candelabras perhaps!! 🤣🤣

Can’t see x5 zoom hasn’t caught my attention

But I’m too careless with phones and to tight to buy one

Do they still do the thing where they say ‘the fastest iPhone yet’ as if that wasn’t the whole point of the exercise?

Anyway I’ll prob upgrade this year and as others have said, going from an 11 to a 15 will be a fairly substantial upgrade.

Will this mean the 13 mini will get cheaper?

Mrs_oab's SE battery is dying and I'm tempted to get her a nice present rather than a new battery...

You can do things on a phone now which would not have been possible, or even imaginable, 10 years ago

Genuine question - like what?

I have a 2019 phone and I can't really think of anything it can do that my 2013 phone didn't. Except paying contactless, which didn't exist til 2014. Be interested to know what the current crop do?

So 5x optical zoom has my attention

As does emergency satellite communication in the uk. Could save your life or some one else’s

But I’m too careless with phones and too tight to put £999 into a phone

But no hate in those that do pony up for one

Just looked at the prices. The 15 Pro Max is basically the same price as the 15" M2 MacBook air, for the same amount of storage 😳

I guess in many ways they're basically the same device, but still... cor

A new what? Yaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwwwn

I have a 2019 phone and I can’t really think of anything it can do that my 2013 phone didn’t. Except paying contactless, which didn’t exist til 2014. Be interested to know what the current crop do?

As above 5x optical zoom
Text via satellite

Does your phone do 10s exposures hand held?

I think the degree of water proofing has increased

My phone 12 replaced a Samsung A50. On paper they do the same. The iPhone just does it more reliably than the one it replaced.

Still running my iPhone XR with no need to upgrade but do quite fancy a  13 pro max now as they’ll undoubtedly be discounted. Must. Resist.

I’m using my son’s hand me down 8+ and he’s got a 13 Pro Max which I’ll inherit in a couple of years. Should be a decent upgrade for me.

How much ???Cost of a laptop or computer you can get for under £400. Simple thing like a phone which 99% use to send whatsapp messages, chat and do a bit of surfing. Over a grand.

That will be why the company is worth nearly $3 trillion.

Will this mean the 13 mini will get cheaper?

No, it's been discontinued. Which is a shame as I was going to upgrade to one from my 5. Yes that's right, 5. Looks like the only small screen option now is the SE.

As above 5x optical zoom
Text via satellite

Does your phone do 10s exposures hand held?

I think the degree of water proofing has increased

My phone (a OnePlus 6T - I just looked it up, it was actually released in 2018) can do long exposures, but doesn't have optical zoom or satellite. I wouldn't want to immerse it in water, but it's fine in rain.

So yeah, those are improvements. But I'd say they're very much incremental, as opposed to the 'unimaginable' suggested by the poster above.

I'm due a new phone one of these days. But I haven't seen anything that really makes me want to splash the cash just yet. Those LIDAR features look quite fun, but not £1000 worth of fun!

I could have had 10x zoom on a Samsung s21 when I got mine 2 and a bit years ago. I wish I had really, quite useful.

The only significant shift in the last decade is folding screens, but they’re so fragile/expensive as to be an irrelevance.

Not if you're a woman and all your trousers have tiny short pockets.

The periscopic lens has finally landed which will persuade me to swap my 12Pro for a 15 Pro Max! Not really been keen on the Max size before but apparently this one is both smaller & lighter than before which can only be good.

That’s the only reason I want to change from my 11 pro…. That and the fact my Face ID / portrait camera is knackered.

15 pro max is just too big though. Just measured the difference and that extra size is too much for me

It sounds like the x 5 zoom will be on next years 15 pro so tempted to wait and get my 11 Pro repaired

Phones are defo more waterproof these days. Jumped into the pool on holiday with my XR in my pocket, fully submerged for a good 20 seconds and it still works fine!

Will it still need charged at the end of every single day? This is my grumble about all new phones - not everyone has access to a recharging solution daily...

Not if you turn off mobile data (this is true for most smart phones btw).

Why did I spend so much on a phone when my house has no plug sockets and my car has no usb port. Dho….

The OP must be disappointed, more fanbois than haters, but I'll help. I think it's shit.

I was hoping there would be a mini Pro. I’m not sure what I’ll do when my mini 13 needs replacing (in a few years).

Everyone who has a mini seems to love it yet apparently they didn’t sell well.

I’ll be going from 7+ to a 15. I can’t believe people bemoaning year on year “incremental” updates. If the new handsets only have small improvements over one you bought less than a year ago… keep your current one… obviously. For many many years if you can.

My iPhone history is 3G > 6s > 8 > 13mini so 4 phones in 15 years. Can’t be bad value wise.
Have they killed off the mini? No bit of me wants to carry a massive screen around!

Everyone who has a mini seems to love it

That was certainly the case for me & my (Product)Red 12 Pro mini. Well, until I got so long sighted that I now need a bigger screen 😩

iPhone 15 Pro is tempting. But even though £999 and a titanium finish makes it somewhat cheaper in real terms than last year’s models it is still £999! Maybe next May.

Have they killed off the mini?

They did a 12 and 13 mini and then for the 14 lineup they ditched the mini and came out with a ‘plus’ line instead. So yeah I reckon the mini is gone, at least for now. It’s a shame.

What I hadn’t realised until fairly recently is that all the phones have grown substantially. I liked my iPhone X but the later models have grown a bit since then.

Apparently only 3% of iPhone 13s were minis. So they are history

I liked my iPhone X but the later models have grown a bit since then.

not that different really?

… fully submerged for a good 20 seconds and it still works fine!

and then some! I spend 45 minutes fishing mine out of a canal basin when it bounced out of my pocket as I slid off the side of the boat. That was an iPhone 8 Plus.

Tempted by the new usb-c and might go back to a plus model from this 12, which to be fair, runs perfectly, albeit with reduced battery life, and has the same screen size as my old 8 Plus. My only concern is that the now much larger screen might render my mini iPad redundant.

I have an iPhone 13 Pro Max.

I do like my technology and my gadgets. I’ve been mulling over getting the equivalent iPhone 15 or whether to jump ship to Samsung. I’m tempted by the ZFold5.
Anyone gone from IOS to Android and been ok with it? I’m no longer wedded to Apple, sold my MacBook. Can’t think of any other devices I own that are IOS only.

USB-C is great to see finally, long overdue

Have Apple trademarked a new name for a standard cable and then tried to claim that you need to buy the Apple one that costs 10x what a generic one costs because only the official one will work properly? By god they must have made a fortune over the years with their proprietary cables and dongles and now everyone gets to replace them all over again.

I've got a 12 which I'll be sticking with for the time being. It works perfectly fine is in great condition and as others have said, gains are more marginable these days which is a good this as phones don't go as obsolete as quickly. Unless it's an Android device.

By god they must have made a fortune over the years with their proprietary cables and dongles and now everyone gets to replace them all over again.

I’ve several devices at home that use USB C, including Apple, so I won’t be replacing any.

I have an 11 and Mrs SSS has a 13. Nothing ive seen makes me go 'i must have that'. I normally buy Mrs SSS a new phone and i get her old one.

The 15? Marginal gains - faster processor we're unlikely to notice, a slightly better camera yawn, titanium over stainless whatever, different colours woopty doo. Highly unlikely to ever need the satellite calling....

Wait for the next one.

Am thinking of going over to Android though. I did try it back around iphone 6/7, but didnt like it that much. I found the IOS user interface much nicer to operate and more intuitive to use. Maybe give it a try again.
I do like the idea of the Zflip phones as i dont really want a slab of a phone.

The battery on my 12 Pro is getting close to 80% of original, and it's worth £300 trade in to Apple. From past experience, this will be about the best value trade in / battery life balance - so I'm getting a 15 Pro to replace the 12.

I was tempted by the Pro Max, primarily for the fancy camera, but I'm not ready to give into increasing myopia and buy a mini tablet to carry around just yet.

5x zoom, is that it. Pah.

10x Optical on the Samsung S23 Ultra and it's ace, 100x digital. Pretty bloody amazing.

10x Optical on the Samsung S23 Ultra

At £250 more then a 15 pro it better be good.

100x digital. Pretty bloody amazing.

ENHANCE!!

The satellite calling appeals to me...spending more time in the hills and the outdoors, I'm slightly m,ore aware of mobile phone blackspots, so having something that would work seems like a good idea.

I've a Garmin InReach which never gets used, so I've cancelled the sub and I'm going to sell it on...I think I'll get a Bullitt satellite communicator (or the Motorola Defy Satellite communicator as it is £150 for the year including subscription - which makes it far cheaper than the Garmin and can be used by any phone with bluetooth).

We do appear to be at the end of the big updates for mobiles and everything is now smaller improvements. Saying that, I'm still against the every increasing size of devices. I've a Pixel 6 and it is massive. It is good to use, but it would be better if it was 5-6mm narrower and shorter - with a 2mm thicker design to take a decent capacity battery - I get 36 hours out the battery, but 2 clear days would be far better. Suspect I'm a minority case though.

Iphone 12 mini here and it's pretty much perfect size (and weight) wise - there's no way I'm going to "upgrade" to a phone that's so much bigger.

ampthillFull Member
Apparently only 3% of iPhone 13s were minis. So they are history

i don't get it - that's still a hell of a lot of phones. I understand focus but surely that's just filling a niche.

100x digital. Pretty bloody amazing.

Pah! Jack Bauer had that donkeys years ago! 🙂

The satellite calling appeals to me

its not satellite calling. its a text based service to emergency services.

I've been mulling over getting the equivalent iPhone 15 or whether to jump ship to Samsung. I’m tempted by the ZFold5.
Anyone gone from IOS to Android and been ok with it?

I went from IPhone to Samsung to OnePlus. Android is generally decent; in some regards I prefer the UI, though you are kind of throwing your lot in with google. One thing that annoys me with Samsung is that it comes preloaded with a load of apps you can't remove - like Facebook FFS! You can 'disable' it but not uninstall it. My OnePlus has been much better and I've been really happy with it.

Yeah, text via satellite service...I've clearly used the wrong terms, but I meant calling the satellite service, not calling to speak - but that isn't at all clear in my post - complete sense in my head, but that is like Steptoe's Yard at the best of times anyway! 🙂

most of the modern improvements in pictures on your phone is just AI making up stuff that simply isn't there in the photo. eg the thread here

https://www.theverge.com/2023/3/13/23637401/samsung-fake-moon-photos-ai-galaxy-s21-s23-ultra

Android is generally decent;

I was tempted by the Nothing phone(2) - but the "stick with what you know" vibes were strong when it's £630 and the iPhone 15 is net £700 to me.

Satellite texting would be a huge draw for me. Could save your life one day. I hope it comes to Android as I don't think I can deal with the faff of moving over.

most of the modern improvements in pictures on your phone is just AI making up stuff that simply isn’t there

NASA used the same technology for the moon landings in 69. It’s nothing new.

@molgrips - the new Motorola Defy 2 phone has it built in...I think a few others have it and more are getting it...it is a brilliant idea.

Edit - Defy 2 isn't available yet - https://motorolarugged.com/en-gb/motorola-defy2/

Just realised for another £60 I haves a pro max.
Tempted.

I went Android to Apple for the 13 mini as no-one else seemed to do a small (ie fit in the gel pocket of my running shorts) phone. Now it seems there's zero demand for them 🙁

not everyone has access to a recharging solution daily…

I remember when they were called plug sockets!

Will this mean the 13 mini will get cheaper?

It's gone. There were some on the refurb store but now they've gone too. Grab one from remaining stock somewhere like John Lewis if you want one, I think the price there has dropped (£604 for 128gb, £714 for 256gb) but I don't know if that's just currency price changes.

I've normally replaced every 2 years, sell on the old while it's still worth something. But I'm actually still very happy with my 13 mini, so I think I'll give it another year.

We must be due a new SE design at some point, they normally get released in spring, a faceID/USB-C one would probably be more tempting than a 15 for me.

We are happily stuck on the iPhone 11; does everything we want really well, great battery life, perfect size and we paid very little for them. Definitely a sweet spot for us 🙂

iPhone 13 mini's on sale here: https://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/search-results/13%20mini

Great phone IMO, perfect fit for a cycling jersey pocket.

We must be due a new SE design at some point, they normally get released in spring, a faceID/USB-C one would probably be more tempting than a 15 for me.

I'm 2020SE and not interested in any bigger really. Also hoping that it gets updated in the next 18 months or so. Although a cheap 13mini may also do as well I guess.

iPhone 13 mini’s on sale here: https://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/search-results/13%20mini

Great phone IMO, perfect fit for a cycling jersey pocket.

Cheers - but I can get one on generous contract with Vodafone or ID for less than the handset alone - and Vodafone will support battery for 3 years I gather...

Can I just be indifferent?

Can never get excited about another bit of technology that's slightly better the the previous version.

Sorry if I have blasphemed against the cult of apple.

I remember when they were called plug sockets!

I remember when plugs were called plugs and sockets were called sockets. Think is was this morning.

Are plug sockets like hand gloves or foot socks?

We are happily stuck on the iPhone 11; does everything we want really well, great battery life, perfect size

If size if an appeal the 15 is smaller than the 11. Obviously they’re not cheap though.

Re the 15 max camera x 5 zoom. I’m hoping what I have read is wrong, but I’ve read that the lense to x 2 is just that ie from 0 to x 2 but the x 5 lense is is fixed x 5 and the phone uses digital jiggery pokery to get from x2 to x5

I am hoping that’s wrong and it’s a true optical x2 to x5?

Im still going to wait I think until the smaller size pro gets x5

The satellite emergency text appeals to me. Hopefully I’d never need it, but it’s definitely a “nice to have” for me.

the phone uses digital jiggery pokery to get from x2 to x5

That’s how the above mentioned Samsung x10 zoom works. Wouldn’t be surprised if this is the same, a fixed focal length… looking at how periscope lenses this small function.

Yeah I’d be very surprised if any lenses like this actually contained any moving parts. Why does it matter anyway 🤔

Still running my iPhone XR with no need to upgrade but do quite fancy a 13 pro max now as they’ll undoubtedly be discounted.

Just go on Facebook Marketplace. All the people who will immediately upgrade as soon as a new phone is out will be shifting their previous phones (13 and 14 Pro’s) on for a few hundred quid

My phone is basically just a camera with some other useful stuff attached to it and the camera on the 13 Pro is amazing

Are plug sockets like hand gloves or foot socks?

Hand gloves. Wired to cables cable.

Yet again my teeth were itching due to the over use of "it's our best thing ever". Who releases something worse than it's predecessors (Win 8 excluded)?

Why does it matter anyway 🤔

Cropping a zoomed out photo has worse quality than properly shooting it, otherwise everything would just have a single wide lens and crop the balls off it

Cropping a zoomed out photo has worse quality than properly shooting it, otherwise everything would just have a single wide lens and crop the balls off it

Anyways, order is in!! Anyone gonna risk it with no case? Titanium and all that 😂 Would definitely help to slightly counter the size of the Max!

Spotted on Twitter that the preorders have made the Apple Store site fall down. Is it the digital equivalent of queuing around the block?

Cropping a zoomed out photo has worse quality than properly shooting it, otherwise everything would just have a single wide lens and crop the balls off it

unless you shoot in raw on the pro, you only get a 12MP image from a 48MP sensor. So there is plenty of leeway for crops.

primes and optical zooms are great but I haven’t touched my ‘real’ camera since I got a 14pro.

EE store also being smashed by this today.

Apple store worked fine, but I'm sure twitter/X is a bastion of factual reporting and my experience is an outlier.

logged on at 1:20, ordered a phone and it was instant, given they went live at 1pm I'm not sure what the issue isn't. Just checked still working. 🤷‍♂️

(In before the hate - I'm not a release date fanboy, we keep our iphones in the house for 8yrs! My partner's 8 has just this week broken so we need a new one, given how long they're in service for I wanted to get a USB c phone as that's clearly the future standard)