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Comment by Zelphyr | Hacker News Reader

For the first time ever I feel like I just wasted my time watching an Apple product announcement. I'm not saying those products are bad or are poorly engineered or anything like that. I'm just saying the products they showed off today aren't anything I would want.

I have an iPhone 7 Plus and comparing it to the iPhone 11 versions I don't see anything in the latter that I'd upgrade for. The best I could come up with would maybe be the watch but that's only because I have a Series 1 that is probably on its last legs. If I'm being honest, however, when the Series 1 goes I'll probably go back to my $30 Timex. $5/mo for Arcade and TV+ each is a great price but then again, at least for the latter, I'd be paying a little over a third of the price of Netflix for a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of the content. Sure they'll be adding more but nothing they have now really gets me excited to watch.

I used to so look forward to product announcements because it was like being a kid again. Looking through the Christmas catalog at all the things I'd love to have. Imagining how my life might be better "if I just had that new iPhone!" Now? Meh.

I'm genuinely sad. I feel like it's the end of a very long era.

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This is a very routine reply around here to every new iPhone announcement. Would you perhaps be able to elaborate on the features or improvements you did want to see but didn't?

I mean I have an iPhone 8 and what I see are:

- An edge-to-edge screen

- Longer battery life

- Faster processors

- Improved cameras (don't care much myself but it is still improved)

- FaceID

- Updated Wifi and LTE technologies (not sure how much hype that is)

- More durable (apparently) and more water resistant (at least compared to my 8)

- Multiple wireless headphone support (not sure I need this either but it is still a feature others will use)

I don't need to upgrade for any of these things, which is probably a good thing in terms of e-waste, but it is still definitely a clear upgrade from my current phone.

I honestly can't put my finger on it. All those features you listed are great but none of them make me WANT that device. I used to want the new product they announced as soon as they showed it off. Maybe when I hold one in my hands that will change.

The rumored folding iPhone would have been the wow-factor even if Samsung failed already in their first attempt. I'm not sure how it makes sense for someone to ask people what they would have been looking for to make the announcement worthwhile. Are you hiring?

"People don’t know what they want until you show it to them." -Steve Jobs

I somewhat have to agree on the "I used to want the new product as soon as it was shown off" bit. I mean to be clear there are some nice improvements on the iPhone, and it packs a hell of a punch compared to previous versions.

For me, it was how the announcements were made, they did seem to just feel like they had a massive "Wow" factor.

Even way back on the first iPhone announcement - When Steve was on stage and talking about the Palm and Blackberry devices having "physical keyboards", and that he had merged it all with the iPod with touch screens, to me that seemed like a massive jump. (OK I admit, at the time I was very much in the camp of "my Blackberry's keyboard is the finest!", but I watch the announcement back again... there was a very Steve Jobs finesse to the whole thing!).

The more recent announcements have kinda been a bit "meh", and I think maybe it's just that - I think a new type of device that has not been thought about, would bring back the "Wow" factor again.

I think, just for me anyway, that jumping over the releases (so skip a release and upgrade), I see more of a jump, than say if I was going between each version.

Anyway, my thoughts - and I don't know - maybe others see the same with the announcements not quite as they used to be - due to the slowness of "upgrades" to the product.

I have to agree. The upgraded camera is enough to get me to want to switch, but the keynote itself was rather dull. I generally enjoy the Apple launch events, but they’ve been sliding lately and this just made me feel “that was a waste of time to watch”.

I can put my finger on it, literally, I love the fingerprint sensor for Apple Pay. I see my wife trying to use face-id for it and it seems very convoluted. Until someone shows me a simple a gesture as holding out my phone with my thumb on the fingerprint sensor, I don't have any want for a replacement for my 8.

Same. I far prefer the fingerprint sensor to Face ID.

Watch is really really nice.

One big problem with the fingerprint sensor: It's thrown off by even a minor amount of moisture.

Or dryness. During winter I can't get fingerprint sensors to work on my fingers :(

I still have an iPhone 7 so I am in the same boat as you, but don't you just double tap the power button for Apple Pay on FaceID devices? That's the same way you do it with TouchID, except you are using a different button.

I just know that when I place my phone next to the payment sensor, the phone switches to "pay mode". So if my thumb is there, the action is just put phone next to sensor, put thumb on fingerprint, in one fluid motion. For my wife there's this, place phone next to sensor, lift phone up to look at it, then put it back down. Often times lifting it up causes the payment system to timeout.

Perhaps there's a smoother motion, double clicking, then face-id then press. To me, the finger print sensor just means I'm tapping my phone on the sensor.

> one of them make me WANT that device

You could have said the same about your iPhone 7. What features of the 7 made you WANT to switch compared to earlier models?

Well, I actually needed it. I jumped into a pool with my 6S in my pocket. Other than that, you make a fair point.

> I used to want the new product they announced as soon as they showed it off.

Maybe you’ve grown up some since then? New phones are fun gadgets, but in the end, it’s just a phone.

It's also because the smartphone became mature. Many of the earlier iPhones had gigantic deltas: 3G, Retina + front-facing camera, Touch ID/secure enclave, > 4 inch display.

Now (or at least for now) the changes have become more iterative. The delta between several generations are still nice, but between individual generations are less enticing to immediately upgrade.

In the end this is not bad. Upgrading a still perfectly working product every 1 or 2 years is quite insane and taxing for the environment. A lot of credit should go to Apple for maintaining iOS support for old iPhones. This makes it possible for people to keep their phones longer or hand them down. Or for people with lower incomes to buy older generations and still get upgrades.

Of course, slower upgrade cycles are bad for manufacturers. So it's smart of Apple to increase revenue through services (Apple Music, Arcade, Apple TV+, iCloud Storage), rather than forcing their customers to upgrade perfectly-fine devices.

The problem is that the improvement of the first iPhone compared to what came before was like 1/x where x is a very small, close to zero number, while the subsequent releases are like 8/7 or 6/5. And to top it off they cost over $1k, which makes it a hard sell for me.

A few that I was hoping for:

- a larger screen option. 6.5 isn’t enough

- a mini pencil to use on that larger screen

- some type of integrated headset or device to use the new iPhone as a VR/AR headset

- Better battery life. I know they announced this, but the batteries need to be 10-100x better. I can’t use my phone all day without it dying. I should be able to use it for a week without dying

Thought of a few more that would have been good:

- a flip phone option, something really innovative (not a joke)

- a much smaller version of the iPhone. Like an iPhone nano

- a gaming version of the iPhone that had a gpu and could run steam

I know some of these sound like science fiction, but that’s kind of the point for Apple events. The iPod, iPhone, and iPad were all next level. What have we gotten from Apple in the last 5 years? Headphones? A notification machine for your wrist?

An iPhone with removable handlebars that can transform into a PSP (with paddles, buttons and joysticks) and play games of similar quality to the Switch. The handlebars should be wireless so I can play games with my friends. I should be able to use Apple TV or screen mirror to transfer the games to the TV or to a projector or wireless to any display really.

My friends with regular iPhones should be able to stream the games I’m playing if I give them permission, and if we’re in the same room we should be able to play party games easily with less resource intensive (ie score displays or trivia questions or whatever) able to be displayed on their devices. Or they should be able to use their iPhones as 3rd or 4th or ... Nth touch screen virtual controllers for multiplayer.

Because it’s a phone, it has a touchscreen for super fast data entry of my online accounts or whatever, 4G and awesome cameras, gyro and accelerometer as well.

Now you have my attention.

> a much smaller version of the iPhone. Like an iPhone nano

It exists, it’s called the Apple Watch cellular edition.

> Better battery life.

That is the only thing I want; sure there are good feature phones (I never use my iPhone for normal cellular calling) that have long battery life, but I want a high spec smart phone with at least 1 whole day (let’s say 24 hrs; when travelling, and that is often, I usually spend whole days working only on my phone; browsing, dictating, writing and doing conference calls; it is just empty after half a day like that) while using it the entire day. I do not need it to be so thin; I need it to last all day while using it with screen and 4g on.

I even tried out Oukitel monster phones; the k10000 first version actually made this but was bad otherwise (way too heavy, any kind of drop would shatter the screen; not very good specs besides the battery) while the next version did not make it (really cannot understand why).

So with my 7 plus I now carry an external battery and am contemplating the Chinese approach to battery life; carry 2 phones instead. I really wish they could fix this.

The watch helps when not travelling; it allows me to leave my phone off for long stretches but it it not an ideal solution.

> iPhone nano

I did not try the latest watches but do they not have a SIM and basically are a tiny iPhone?

iPhones at this stage feel like cameras first and the rest is standard. I’m also on a 7 Plus. This iteration feels far enough ahead of mine to be worth considering.

The only other update I want is more battery life. They’re thin enough; make them a third thicker with all of that used for battery. Or just thicker so the new camera is flush against the back casing.

> Or just thicker so the new camera is flush against the back casing.

SERIOUSLY! Why does the <1mm thinner matter so much to them to have the fugly camera bump instead? That space surely could be used by a slightly bigger battery if nothing else.

I think they designed it to be used with a case. It feels badly designed without one because it can’t even lie flat on a table without wobbling, but with a case everything is flush.

In the same situation, my launch model 7 Plus still reports 92% battery health and has generally been a good device. The XR didn't interest me, but the 11 has my attention a little more.

Most of the things you listed are evolutionary improvements rather than revolutionary improvements. None of them are radical bold new concepts.

I can't believe we don't have higher refresh rates on iPhones yet. Apple got user experience with touch screens better then anyone else when the iPhone originally launched. Apple brought it to iPad, i'd like to see it in iPhone.

It's absurd Apple is selling "Pro" phones without refresh rates over 60. What year is it? 2016? A whole bunch of phone manufacturers are making 90+ hz screens.

Is it? This is literally the first time in my life I’ve ever heard someone say they wanted a higher refresh rate on their phone.

Honestly, I would have never actually noticed if someone had not told me. Perhaps I'm just getting old.

It's a "nice to have" feature. The problem, I think, is that the 11 Pro still has its very high asking price and is missing a bunch of "nice to haves". Things I was hoping for:

- USB-C charging

- 5G (for futureproofing, more than anything)

- High refresh rate screen

- Refreshed/less dated looking design (that notch has aged very poorly, regardless of the tech they squeeze into it)

- Larger default storage

- No touch ID/in screen fingerprint reader

None of those missing features are deal breakers, but without all of them it makes this phone seem iterative and a difficult sell - especially since it seems likely/is rumoured that a lot of them will come next year.

They've said for a while that 5G wasn't coming to this generation. I think it's good they left it off. Apple doesn't bring in halfbaked features. They wait for the technology to be stable.

5G is far from that. It requires reworked battery technology, antenna systems, and we don't even have a complete picture of the effects on our health. The phones that have 5G currently have terrible battery life and are hundreds of dollars more expensive than their non-5G counterparts. All for the 20 or so cities that have it.

Once the technology is actually ready for primetime, Apple will include it. And it will work way better than anything you're seeing right now.

This is for HMD / VR right?

They're saving that for next year :^)

They're saving everything for next year. But I hate playing this waiting game...

Would 90hz use more battery? When they talked about the always-on watch screen, I think one of the things they said was it slowed down its refresh rate to 1 hz. I don't know anything about if that saves power, but maybe?

I've been hoping for something like this for a long while now:

https://ibb.co/yF5FSbp

Is there any use case where WiFi + Bluetooth hotspot makes more sense than enabling each separately. Bluetooth is a huge battery drain. To avoid this as it is now, I have to select Wifi + Bluetooh, wait for my device to connect via WiFi then go back to settings and disable bluetooth. If I forgot to do so, my battery is gone in a few hours.

With battery life being such a priority, I'm genuinely puzzled as to why this hasn't already been implemented.

In the general population, enabling bluetooth is not a battery drain. Quite the contrary; having it turned off tends to result in worse battery life.

If you are reliably experiencing something you can clearly pin on Bluetooth, you either have very unusual usage patterns, or are experiencing a severe bug.

> In the general population, enabling bluetooth is not a battery drain. Quite the contrary; having it turned off tends to result in worse battery life.

Having bluetooth turned off results in _worse_ battery life? How so?

Disabled Bluetooth in certain decision trees leads to spinning up more expensive radios, when passive Bluetooth would have worked effectively, for less power.

Can you give a concrete example? This seems counter to my personal experience.

I'm genuinely curious how WiFi + Bluetooth enabled could consume less power than WiFi alone?

The only time I use Bluetooth is for AirDrop. And that requires turning personal hotspot off.

I'm still on my iPhone 6, and I am not going to get the 11 either, in fact I have been dabbling with LineageOS on a Xiaomi Pocophone F1 as a second travel phone.

What would make me "upgrade" (not sure if I can really call that an upgrade in the absence of a headphone port).

Must-haves:

1. USB-C

2. 5G support using a single-chip like the Qualcomm Snapdragon X55 baseband chipset (not a separate 4g and 5G chip as with the X50)

3. No more stupid notch

Nice to have:

4. Some sort of anti-slip ridges or grip milled into the casework

5. Getting TouchID back

6. No more stupid lens bump

Anti slip would be amazing. Without a case my iPhone X slips on every surface, including my hands.

The notch isn't so bad, I'll fullscreen videos and don't even notice it.

I solved the too-slippery case on my Windows Phone by putting some clear skateboard tape on the back edges.

I should do this on my XR...

Sounds like a good way to sand a hole in your pants.

You would think so. :) But I wore slacks back then not jeans (office dress code) so there wasn't a lot of pressure on your pocket lining.

I was hoping their "One more thing" would be tracking tags with precise positioning and an AR viewer to see exactly where something is placed in the world.

It should still be coming soon as code was found for it in the OS. It will display a red, IT (horror movie) style, floating red balloon where your lost item is.

Me, too.

They might announce this later — I think that tracking AR tags will end up being huge.

Its 2019 and Apple is still milking their largest subset of buyers on the Lightning tax. In my opinion Apple has some fantastic engineering still happening but the blatant disregard of USB-C shows the true motives. While I understand there are likely challenges with switching the iPhone Pro doesn't fit, at all, with the connectivity solutions in the MacBook Pro or iPad Pro line. Its really unfortunate a lot of what Apple showed today are derivatives of things Android manufacturers have been doing for years. Then again there's nothing to be upset about, the majority of this was public for quite a while.

Keep in mind USB-C came to Android on the Nexus line in October of 2015.

The thing is a lot of Apple product owners have a lot of Lightning cables and chargers already. For them, they're not paying any sort of tax. Changing to USB-C would be a tax for these people as they'd have to buy all new cables.

Yes, in a tech forum the majority of us have many USB-C devices. But I personally don't have that critical mass of USB-C devices compared with Lightning or microUSB.

I'd buy this if Apple didn't start doing USB-C on their computers 3-4 years ago, If USB-C isn't where you want to go as Apple, fine, but be consistent across the product lines.

You can't power a laptop from a Lightning cable. Lightning came out 7 years ago to replace the 30-pin connector.

It makes sense for the laptops to replace their proprietary power ports with USB-C but they'd need a time machine to be consistent across product lines and not screw somebody over.

Lightning tax? Have you tried finding charging options for USB-C after forgetting yours in an airport yet?

Every device I've bought in the last couple of years has USB-C. Most devices powered externally today, in the tech field have gone to USB-C. I'm not sure what airports you traverse but I've yet to be in an airport in the last two years that doesn't sell some sort of USB-C charger. That and since most all of my devices charge via that method that's what I mainly carry.

What I mean by Lightning tax is the literal Lightning tax. Lightning is a proprietary connector that needs to be licensed by Apple and of which Apple makes revenue from. [0] So by Apple keeping it around on their flagship device Apple continues to profit from accessories continuing to be made.

I'm curious why you think it's great for Apple buyers that tote MacBook Pro, iPad Pro and iPhone to need two types of cable for charging and connectivity?

Remember FireWire? It was great for it's time but saw it's day well before Apple finally dropped it. Lightning has seen it's fate. A flagship phone, with the price Apple commands, should have a current generation port.

[0] https://mfi.apple.com/MFiWeb/getFAQ.action

I’ve had phones with microUSB, USB-C and Lightning within the past 5 years. Oddly enough I still have a few things which take a microUSB cable including a book light.

At the end of the day, having different cables is a slight inconvenience but not terrible. I know with both USB-C and Lightning I’m tired of cleaning the connectors. I’m not going to say I want them to go away, but Qi charging ftw! Renders this entire debate almost entirely moot, and lint isn’t an issue.

Replacing one annoying connector with another isn’t an upgrade, it’s a lateral move at best, and a downgrade for people with iPhones today that are well invested in Lightning peripherals.

USB-C is on its best day, equal to Lightning for the purposes of shifting electrons, and is in some ways worse because the design of the connector is more fragile on the female end, I.e. the phone, rather than the more easily replaced cable. The day Apple switches over to USB-C is the day the connector is meaningless. It will probably happen, but today is not that day.

> USB-C is on its best day, equal to Lightning for the purposes of shifting electrons

I haven't seen exact specs for a Lightning cable but I've seen it suggested that it tops out at 12W.

In theory USB-C can shift 100W (20V * 5A) so, again in theory, it would allow much fast charging if the phone could support that.

For me, the must haves are:

1. Headphone jack. Absolute MUST for any sort of music recording (lag, quality) and long distance running (battery life).

2. TouchID. My wife has FaceId and I hate it so much.

Everything else I can live with or without.

I’m still on my 6s+ for those reasons, and it’s sad. Nobody would NOT buy the latest iPhone if it had those things. But a non-zero population doesn’t buy it bc it lacks them. Just silly.

iPhone 5 SE. Headphone jack: Check. TouchID: Check. No FaceID: Check. Actually fits in my hand and I can reach any part of the screen with my thumb: Check.

I guess it's not a "fast" smartphone anymore but... it's definitely Fast Enough.

Same phone here, for the same reasons. It still does everything I want, as quickly as I want. It’s actually a little mind boggling to me that they have nearly doubled the version number without adding anything at all that I find compelling.

This is exactly the case for me too, I love my 6S+. My only problem is that the battery is starting to die. Now I would just replace the battery and stick with it but some years ago I dropped the phone and the screen shattered.

You can't see the cracks in normal head on operation and there are no usage issues but I think it would mean that I'd have to have the screen replaced to replace the battery. At some point this is not economically good sense.

I can easily afford an new iPhone every year but I want a headphone socket for use with Rosetta Stone. When I use my headphones wirelessly with it it switches to a headset profile (with an annoying beep) and the sound quality drop to that of a headset before it switch back to audio profile (with another annoying beep).

Apple's solutions things like audio in the new iPhones seems half baked. Using a 3.5mm headphone lead with the same Bose QC35s everything works perfectly with clear sound at all times.

Also FaceId won't work when sitting in the charging cubbyhole of my car, TouchId does.

A new screen is about $200 and a battery about $70 or so. It’s not even about 25% of a new iPhone, and it gives you many more years of use.

In the UK a new screen is £166[1]. A new battery is £49[2] a new iphone 8 (without trade in) is £479 which is somewhat closer to 45%.

That’s not a clear cut win to me.

[1] https://support.apple.com/en-gb/iphone/repair/service/screen...

[2] https://support.apple.com/en-gb/iphone/repair/service/batter...

> I'm still on my iPhone 6, and I am not going to get the 11 either

The cost of going from a 6 year upgrade cycle to a 5 year upgrade cycle is something like 12 cents per day. Even if you're not entirely happy with the current phones, at some point waiting to upgrade is a net negative if you actually cost it out and compare it rationally to your utility curve.

> USB-C

Careful what you whish for. I can totally understand the desire for uniform and interchangable power adaptors and ports, but USB-C on my S8 wore off within half a year, to the point that to "take" and speed-load, I had to ram it into the plug several times in succession, greatly contributing to wear.

Check if there was lint in the receiving area. This will cause chargers not to take.

I did, and had it even blown out, to no avail.

I actually don't want an edge-to-edge screen or FaceID, though, and 5S is already a bit bigger than I'd like. So no, it's not a clear upgrade. I'd probably grin and bear it, but it does feel like people don't sell phone's I'd actually like anymore.

By all accounts the phones are amazing and the new video shooting modes are a big step forward. That said after going back to the iPhone se recently I realise that it's the sweet spot phone for me. It does everything I want my phone to do and doesn't feel bloated by loads of amazing tech I'll never use once the novelty wears off.

The thing I was 100% hoping for but did not expect at all was a new haptic feedback engine. I think the next big thing Apple could improve would be localized feedback. I want to be able to feel a button when I drag a finger across the screen, for example.

There were zero rumors of this, it was just wishful thinking, but man if I didn't dream...

I'm also still waiting for this: https://www.technologyreview.com/s/421191/a-touch-screen-wit...

That’d be really cool to have, especially on a haptic keyboard! Unfortunately Apple seems averse to the idea of haptic feedback on a keyboard.

On a similar note, I’ve been disappointed in the removal of 3D Touch. I understand that it adds complexity to the display layer, but replacing 3D Touch with long-presses doesn’t really cut it for me

3D Touch was a horrible interface mechanism.

Perhaps it was horrible, but it allowed me to jump directly into specific features of an app. With only a bit of practice. Now you need to wait for the long press or first start the app and something. Sending a message or mail to favourites now became slower.

> enabling an unprecedented leap in battery life to easily get through the day

Sic.. they don’t even really try to sell a longer battery life, they just are content of getting through the day

I have got a 7.

I don't want the screen going to the edge. I want the fingerprint thing, not FaceID.

The rest are nice I guess, but those two things are the sticking points.

Biggest asks for me are putting back touch ID (ideally under screen but on back is fine too), headphone jack, removing the notch, installing custom APKs. They have the means to do all of these things, but don't for ideological reasons that only they seem to hold.

>I don't need to upgrade for any of these things, which is probably a good thing in terms of e-waste, but it is still definitely a clear upgrade from my current phone.

I don't think anyone doubts the "clear upgrade" part. It's the "need" part we're talking about, here.

A lot of that is just technological maturity, I think. When smartphones first arrived, there were many, many, obvious upgrades that would make the experience better for the user of the device.

This is the golden age of any technology; the lack of something great, and seeing it approach from the horizon, then repeating with the next thing.

Smartphones definitely seem to be converging on a form factor and a feature set. This is what happened to "feature" phones that we all had just before the smartphone became available. Do you remember any features you were dying to have in your next flip-phone? I don't. They had matured.

What will happen after smartphones? It's anyone's guess, and I'd say that whoever is going to invent that new device already has the idea and is trying to get it developed.

Besides just incremental changes, what could people possibly expect from the next version of a smartphone, especially with the technology that we currently have?

I get that 5-10 years ago it was a totally different field, when technology wasn't matured, and everything they announced was something groundbreaking.

But now, besides from the yearly camera and chip improvements, I honestly can't think of anything I would want in a smartphone.

When feature phones were mature, people said the exact same thing.

"This has everything I want."

That is when market opportunities appear in front of those with good ideas.

Correct, and if you understand that, that's fine. I'm also waiting for the next thing after smartphones, but until then, I'm not really expecting anything other that incremental updates.

And there is nothing wrong with that expectation at all.

Who knows when the next thing is coming? No one; so plan as if it isn't.

For me, it would be the phone replacing my laptop and tablet with docking stations or foldable screens and adaptative OS (like Samsung Dex). Phones are powerful enough to do that. I also imagined a portable docking station with just a screen, maybe some battery and something to attach your phone to transform into a tablet.

The main reason is that I don't like managing different devices, installing different apps, using different OS, I just want to customize my working environment once.

That or having a single OS that works on different devices and synchronizes cleverly every settings, installed apps configuration in the cloud and adapt them to the device.

It’s something I’ve been wanting too. I use a desktop for serious work, tablet for casual browsing and game, and then a smartphone for when I’m on the go and messaging.

I would love if I could just have one device, and different adaptors for different situation. Although I’m not sure if current smartphones are powerful enough for pro-desktop users.

Obviously the OS would have to adapt as well, and not just the smartphone OS scaled up.

Since you're on an iPhone 7: The jump to FaceID and home-buttonless UI is actually probably bigger than you think. The jump from 7 to X/XR/11 is going to be much bigger than, say, 7 to 8.

By removing the home button, Apple turned iPhone into a device completely controlled by gestures. It's arguably the biggest UX change since the first iPhone, and one that was surprisingly unreported at the time. It makes the phone feel more cohesive, and the initial impression, once you learn the app switching gestures, is vaguely futuristic. FaceID works great, too, and certainly feels futuristic, though on its own it's not really a game changer. It's the integration into the buttonless UX that makes it a worthwhile feature.

(I actually wish there was also a fingerprint sensor, because the FaceID doesn't work well for contactless terminal such as the ones you find in stores -- you have to first hold the phone near the reader, then pick a card, then hold the phone at the right angle for it to recognize your face, then bring it back to the reader. Not ideal, though someone claimed the new phones would do FaceID at steeper angles, so maybe it's gotten better.)

I use my iPhone X regularly at contactless terminals at stores and on the bus. The trick is to double click the lock button first, select a card if you want, then hold it by the reader.

I don’t have any problems with FaceID — it’s more reliable and easier than TouchID for me. I live in a rainy place, though. Obviously a YMMV situation.

With TouchID do you just put your finger on the home button and hold it by the reader?

Interesting, I thought I'd tried that before and it didn't work because it wasn't near a reader. I'll try again, thanks!

I'd argue that it's still a slightly more complicated interaction than with TouchID, though, requiring a bit more mental preparation, perhaps.

As for TouchID: Yes, that's how it works. It's a more fluid action because typically you'll have added your thumb as the fingerprint, and it's easy to hold the phone with your thumb on the home button while holding it near the reader.

I have also been doing it this way, until someone told me that you can show your face to phone first and then put it next to the reader. Try it next time, I hope it will save you some seconds.

I wholeheartedly agree. Their problem is in multiple areas: product, design, and presentation.

First and most noticeably they no long have a "master of ceremony" someone that is not only excited by the products but also enthusiastic to show them off to you. This is exemplified with no more "One More thing..."

Second, their designs are old and tired. I don't know if Ive ran out of Braun/Rams designs to borrow from or if the execs fear any major design changes, but Apple has become too comfortable with their design language and unfortunately they are starting to show a lack of taste (looking at you over-sized camera bump)

Third, the products have matured. Apple hasn't really done anything new or exciting with their lineup. Gone are the days you expected to see a new product that is lifestyle changing. Now days you might see a spec bump, or a change in product to make it thinner, but nothing that really stands out as "Wow I've gotta have that". The thing I remember most from the last two announcements were features targeting "influencers" - Animoji's and "Slofies".

Finally, I don't feel apple understands the waning in their product appeal. Be it on price or function, I see a lot less Apple products at coffee shops and colleges these days.

This never happened to you with the past few presentations? I basically haven't seen a new feature I genuinely need since the iPhone 6 (or whatever Mac/iPad was announced since then, for that matter).

Smartphones are pretty much done. The one thing I'd upgrade for is apparently not possible with current technology: A display that works perfectly in sunlight, being illuminated by it instead of trying to compete with it. Other than that? I can't even think of something!

I would give my left arm for an e-ink phone that had Google Assistant or Siri for navigation, and worked with Android Auto / Carplay, an awesome email client, some chat apps, and a good keyboard.

It'd be much easier to use my phone for what I want to use my phone for -- productivity and being connected (and occasionally looking things up online). Instead, my phone successfully hypnotizes me with it's bright colors and videos. More and more, I find myself using my phone not because I actually want to, but because it sneak attacked me with some notification that sucked me into doing something that's just wasting my time.

Also, with e-ink, the battery should last at least a couple of days. And, to your point, you could use it under any lighting conditions -- at least I can with my Kindle Paperwhite.

iPhone 6s user here. Why would I ever change phone? It still works perfectly well.

They need some fresh blood in the C ranks. The presenters themselves don't look like they themselves are actually excited about things they are presenting.

I suspect their strategy of rolling out a different speaker every 10 sentences might be an attempt at scouting for execs who can excite an audience. To whatever degree Apple is exciting anymore, that is.

It doesn't help that they have clearly filled the audience with Apple employees who were instructed to whoop and holler and when to do it. I understand the motivations for doing so. A product announcement like this would otherwise be attended by a majority surly journalists, too busy taking notes to exhibit much excitement. But at this point, the whooping and hollering come across as extremely fake--too much so for a company like Apple, in my opinion. I think I'd rather the employees just clap. At least during WWDC there are genuine fans in the audience.

I don't know whether the applause is some kind of fake/contrived strategy. Maybe it is. But I am sure the launch is an exciting day for everyone at Apple. The employees in the audience have spent the past year(s) working on this stuff, and are finally getting to see the result. They're seeing their work in the spotlight, surrounded by the press. Wouldn't you feel special and give a hoot when your little contribution gets a shout out?

I'm always wondering what people expect from those "Apple Keynote". Is anyone actually watching Keynotes from other companies? Samsung, LG, Volkswagen or any large companies in the world? No, they don't because it is boring and made with medias as target audience.

I never understood the need for so many people to tune into those Apple live keynotes. It is of course all marketing and slideware.

Hasn’t every iPhone just been a speeds and camera improvement over the previous? With a few random things like TouchId, FaceId, and 3D Touch... but most of what matters is speed and camera.

   I feel like it's the end of a very long era.

Maybe that era is one where we could expect major, groundbreaking changes every few years in hardware?

I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad thing that today’s hardware is not changing as fast as it was 10 years ago (or even 5 years ago).

Looking at the quality and size of devices now, I can’t imagine much will be different in 15 years until we get to a major re-invention of things; I.e. holographic devices or implanted smartphones, things that you dream about. The screen quality is just so great already that I can’t imagine it being 1000x better - like you might compare an iPhone to a mid-90s gameboy screen or early Nokia candy-bar phone displays & UI.

What can we possibly expect from new devices besides more storage, slightly more pixels, and slightly more powerful processing?

I sort of feel like this, but chalk it up to me getting old and curmudgeonly. You kids with your fancy three cameras and gamey movie thingy, get off my lawn. Back in my day we had a phone with a browser and email and Netflix and were happy about it.

I browsed the responses to the parent comment looking to see if anyone had presented this angle.

The first iPhone at "everyone had"[1] came out a little over 11 years ago.

I'd hazard a guess most people who were in their ~mid 20's back in 2008 is now in their ~mid 30's, and have probably lost a lot interest in "new and shiny thing".

I'm swiftly approaching 40, and what gets me excited has changed dramatically in the past decade.

We'll see how long the line up is on release day, that'll give as an indicator of how out of touch us old folk are.

1. iPhone 3G available in 22 countries for as compared the original iPhone available in only 7 countries, according to the Wikipedia articles for each

Woo Dual-Sim!

Now I can have my other number without worrying about green bubbles. Instant clout. I'll pay for that: the device and additional number monthly.

Goodbye Google Voice/Skype numbers! Well I'll keep gvoice for a third number for shenanigans, like craigslist replies

You are probably an outlier in the smart phone or smart watch business

Welcome to the club!

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