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So last September 12 at the Steve Jobs Theater, we finally witnessed Apple unveil their new iPhone lineup for 2018, namely the iPhone Xs, Xs Max, and XR, and so far these phones have raised a lot of discussion and debates all over the internet as to what’s in store for the iPhone brand and Apple’s hardware designs for the future. Apple has clearly developed these phones using last year’s iPhone X as the template, ushering in a new age of iOS-powered smartphones.
Fancy unveilings and newsworthy press releases aside, we have to ask: where do all these advancements leave the iPhone? Here are some short notes as to what we gathered from the September 12 Apple event.
Apple is now dropping its “Plus” Branding
While this may be a very minor point it does seem interesting to me at least, as Apple has stuck with the “plus” branding for three generations of devices starting with the iPhone 6 plus. This became Apple’s signature brand for its larger 5.5-inch smartphones, and it wore that with pride.
The iPhone 6 Plus model
For this year, however, they have gone with the “Max” branding for the larger iPhone Xs. Could this be a move to distinguish the iPhone further from Samsung’s “plus” brand of larger phones? We’ll just have to wait and see if they ever bring back the plus brand for future larger iPhones.
iPhones Continue to Get More Expensive
Now to be fair iPhones have always been relatively expensive, but with the launch of the iPhone X last year they started to hit the thousand dollar price point. With the Xs and Xs Max Apple has given us starting prices of $999 and $1099, respectively. With that said, however, you still have the iPhone XR, which comes in at a slightly lower starting price of around $749. But as far as price goes we can only expect next year’s models to continue to become more expensive.
Apple is committed to the Full-Screen Experience
With the launch of the iPhone X last year, and the three newer models this year it looks like Apple is determined to go full screen for good. It was clear early on from the leaks that the Xs, Xs Max, and XR would all come without any front bezels and the iconic home button, which has been a design staple for past iPhones.
The iPhone X model
So far the near-borderless display and notch set up have been the new face of the iPhone brand, and Apple is set to make this the standard for their phones from now on, which brings us to the next item on this list.
No more small iPhones
It seems like the iPhone SE is the last we’ll ever see of Apple’s smaller smartphones, now that all new iPhone models feature full-screen designs. Originally released in 2016, the iPhone SE combined a compact phone size with powerful internals which at the time, was becoming more and rarer among smartphones. It retained the small size and design of the iPhone 5s, all the while offering the same internal specs as that of the iPhone 6s.
I for one can’t help but wish that they’d still release a new smaller iPhone somewhere along the way, as I’m sure that a lot of Apple fans still miss the smaller phones. Speaking of things that we miss, let’s head on the last point of discussion.
Goodbye Touch ID, and farewell Headphone Jack
Personally, I prefer my phones to be able to accommodate my wired headphones and to offer fingerprint security features. Unfortunately, it looks like Apple has decided to permanently part ways with the Touch ID sensor and headphone jack. This may not be a big deal for some, but personally, I would have preferred that they retained these features one way or another. It’s no secret that a lot of smartphone and tech enthusiasts still find great use for the 3.5mm headphone jack, and a significant number still use fingerprint biometrics for their phone security. However, the new iPhones do feature Apple’s improved Face ID security lock, if you prefer that sort of thing.
The Bottom Line
So this pretty much sums it up for this short list of things to take note of, now that Apple has launched its new phones. To be fair, Apple has brought in the new A12 bionic chip into the equation, which will bring improved performance for the new iPhones, with iOS 12 to boot.
They’ve also come up with camera upgrades and battery and storage improvements. So it’s not like the new iPhones are something to simply shrug at. We’d love to hear your thoughts on the new iPhones, so feel free to sound off in the comments section below.
As much as I like my current iPhone, I’ll probably end up switching to an android eventually, because I like having the touch ID and headphone jack. I also agree that they should release a smaller version of the phone, because not everyone cares about having such a large screen.
Thanks for dropping by, Nate!
Yeah, it is a shame that the SE is the last small iphone we’ll see. It would be great though if Apple somehow surprises us. I too for one would like a newer spec’d small phone.
These are some very genuine factors which you have mentioned. Removing of touch id and headphone jack are some of the most criticized steps taken by apple and the continuously increasing pricing are some factors due to which many people are shifting to android brands such as samsung and oneplus. But according to me ios is best suited for people who use their phone mainly for making calls, texting and pics, it was never for someone who plays games and want customization and all, for this according to me nothing is better then an android phone. So now people who are using iphone are mainly businessmen, office people etc and for them these upgrades like the screen to body ratio, no more small phones etc are useful. So it just matters which os would you prefer – ios or android, which you are the most comfortable to use.
Greetings, Hari. Thanks for dropping by.
You make some good points there. Some would also say that iPhones are for the somewhat less-tech savvy user/none power-user, as you pointed out. To be honest I also like the iPhone, especially with the design language they introduced with the 6 up to the 8. Personally, I feel as if Apple could have done more to improve what they have with the Xs, Max, and XR. But I am sure that these changes will be fine for some, depending on personal preference.
Hey i really enjoyed your article, it was very informative. I used to always hate iphones and i never wanted one because i always had samsung. but recently i made the switch to try it out and i got the new iphone Xs and i do enjoy it. there are still some features i dont like about the iphone but i am getting used to it now and i really like the resolution on this phone. They should of added more features to the Xs so it was not just like the X.
Glad you enjoyed the article, Justin!
I have the same experience – After using Android for many years, I finally tried out the iOS experience after using my wife’s iPhone. Both Android and iOS have their own pros and cons, but to be honest I love both operating systems.
As for the Xs, I agree with you. it certainly is great as far as iPhones go, but I’m certain there could have been room for more improvements and features that would make it stand out from its predecessor.