“Should I get the new iPhone?”

2.0

Some thoughts on the upcoming new iPhone. Plus, I share my home screen.

🌟 Feature

This upcoming Tuesday, September 12, Apple will host it’s annual iPhone event. They’ll likely show off four new iPhones, two regular sized, two mega big. Two for normies, two for ✨Pros✨.

It used to be that the iPhone’s hardware updates came on what many in the tech journo industry refer to as a “tick, tock.” You’d get a big update one year, as in the change from the iPhone 5s to the iPhone 6, and then a smaller change, as in the change from the iPhone 6 to the iPhone 6s. There’s a bunch of reasons for this, which I won’t get into now. But it seems like these days all we get is “tick, tick, tick…”

The last few iPhones have been negligibly different from their predecessor. A bigger camera sensor here, satellite connectivity there, camera bumps growing into camera mountains, etc. In the early to mid 2010s, the supply chain of handheld smartphone hardware and microprocessors exploded, allowing for dramatic changes in the things people actually notice about their phones: bigger screens, faster software, better cameras, improved (sometimes) battery life, new and interesting ways to charge. These are infrastructural changes that completely overhauled the smartphone industry and cultural expectations about handheld devices. And for the most part, what this maturation of the industry hath wrought is a series of black rectangles. Google rectangles, Apple rectangles, Samsung rectangles. On a hardware level, these devices are basically interchangeable.

What will be different about the iPhone 15, specifically from the iPhone 14? Most notably, the phones will likely drop the decade old Lightning port for the more universally used USB-C port. The base 15 model will be essentially an iPhone 14 Pro. The 15 Pro models will likely be made from titanium chassis, not stainless steel. The larger of the Pro models, the Pro Max, is rumored to have a periscope lens which could offer improved optical zoom on the cameras. The Pro models also might get a new button. Barring any differences in the nomenclature, these seem to be the big things.

That is not very much. But after all, Apple and the carriers in the US do not expect people to upgrade on yearly cycles. Apple has payment plans in 24 month terms, the major characters have contracts from 24-36 months. And after all, I’ll be upgrading from the iPhone I bought in 2020 to this upcoming release.

So to answer whether or not you should upgrade your phone comes down to personal preference, obviously, but there are a few things I would advise if you’re thinking about it:

If you bought any iPhone from the iPhone 12 Pro (2020) to newer, you have an unbelievable device. It has been essentially future proofed for years now. It has 5G connectivity, it has a solid battery, it will continue to get security/software updates for a few more years. It will likely retrieve over $250 in trade-in or resale value until at least the summer of 2024.
If you have a phone older than this, I’d consider it but not because “you should always have the newest thing.” I’d consider it because older devices may start to develop security and stability vulnerabilities as software is built for newer devices. Your battery has probably already started to degrade.
If you’re worried about AI/ML functioning poorly on your handheld device, I can basically assure you that no phone that comes out in the next 3 years will have a meaningful hardware difference that effects its ability to perform AI/ML tasks. For one thing, most AI functions that consumers are carrying out are taking advantage of processing power in data centers, not the chip on your phone.

While I will sit and watch Apple’s iPhone event with fanboy-like amazement at whatever dregs they decide to pull up for me, I do not expect anyone to be particularly impressed with what Apple has to show on Tuesday. We’ve already reached peak handheld, now we’re just bobbing on the waves.

📚 Reading list

This week I want to share this incredibly detailed 3D rendering of the city of Tenochtitlan.

The amount of research, design, and rendering that went into this is wild, and it is so cool to think about the technology that not only went into the city, but into the recreation of it.

⚡️ Lightning

I really thought I was going to refrain from talking about Elon Musk on this. But the dude totally sucks, so.
- Elon Musk’s involvement in the war in Ukraine is confounding, even to him
- The whims of one dude should not our global safety make.

📕 Glossary

Nothing for this week

📱 Home Screen

Welcome back to Home Screen. This week I put myself on the line.

This week I’m putting my home screen on the line. But honestly, I’m incredibly proud of mine, so I am not embarrassed at all.

I am the kind of person who is constantly iterating on their phone. I love changing things around, mixing up the settings, seeing how different placements of things effect my overall usage.

I was feeling a little overwhelmed with having too many icons on my home screen, so I wanted to bring it down to a bare minimum.

Maps: I do a lot of driving up here in New Haven, so having that widget easily accessible makes it easy to get the best directions to where I’m going when I hop in the car.
Calendar: The widget itself helps give me a sense of weekly timing, obviously, but if I just tap on it it’ll open my work and personal calendars, as well as Mariah’s.
Media widget: This is actually a “widget stack.” I cycle between listening to podcasts and music, and I can jump right back into whatever I’m listening to very easily there.
“Set Wifi” is a Shortcut I made that just easily toggles on and off the wifi on my phone. When you disable wifi in the “control center,” you actually aren’t turning it all the way off. This way I can do it quickly when my phone connects to my building’s awful wifi when I’m in our gym or when I’m going out to the car.
Wikipedia. The greatest thing in the world.
NYT Games. I put this here because I thought these games were more mindful than some of the other schlock on my phone.
Slack. Whatever, man. I’m a corporate shill.

My background is a blurred picture of me with Mariah on the day we got engaged.

☎️ Answers

Nothing for this week!

That’s all for this week! Thanks!