Apple's 'Liam' video sparks theories of new iPhone 6s-like model without camera bump

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Comments

  • Reply 21 of 51
    Tech-heads are easily impressed with individual features. They have this idea in their heads that the more features any device has, the better it is for users. If anyone remembers Nokia, they really had some feature-heavy high-end smartphones. The only problem is that all those features were difficult for average users to fully access. We all know what happened to Nokia in the end. I'd swear there were factions out there on the internet that deliberately try to devalue any Apple product because Apple doesn't use flashy features to try to sell their iPhones. I'm not saying there aren't Android smartphones that might have some useful features. However, there are a lot more companies building Android smartphones and at least one of those companies may have some smartphone that has a good combination of features that might be very useful. It's just that these tech-heads think that Apple should have every feature that exceeds all Android smartphones combined and that's not going to happen. Even I ask as to why the iPhone doesn't have water- and dust-proofing but I don't have that answer. I've heard Liquipel 2.0 nano-coating makes it easy but even they say you need to let the smartphone dry out before using it if it does get a thorough dunking. It's possible Apple has decided that it's better to have consumers deliberately get their smartphones wet and take good care of them like most other expensive electronic devices. Someone needs to ask Tim Cook about that and maybe they'll get an answer. Apple builds good products but I don't think the company actually tries to build the most cutting-edge products possible. I believe they build conservative products for most of the typical users who use their products. Tech-heads think this is a bad thing and they're very outspoken about it. I'm always seeing these articles about how Apple's iPhone is behind all Android smartphones and that's just stupid. Most Android smartphones being sold are low- and mid-tier smartphones and don't really come close to flagship smartphones. Yes, there may be some Android high-end flagship smartphones that are equal to iPhones, but those models are few and far between. Apple is doing a very good business selling iPhones even if Wall Street likes to claim Apple doesn't sell enough of them. I think that's crazy. iPhones are quitge expensive and their upgrade cycles are about as short as any electronic device should be. Wall Street is just greedy. Sure, Samsung sells more smartphones but we all know their business is nowhere's near as profitable as Apple's iPhone business. Apple is keeping their accounting books very well balanced and there are people out there who hate that and always have very negative things to say about the company and its products.
  • Reply 22 of 51
    eriamjheriamjh Posts: 1,730member
    Don't people realize that footage like this is staged for the videos and that the parts are not representative of anything past, present, or future?  

    There's nothing to see here.  Move along.  Move along.
  • Reply 23 of 51
    sirlance99sirlance99 Posts: 1,301member
    sog35 said:
    It all comes down to TRUST.

    Your smartphone has a ton of information on it: credit card numbers, date of birth, social security, bank routing numbers, personal pictures and videos, the location of your kids, heart rate, location services, ect.

    Do you TRUST Samsung to keep that information secure?
    Do you TRUST Google to keep that information secure?
    Do you TRUST your carrier to keep that information secure? (Verizon/AT&T bloatware/spyware is loaded on Android phones not iPhone)

    Sorry I don't.

    And anyone who does research knows this. Samsung has copied and stolen designs for years. Samsung's CEO is a two time felon and the only reason he walks free is because being pardoned by the President TWICE. Samsung has been found guilty of bribes, cheating on performance tests, and paying people to post false propoganda about other companies. Do you seriously think this company gives a crap about your privacy?  Its quite telling that Samsung refused to publicly support Apple on the FBI case.

    But since its an Android phone you need to trust Google also to keep your information safe. Can you?  Did you ever wonder why the FBI has never forced Google to unlock a phone?  Because there are backdoors designed in Android already.  Android phones are also stuffed with carrier spyware/adware.  AT&T/Sprint/Verizon have been guilty of loading spyware and super cookies on Android phones.  iPhone has ZERO carrier Aps.

    So really it comes down to trust and reputation.  Apple has proven in the FBI case that they will stand up to anyone to protect the user.  Even the most powerful government in the world. That kind of trust is earned not bought by gimmicks or marketing.
    Your information is just as secure with Google as it is with Apple. No one is going to get my credit card information from Google just as they won't from Apple. Now selling anonymized info that Google does isn't the same as someone stealing all my personal information. 
    jackansi
  • Reply 24 of 51
    foggyhillfoggyhill Posts: 4,767member
    I keep getting in discussions about how Apple has fallen behind Samsung. Samsung has waterproofing, curved displays, NFC that can be used in any store etc., etc. I have only ever used an iPhone, so I don't have the perspective others here may have who currently own a new Galaxy S7. Those I am having these discussions with always end up with, "Well, I think I'm ready to try a new Samsung, they seem to have so much more to offer than Apple. Apple is falling behind, only slight iterations from year to year. Nothing truly new and exciting" I'm not even sure how to respond anymore. Not that Apple needs defending, but can someone tell me their thoughts about how they feel about the Samsung Galaxy as opposed to an iPhone? Not looking for an argument here, just some truly good comparison information from a day to day user, since I don't use a Samsung phone. Thanks.
    The only place Samsung is ahead in something actually meaningful right now is the camera, they're not ahead in anything else.

    - Samsung has no 3D touch/Haptic
    - Samsung's has serious throttling  and heat (less with the S7 but it's still there)
    - Samsung has much less actual performance, because as Intel as demonstrated for  a long time, high single core IPC is the most important factor of device performance
    - Samsung doesn't control the OS so it performs worse
    - OLED has less long term durability
    - Apple uses a much tougher material in AL 7000
    - Apple's touch ID is still more accurate and faster
    - Apple has more battery life per phone volume than Samsung
    - Samsung's security is much lower (no secure enclave)
    - Samsung, Until recently, no real whole device encryption
    - Apple has most banks in the US, UK covered and within about a year, pure NFC payment will be everywhere as terminals are being activated.
      - In much of Europe and World, they don't use stripes at all, Samsung has no advantage there.
    - Samsung has a Bad after sales support and well, no local store to service them
    - Samsung's phone break more (worse build quality)
    - Samsung has a High devaluation of their phone after sales
    - Often you have to wait a long time for security updates, and after 2 years you don't get any
    - Samsung has a worse flash
    - Samsung is still not at shooting video than the + Iphone models
    - Samsung's camera is slower (to focus and shot to shot), because the Iphone has smaller photos and more DSP dedicated to the camera
    - Samsung has a worse ecosystem and worse integration between devices
    - Samsung has a worse internal storage speed
    - A lot less storage options, including max storage (external storage much much slower)
    - Android and Samsung's OS add ons take a hell of a lot of space

    ---- Supposed positive that's in fact a negative

    - It's not really NFC they're using so people are selling you shit, they're using the stripe and this is going OUT soon
     it also cannot be used in all store unless the bank supports Samsung PAy (used to be Looppay). On that end, Samsung's is not "ahead".
    - Curved display? There are many complaints that it distorts image on the edge, it also makes the device less robust
    - OLED display which STILL have a long term durability problem, though it's much better than before (despite the bullshit your friends are saying).
    - Actual resolution of phone, still just the resolution of Iphone 6s+ because with Pentile you lose 20% of pixels and have to tax the GPU just to get those pixels out.

    ----- Real advantages

    - Camera has a better low light performance and generally more details. It's also a much bigger camera (if you look at phone backside).
    - OLED has better blacks

    - Minor advantage

    - Waterproofing (oversold, considering many have tested Iphones in water and it survived just fine). Mostly
    - SD, considering Apple never had it, and there are many restrictions (you can't use SD for permanent adoptable storage) and it's much slower and introduces a potential breaking point.


    =================

    So, yeah, if you disregard most of what the Iphone has... I guess Samsung comes out "ahead".

    Androidites make me laugh



    patchythepirateargonaut
  • Reply 25 of 51
    plovellplovell Posts: 826member
    I keep getting in discussions about how Apple has fallen behind Samsung. Samsung has ... NFC that can be used in any store etc., etc.
    Nope. It does use NFC, so I understand, as Apple does. What you're thinking about is "LooPay" (or maybe "LoopPay") which uses magnetic coupling to emulate a swipe of a credit card. That's what allows Samsung phones to work in most stores. But it's obsolescent because it doesn't do the "chip" thing that's the new standard, and much more secure.
    pscooter63
  • Reply 26 of 51
    cnocbuicnocbui Posts: 3,613member
    I keep getting in discussions about how Apple has fallen behind Samsung. Samsung has waterproofing, curved displays, NFC that can be used in any store etc., etc. I have only ever used an iPhone, so I don't have the perspective others here may have who currently own a new Galaxy S7. Those I am having these discussions with always end up with, "Well, I think I'm ready to try a new Samsung, they seem to have so much more to offer than Apple. Apple is falling behind, only slight iterations from year to year. Nothing truly new and exciting" I'm not even sure how to respond anymore. Not that Apple needs defending, but can someone tell me their thoughts about how they feel about the Samsung Galaxy as opposed to an iPhone? Not looking for an argument here, just some truly good comparison information from a day to day user, since I don't use a Samsung phone. Thanks.
    You are bound to get completely unbiased and fair responses on this forum.

    Interesting thing about the Samsung is they appear to take customer criticisms on board and respond to them.  The S6 Edge was criticised for some perceived flaws - an uncomfortable sharp edge hand feel, camera bulge, no memory  card slot, 'percieved' insufficient battery life, non removable battery and not waterproof.

    With the S7 they fixed and addressed everything except the non-removable battery - they even had the guts to make the phone slightly thicker, thus allowing for a larger battery, eliminated the camera lens hump and gave a better hand-feel.

    I don't have either an S7 or iPhone.
  • Reply 27 of 51
    cnocbuicnocbui Posts: 3,613member
    saarek said:
    I keep getting in discussions about how Apple has fallen behind Samsung. Samsung has waterproofing, curved displays, NFC that can be used in any store etc., etc. I have only ever used an iPhone, so I don't have the perspective others here may have who currently own a new Galaxy S7. Those I am having these discussions with always end up with, "Well, I think I'm ready to try a new Samsung, they seem to have so much more to offer than Apple. Apple is falling behind, only slight iterations from year to year. Nothing truly new and exciting" I'm not even sure how to respond anymore. Not that Apple needs defending, but can someone tell me their thoughts about how they feel about the Samsung Galaxy as opposed to an iPhone? Not looking for an argument here, just some truly good comparison information from a day to day user, since I don't use a Samsung phone. Thanks.
    I think you have to balance the S7 with the fact that it was released half way into the current iPhone cycle and 6 months has enabled them to close the performance gap.

    Ultimately the Samsung (and other manufacturer) phones will have some features that iPhone's do not currently have and vice versa. The good ideas will be picked up, refined and released in subsequent iPhones.

    There are plenty of exclusive iPhone features, Touch ID for example is still the best implementation of finger print scanning on the market, no one comes close to it.
    In tests, the fingerprint response time and accuracy on the S7 are every bit as good as an S6, if not faster.  So yes, someone else does even better than come close.
  • Reply 28 of 51
    cnocbuicnocbui Posts: 3,613member
    sog35 said:
    All good reasonings from everyone, and thanks for keeping the discussion civil. I'm just really curious to hear from a person who has personally experienced both platforms and what their take is, one way or another. I suppose like everything thing else, there are pros and cons to each. Sog35 had some good points as well, but it didn't sound like he has first hand experience with Samsung for a genuine comparison. Though I'm just speculating about that. I certainly plan on sticking with my iPhone. As for those who are on the fence, I say go for it. Make the switch, get a new experience and then let us know how it went.
    I've owned an Android phone (LG) and Android tablet  in the past.

    Trust me. The difference between iOS and Android is night and day.  iOS just works.  Android breaks down and is buggy constantly.  I just can't have that.  That's like having a car that is super fast but breaks down once a month. I want something RELIABLE and JUST WORKS.  That's what you get with iPhone.
    What model of Android phone was it?  Are you maybe comparing your experience with a low-end Android phone with an Apple flagship?
    jackansi
  • Reply 29 of 51
    cnocbuicnocbui Posts: 3,613member
    sog35 said:
    I also have very little experience with Samsung products. I do however share many experiences with you of people questioning Apple's 'apparent' lack of innovation or inclusion of killer features and saying they are getting a Samsung for their next phone. Out of the 7-8 people I know who have made the switch away from apple, 5 switched back after less than 2 weeks, 2 others switched back after the month. The last kept theirs for the length of the 2 year contract only to move onto a blackberry; so they even switched.

    As for what sog35 said about the waterproofing feature, I disagree. I think it is a killer feature and people do care about it, and it is one in which apple does need to compete with. I for one would love to be recording video in the rain while playing with my son in the puddles. Having said that, as he does point out, iPhones have steadily improved in this area and the current phones aren't affected by quick moments in shallow water. The only difference is that apple doesn't advertise that their phones have some water resistance. I for one hope that we'll see even more waterproofing in future iPhones. I'm due for the 7 so here's hoping I hear something good in June!
    Problem is waterproofing isn't a zero sum game. Its a trade off.  To get heavy duty water proofing would mean adding bulk to the phones. I'm pretty sure most iPhone users are perfectly fine with the very good water resistance the iPhone already gets and would rather use the extra space for more battery room or a phone with a smaller footprint.  

    And for the 1% that actually need heavy duty water proofing, there are a ton of 3rd party cases.
    More shooting from the lip.

    The S7 Edge is 7.7mm thick - the 6S+ is 7.3mm.  Really the extra thickness is to do with a larger battery rather than sealing, and even if it was related to sealing, 0.4mm would be a very worthwhile trade-off for a lot of people
    edited March 2016
  • Reply 30 of 51
    calicali Posts: 3,494member
    Liam and Carekit had me laughing the whole time. WHY? Well one popular fandroid argument is "But Giggle is building AI robots and extending life!!" And here we have Apple actually DOING IT and not bragging about developing it sometime in the future.

    Yes I know I give these idiots too much attention but dumb/ignorant people are my pet peeve and I let them get under my skin easily.
    argonaut
  • Reply 31 of 51
    irelandireland Posts: 17,799member
    using up their batteries, dropping them in puddles...your anecdotal nieces & nephews sure know how to treat their gear. 
    Yeah, I mean using up their batteries. That's crazy talk.
    edited March 2016
  • Reply 32 of 51
    irelandireland Posts: 17,799member
    foggyhill said:
    I keep getting in discussions about how Apple has fallen behind Samsung. Samsung has waterproofing, curved displays, NFC that can be used in any store etc., etc. I have only ever used an iPhone, so I don't have the perspective others here may have who currently own a new Galaxy S7. Those I am having these discussions with always end up with, "Well, I think I'm ready to try a new Samsung, they seem to have so much more to offer than Apple. Apple is falling behind, only slight iterations from year to year. Nothing truly new and exciting" I'm not even sure how to respond anymore. Not that Apple needs defending, but can someone tell me their thoughts about how they feel about the Samsung Galaxy as opposed to an iPhone? Not looking for an argument here, just some truly good comparison information from a day to day user, since I don't use a Samsung phone. Thanks.
    The only place Samsung is ahead in something actually meaningful right now is the camera, they're not ahead in anything else.

    - Samsung has no 3D touch/Haptic
    - Samsung's has serious throttling  and heat (less with the S7 but it's still there)
    - Samsung has much less actual performance, because as Intel as demonstrated for  a long time, high single core IPC is the most important factor of device performance
    - Samsung doesn't control the OS so it performs worse
    - OLED has less long term durability
    - Apple uses a much tougher material in AL 7000
    - Apple's touch ID is still more accurate and faster
    - Apple has more battery life per phone volume than Samsung
    - Samsung's security is much lower (no secure enclave)
    - Samsung, Until recently, no real whole device encryption
    - Apple has most banks in the US, UK covered and within about a year, pure NFC payment will be everywhere as terminals are being activated.
      - In much of Europe and World, they don't use stripes at all, Samsung has no advantage there.
    - Samsung has a Bad after sales support and well, no local store to service them
    - Samsung's phone break more (worse build quality)
    - Samsung has a High devaluation of their phone after sales
    - Often you have to wait a long time for security updates, and after 2 years you don't get any
    - Samsung has a worse flash
    - Samsung is still not at shooting video than the + Iphone models
    - Samsung's camera is slower (to focus and shot to shot), because the Iphone has smaller photos and more DSP dedicated to the camera
    - Samsung has a worse ecosystem and worse integration between devices
    - Samsung has a worse internal storage speed
    - A lot less storage options, including max storage (external storage much much slower)
    - Android and Samsung's OS add ons take a hell of a lot of space

    ---- Supposed positive that's in fact a negative

    - It's not really NFC they're using so people are selling you shit, they're using the stripe and this is going OUT soon
     it also cannot be used in all store unless the bank supports Samsung PAy (used to be Looppay). On that end, Samsung's is not "ahead".
    - Curved display? There are many complaints that it distorts image on the edge, it also makes the device less robust
    - OLED display which STILL have a long term durability problem, though it's much better than before (despite the bullshit your friends are saying).
    - Actual resolution of phone, still just the resolution of Iphone 6s+ because with Pentile you lose 20% of pixels and have to tax the GPU just to get those pixels out.

    ----- Real advantages

    - Camera has a better low light performance and generally more details. It's also a much bigger camera (if you look at phone backside).
    - OLED has better blacks

    - Minor advantage

    - Waterproofing (oversold, considering many have tested Iphones in water and it survived just fine). Mostly
    - SD, considering Apple never had it, and there are many restrictions (you can't use SD for permanent adoptable storage) and it's much slower and introduces a potential breaking point.


    =================

    So, yeah, if you disregard most of what the Iphone has... I guess Samsung comes out "ahead".

    Androidites make me laugh



    Let them believe what they want an save your energy.
  • Reply 33 of 51
    Previous Iphone 3, 4s user. Switched to s4 since you could switch battery and add memory to phone. Like most forgot to charge phone, and always would die at the most inconvenient times. Paying 100 per upgrade on memory for iphone compared to 20 for full upgrade via sd card, hands down made me switch. Android is hands down more user friendly. I didn't need to watch youtube vids on how to use phone, or the apps to use your phone(iTunes) to use it. Hence more user friendly. If your a mac user then stay with iphone, a pc I would say android. You will get bored with your phone no matter which brand. I will add this, my iphone 4s is still going, the s4 died. I have an s6 which is acting up already. I can drop and drag music onto my phone without a proprietary software app. And seems like everyone has a charge cord I can use (mini usb, used for practically everything besides phones), vs my friend which has a hard time finding someone with iphone cord.
    cnocbui
  • Reply 34 of 51
    sog35 said:
    I keep getting in discussions about how Apple has fallen behind Samsung. Samsung has waterproofing, curved displays, NFC that can be used in any store etc., etc. I have only ever used an iPhone, so I don't have the perspective others here may have who currently own a new Galaxy S7. Those I am having these discussions with always end up with, "Well, I think I'm ready to try a new Samsung, they seem to have so much more to offer than Apple. Apple is falling behind, only slight iterations from year to year. Nothing truly new and exciting" I'm not even sure how to respond anymore. Not that Apple needs defending, but can someone tell me their thoughts about how they feel about the Samsung Galaxy as opposed to an iPhone? Not looking for an argument here, just some truly good comparison information from a day to day user, since I don't use a Samsung phone. Thanks.
    Do you wonder why the FBI never pressured Samsung or any Android phone maker to unlock their phones?

    Does Samsung phones have iOS?

    Privacy. Non-bloated software. Better Apps. Less Ads. Better services. Better customer service (with real people you can actually speak to or see in the flesh), better resale value. Better build quality. Guarantee that the company will still be in business in 2 years (can't say the same thing about 90% of Android makers)

    But if you are the type of person who is impressed by gimmicks (curved screen, water proof) then maybe a Samsung is right for you. 

    So what is so exciting about Samsung?

    Water-proofing?  Samsung had that feature 2 years ago. No one cared. So much so they got rid of water proofing on the S6. Just take care of your stuff and water-proofing is not needed. As long as you don't swim with your iPhone you will be okay. Even the 6s can be dipped into a couple feet of water without damage.

    Curved screen? Why the hell would you need that?  The curved screen is more distracting than beneficial. Its irritating that curved edges have constant glare and parts of the image gets cut off, especially text.  It looks cool but horrible for practical reasons. Plus you have to pay $100 extra for that 'feature'.

    NFC that works in almost any store? false. simply not true. And we all know about the security holes in Android. 
    I'm also a fan of having an easily upgradable OS, which most android phones seem to lack. I have yet to see a single android phone vendor introduce a feature or spec that was worth suffering through the poor implementation of software to use.
  • Reply 35 of 51
    Maybe the protruding lens had already been removed by that point in the process. Clearly the video is highly edited, and we don't see every step in the process.
  • Reply 36 of 51
    isteelersisteelers Posts: 738member
    I keep getting in discussions about how Apple has fallen behind Samsung. Samsung has waterproofing, curved displays, NFC that can be used in any store etc., etc. I have only ever used an iPhone, so I don't have the perspective others here may have who currently own a new Galaxy S7. Those I am having these discussions with always end up with, "Well, I think I'm ready to try a new Samsung, they seem to have so much more to offer than Apple. Apple is falling behind, only slight iterations from year to year. Nothing truly new and exciting" I'm not even sure how to respond anymore. Not that Apple needs defending, but can someone tell me their thoughts about how they feel about the Samsung Galaxy as opposed to an iPhone? Not looking for an argument here, just some truly good comparison information from a day to day user, since I don't use a Samsung phone. Thanks.
    I would say try a Samsung phone for yourself if you are unhappy. You should not have to defend yourself if you are happy with your iPhone. I have used a Note in the past and it was not for me. You have the Touchwiz skin on top of Android and duplicate apps for browsers emails etc.  and then get to have carrier apps on topic that that are similar.  The UI was not very smooth even though it was a new model. The only way to know for sure is to do your research and ultimately try for yourself if you are questioning your iPhone purchase. 
  • Reply 37 of 51
    volcanvolcan Posts: 1,799member
    I've also examined the video frame by frame at full screen on my iMac 5K and I don't think anyone can definitively determine that there is no camera bump. The lighting is dark and the resolution of the video is not very high. In the second scene that is shot from the side, the camera bump would be clear on the other side of the device and it could well be hidden as it cannot be determined that the angle is dead on 90º or that lens distortion is not a factor.
  • Reply 38 of 51
    The labeling on the bottom of the phone seems to indicate it is an older 6 and not a 6S. The FCC.. CE logos don't exist on the S model and I would assume if this were a 7 they would be missing as well. Also no S logo. Its also very possible they are using this machine to tear apart a model of the phone that never shipped. What better way to test out the process than to test it on a bunch of phones that need to be disposed of. 
  • Reply 39 of 51
    webweaselwebweasel Posts: 138member
    I imagine Apple have tonnes of prototype models kicking around. Wouldn't they chuck a few of them through at Liam rather than new ones?
    VisualSeed
  • Reply 40 of 51
    webweasel said:
    I imagine Apple have tonnes of prototype models kicking around. Wouldn't they chuck a few of them through at Liam rather than new ones?
    The camera "bump" always seemed to be a compromise to allow functionality and not part of the original design. I can imagine there were early prototypes or even limited production runs that had a flush lens that did not work as well as Apple wanted. 
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