retrogusto

Different people want different things. To adapt and repurpose Steve Jobs’ “cars vs. trucks” analogy, an electric Hummer might be the most capable car you can buy, from a certain perspective, but if you’re single and you live in the city you’d be better served by any number of other vehicles, even if they couldn’t otherwise compete on hauling capacity, passenger capacity, off-road ability, cup holders or even acceleration. I’ve been using iPhones for about 16 years, and never once had a real problem with battery life, although I did run low on battery a handful of times over the years when I forgot to charge—and this is coming from someone who used the 6.9mm iPhone 6 happily for quite a while. Like most people who can afford an iPhone, I never go more than a day without access to a power outlet. Over time, people’s priorities can change as certain features lose their novelty, and sometimes people don’t know what they want until they see it. I would love a thinner, lighter phone, and those are attributes that I would enjoy whenever I was using, holding it or just carrying it around. I’d get a new phone more often if it weren’t always a trade-off of better features for a bigger, heavier device. I’m sure Apple is always researching ways to make more powerful batteries and more efficient processors, and it’s not unreasonable to think that they might one day be able to make something as sleek as the iPhone 6 but with updated specs. They may have come to the conclusion that the current models are good enough in most respects, so improving the form factor would be an area where they can continue to innovate and differentiate themselves. 

Who would notice the difference? If you have a 1st-gen Siri Remote, compare it to your phone. Does one seem thinner? 

AppleInsider said:

The CEO of smart ring firm Oura has detailed the reasons there shouldn't be an Apple Ring, but sounds like he's hoping Apple is listening.

I often hope Apple is listening, but realistically it’s probably Google, Meta and the NSA.

The iPhone 6 was 6.9mm thick, and that felt like magic at the time, and even more so as newer models got thicker and heavier. The 6s was 7.1mm, and you could definitely feel the difference if you were used to the iPhone 6 (and not using a case). I would love to see phones get thinner again, but I’d be very happy with a 6.9mm iPhone 17 (Pro?). I know cameras have gotten better, and that’s probably a big factor in the thickening of phones, but the biggest difference for me in daily use between my current phone and the iPhone 6 is that I now have to use a dongle with my headphones, so it seems like a thinner phone should still be attainable if they set their minds to it. Faster processors and the larger batteries they require mostly just enable websites to serve up web pages with more complex and invasive advertising, for those of us who don’t need the processing power for things like gaming or AI. 

appleinsideruser said:

Airplane mode doesn’t disable all the radios — just cellular. GPS still works on a plane. WiFi still works in airplane mode, as does Bluetooth. 

For many years I have been using Airplane Mode overnight to make sure that I’m not disturbed by any calls, texts or notifications. I know that now there are other ways to solve that problem, but I haven’t bothered switching because I don’t see the need. But it does look like my WiFi disconnects (the WiFi icon goes gray with a slash through it), and if it didn’t, wouldn’t I still get messages from iMessage, WhatsApp and Signal? Maybe if you toggle WiFi on in Airplane Mode, it remembers that you want it left on when you reactivate the mode subsequently?