mr. h

razorpit said:

So, I’m assuming the M1 will run Windows via Parallels “x” times faster?

Yes, where "x" is less than one.

maltz said:

So, another article here alluded to this, but... comparing lead times between devices has NOTHING to do with relative demand unless you assume that Apple is making the same number of each flavor - which is almost certainly not the case.  Without manufacturing data, you cannot infer popularity based solely on lead time.  You can perhaps infer how accurately Apple predicted popularity of each version, but even on that measure, Apple's demand projections and their actual manufacturing numbers may diverge for a number of reasons - if device margin plays a role in their manufacturing priorities, for example.

Perfect post, thank you. I came here to say the same thing, but you said it better than I was thinking it.

Alger said:

I'm updating (from IP6

Me too!

Alger said:

1) 5G: I keep hearing that 5G is actually just marketing hype, and that IP12 might not even have the right hardware for "real 5G" which may come later (even next year).  But more importantly, that 5G is a gimmick except for specialized applications in controlled environments (like stadiums, stores, warehouses, etc, none of which I care about).   Is it worth upgrading to IP12 on the 5G basis alone, its actual implementation as it exists today, alone, or will it really not make that much of a difference?

Are you in the US? Because AT&T rolled out something that they called "5G E" or "5GE" or "5G Evolution" - and that is 100% marketing fluff. It is 4G, and quite honestly, I'm astounded that the authorities let them get away with it.

"real" 5G comes in 3 "versions", the versions relating to the frequencies of the radio waves used to carry the signal:

Version 1 uses the same frequencies as existing 4G, and will be a teeny tiny bit faster than 4G.
Version 2 uses 2.5 - 3.7 GHz, and can in some situations go up to 3 times faster than 4G.
Version 3 (aka mmWave) uses 25 - 39 GHz, and can reach speeds of over 1 Gbps (Giga-bits per second, or 1000 Mbps - mega-bits per second)

However, there is one problem - the higher you go in frequency, the shorter the range of the signal, and the harder it is for that signal to pass through things like walls. So Version 3 is super-fast, but also super low-range. This requires a lot of base-stations to give high coverage, and it's quite likely that it will be deployed in only a small number of locations - such as sport stadia.
Version 2 is likely to be deployed widely in cities. So, 5G will give you a benefit over 4G, if you use your mobile mainly in a densely-populated area. It is rumoured that the iPhone 12 may not have the mmWave ("Version 3" above) kind of 5G, but that's the kind you're least likely to find "in the wild" anyway.

There's also the matter of how much extra the service providers charge for a 5G service - not being in the US that's not something I can help with. I think perhaps 5G in itself may not be reason enough to upgrade, but do bear in mind that the iPhone 6's 4G is not the fastest - so you should get much better 4G performance from an iPhone 12 vs. an iPhone 6.

Alger said:

2) I ALSO put off upgrading until now because the camera improvements in iPhones have been incrementally slow and not substantial enough. Specifically, I've been waiting for optical zoom to be comparable to the competition (it's not even close), and for the sensors to create native image files large enough to use as industry-standard for lowest-acceptable print resolution (18-20 megapixels)

I'm very skeptical of anything above 12 Mpixels in a mobile phone. You really need a bigger sensor to benefit from more pixels, otherwise each individual pixel is too small, and is therefore less sensitive and you just get a noisier image.

There's a reason that Apple has stuck with 12 for so long, and it's because that's the sweet spot for resolution vs. quality. You say that the progress with iPhone photography has been slow, but I think there was a very significant improvement in the computational side of things with the iPhone 11. I think we can all agree that an iPhone 12 is guaranteed to absolutely crush an iPhone 6 in terms of picture quality for the rear camera.

As for optical zoom - there haven't been many rumours on that front in regard to the iPhone 12, so I'm not expecting any significant improvement there. That's a bit of a shame, because as you say Samsung have made some great improvements there recently. I imagine that Apple is working on it - perhaps with the iPhone 13?

If high optical zoom is really that important to you, but you really need iOS 14 sooner rather than later - perhaps look at getting a second-hand iPhone 7 to tide you over until the iPhone 13, unless the iPhone 12 surprises us with a 5 x optical zoom!

AlexMorello said:

I really hope Apple’s management realises soon how bad an idea an iPhone ‘family’ is. They seem to be forgetting where such bloated line-ups got them in the 90s. Steve streamlined Apple’s offerings for a (very) good reason☝

Now SIRIously it’s probably going to be iPhone SE + ‘mini’ (redundancy!) 
+ ‘12’ + ‘Pro’ + ‘Pro Max’. High time Apple thought different (again). 

Totally disagree. There is no redundancy with the iPhone SE + 12 Mini - the 12 Mini is expected to be a little smaller than the (new) SE, but considerably more capable. I've no interest in the SE but I'm really looking forward to the 12 Mini. If anything, I'm disappointed that the 12 Mini isn't going to be even smaller (I would absolutely love something the size of an iPhone 4, but with a full-face screen).

The issue with mid-90s Apple was that they had a lot of machines with overlapping price points and capabilities, with confusing names that gave no indication of how the machines compared to each other. This upcoming range is really not at all complicated - for the most part, there's a clear delineation by size, and there will also be a clear delineation by price. There will only be two models that are the same size as each other - the 12 and 12 Pro - and then it will be clear by name and price which is the more capable device.

nicholfd said:

tmay said:

razorpit said:

Help me out, why are we expecting an iPhone 12 and not an iPhone 11S?

I don't see the point of "s" models anymore. Marketing is better with sequential numbering; less confusing. We haven't seen but two years with "s" models, iPhones 6s and 7s. 

I suspect that Apple will continue with replacing the current lineup each year, and push down the previous low end model as the midrange model in the lineup. So we should see an iPhone 11 as the midrange model this year, plus the speculated mini, 12, and the two 12 Pro models. That's 5 models plus the SE.

Whether there will be a old and new model of the mini in the lineup next year is a great question.

You forgot the Xs & Xs Max.  That makes 3 years of "S" models, with a break with the 8 model because they took it to 10 (X)! 

Er.. You both forgot the 3GS, the 4s and the 5s.