Does the iPhone 7 need a new form factor?

[ChrisS9938]

Just asking. The Samsung guys are practically crowing already that the 7 is the 6ss, and Apple guys haven't been far behind. Why? The reason I hear most is no new form factor. That raises the question, does the iPhone 7 really NEED a new form factor. Now i'm not an insider, I have no information....heck, my phone is a 6, not a 6s! But I started doing some thinking. I like my phone's form factor. Aluminum is nice and sturdy, it's slim enough to put in a Speck case and still compete with most androids for pocket fit, and to be honest, that's about all the "dummy" phones we've seen actually show.

If Apple delivers a phone that meets or exceeds the S7 in camera, controls, screen, water resistance, maybe even wireless charging, with an aluminum back....will that not be acceptable for some reason? Are people really going to storm out of the Apple store and switch to Windows phone because its not glass or whatever? Remember, not everybody is an upgrade twice a year professional photographer phone enthusiast. Most customers want a nice phone that won't give them any trouble, does everything well, and is easy to buy accessories for and has lots of apps. iPhone made its dominance based on that. Samsung largely rose to prominence because it was the first Android phone you could buy a case at Walmart for. Before that, you were going to a specialty shop... unless you had an iPhone.

Finally, let me put on my tin-foil hat for two really crazy ideas. First, what if the dummies are just that... dummies! What if something totally different appears in a few weeks? I know, its pretty much impossible... but still. The second is more feasible, what if the "Pro" comes out in the spring? Samsung released the S7 in February, and has had months of comparisons to last year's iPhone. What if Apple puts out the 7 and 7 Plus and then, in the spring, releases the Pro? It could have a completely different form factor if needed, it could correct any faults in the standard phones, and it would suck the wind right out of the spring Android guys sails by deluging them not with comparisons between the 7 and S8 etc., but comparisons between the new Pro and the S8 etc.

So, what do you think? Am I totally off? Is Apple going to skate with a "good enough" phone? Or is the fabled "2017" phone actually a spring launch Pro model?

 

[Just_Me_D]

In my opinion, the next iPhone does NOT need a new form factor. Heck, I'd argue that if iOS had a major overhaul, especially with its native apps to bring them more inline with leading 3rd-party counterparts, current users and prospective users would be more than pleased. People are always wowed by new gimmicks, but after a week or two, they rarely even pay attention to them, except in conversations about what their device can do. The current "form factor" is sufficient, in my opinion.

 

[ChrisS9938]

I agree. Samsung wears the target, but Moto and LG probably lead the way in this this year. The modular deal is a nice trick, but how well will it wear? What's a Z force like after you've used it for 18 months.

 

[AustinIllini]

The Galaxy S7/Note 7 are great hardware designs. At the very least, the size and look are proof that all the OEMs have room to improve.

Apple is fortunate the Android experience (let alone poor Touchwiz experience) continues to fall well behind iOS.

 

[Rob Phillips]

Great post! I agree though, the iPhone doesn't need a new form factor. The inherent problem, however, is that consumers as a whole view this as not innovating. Apple will eventually need to switch things up for the sake of selling more iPhones. I'm almost positive this will happen in 2017.

 

[AustinIllini]

Great post! I agree though, the iPhone doesn't need a new form factor. The inherent problem, however, is that consumers as a whole view this as not innovating. Apple will eventually need to switch things up for the sake of selling more iPhones. I'm almost positive this will happen in 2017.

I would like to see them "innovate" by cutting the bezels off iPhone. I figure it might be a while, as Apple has yet to crack touchID on the screen AND AMOLED is still in the works per most rumors.

 

[Rob Phillips]

I would like to see them "innovate" by cutting the bezels off iPhone. I figure it might be a while, as Apple has yet to crack touchID on the screen AND AMOLED is still in the works per most rumors.

I would LOVE a smaller bezel. It has to happen at some point. The bezel on the 6/6s/7 is huge.

 

[AustinIllini]

I would LOVE a smaller bezel. It has to happen at some point. The bezel on the 6/6s/7 is huge.

The Galaxy Note 7 is SO LIGHT. I love the size of the things. All Apple would have to do is shrink the bezels and the iPhone would feel incredible with improved reachability.

 

[scruffypig]

The Galaxy Note 7 is SO LIGHT. I love the size of the things. All Apple would have to do is shrink the bezels and the iPhone would feel incredible with improved reachability.

I personally love the bezels. I absolutely hate trying to grip my phone and selecting stuff on screen, or not being able to, since my other hand is touching the screen, even if just a tiny bit.

 

[AustinIllini]

I personally love the bezels. I absolutely hate trying to grip my phone and selecting stuff on screen, or not being able to, since my other hand is touching the screen, even if just a tiny bit.

I fully expect Apple to figure out how to deal with this issue. They can deal with your hand being on the iPad screen when drawing with the pencil and they can certainly eliminate interrupt touches.

 

[badelhas]

I believe that Apple is being very conservative for a while now and truly needs to innovate, yes.

 

[alc1575]

Great post! I agree though, the iPhone doesn't need a new form factor. The inherent problem, however, is that consumers as a whole view this as not innovating. Apple will eventually need to switch things up for the sake of selling more iPhones. I'm almost positive this will happen in 2017.

I feel this way as well. 2017 could bring big changes-I think it would be the perfect time to do so.

 

[Wotchered]

Nope, it does not need a new shape, and I like the side bezels for the reason mentioned above. if all the effort put into sodding about with the" form factor" was put into making the iPhone work better than anything else available and staying in front like that,nothing would be lost. Function not Form.

 

[Davyo]

The current iPhone design is great,,, just shrink the bezels, add an OLED screen and move the power button closer down towards the middle side of the iPhone (the volume rockers and the power rocker directly across from each other is a bad design flaw).
But totally keep the aluminum and make it Space BLACK !!!
Cheers
Davyo
(currently rockin a 6S and a S7)

 

[LVMHgirl]

Honestly, I just hope the 7plus series phones fit in the 6plus series cases! The hub and I are a *teeny* bit obsessed with cases and have an *almost* ridiculous amount of them including some limited and collector's editions. It would definitely be a bummer to not be able to use them anymore!

 

[MelCali82]

I fully expect Apple to figure out how to deal with this issue. They can deal with your hand being on the iPad screen when drawing with the pencil and they can certainly eliminate interrupt touches.

It's called palm rejection. Almost every device that has some sort of active digitizer pen has this feature including the note and many older laptop/tablet pc's

 

[ChrisS9938]

I think the bezels are much easier than any one realizes. The front of the phone is glass. Just increase screen size and bezels go down. Right now, Android has a raging debate about buttons and bezels. Samsung, after all, copies Apple, with a home button and doesn't use the on-screen buttons other droids do. And like Apple, they use fairly significant bezels with contrasting colors. Samsung uses controls that are the modern equivalent of the ones my LG had way back in 2008. They are not as "modern" as everyone makes them out to be.

I would like the apple equivalent to Gorilla Glass 5. If I buy an Android, I won't have one with less. And at this point, I think waterproofing is almost required. The competition will all move to it in a couple years.

The thing is, they could offer a totally new "iPhone 10" next year, or the fabled "2017 Phone" could be the Pro model. Curved AMOLED Glass etc. etc. with the better features trickling down to the lesser models. Flat AMOLED could come to the Plus and standard phones, like the S7 and S7 edge. Your lineup would be iPhone SE, iPhone 7s, iPhone 7s Plus, and iPhone Pro, the Pro being the Cadillac version of the Plus, the phone for real phone junkies.

 

[badelhas]

I believe Apple has stopped innovating a long time ago. So yes, they should change the form factor and drive the market forward

 

[AustinIllini]

I believe Apple has stopped innovating a long time ago. So yes, they should change the form factor and drive the market forward

To me an innovation is either something brand new that hasn't been done before or something that is lightyears ahead of what previously existed. Form factor isn't really an innovation unless it really is a departure from the norm. ApplePay and 3D touch are innovations as they really nailed their usage. Google Photos is innovative because of how much further it is ahead of other gallery apps and the iOS Photos app.

 

[Jtshurtleff]

I would love thinner bezels, front firing speakers, and no camera hump with slight increase in thickness to account for a bigger battery. Imagine for a minute an iPhone with 3500 mAh battery, it would last for days very easily. iOS 10 sips power very well in the 6S Plus and I have been getting 2 days with it on the public beta. If the new iPhone is even more efficient, which history dictates it probably will be, then that phone would rock. A10 chip, M10 co processor and whatever the latest mobile GPU would make it basically fly through anything. I do not believe it needs a drastic redesign but I would like it to have one.