I’ve never been less excited for a new iPhone
Apple used to surprise us, now it just updates us.
This article may contain personal views and opinion from the author.
We're getting a new crop of iPhones in roughly a month's time, but… things feel different this time around. No hype, no talk of cool new features, just the regurgitation of the same usual leaks and rumors, time and time again.
Just thinking about the upcoming iPhones makes me yawn so much I might as well pop my jaw.
To me, the iPhone 17 generation is devoid of any speck of hype; there's no potential feature that excites me or fills me up with desire to hold my breath for this September.
Sadly, that's nothing new with Apple, as Cupertino has pretty much lost the spark that stirred up interest in its devices. It's all formulaic and uninspiring, and anyone well-verse with iPhones knows what to expect way ahead of time, as Apple has been extremely predictable in its releases in the past few years.
The last exciting iPhone model was a few year back
To be completely honest with you, I actually haven't been hyped about any new iPhone model since the iPhone 13 Pro Max generation.
The only reason back then was the 120Hz screen on the Pro models, as well as the rumored great battery life (which turned out to be great indeed). Previously, the iPhone 11 Pro series stood out, as it was the first to come with a triple-camera setup (and I absolutely loved that at the time).
However, in the past few years, the only new iPhone feature I have felt drawn to was the most trivial of them all: the USB-C port that was mandated by the good ol' EU. Still, not exactly something that could get you hyped about an iPhone.
Reuse, recycle, repurpose
The iPhone 17 will score some new features, but none of them will be groundbreaking in any way, at least I don't expect them to be.
The Pro models will score slightly better and more capable cameras, which should have been done years ago. They will also score a much faster chip, which is a "meh" upgrade these days: Apple's mobile chips already have higher performance potential than what most people have use for. Same old design, potentially with a downgrade to aluminum. The rumored new copper-like color looks cool, though.
The base model will be pretty much the sixth remix of the iPhone 12, with little changes to the overall formula. Oh, pardon me, the iPhone 17 is likely scoring 120Hz ProMotion (or some gimped version of it as Apple won't give away the "ProMotion" name that willy-nilly). It has been embarrassing for Apple to have its base iPhones stuck on a 60Hz refresh rate until now and gatekeep smoother refresh rates as if they're something only Pro users will appreciate.
The iPhone 17 Air? I'm sorry, I can't get excited about a phone with a sub-3,000 mAh battery and a single camera. I'd rather use a heavy and ridiculous Android phone with all the bells and whistles rather than a thin and Bendgate-prone iPhone. Design no longer cuts it for me.
The thick shadow of what's to come
But the real reason why I and possibly many other people fail to get excited about the iPhone 17 generation is the foldable iPhone, a device that has been rumored for years now and is reportedly coming next year, if the stars align.
As someone who has been bitten by the foldable bug, that's the phone that excites me, that's the device I want to see, touch, and use. Enough with these generic iPhones!
I want to see how Apple will approach the last device category it's yet to wet its feet in. I want to witness some innovation spurred by the unique design challenges of foldables, and witness at least trace amounts of Steve Jobs and Jony Ive's genius one last time.
I simply want to get excited about an iPhone again, and it appears that the only one that could do that for me is the foldable one, whenever it may come.
Until this happens, the iPhone 17 will remain just a stopgap, one that fails to excite.
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