YOU don't need the iPhone 16* (T&Cs Apply)
/ @icavegames
It’s iPhone 16 pre-order day today, the Apple Store is down in preparation, frustrating EVERYONE who wants a new 30 pin connector for the iPhone 4S that they’ve been nursing for way over a decade, wondering what the fuss is all about.
After spending Monday watching GlowTime, excitement is at an all time… mid. Tech reviewers are confused - The iPhone looks the same every year. The new AirPods Max just got repainted and a different shaped charging hole. AirPods 4 basically made AirPods 3 cheaper, unless you want Active noise cancelling which is less good than on the existing Pros and Max but without Silicon tips. Then they’re the same price.
The biggest upgrade announced for AirPods was for AirPods Pro. 2. Which didn’t get updated, but got a MASSIVE new raft of features to protect your hearing, test your hearing, and if it’s not at 100%, augment your hearing by acting as a personalised hearing Aid for a fraction of the cost of a normal one, AND it even has all the proper medical certifications - and that’s for the AirPod Pro 2 that millions of people already have. That is insane. As insane as the number of people not subscribed watching right now, and it’s something that together, we can solve for the planet. Do the right thing.
Apple Watch was a confusing mess, with the screens getting bigger, and the bezels getting bigger, but its thinner and listens to you snore like your partner refuses to. It gets so big it’s bigger than the Ultra by what can only be called an imperceptible amount. Which, in response, became emo and did nothing but start wearing black. I feel you Apple Watch Ultra, not even a new chip.
But my biggest problem is this. Not the iPhone. The tech review community. Everyone is mad. Why did Apple compare the Apple Watch 10 to the Apple Watch 6? Why does Apple mention iPhone 12 in the speed charts when we’re on the iPhone 16 now!? This is outrageous, we’ve had so many phones since then!
Because if you watch tech reviewers, you’re in the minority. Phones will not be revolutionary year by year. I see people out in the world who use ANCIENT phones because they do everything they need. Have we reached a plateau? Maybe, but that’s amazing for consumers. I’m now playing Insanely good looking games on a 2013 iMac in 2024 because 2013 hardware was solid (oh, and you can check that out as soon as it goes live on my new channel, iCaveGames, first videos will be going live in the next week or so, and it’s gonna be geeky and still have an Apple flavour, as well as moving into the tabletop realm a LOT!).
I’m not here to lie to you. I’m not here to tell you that you need the latest and greatest. And let’s just compare this to another industry. Cars.
We now have a bunch of Tech YouTubers making a car channel alongside their main channels. Marques Brownlee. Luke Miani. Okay, that’s all I can think of right now, but here’s a big difference.
When a car manufacturer updates their range, they review the new car. When they do a facelift and change headlights, or the bumper shape slightly, or colour options, do they ask whether the people who bought the previous year’s car? Absolutely not. We understand that a car works. It continues to work. Do you sometimes have to replace consumable parts? Oil? Tyres? Break pads? Sure. Just like with a phone, the battery will degrade over time. Will an iPhone fulfil its role for a solid 5-7 years if you take care of it? Yes. Will an iPhone? An Apple Watch? Yes.
Do people sometimes buy a new car and replace it every 2-3 years because they enjoy having something new, and more cutting edge equipment, of course. But is the car ruined and unusable after that time? Absolutely not.
So the idea that tech should massively innovate each year is dumb. If every year, car makers moved where every control was, made the turn signals move in a different way, switched up the speedo to a pie chart - just so it was different, we’d be annoyed. The Car is a tool, and once you learn how to use a tool, you want it to work the way you expected for years to come. If you buy a new hammer, you expect it to work in a pretty similar way to the last hammer, even if it has a new, more comfortable grip.
Get happy with your devices. Everything you can buy new today will take a pretty great picture. And be fast enough. And do what you need it to do, and so will the stuff sold a couple of years ago. Its okay.
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