Tim Cook suggests users should get yearly iPhone upgrades

[Middleman]

In a recent interview, Apple CEO Tim Cook was heard to say that users should have their iPhones upgraded every single year.
Saying something like this, during a time of high energy prices and global economic uncertainty, I'm shocked to say the least.

Apple CEO Tim Cook answers if people need to buy an iPhone every year

Mr Cook insisted that the constant reinvention is 'a great thing' for some users. The CEO also teased what to expect from the product in 20 to 30 years' time.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[pastrychef]

I didn't see Tim Cook suggest anything in that article. I also didn't see any explanation to why people should by a new iPhone every year. Extremely misleading headline, IMO.

 

[UtterDisbelief]

I get the impression there's more to this than is obvious.

iPhones are the biggest earner for Apple. Recently sales have been challenged with stories such as (I believe) China banning use of iPhones by any government depts and staff. This I speculate, could be in response to Apple moving sizable production away from China, to other far-eastern countries. A kind of tit-for-tat reaction.

So hinting that yearly phone upgrades are expected by real fans - and come on most folks who use an iPhone wouldn't change despite all those Youtube switcher videos - is, yes, a kind of excuse for releasing a new model every year.

Now, of course, Google seems to be moving to the same yearly upgrade cycle, and their Pixel phones are very popular. And I won't even mention Samsung. We can see that market pressure is being applied.

So, it does *seem* as though Apple intends to keep the yearly upgrade cycle pressure on. Perhaps they need to, to maintain earnings for their stock-holders.

I guess as a way to placate the eco waster scenario, is why we are able to upgrade our iPhone iOS version much longer than Android users can with their OS. My own iPhone 11 is apparently compatible with iOS17 (though I haven't been offered it yet ...).

 

[trs96]

The Daily Mail looks to me to be nothing more than a tabloid you see in the grocery store checkout line.

They don't even proof read their own articles for accuracy. At one point it says this:

He cited initiatives like the use of recyclable materials and its commitment to be carbon neutral by 2030 as efforts he was particularly hoping would be followed.

Then slightly later the subtitle says this:

Thirty years would be 2053. When he actually says carbon neutral by 2030 i.e. seven years from now.
By 2053 I doubt the iPhone as we know it will even exist. Replaced by Apple Glasses most likely.

 

[craighazan]

The Daily Mail looks to me to be nothing more than a tabloid you see in the grocery store checkout line.

Hit the nail on the head!, it’s the equivalent of the NY Post, full of trashy stories and not to be taken Seriously at all.

 

[trs96]

Hit the nail on the head!, it’s the equivalent of the NY Post, full of trashy stories and not to be taken Seriously at all.

They only write a "story" like this because most everyone in the civilized world knows who Tim Cook is and they either own an iPhone or know someone that does. It gets them clicks.

 

[UtterDisbelief]

They only write a "story" like this because most everyone in the civilized world knows who Tim Cook is and they either own an iPhone or know someone that does. It gets them clicks.

I think the 20 - 30 years was a simple, if unfortunate, typo! That's not to say I rely on the Daily Mail for my news content - at all! (The BBC is where I read the China government ban story - Here - and it's ironic in some way that TC is in China right now visiting).

We get a better perspective on the Brut (Danish) story by watching their interview video linked in the Mail story. It's quite interesting.

 

[pastrychef]

These phones are portable computers. The technology is advancing everyday. To stand still and not constantly update devices would be suicide.

 

[c-o-pr]

The Daily Mail is a junkyard of clickbait which I check regularly to see how Murdoch disease is progressing, though according to googz it's owned by Daily Mail and General Trust and the 4th Viscount Rothermere who is chair and controlling shareholder of the company.

As to replacing phones every year, the ecological implications seem given the Anthropocene. The value to footprint for the economy is enormous compared to other factors of consumption. The margins on HW are thin, but keeping the pipes loaded is necessary for continued evolution of the device.

---

Re phones as computers: a top phone benchmarks well ahead of Mac Pros 10 years ago (GB6 SC / MC / metal)

Mac Pro (Late 2013 12 cores, FirePro D700):
707 / 5185 / 33676
— $7000+, no display

iPhone 14 Pro:
2542 / 6468 / 22382
— $1200

 

[Middleman]

Have to agree with a lot of the comments - some very good points made, especially @trs96's about Apple Visions replacing iPhones in the near future! I know we're not quite there yet with Visions replacing the iPHone, but when we do you will know - because when we walk down the street, the Vision Avatar is all you'll see when we meet face to face.

TBH I think the iPhone 15 launch has been a total disaster for Apple. Aside from the problems of fit & finish on the new 'green-friendly' woven cases they've also had issues with the CPU heating-up. And new problems have just surfaced recently with the latest iPhone 15 Pro Max, in that users are now experiencing screen burn-in on their phones. To pay nearly $1,200 for a device whose quality has gotten worse than the last generation, that is disappointing to say the least regardless of whether you are an iPhone user or not. You would have expected Apple to do better than that. Who knows, maybe product quality criterias have dropped at Apple? Maybe they're more interested in the volume of product they are shipping out than the product end quality?

Yes I heard about the story of the iPhone being banned in China. The issue with Apple moving production away from China is that it isn't that simple to do so. Phone manufacture demands a broad range of skills, not just assembly and production but also design, logistics, electrical/materials and technical engineering skills. Apple (via Foxconn) may have opened a factory in India, but the majority of their components are still made either in China or Taiwan. Added to the fact that such components are miniscule and have to be highly reliable (in large quantities), it represents a huge challenge to Apple's plans to manufacture in India. That probably explains why TC is back in China for more talks.

But the recent updates to the US chip sanctions doesn't look good for China nor for the likes of Nvidia, AMD or Intel (who still gets a chunk of their business from China). I would think PC makers like Minisforum (which makes the AMD mini PCs) would likely be affected by this move, as would MSI and Razer.