These choices are not necessarily wrong. It’s easy to argue they are either not a good idea at present, or not desirable enough. But Apple’s piecemeal progress is at risk of looking like stasis. We’re already drowning in tech-soaked flagships, and their key features are often at odds with what the buyer will actually appreciate, or is asking for.
Apple’s previous successes are in part down to choosing the right roads at the right time. And a slightly more affordable flagship that makes a cogent argument for privacy may not be a bad one for today. Apple has more a convincing argument for its privacy policies than any other major phone company. Google says it cares, but virtually all the money it makes relies on having, exploiting and mining your data.
Privacy and a truly careful approach to handling user data seems hard to sell, even as it alters the outcomes of elections across the West. But our iPhone 11R would let Apple sell this as part of the phone’s personality, not just a side note to the usual tech-chasing, as it is highlighted today in Apple launches.
Apple has a habit of making people care about, or believe in, things. It did this for the smartphone, the smartwatch and tablet. All these items existed before Apple, but it made them matter to ordinary people. Just don’t mention that for Apple’s good work to have much of an effect on your life, you also need to give up Google services, Facebook, other social networks and Amazon.
Perhaps the standalone iPhone 11R is the stuff of daydreams. But take this as one last argument: according to an (admittedly fluffy) survey of 2,000 people by refurb site Decluttr, fewer than 50 per cent of iPhone owners even know which model they own.
But what will we see in September? A similar arrangement we have currently, but with no more roman numerals, thank God. “Apple will want to keep the R models a tad disparate in terms of camera module, build quality and some minor features, but still resembling the flagship S series thus demanding possibly a slightly higher price than last year,” Shah says.
Recent leaks of the three phones together make them seem even closer, visually, than the current iPhones. The camera arrangement is the obvious change. The 2019 iPhones will have a rounded-off square on the back that houses the cameras. It looks similar to the Huawei Mate 20 Pro’s design.
A closer look at the leaks suggest the iPhone 11R will have two rear cameras, a “normal” one and a zoom. And that the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Max will have three. These leaked images could be of fake prototypes from China, but Daniel Gleeson agrees with their findings.
“The 11R will only have a dual lens, however – most likely the exact same camera unit that is in the XS and XS Max at the moment,” he says. “The production scale already achieved for this will help keep costs down even more. The main cost saving for the XR is using LCD panels instead of OLED, and I fully expect this will continue for the iPhone 11 and 11R.”
The one feature iPhone 11Rs will miss out on is an ultra-wide camera. These have been used in phones for years. LG used them back in 2016, in phones like the LG V20 and LG G5. And Huawei uses one to great effect in the Huawei P30 Pro.
Apple’s ultra-wide camera will no-doubt be nice. It’ll likely have a much better sensor and lens than that of most Androids with similar setups, and is a real benefit for creative photography.
However, it could not possibly have as dramatic an effect as Apple realising it has lured makers of Android phones in a high-price trap, and that it can ensnare the lot if it wants to. Apple doesn’t even need to beat Samsung’s prices. Cost parity would make a more impactful statement than any feature Apple could devise in 2019, and it could play a major part in the long-term, strategic push to get more people signed up to its services such as Apple TV+.
Apple needs to find a new direction to start looking like the leader in smartphones again, and one option is right in front of it.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
