November 13
- An improved 12-megapixel rear camera to take advantage of Apple’s latest computational photography capabilities, like Smart HDR. Alas, it does stick out of the back slightly, much like the newer iPhones.
I wonder why Apple insists on making their devices thinner and thinner, so much so that cameras start sticking out? Esthetics aside, thinner also comprises battery life, as a thicker device could hold a thicker battery with more capacity.
Because thinner and lighter is a HUGE selling point for just about every mobile market segment; it’s one of the most important reasons for iPad and iPhone’s continuing success. Having the best and most advanced camera is equally important. These are two very critical reasons why iPhones were the innovation that completely revolutionized and reshaped mobile communications, and why they continue to generate the highest revenues in its class. They are important reasons why iPhone and iPad catapulted Apple into becoming the first trillion dollar US company. And why iPad and iPhone had another stellar year of revenue growth in the billions, even though unit sales and shipments were just about flat. Apple’s iPhone revenues have grown tremendously every year since it debuted 11 or so years ago.
Thin and light are huge selling points that every other mobile device manufacturer does its best to achieve. Here’s how the market shaped up to date this year:
“Tablet sales for Q4 of last year are out, and they tell an interesting story about Amazon superseding Samsung during the quarter with tremendous growth due to large discounts, according to an IDC report. While iPads were still far and away the most popular tablets among consumers last year, with the 9.7-inch iPad and two sizes of the iPad Pro selling a lot of units, Amazon showed the most growth among the top five tablet companies.”
https://www.theverge.com/2018/2/6/16981504/amazon-tablet-fire-2017-black-friday-cyber-monday
Global Smartphone Shipments Down 6.0% in Q3 2018 as the Leading Vendor and the Largest Market Face Challenges, According to IDC
“The new XS Max and XS continue off the success from last year’s iPhone X but bring a new screen size option with more power and increased performance to the table. And Apple has once again improved the camera, upped the storage, and added a new faster processor via the A12 Bionic chip, which is the first 7-nanometer chip for Apple.”
https://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS44425818
Esthetics aside, thinner also comprises battery life, as a thicker device could hold a thicker battery with more capacity.
My SE30 never had anything near the battery life of my 8+, and I never did nearly as much with it or on it. I never even considered streaming anything on Netflix, and I’ve had no problems doing so on my 8+. My understanding is that as mobile devices became thinner, larger, and packed more punch, batteries did the same. And as chip and other technologies improved, battery technologies improved as well.