When the new volume buttons for a phone's upcoming generation are the topic of conversation the most, something is clearly wrong. In 2023, it will be what the Apple iPhone is. It is not foldable, lacks a periscope zoom lens, cannot be fast charged, has a dated design that makes it difficult to handle, and no longer has the best cameras, as most recently demonstrated in our comparison of the Galaxy S23 Ultra and iPhone 14 Pro cameras.
There hasn't been a significant new advancement in iPhone technology in the last few years. The Dynamic Island had the potential to be the breakthrough we had been looking for, but it never materialised. All of these combined makes the iPhone the most uninteresting phone you can purchase in 2023. This is why.
The iPhone has a folding problem
Samsung has four years of experience in the foldable market. In addition, a number of Chinese smartphone producers, like Oppo, Vivo, and Xiaomi, are producing foldable designs that are superior than Samsung's. With the Honour Magic Vs and Tecno Phantom V Fold, even Honour and Tecno are breaking into the foldable market.
Apple's decision to ignore the folding market at this stage is purely precautionary. The business has unlimited resources for research and development to create a foldable iPhone. If you're an Apple fan, please refrain from telling me that "Apple will release it when it's ready" or that "Apple never releases a half-baked product."
The claim that Apple releases goods after they are fully developed is, to put it simply, untrue. It is simple to see that just taking a quick look at the problematic disaster that was iOS 16 at launch. Additionally, foldables have been on the market for four years, which in my perspective is sufficient time for a niche to evolve.
Apple is basically riding on the success of the iPhone to produce mediocre products until it comes out with one major leap by delaying the release of a foldable iPhone for the next couple of years. By the time the first foldable iPhone launches, we may already be using the Galaxy Z Fold 7 or something similar.
Apple’s camera crown has been stolen
The majority of Americans are unaware that the iPhone camera is no longer the finest. It performs worse in night mode than the Vivo X90 Pro. With the Galaxy S23 Ultra's 10x optical zoom, the telephoto lens is of limited use. Thanks to its 1-inch sensor, the Xiaomi 13 Pro's natural depth of field is unmatched. Wide images allow users of Oppo and OnePlus to explore new perspectives. There are numerous options for long exposure and star trails on Xiaomi and Realme phones.
An iPhone, on the other hand, lacks any unique photography features. For someone who has the time to play around with details in Lightroom, the 48MP camera that comes with ProRAW is wonderful, but not so much for the typical user. It's the most uninteresting set of cameras you can transport.
With its ultra steady mode, the Galaxy S23 Ultra has significantly cut down on the advantage the iPhone once held in the video market. Any phone built in China or by Samsung focuses in portrait mode more quickly than an iPhone. When iPhone sales are at an all-time high, does any of this matter? Perhaps not. However, those of us who have access to goods from other manufacturers can see how far behind Apple is at the moment in the photography market.
No fast charging in 2023 is a big miss
The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra has a similar battery life as the iPhone 14 Pro Max, if not a longer one. The battery and charging situation isn't the best when you consider that the iPhone still has slow charging standards. We have cellphones with battery life of 50% in 15 minutes or charging to 100% in under an hour. Additionally, the insane 240W quick charging on the Realme GT 3 offers a charge from 0% to 100% in less than 10 minutes.
Fast charging is erroneously believed to shorten battery life over time. However, I've had the 2019 OnePlus 7T for three years (with 30W charging, which was deemed fast at the time), and up until I updated the OS, I never experienced a battery life issue. The OnePlus 8T, which supports 65W rapid charging, is still functional. It is a weak justification to claim that Apple doesn't offer fast charging above 27W out of concern for safety when it is obvious that a solution has been found by the industry.
Apple, please make the iPhone exciting again
In 2023, the most recent iPhone models are still among the top smartphones. The camera has an excellent shutter speed and processes the image quickly, whereas the competition needs a few minutes to examine the image in detail. I adore how quickly and easily Lightroom allows me to edit photographs without any latency.
But that's pretty much all. I can't use several windows on iOS, and the Galaxy S23 Ultra feels more responsive when used regularly. The Xiaomi 13 Pro features a worse primary camera sensor than the OnePlus 11, yet the OnePlus 11 is more comfortable to handle.
An iPhone doesn't have any standout features. The most monotonous phone you can purchase in 2023 is this one because it is an ordinary or even mediocre phone in several areas. I'm hoping the iPhone 15 will bring us some interesting new features, but if rumours are to be believed, we won't be pleased.
