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Iphone Apple Technology

Apple Will Reportedly Release An iPhone Without Any Ports In 2021 (9to5mac.com) 91

Posted by BeauHD from the cord-cutting dept.
Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says there will be four new OLED iPhone models in 2020, followed by a new iPhone without a Lightning port in 2021. 9to5Mac reports: In 2021, Kuo is predicting a followup to the iPhone SE 2 as well as a new iPhone model without Lightning connectivity. Kuo says that this would "provide the completely wireless experience," meaning there would be no ports at all rather than a switch to USB-C from Lightning. Kuo implies that Apple only plans to remove the Lightning port from the "highest-end model" at first, rather than from the entire iPhone lineup at once. Kuo says The 2021 followup to the iPhone SE 2, which Kuo refers to as the "iPhone SE 2 Plus," will reportedly feature an all-screen design without a Home button. Kuo predicts this device will have a screen size of either 5.5-inches or 6.1-inches. Interestingly, Kuo says the iPhone SE 2 Plus still won't include Face ID authentication. Instead, Apple is reportedly planning to integrate Touch ID into the power button on the side of the device. As for the 2020 OLED iPhones, here's what Kuo had to say: Kuo predicts that Apple will introduce 5.4-inch, two 6.1-inch, and a 6.7-inch OLED iPhone models in 2020. He says that all four of these iPhones will also feature 5G connectivity. The difference between all of these models, other than screen sizes, will be camera technology. According to Kuo, the 5.4-inch OLED iPhone will feature a dual-camera setup on the back. The lower-end 6.1-inch iPhone will feature a similar dual-camera system. The higher-end 6.1-inch model and the 6.7-inch model will include triple-lens camera setups as well as time-of-flight 3D sensing technology. In terms of design for the 2020 OLED iPhone, Kuo says the form factor will be "similar to the iPhone 4."
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Apple Will Reportedly Release An iPhone Without Any Ports In 2021 More

Apple Will Reportedly Release An iPhone Without Any Ports In 2021

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  • The ultimate planned obsolescence device (Score:5, Funny)

    by Rosco P. Coltrane ( 209368 ) on Thursday December 05, 2019 @08:12PM (#59489692)

    It comes with a single battery charge. Once it's depleted, you buy another one.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by AK Marc ( 707885 )
      Qi? Or more likely, a new protocol that's incompatible.

      • Re:The ultimate planned obsolescence device (Score:5, Informative)

        by Rosco P. Coltrane ( 209368 ) on Thursday December 05, 2019 @08:38PM (#59489748)

        Yes, Qi is the only charging option if there's no plug. Too bad induction charging is stupid: most of the power is wasted heating up the metallic bits in the device it's supposed to charge up.

        Then again, Apple isn't exactly known for making eco-friendly products, so that fits...

        • Re:The ultimate planned obsolescence device (Score:5, Insightful)

          by LostMyAccount ( 5587552 ) on Thursday December 05, 2019 @09:45PM (#59489946)

          And how well will that work for on the go charging with power packs or any other kind of USB power source? Or really, 90% of the places people want to charge their phones -- planes, cars, computers, etc.

          I don't doubt Apple would want to get rid of the port, but it seems like a much worse handicap than the headphone port removal. At least that had an adapter and bluetooth adapters and headphones were reasonably cheap and plentiful.

          But the charging port? There's very few Qi charging options away from your own charging mat, plus the phone has to be in contact with it continuously. The only solution I can think of is some kind of snap on/magnet on Qi attachment, but it sounds bulky and awkward. I don't know how thin they can make Qi mats, my cheapie from Amazon is like 1/4" thick. If they could make it (a lot) thinner, maybe it would work.

          CarPlay mostly only works with a cabled connection; a handful of models can do it wirelessly, but it requires 5 Ghz wifi in the head unit to accommodate it because it's mostly just a video stream from the phone, so it needs high bandwidth. Most cars (like my 2019 Subaru Ascent) only support it via cable.

          I don't see much of a workaround for the data side of the port besides an expensive and power hungry wifi-to-USB bridge device.

          This seems so impractical that even Apple wouldn't do it for aesthetics.

          • Oh don't worry, the battery will last for days between charges just like the current iPhones last 17 hours... right?

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

            It's going to be hard to compete with 18W charging over USB. You can carry a little charger in your pocket and plug in for 15 minutes at the cafe to get 40% charge back. Or get a mobile battery with 18W charging support.

            The best wireless chargers are 10W but less efficient. Maybe half as fast. Not terrible, not great.

          • Apple will sell a charging pad that is conveniently shaped just like a phone case. Problem solved.

        • Yes, Qi is the only charging option if there's no plug. Too bad induction charging is stupid: most of the power is wasted heating up the metallic bits in the device it's supposed to charge up.

          Then again, Apple isn't exactly known for making eco-friendly products, so that fits...

          Qi charging takes place at a fairly high frequency and close (typically 5 mm) distances. So it isn't quite as stupid as it would seem at first. Typical efficiencies are 60-80%, which is about 10-15% less efficient than the main power transformers in most AC line-powered equipment; but those transformers are constructed with everything optimized for maximum efficiency, rather than some random device ("secondary") placed in some random placement and orientation on the Pad ("Primary"). So, all in all, it isn't

        • Fortunately your claim is wrong.
          Unfortunately it is only about 85% efficient.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

          Inductive charging has been getting more efficient, with some phones now able to pull 10W without getting too warm. For reference the fastest wired charging is 18W.

        • What about something like the Apple Smart Connector?

          https://9to5mac.com/wp-content... [9to5mac.com]

          Do you you consider that a port? I don't really know if that would be classified as a port by everyone since its pretty much flush.

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by Anonymous Coward
        Apple will promise AirPower2. Phones available today, the charging pads available soon. People will line up to buy the phones which only have the single charge until the pads come out. 3 years later Apple will quietly cancel AirPower2 and encourage people to buy the new phones that support AirPower3 (coming soon).

      • Qi? Or more likely, a new protocol that's incompatible.

        Apple devices (at least iPhones, Earpods and Watches have Qi charging compatibility for that last several years, IIRC.

        In fact, clear back to the iPhone 8, all AirPods and Watches back to the Series 1:

        https://www.mobilefun.co.uk/bl... [mobilefun.co.uk]

        (Other iPhones, back to the iPhone 5s, can Qi charge with a Lightning to Qi adapter (but that's kind of cheating, IMHO)).

        Apple even sells several aftermarket Qi charger gadgets in its Online Store. This Page also has a Device Compatibility List (on the left) :

        https://www.apple.c [apple.com]

    • It comes with a single battery charge. Once it's depleted, you buy another one.

      And it only costs $999

  • Good (Score:3)

    by DontBeAMoran ( 4843879 ) on Thursday December 05, 2019 @08:16PM (#59489702)

    Interestingly, Kuo says the iPhone SE 2 Plus still won't include Face ID authentication. Instead, Apple is reportedly planning to integrate Touch ID into the power button on the side of the device.

    Good, that still means no idiotic "notch" in the display.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by dgatwood ( 11270 )

      Oh, no, there will still be a notch. :-)

      • An annoyance caused by the notch. I'm an android user, but my employer has standardized on iPhone so that's what I've been issued. Prior to the notch. I could start up GPS on the iPhone and put it in my cup holder with the power cord sticking out the top, and the screen would automatically orient itself. Now that there's the notch, the screen stays upside down. I have to pick the phone up to check the directions rather than glance over to it. More annoying when it says to take a right, but oh not this

        • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

          by DogDude ( 805747 )
          If there was ever a first world problem, this is it.

          • If there was ever a first world problem, this is it.

            I agree.

            I have one of these magnet mount kits that clip on to the HVAC louvers on the dash, which has a matching thin metal plate that fits under the rubber protective case on my iPhone. I plug in the Lightning cable to my radio then stick the phone to my dash. I can see the map for GPS navigation at a glance, and the screen is in easy reach for a quick tap to answer a phone call. I don't recall how much the magnet mount kit cost but it had to be less than $50. It keeps the phone in a vertical orientati

    • For an extra $450 you can get (Score:4, Funny)

      by raymorris ( 2726007 ) on Thursday December 05, 2019 @08:54PM (#59489792) Journal

      For an extra $450, they'll sell you one without a screen. Because "courage".

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      Notches are very 2017. Modern phones have some other way of deploying a front facing camera, such as a pop-up one. I'd also take a rear selfie screen or a small forehead.

  • Dropping the home button means they are going for a 100% screen. No "teardrop" camera at the top either. They'll either go with a pop-up camera, or a camera that looks through an active screen for selfie mode, and focus on the back cameras as the "important" ones. Since nobody has done a "look through" camera, I'll predict that. Nobody here will remember in 2 years anyway.

  • Hey guys (Score:5, Insightful)

    by RickyShade ( 5419186 ) on Thursday December 05, 2019 @08:23PM (#59489720)

    We heard you like to sometimes plug in your phone to transfer files or charge it, so we took that capability away! WE'RE INNOVATORS GODDAMNIT!

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by anegg ( 1390659 )
      Courage! They have the *courage* to innovate in this fashion.

    • wireless usb-c dock $99.99

      • Re:Hey guys (Score:5, Interesting)

        by misnohmer ( 1636461 ) on Friday December 06, 2019 @07:43AM (#59490692)

        Unless that wireless charging works while using the phone and moving it around, so basically unless the phone charges faster than it uses power playing a game ANYWHERE within a 10ft radius of the charger, wireless charging doesn't solve the problem. My kids use their iPhones "tethered" on a 10ft wire all the time, when their phones are running out of juice at the end of the day, and yes they have wireless chargers on their desks but they don't want to be tied to a desk while the phone has to be on the charger in order to use it.

        • Plug in case. Damn near everyone uses phone cases because $999 is a lot to drop and break, so this port-free phone will get a million qi-charger embedded cases that you can plug a USB charge cord into the case, giving you tethered charging.

          • Everyone I know uses cases 1mm this or less, show me a Qi charger that can fit in a 1mm rubber sheet wrapped around the phone. Friends and family tried the Lilfeproof cases and my wife even had a battery case once for her iPhone, but shifted to thin rubbery wrapper cases quickly. Charging cases would be clunky and heavy, like battery cases today - very few people use those today, because they make the phone a couple of mm thicker and heavier (even though I bet everyone would like the extra battery life).

            Of

    • When these phones come out we'll all be using 5G with its infinite bandwidth, so we won't need any ports any more. Simple problem, simple solution.

  • Next there we be one without a screen (Score:4, Funny)

    by jfdavis668 ( 1414919 ) on Thursday December 05, 2019 @08:41PM (#59489756)
    The iPhone shuffle.

  • Kuo is predicting... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Ultra64 ( 318705 ) on Thursday December 05, 2019 @09:31PM (#59489916)

    In other words, some random person not from Apple is making shit up.

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by bsolar ( 1176767 )

      Kuo is not a "random person" though: he has a significant track record of accurate predictions about Apple products. He might not be always 100 correct, but he has proven to be quite reliable.

      https://www.macrumors.com/roundup/ming-chi-kuo/

  • Just yesterday my iPhone SE fell into bootloop with "Press Home to upgrade" message. The only solution to this was to run iTunes recovery through USB port which upgraded iOS properly. How can this be done without a data port on the body?
    • You go to your genius bar and hope they can fix it. After all, what kind of heathen would even think of upgrading their firmware by themselves in the first place? Much too difficult, you need a genius to do it for you!

    • How can this be done without a data port on the body?

      It could be done with magnet switches, and bluetooth. The Bendix ABS computer on our 1999 Blue Bird Q-Bus resets with a magnet, I did it with my telescoping pickup magnet as it's underneath the bus (just forward of the rear axle.) There's no reason you couldn't make the phone require a magnet at each end or something to put it into recovery mode.

  • One port and no headphone jack still leaves a hole in the phone. But no ports means it's easier to seal up, and has no ports to fail. I still wouldn't buy one, but I can see why someone would.

    • Re:No ports at least makes sense (Score:4, Insightful)

      by OrangeTide ( 124937 ) on Friday December 06, 2019 @12:02AM (#59490180) Homepage Journal

      Are we seeing a lot of failures from phones because they have headphone jacks and lightning ports? Seems pretty trivial to make them water resistant, it's not like most of us need a 10 ATM water proof phone. It only need to be water proof for the depth of a toilet bowl and for the amount of time it takes for us to say a few curse words before fishing it out.

      Is it creative and innovative to design something that everyone jokingly predicted years in advance?

      • Are we seeing a lot of failures from phones because they have headphone jacks and lightning ports?

        No, but if you can eliminate the jacks (saving money) and eliminate the few failures (saving more money) then those are good reasons for a manufacturer to want to do it.

        Seems pretty trivial to make them water resistant, it's not like most of us need a 10 ATM water proof phone. It only need to be water proof for the depth of a toilet bowl and for the amount of time it takes for us to say a few curse words before fishing it out.

        It needs to be able to handle spray, too.

        Is it creative and innovative to design something that everyone jokingly predicted years in advance?

        No. It's predictable. But that doesn't mean it doesn't make some kind of sense.

        • No. Underwater capable 3.5mm and USB ports have been a thing for almost a decade, you apologist scum. People like you are the reason companies can put this shit and call it "courage".

          • No. Underwater capable 3.5mm and USB ports have been a thing for almost a decade, you apologist scum.

            I have a phone with those features, you boring dildo. But it doesn't change the fact that water resistance can still be improved.

            People like you are the reason companies can put this shit and call it "courage".

            People like you are tedious and trite.

  • Phones will be pieces of glass only - streaming everything back and forth from a central server.

    That will be the ultimate lock in. No pay, no nothing.

  • ..that will be my time to depart from the apple iPhone platform.. because well, lets face it. I'd sooner thread a needle with my toes and sew a cardigan than put on bluetooth headphones. I'm just too old fashioned. I like my ear cans, and 1/4'' plug. but, I realize not directly cooking the inner otis media makes me a minority. Right now we have women trading green paper for cooking the inside of their reproductive tracts with bluetooth adult accessories. I dunno man, I've just never gotten into this b

  • CarPlay (Score:2)

    by teg ( 97890 )

    One problem with this is support for CarPlay [wikipedia.org]. This is most commonly done with a plug today - car models support Wireless CarPlay [usatoday.com]

    This is a much harder problem to solve than removing the headphone jack - a large part of the users were already using wireless headphones, a pair of earphones was included with the phone, the liifespan of a headphone used with a phone is limited and getting new ones are quite cheap anyway. For cars, none of this would apply.

    • I'm not so sure they care about this. When the system when from 30 pin to Lightning it fucked a lot of people who had integration in their cars.

      Even if the car head units were new enough that they had USB, they didn't have the capability to support the iPhone cabled to USB, it had to use a proprietary fixed 30 pin connector that went to the head unit.

      Carmakers will never update such systems, even if it is something that could be fixed in a software refresh.

    • I hadn't thought about it until reading your comment, but it seems pretty obvious that they're going to have a "Magic Lighting Adapter" that works wirelessly.
  • Disclaimer: I use several apple products, and like them. Having said that, at a certain level staying in their ecosystem seems to involve a constant feeling of loss when it comes to hardware: they are regularly taking things away that I used/ still liked. The list in my direct experience includes: 3.5 inch floppy drives, optical drives, USB ports, VGA then HDMI ports, replaceable batteries, the ability to upgrade parts, 3.5mm headphone jack on phones, magsafe. Software is even worse. I guess you just have t
    • And Crapple can go fuck themselves. Next to get the axe: The screen, the battery, and finally the internal electronics. Yes, you can pay $999 for a slab of glass pretend fone, and I bet there are plenty of brain dead hipster morons who don't mind looking like an absolute retard with the pretend fone proudly displayed on their belt. In the meantime, I'll spend my money elsewhere where I won't get gyp'd and conned by a cultist company that removes features while spouting nonsense like "courage" and charging
    • "I guess you just have to get used to that if you choose their systems" I want to add that it sounds like an abusive relationship; "oh, I have to get used to recieving a black eye every couple days, and frequent visits to the ER where I have to lie to the doctors by telling them I fell. After all, I choose to stay with the man who is battering me". Is anything Apple offers really worth putting up with their bullshit?

  • Then (Score:5, Funny)

    by rossdee ( 243626 ) on Friday December 06, 2019 @03:02AM (#59490416)

    The only third party accessory for an IPhone would be..

    a barge pole

    (for not touching it with)

    • It will be water-proof (Score:4, Insightful)

      by Laxator2 ( 973549 ) on Friday December 06, 2019 @04:52AM (#59490546)

      As the phone has no ports, it will be water-proof. A big selling point as I want to keep in touch with my friends while scuba-diving (the fact that I can't swim notwithstanding).
      Please, don't hit me in the head with the barge pole if you spot me in the water.

      Well, if Apple goes one further and releases a phone with no ports, no screen, no microphone, no speaker, no battery, no electronics and no case, I'm all in.
      I can suggestt the name "Dr. No" for this phone.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Rambo ( 2730 )

        Except that RF doesn't travel well underwater, so forget having any connectivity if it's submersed. And that means no Bluetooth too, another fail.

  • Will it be as ugly as that monstrosity they released this year?

  • It's a slab of aluminium. It also has this super new Apple patent that never bothers you with notifications. And it never need recharging. Awesome!

  • Note even 8080 or 23?

  • Hope they keep the microphone for input.

  • I wonder how the iPhone will be DFU restored. With current phones, it requires iTunes (or in Catalina, a different app) and a downloaded ROM file. However, Apple either will need to have functionality at the iBoot level to go find an open Wi-Fi and download the entire ROM, or provide some mechanism for this to happen.

  • Comment removed based on user account deletion

  • While it's probably fine if they have entirely wireless models of their device, I can imagine that there will be issues with some people who may necessarily *require* wired headphones.

    Also, a "completely wireless experienece" makes it difficult to charge anywhere, because while usb plugs might be ubiquitous, and usb charging cables are easy to fold down and can be put in your pocket, or even bought at a dollar store in a pinch, I cannot see the same thing being said for wireless charging facilities anyti

  • So courageous. Eliminating things and calling it a new feature.
  • While I am more than okay to do without the headphone jack. I keep my lightning port covered most of the time, but I do use it to charge in my car on longer road trips several times a year and with third party accessories like my more expensive than my iphone drone. No sale.
  • demand for wireless chargers is going to increase in the coming years. unlockmytv.pro [unlockmytv.pro] IPTVapks.com [iptvapks.com]

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