Other Technological advancement seems to have stopped

[G5isAlive]

In about three years iPhone will be 20 years old. If nothing drastic happens, 2027 iPhone model will be pretty similar to current ones. Which are more or less similar to original iPhone. That’s 20 years of “advancement”. If we compare it to the previous 20 years 1987-2007 the advancement looks very different. What happened?

So much to unpack here. So, the Mac came out in 1984, and still looks pretty much the same today in terms of folders and interface, right? So where is the advancement. And PC's, what advancement there?

It's in the details, and these phones have advanced as much as their counterparts ever did.

Actually, it's been one long progression. The computing power available in the phone of today blows away the computing power of computers even five years ago.

and lets not forget it came full circle, the chips apple made for the phone have come back to the Mac.

 

[TechRunner]

I had an iPhone 3GS in 2009 and today I have the communicator from Star Trek in my front pocket, so I’d say technology has advanced steadily since ‘09

 

[ChrisA]

In about three years iPhone will be 20 years old. If nothing drastic happens, 2027 iPhone model will be pretty similar to current ones. Which are more or less similar to original iPhone. That’s 20 years of “advancement”. If we compare it to the previous 20 years 1987-2007 the advancement looks very different. What happened?

It is always this way with new technologies. The example is airplanes. In the early 1900s we had the Wright Flyer that was made from wood and cloth. By the end of the First World War we had reliable and powerful biplanes. Be the end of the second war we were entering the era of jet power planes. By the 1960s jet passenger planes were common. In 2024 we still have some of those 1960s vintage planes flying. Technology seems to have slowed.

It was the same with flush toilets, very quick changes at first then nothing has changed much on the last 70 years.

As technology matures all the "easy" upgrades are done first, then the harder ones until finally economy limits change, further change is just not worth it. Phones are not there yet.

The technology of building with bricks was the same, it slowed to a near standstill in Roman times. EVERY technology does this.

 

[smirking]

By the end of the First World War we had reliable and powerful biplanes. Be the end of the second war we were entering the era of jet power planes.

WWII had a big hand in ushering in the age of modern air travel. As bad and destructive WWII was, one positive thing to come out of it were better, more innovative, and safer planes. When there's a need, the ways find a way to meet them.

 

[Surfsalot]

Same as iPads, except for pencil and keyboard which I never used, still just a big iPhone to me.

 

[1rottenapple]

OP did you complain about cars still only having 4 wheels? Why can’t them innovate with 5.

 

[decafjava]

Tech progress seems to go with big innovations followed by refinements. Still, compare the first "horseless carriage" automobiles with todays e-vehicles and tell me that over a century of progress hasn't changed automobiles beyond recognition.

 

[RSB96]

Honestly, unless they make an iPhone like the Galaxy Fold, little else can evolve a phone.

In 20 years we have gained an incredible processing capacity and power, a remarkable improvement in the quality of the screens, both in resolution, colors and brightness outdoors.

The cameras are practically of sufficient quality for the vast majority of users, coming close in some situations to DSLRs.

Improvements in connectivity (bluetooth, wifi, 5G).

We have gained in security (Touch ID and Face ID).

And the software advancement is quite remarkable as well (pending Apple's AI, which we'll see how it is implemented):

A phone today is practically the only device we would need for day-to-day life, it is the all-in-one of today's world.

 

[Jackbequickly]

Until the next leap in technology, software improvements will be it. Apple already getting desperate with wrist temp and the "double tap".

 

[aj_niner]

A phone today is practically the only device we would need for day-to-day life, it is the all-in-one of today's world.

If Apple were to allow macOS on iPhone when connected to a Thunderbolt 5 display then over 90% of use cases would be covered.

Said setup would require an iPhone dock that has active heat sink fans to keep from overheating.

Apple would never do this as it would impact Mac sales.

Samsung has incentive to do this as their PC business isn't as significant as Samsung display sales.

As many pointed out M1/M2/M3 on an iPad Pro is overpowered.

iPhone's A17 Pro is overpowered for a smartphone. It would be perfect on a sub-$599 MSRP Mac mini & sub-$999 MSRP MBA.

Apple going after the ~$500 laptop segment & ~$300 mini PC segment may trigger anti-trust cases.

 

[1rottenapple]

Apple can make a fold phone in 2025 and in 2027 people want another innovation. Get out side and go hiking or something.

 

[decafjava]

Apple can make a fold phone in 2025 and in 2027 people want another innovation. Get out side and go hiking or something.

"Touch grass" in other words. Agree 100%

 

[aj_niner]

Apple can make a fold phone in 2025 and in 2027 people want another innovation. Get out side and go hiking or something.

Innovations & improvements are welcome.

I like the idea of Apple perfecting the implementation before releasing it to the general public.

This is unlike Android brands that release a "paid beta" and end users end up with a faulty hinge or OLED screen.

Would I buy an "iPhone fold"? Likely not as my experience with 90s flip phones points to me not spending on them.

 

[1rottenapple]

You know what tech advancements I want? I want a robot I could order around. Apple make it happen!

 

[Adelphos33]

Smartphone innovation, largely due to software, improvements in wireless technology, and select hardware additions, were massive from the first iPhone to say around 10 years ago. Remember at around 2012/2013, you could do things like order a cab, pay at a register with your phone, take increasingly high quality photos, watch long movies without wifi, etc. You really couldn't do any of that five years prior.

I agree that innovation over the past five years or so has stalled. But there was massive progress before them.

 

[sdfox7]

I don't think it's necessary or required to release new models every year. Of course, I don't live my life on my phone either.

Apple's roadmap likely has new features planned that are being kept mum. Replacing a phone every year is incredibly wasteful.

 

[OneSon]

In the areas where it truly matters (screen to device ratio, connections, speed) it really has flatlined. This is why the manufactures are focusing on the cameras. With cameras it is very, very easy to manipulate specs and language to give the impression the cameras are making large leaps forward. In reality, they're making marginal improvements but being able to create your own marketing terms and increase megapixels is very useful.

 

[KOTN91]

I largely agree with this post and think this is the case even more generally in terms of tech. There’s not been a huge amount of technological progress that impacts day to day life since the launch of the iPhone in comparison to 1987 to 2007

If someone from 2007 woke up in 2024 the world doesn’t look very different tbh. Sure there may be cutting edge stuff in AI and whatever, but in terms of day to day life it’s very similar except most people pay for stuff with contactless rather than cash. It’s certainly less of a change than 1987 to 2007

 

[1rottenapple]

I think people think are influenced by Back to the Future and think 2015 they would be flying cars. lol you mean out smartphones only have apps? its been 16 years already.

 

[LionTeeth]

I meant in general. Almost 20 years of development and we basically have just bigger screens. Not very impressive if we compare how mobile tech evolved before that. I feel like industry has started to hold innovation back to maximize profit.

This hand wave is a little silly. You could do this with any area of tech

“What’s changed in automobiles since 1910? You got four wheels four doors and a windshield. Nothing really has changed”

iPhone 2007 was a marvel at the time, but today’s phones blow it out of the water to an insane degree. Every aspect has improved drastically. Saying it’s just a bigger screen is either facetious or ignorant.