(AP Photo/Tony Avelar)
Sure, there are a few things Apple can do to bring back innovation. With the announcement of the iPhone 11 last week, at least Apple is making one thing clear — Slofies are a thing now. We are truly living in the weirdest timeline.
Immediately following the announcement of the iPhone 11, polling site Pollfish (which doesn't actually poll fish, kind of disappointing) propped up a survey that asked iPhone fans what they were looking for, and not looking forward to, in the iPhone 11. Not surprisingly, out of the 300 respondents, 60% planned on upgrading to the iPhone 11 at some point in the near future, though probably not right away.
Apple is very camera focused with its iPhone 11, yet that didn't seem to be the most lauded selling point of the iPhone 11. Instead, the two top features that users are looking forward to in the iPhone 11 is improved shatter resistance and improved water resistance. Because we drop our phones. We get our phones wet sometimes. Apple users are exhausted with the fragility of these phones and improvements in this area are of course, appreciated. Especially considering the price.
There's a constant battle being raged between Apple and third-party repair services. Building a better, stronger (faster) phone might alleviate some of those pressure points in the market. Not having to fork over $1000 for a phone then spending a few hundred more six months later to replace the screen is a long-awaited selling point of the iPhone.
"Our survey on the iPhone 11 launch revealed that regardless of gender, income level, or enthusiasm about new tech, the one thing bringing iPhone users across America together is the ranking priority of certain iPhone 11 features,” said Michael Harbolt, VP of Marketing at Pollfish. “The slow-motion selfie was consistently be deemed the most ‘unnecessary,’ while durability qualities like ‘shatter resistance’ and ‘water resistance’ topped user preferences."
How this sentiment about durability will affect the iPhone case market is yet to be determined, but wouldn’t it be nice to buy an iPhone in a unique color and not have to cover it with a case because you are afraid of it breaking? This would certainly stem the sheer volume of iPhone case pitches I have in my inbox. While many iPhone users choose to live dangerously and carry their phones without a case, having a less breakable phone will provide users at least some respite from the fear of destruction leading to third-party repairs or Apple Store appointments.
Conversely, users were less than enthused with slow-motion selfies (Slofies) with a large number ranking Slofies as "unnecessary", but that's probably because they haven't used them and filled their Instagram with them yet. The same people who still use Bitmojis are probably frothing at the mouth for Slofies. There always seems to be a market for ridiculous visual interpretations of our own faces.
Price also seemed to be a factor in deciding when to upgrade. The most influential factor according to the survey was pricing, but considering that the price ranges of the iPhone 11 aren't too much different from the iPhone X, this seems to be something that people complain about but still fork over the cash in the end. While they might not upgrade right away, they will. Staying in the Apple ecosystem is just as integral to iPhone users as is having the latest and greatest camera, er, phone.
My own excitement for Apple phones over the years has been tepid at best, but building a stronger phone is a solid step toward perhaps changing the minds of those of us who view iPhones as brittle devices with good cameras. It seems, according to one survey at least, that durability, screen strength and water resistance are just as important features as the number of cameras on the back of the iPhone.
