Apple is announcing the iPhone 17 line up today, but I know one person who won’t be watching (clue: it’s me). As a recovering brand disciple, I’ve sat through Apple’s launch keynotes for the last five years, often running the live blog here at Creative Bloq. But for 3 very specific reasons, in 2025 I’m, not buying what Apple’s selling.
As ever, we have a pretty watertight idea of what to expect from Apple at today’s event. Spoiler alert: the cameras will be better, and probably top our best iPhones for photography roundup. The rumour mill has churned out every last detail, from the device dimensions to the accessories. And for me, everything points to the fact that the smartphone’s glory days are over. Here’s why.
Fan-made renders of the rumoured iPhone 17 line up (Image credit: Future)
01. Big isn’t better
I’m not sure when the smartphone industry collectively decided to start releasing phones that require three hands to hold. As somebody who is digitally challenged (that is, I have fairly small fingers), I rejoiced when Apple released the iPhone 12 mini in 2020. Alas, after just one successor, 2021’s 13 mini, the line was dropped as sales were apparently smaller than the phone itself.
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I think the iPhone 13 mini was the last great iPhone, and I’m willing to die on that pointless hill. It’s a phone you can put in your pocket and forget about. It’s a phone you can use one handed. It’s a phone that doesn’t double as an IMAX screen. It’s the last of the iPhones that doesn’t feel like it’s designed to be stared at for every minute of your waking life.
My beloved iPhone 13 mini (Image credit: Jeremy Bezanger via Unsplash)
There was hope for a moment back there that Apple might be bringing the small phone back. The much rumoured iPhone 17 Air is set to be the thinnest ever released. But then it emerged that in every other dimension, it’ll be even bigger than the standard iPhone 17, with a 6.6-inch display. Big phones are here to stay, and they’re only getting bigger.
Today, on the day Apple announces its new wares, I have bought a refurbished iPhone 13 mini to use for the next few years. I have no doubt this act of defiance will be remembered by generations to come.
02. Pre-recorded announcements > live events
(Image credit: Apple)
Apple was forced to move away from its traditional live product reveal event as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic in 2020, instead debuting a new pre-recorded video style. With heavily-rehearsed piece-to-cameras, slick sets and snappy transitions, the whole thing serves as an incredibly polished and high budget ad. It looks good – and yet it’s very much missing the human touch and soul of those auditorium-based events. Gone is the element of risk – no product demo is going to go wrong here.
Sadly, Apple has doggedly stuck to this clinical style for the last five years, to the point that it’s hard to feel excited about yet another super-HD video of Tim Cook saying “Good morning,” following by a bunch of shiny Apple people reeling off specs in front of imaginary giant screens.
It’s ironic really, that Apple itself is emphasising the ‘more of the same’ sense of the iPhone by producing practically identical launch videos every year. Speaking of which…
03. More of the same
The evolution of the iPhone (Image credit: Apple Explained)
After the launch of the iPhone 16, I declared in my wisdom that the tech world is floundering. The last ‘iPhone moment’, in which a piece of tech came and along and changed everything, was, arguably, the first iPhone in 2007. Since then, we’ve seen tons of attempts at new product categories – most recently Vision Pro, and all those pitiful AI gadgets, but nothing has truly taken off. And meanwhile the iPhone has been ticking along in the background, the updates getting more and more incremental.
Let’s be honest; gone are the days of needing to upgrade your phone every year. Well, those days never existed – but there was a time when each new iPhone had enough features to tempt even owners of the previous model. But that’s all changed – aside from minor camera improvements, the addition of the odd button here and there, and the aforementioned ever-growing screens, it truly feels like there isn’t much room for innovation anymore.
But hey, at least the iPhone 20 sounds like it might be interesting.