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iPhone

 3rd April 2024 at 11:47pm

Stephen's iPhone Picks

Type2017 Annual PredictionsScore
Stephen Regular "The iPhone 7S and 7S+ will look like the 7 and 7+, not this edge to edge unicorn phone that has been rumored" 1
  • This was deemed correct during grading, allowing for the "7S" actually being named the 8.
  • During grading, Myke wondered if Stephen had been thinking that there would be a phone with the traditional design, or if he was thinking that there would be no "unicorn" phone at all. Of course, it is impossible to read his mind, but in the original pick, Stephen seems to imply that it will just be the "7S".
Type2018 iPhone Event PredictionsScore
Stephen Non‑graded "No iPads, iPhone and Apple Watch only" 1
Stephen Non‑graded "Names will be XC and XS" 0
Stephen Non‑graded "Line will be XS, 9, 8+, 8, 7+, 7, SE" 1
  • Exact names weren't the main goal of this pick. The pick intended to convey that the existing iPhone X would drop from the lineup, but both sizes of 8 and 7 would stick around.
  • The SE being dropped as well wasn't enough to make the pick wrong, apparently.
Stephen Non‑graded "iPhone 9 will come in colors" 1
Type2019 Fall RickiesScore
Stephen Regular "The iPhone XR will become the iPhone 11" 1
Type2020 September RickiesScore
Stephen Flexie "Apple somehow sets expectations for when the iPhone will be announced" 0
Type2020 October RickiesScore
Stephen Regular "ProMotion does not come to new iPhones" 1
Stephen Regular "The iPhone Pro will come in at least 1 new color" 1
Stephen Risky "The iPhone Pro moves to USB-C" -1
  • Stephen was very sure of this pick.
Stephen Flexie "At least some of the new iPhones have 5G" 1
Type2021 Annual RickiesScore
Stephen Flexie "The new iPhone will be the 12S, not the 13" 0
Type2021 September RickiesScore
Stephen Regular "The Pro iPhone gets a new camera feature the regular iPhone doesn't get" 1
Stephen Risky "MagSafe is updated to support 20 watt charging or higher, but a new puck is required" -1
  • This was originally just "faster charging", but the live chat pointed out a recent FCC filing by Apple which undercut the riskiness of the pick. Stephen added a specific wattage target and also had to decide whether the existing MagSafe puck will support the higher wattage.
Stephen Flexie "The iPhone Pro comes in 5 colors/finishes, not the traditional 4" 0
  • This unexpectedly came true in spring 2022, when Apple added a new green color to the Pro line.
Type2022 March RickiesScore
Stephen Regular "A new iPhone SE with 5G support is announced" 1
Stephen Flexie "A new color of iPhone 13 (family) is announced" 1
Type2022 September RickiesScore
Stephen Flexie "The iPhone 14 entry's price is the same or higher than the 13 mini's price of $699" 1
Stephen Flexie "The iPhone 14 Pro comes in a total of five colors" 0
Stephen Flexie "Apple shows off at least one new MagSafe accessory" 0
Stephen Flexie "The A16 is built on a 3 nanometer process" 0
  • Very very close: it was 4 nm.
Stephen Flexie "The iPhone 14 Pro switches to titanium for the side rails" 0
Stephen Flexie "Center Stage comes to the iPhone" 0
  • This was tossed out as a possible replacement Risky pick for this game after Stephen's original got invalidated, but ultimately landed as a Flexie.
Stephen Flexie "Lightning is updated to be faster than USB 2.0" 0
Type2023 Annual RickiesScore
Stephen Flexie "The iPhone 15 and 15 Pro use the same generation system-on-a-chip" 0
  • They could be different chips with different branding, but not, say, an A16 and an A15.
Stephen Flexie "Apple sells an "iPhone 15 Ultra"" 0
Type2023 September RickiesScore
Stephen Regular "At least 1 new iPhone ships with USB-C" 1
Stephen Regular "The two Pro phones will have different camera features" 1
  • It is agreed not to quibble too much about the name "Pro" if there ends up being something like an Ultra phone.
Stephen Flexie "Some iPhones will come with color-matched cables" 0
Stephen Flexie "Apple replaces its leather iPhone cases with a new product" 1
Stephen Flexie "iPhone Pro models will be equipped with Thunderbolt, but will come with a USB-C cable in the box, requiring a separate purchase of a Thunderbolt cable" 0
Stephen Flexie "iPhone 15 and 15 Plus get an always-on display" 0
Stephen Flexie "The iPhone 15 Pro Max/Ultra weighs within 10% of the iPhone 14 Pro Max's weight" 1
  • "The new phone will need to be between 228g - 264g, as the 14 Pro Max weighs 240g" was what was written down, but those numbers are off (there was some shuffling between 5% and 10% when debating this as a Risky pick). Ultimately it did end up being within 10%.

Myke's iPhone Picks

Type2017 Annual PredictionsScore
Myke Regular "An iPhone Pro with Apple Pencil support, 2 Apple Pencils" 0
  • "2 Apple Pencils: the standard and a short one that supports the iPhone and iPad mini"
  • During grading, Federico proposes what will become Risky Picks, including 2 points for correct picks and losing a point for being wrong, as Myke describes how he wanted to go big with this pick.
Type2018 Annual PredictionsScore
Myke Regular "There will be a bigger iPhone X style phone, but it will not have an OLED screen" 1
  • The iPhone XR saved Myke here, as the XS Max was OLED which he didn't think would be possible for such a big display.
Type2018 iPhone Event PredictionsScore
Myke Non‑graded "The cheaper iPhone will be called iPhone 9" 0
Myke Non‑graded "The only iPhones seen on stage will be the ones we already know about" 1
  • This seems to have been a sub-bullet point to the previous pick originally, but was forcibly upgraded to a full pick by Myke during grading. (Again, this "game" wasn't even supposed to be a competition originally.)
Myke Non‑graded "The larger iPhone will be called XS+" 0
Myke Non‑graded "New and faster FaceID" 1
Myke Non‑graded "A new, unique case" 0
  • Apple's case lineup would stay effectively unchanged until 2023, when the Fine Woven case replaced the leather case.
Type2019 Annual PredictionsScore
Myke Risky "Apple releases an iPhone subscription service that bundles a device, AppleCare, and a selection of other Apple content services into one monthly payment" -1
  • "(Not just additional iCloud space)"
  • The free AppleTV+ trial with new devices combined with an iPhone Upgrade Program purchase is deemed to not count during grading.
Myke Non‑graded "2019 iPhones will start at a lower price than the 2018 iPhones" 1
Type2019 Fall RickiesScore
Myke Regular "New colours in the iPhone line as compared to the previous year" 1
Myke Regular "There will be 3 cameras on the high end phones" 1
  • Ungraded: "the cameras will be ultrawide, 'the camera', and telephoto"
Type2020 Annual RickiesScore
Myke Regular "The 2020 iPhone line will feature at least one 5G phone" 1
Myke Regular "The iPad Pro line is updated before the iPhone with a hardware feature that's not on any current iPhone in 2019 or 2020" 1
  • Myke says during grading that he originally expected 5G to get him this point but LIDAR did instead, but he actually focused on LIDAR when originally explaining this pick. (During the grading, Federico delivers his impromptu review of the 2020 iPad Pro.)
Myke Risky "The notch on the iPhone will get physically smaller in at least one of the 2020 iPhones" 2
  • Grading for this was tricky, but Stephen discovered that the Apple Accessory Design Guidelines indicate that the notch got very slightly smaller, by millimeters, mostly due to the switch from LCD to OLED in the iPhone 12. The consensus is that it's a technical victory but not an honorable one.
Type2020 October RickiesScore
Myke Regular "Apple announces 4 phones, but in only 3 sizes" 1
Myke Risky "The new iPhone will have a Touch ID sensor" -1
Type2021 September RickiesScore
Myke Regular "At least one iPhone gets a 120 hz refresh rate display" 1
  • This was nearly a reuse of a previous pick before the live chat caught it. The fix was to specify an exact refresh rate to make it more specific.
Myke Risky "An iPhone gets an always-on display with a UI element that is reminiscent of Apple Watch complications" -1
Myke Flexie "The new iPhone colour will be a new version of a colour they've already used" 1
  • e.g. a new shade of blue, green, gold, black, etc.
Type2022 Annual RickiesScore
Myke Regular "There will be no iPhone 14 with a 5.4" display" 1
  • AKA the iPhone mini.
  • 😭
Type2022 March RickiesScore
Myke Risky "The new iPhone SE has a design influenced by the iPhone mini, it does not feature Face ID, it has a Touch ID power button" -1
Type2022 September RickiesScore
Myke Regular "At least one iPhone will have the notch removed, replaced by a cut-out(s) for the camera and sensors, free-floating from the border" 1
  • Or, as Stephen so poetically put it, "AKA an island of black glass in an ocean of pixels." Little did he know that Apple would actually call it "the Dynamic Island".
Myke Regular "At least one iPhone gets an upgraded main camera" 1
Myke Flexie "A new iPhone Pro colour is Purple" 1
Myke Flexie "Astrophotography feature" 0
  • No verb necessary, Myke decides.
Myke Flexie "Satellite communication features for iPhone and/or Apple Watch" 1
Myke Flexie "Apple gives a new name to the A15 chip found in the non-Pro iPhones" 0
  • For example, instead of A15 Bionic, the A15 Trionic, just to make it sound newer.
Myke Flexie "At least one iPhone model does not have a shipping date of September 16" 1
Type2023 Annual RickiesScore
Myke Regular "An iPhone gets USB-C" 1
  • Seems inevitable but it might be a bit ahead of its time.
  • Ungraded: might just be the Pro phones, to advertise the improved transfer speeds.
Myke Flexie "An iPhone gets a periscope camera" 1
Type2023 September RickiesScore
Myke Regular "At least 1 iPhone gets a camera with a more than 3x zoom" 1
  • Was "telephoto lens" specifically before Myke reconsidered
Myke Regular "At least 1 iPhone gets a 3 nm processor" 1
Myke Risky "Apple calls the new camera the "Magic Telephoto"" -1
  • Myke thinks that "periscope" is a bad name for regular people and so Apple will pick something else, and to make it risky, he has made a specific guess at the branding. He also considered "Ultra Telephoto".
Myke Flexie "The Pro Max becomes the Ultra" 0
Myke Flexie "Apple debuts a new style of charging accessory for the iPhone" 0
Myke Flexie "Dynamic Island on all new iPhones" 1

Federico's iPhone Picks

Type2018 iPhone Event PredictionsScore
Federico Non‑graded "Cheaper phone is not called "iPhone 9"" 1
Type2019 Fall RickiesScore
Federico Regular "The biggest phone will not be called Pro Max" 0
Federico Regular "The new phone will offer some kind of night mode for shooting photos in the dark" 1
Type2020 Annual RickiesScore
Federico Regular "At least one of the 2020 iPhones will have a higher refresh rate display (Pro Motion)" 0
  • This feature did show up in the iPhone 13 line.
Type2020 October RickiesScore
Federico Regular "The new iPhones will carry a new design inspired by the iPad Pro/iPhone 4" 1
  • "Flat sides"
Federico Regular "One of the new iPhones will not have the USB charger in the box" 1
Federico Risky "One of the new iPhones with LIDAR has a new portrait feature thanks to new sensors" 2
Federico Flexie "Apple introduces a new proximity-based software feature for iPhone based on the U1 chip" 1
Type2021 Annual RickiesScore
Federico Flexie "At least one new iPhone model has both Face ID and Touch ID" 0
Type2021 April RickiesScore
Federico Flexie "New case colors for the iPhone" 1
Type2021 WWDC RickiesScore
Federico Flexie "iOS 15 drops support for the iPhone 6S" 0
  • iOS 15 kept the 6S around for one more year, but iOS 16 finally dropped it.
Type2021 September RickiesScore
Federico Regular "There will be a setting to disable the higher refresh rate in at least one of the new iPhones" 1
  • Was originally just a pick about a new, as-yet-unannounced iOS 15 feature, but the hosts suspected that was another reuse.
  • In retrospect, this was a tricky pick to grade because how would we know the day after the event? Federico provides some insider information indicating that the setting does exist, but can it be said to have "come true", as the rule states, without proof? The meaning of truth itself is debated, perhaps a philosophical high point for the Rickies. The point is ultimately granted, with the understanding that in the future, the rules will be amended to clarify that picks must be publicly verifiable to earn points.
Federico Regular "The new iPhones keep the same screen sizes as last year" 1
Federico Risky "An iPhone gets an updated Face ID sensor that supports partially occluded faces" -1
  • Cannot be a feature that comes to existing iPhones
  • This feature did come in 2022, but didn't require new hardware.
Type2022 March RickiesScore
Federico Regular "New iPhone case colors and/or watch band colors are introduced at or after the event" 1
Type2022 September RickiesScore
Federico Regular "At least one of the next 'Pro' iPhones will have an always-on display" 1
Federico Regular "There won't be a mini iPhone in the iPhone 14 family" 1
Federico Risky "The iPhone 14 Pro Camera app introduces some kind of 3D capturing functionality" -1
Federico Flexie "On the always-on Lock Screen for iPhone 14 Pro, you see notifications in Count mode" 0
Federico Flexie "Faster MagSafe charging in at least one of the new iPhones" 0
Federico Flexie "iOS 16 is released on Monday, September 12" 1
Federico Flexie "There will be a system filter for "always-on display" in Focus" 0
  • Deemed incorrect because it wasn't mentioned and there was no way to find out at the time of grading. This was in fact the correct decision, as it was not present in iOS 16 originally. The feature did eventually arrive in iOS 16.4, so this pick was just a bit early.
Federico Flexie "You will be able to control which data types show on the always-on lock screen" 0
  • Similar to the privacy controls that the always-on Apple Watch has for complications
  • This could have been a feature at the time, but there was no way to know at the time of grading. With the OS now released, we know that it was not present after all.
Federico Flexie "The new big non-pro iPhone 14 is called the iPhone 14 Plus" 1
Type2023 Annual RickiesScore
Federico Regular "There will not be an iPhone 15 mini" 1
  • 😭
Type2023 WWDC RickiesScore
Federico Flexie "We see at least one new Dynamic Island feature" 1
Type2023 September RickiesScore
Federico Regular "The Pro iPhones will use titanium instead of stainless steel for the chassis" 1
Federico Regular "At least 1 of the new iPhones will have a customizable "action" button instead of a traditional mute switch" 1
  • Again, the name doesn't have to be exactly right, it's the concept.
Federico Flexie "Some of the new iPhones will be more expensive in some European countries" 0
  • In fact the opposite happened, surprisingly.
Federico Flexie "iPhone 15 gets slower-speed USB-C transfers compared to the Pro models" 1
  • "Compared to the Pro models" was added for clarity.