From Newsgroup: misc.phone.mobile.iphone


What a complete NON-surprise.
All these usless gimmicks are simply about selling newer phones to
people with more money than sense. Nobody actually asked for such
things and very few people actuall use them. Same with most of the
useless gimmick "features" in other things, such as cars.


Few Smartphone Owners Care About Foldables or AI, Survey Suggests
-----------------------------------------------------------------
A new survey suggests most U.S. smartphone owners are not motivated
to upgrade by foldable phone designs or AI features, a potential
challenge for Apple as it prepares to launch both the rumored
"iPhone Ultra" and an expanded suite of Apple Intelligence features
this fall.

The survey, commissioned by CNET and conducted by YouGov across
2,407 U.S. smartphone owners between April 29 and May 1, found that
only 13% of respondents would consider upgrading for a phone concept
such as a foldable or flip phone, while just 12% cited AI
integrations as an upgrade motivator.

Among iPhone owners specifically, interest in foldable designs was
slightly higher at 14%. Apple is widely expected to launch its first
foldable iPhone alongside the iPhone 18 Pro this fall, with a
starting price of around $2,000.

While a 13% interest statistic in foldable designs has been
characterized as evidence of limited appeal, it may actually
represent a larger addressable market than anticipated for a product
most consumers have never used and whose likely price was not
disclosed to respondents. Interest could shrink considerably once a
$2,000-plus price tag enters the picture, and supply chain reports
suggest smooth availability may not occur until 2027.

Consumer sentiment around AI integrations dropped sharply from 2024
to 2025 before edging slightly higher in 2026, though the figure
remains low at 12%. Previous surveys found that the majority of
iPhone users felt existing rCiApple IntelligencerCi features added little
to no value to their experience.

Price remains the overwhelming driver of upgrade decisions, cited by
55% of respondents, followed by longer battery life at 52%, and more
storage at 38%. Those top three motivators are unchanged from 2025,
when price led at 62%, battery life at 54%, and storage at 39%.

Camera features (27%) and display size (22%) ranked well ahead of
either foldables or AI as upgrade motivators. Smartphone owners are
also not particularly swayed by a phone being thinner or available in
new colors, findings that are relevant given Apple's recent emphasis
on the ultra-thin iPhone Air and expanded color options across its
lineup.



<https://www.macrumors.com/2026/05/13/few-users-care-about-foldables-or-ai/>





--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: misc.phone.mobile.iphone

On 2026-05-13 18:13, Your Name wrote:

What a complete NON-surprise.
All these usless gimmicks are simply about selling newer phones to
people with more money than sense. Nobody actually asked for such things
and very few people actuall use them. Same with most of the useless
gimmick "features" in other things, such as cars.

I think you'll find that most people don't care about such things...

...until someone does one that really works well.

The 'gimmick "features"' on cars?

Last decades gimmicks are this years essential features.
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: misc.phone.mobile.iphone

Your Name <YourName@YourISP.com> wrote:

What a complete NON-surprise.
All these usless gimmicks are simply about selling newer phones to
people with more money than sense. Nobody actually asked for such
things and very few people actuall use them. Same with most of the
useless gimmick "features" in other things, such as cars.

Few Smartphone Owners Care About Foldables or AI, Survey Suggests
-----------------------------------------------------------------
A new survey suggests most U.S. smartphone owners are not motivated
to upgrade by foldable phone designs or AI features, a potential
challenge for Apple as it prepares to launch both the rumored
"iPhone Ultra" and an expanded suite of Apple Intelligence features
this fall.

The survey, commissioned by CNET and conducted by YouGov across
2,407 U.S. smartphone owners between April 29 and May 1, found that
only 13% of respondents would consider upgrading for a phone concept
such as a foldable or flip phone, while just 12% cited AI
integrations as an upgrade motivator.

Among iPhone owners specifically, interest in foldable designs was
slightly higher at 14%. Apple is widely expected to launch its first
foldable iPhone alongside the iPhone 18 Pro this fall, with a
starting price of around $2,000.

While a 13% interest statistic in foldable designs has been
characterized as evidence of limited appeal, it may actually
represent a larger addressable market than anticipated for a product
most consumers have never used and whose likely price was not
disclosed to respondents. Interest could shrink considerably once a
$2,000-plus price tag enters the picture, and supply chain reports
suggest smooth availability may not occur until 2027.

Consumer sentiment around AI integrations dropped sharply from 2024
to 2025 before edging slightly higher in 2026, though the figure
remains low at 12%. Previous surveys found that the majority of
iPhone users felt existing rCiApple IntelligencerCi features added little
to no value to their experience.

Price remains the overwhelming driver of upgrade decisions, cited by
55% of respondents, followed by longer battery life at 52%, and more
storage at 38%. Those top three motivators are unchanged from 2025,
when price led at 62%, battery life at 54%, and storage at 39%.

Camera features (27%) and display size (22%) ranked well ahead of
either foldables or AI as upgrade motivators. Smartphone owners are
also not particularly swayed by a phone being thinner or available in
new colors, findings that are relevant given Apple's recent emphasis
on the ultra-thin iPhone Air and expanded color options across its
lineup.

<https://www.macrumors.com/2026/05/13/few-users-care-about-foldables-or-ai/>

I disagree that 13% equates to very few. That's a potential market of 10s
of millions just in the US.

With AI, we fall foul of public misunderstandings of tech. Ask if they want "AI" and a sizeable majority will say "no" given all the negative news. However, if ask whether they want to be able to find all their photos of
their with a simple search or remove that ugly lamppost from picture, then they'll go definitely "yes".

People definitely do want AI for certain things, but they won't call it
"AI".

--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: misc.phone.mobile.iphone

On 2026-05-14 07:22, Chris wrote:

Your Name <YourName@YourISP.com> wrote:

What a complete NON-surprise.
All these usless gimmicks are simply about selling newer phones to
people with more money than sense. Nobody actually asked for such
things and very few people actuall use them. Same with most of the
useless gimmick "features" in other things, such as cars.


Few Smartphone Owners Care About Foldables or AI, Survey Suggests
-----------------------------------------------------------------
A new survey suggests most U.S. smartphone owners are not motivated
to upgrade by foldable phone designs or AI features, a potential
challenge for Apple as it prepares to launch both the rumored
"iPhone Ultra" and an expanded suite of Apple Intelligence features
this fall.

The survey, commissioned by CNET and conducted by YouGov across
2,407 U.S. smartphone owners between April 29 and May 1, found that
only 13% of respondents would consider upgrading for a phone concept
such as a foldable or flip phone, while just 12% cited AI
integrations as an upgrade motivator.

Among iPhone owners specifically, interest in foldable designs was
slightly higher at 14%. Apple is widely expected to launch its first
foldable iPhone alongside the iPhone 18 Pro this fall, with a
starting price of around $2,000.

While a 13% interest statistic in foldable designs has been
characterized as evidence of limited appeal, it may actually
represent a larger addressable market than anticipated for a product
most consumers have never used and whose likely price was not
disclosed to respondents. Interest could shrink considerably once a
$2,000-plus price tag enters the picture, and supply chain reports
suggest smooth availability may not occur until 2027.

Consumer sentiment around AI integrations dropped sharply from 2024
to 2025 before edging slightly higher in 2026, though the figure
remains low at 12%. Previous surveys found that the majority of
iPhone users felt existing rCiApple IntelligencerCi features added little
to no value to their experience.

Price remains the overwhelming driver of upgrade decisions, cited by
55% of respondents, followed by longer battery life at 52%, and more
storage at 38%. Those top three motivators are unchanged from 2025,
when price led at 62%, battery life at 54%, and storage at 39%.

Camera features (27%) and display size (22%) ranked well ahead of
either foldables or AI as upgrade motivators. Smartphone owners are
also not particularly swayed by a phone being thinner or available in
new colors, findings that are relevant given Apple's recent emphasis
on the ultra-thin iPhone Air and expanded color options across its
lineup.



<https://www.macrumors.com/2026/05/13/few-users-care-about-foldables-or-ai/>

I disagree that 13% equates to very few. That's a potential market of 10s
of millions just in the US.

With AI, we fall foul of public misunderstandings of tech. Ask if they want "AI" and a sizeable majority will say "no" given all the negative news. However, if ask whether they want to be able to find all their photos of their with a simple search or remove that ugly lamppost from picture, then they'll go definitely "yes".

People definitely do want AI for certain things, but they won't call it
"AI".

This is exactly what I was driving at.

Not wants a technology per se.

They end up wanting the things the technology DOES.
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: misc.phone.mobile.iphone

Chris wrote:

I disagree that 13% equates to very few. That's a potential market of 10s
of millions just in the US.

With AI, we fall foul of public misunderstandings of tech. Ask if they want "AI" and a sizeable majority will say "no" given all the negative news. However, if ask whether they want to be able to find all their photos of their with a simple search or remove that ugly lamppost from picture, then they'll go definitely "yes".

People definitely do want AI for certain things, but they won't call it
"AI".

I agree with Chris that people want the value of what LLM/AI can do.

I took an AI course in graduate school way back in the late 1970's.
Inste4ad of hard coding the answers, I had it "learn" by telling it
when it was wrong, so it could adjust its guessing probabilities.

My AI program in the 1970's was all about probabilities.
The point being that AI has been around since the dawn of computers.

I wrote a paper on medical diagnostics using AI where you'd give it medical parameters and it would use probabilities to diagnose what an MD would say.

Computer programs are a big box with Machine Learning (ML) being inside of
that and AI being a box inside that with LLM being yet another box inside.

What most people call AI today is really that the LLM can talk to them.
Alexa and Siri were command based talking whereas AI has a wider range.

What's different is that the rigid decision tree is more flexible with AI.
And what's different is the LLM allows a natural language conversation.

What's also different now, is the vast database that AI is trained upon.
When you train AI on a database, the actual results are called parameters.

When you talk to a LLM, it doesn't see words as it sees only numbers.
When the LLM speaks to you, it is using purely mathematical probability.

And that's how computers have worked since the beginning.
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: misc.phone.mobile.iphone

On 2026-05-14 09:59, Maria Sophia wrote:

Chris wrote:

I disagree that 13% equates to very few. That's a potential market of 10s
of millions just in the US.

With AI, we fall foul of public misunderstandings of tech. Ask if they want >> "AI" and a sizeable majority will say "no" given all the negative news.
However, if ask whether they want to be able to find all their photos of
their with a simple search or remove that ugly lamppost from picture, then >> they'll go definitely "yes".

People definitely do want AI for certain things, but they won't call it
"AI".

I agree with Chris that people want the value of what LLM/AI can do.

That is literally the opposite of what he said.

I took an AI course in graduate school way back in the late 1970's.

No, you didn't.

Inste4ad of hard coding the answers, I had it "learn" by telling it
when it was wrong, so it could adjust its guessing probabilities.

My AI program in the 1970's was all about probabilities.
The point being that AI has been around since the dawn of computers.

No. DISCUSSION of AI has been around since then.

I wrote a paper on medical diagnostics using AI where you'd give it medical parameters and it would use probabilities to diagnose what an MD would say.

Cite it.
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2