IfyouarestillusinganoldermodelofiPhone(e.g.iPhone11oriPhone12),youmaybethinkingaboutupgradingatsomepointinthefuture.Thenagain,ifthephoneyouhaveisstillworkingperfectly,whyupgrade?Applehaslaunchedanewtoolthattriestoshowyouwhatyouaremissingouton.

Thetooliscalled"ReasonstoUpgrade"andisbasicallyavariationofthedevicecomparisontoolsthatphonecompaniestendtooffer.Butinsteadofshowingalistofspecs,Appleseemstobetryingtoexplainthebenefitsofupgradinginmorepersonalterms.Manyofusknowthatbiggernumbersoftenmeanbetter,butithelpsifweknowwhythatis.

ThelatestiPhoneIuseregularlyistheiPhone12andIamoneofthepeopleAppleseemstobetargeting.SoIdecidedtocheckoutthetoolmyselfandseewhatApplethinkspeopleconsideringupgradingshouldknow.

ThefirstthingtonoteisthatApple'snewtoolonlycomparestheiPhone11and12series(includingthemini,Pro,andProMaxmodels)andallfouriPhone15modelscurrentlyavailable.SoifyouhaveotherphonesorareinterestedinsomethingotherthantheiPhone15,youneedtofindanotherwaytomakeupyourmind.

However,onceyouchoosetherightphone,thepagessubtlychangetoreflecthowmuchthenewiPhonehasimproved.Forexample,theiPhone15'scameraresolutionisfourtimesthatoftheiPhone12,whichApplesaysisbettersuitedtocapturedetailsandtintsinphotos.

Thecameraseemstoplayabigroleonthispage,andApplealsomentionsimprovedportraitmode,newactionandcinematicvideomodes,camerazoomcapabilities,andtheabilitytorecord4KDolbyVisionvideoat60fpsontheiPhone15

ApplehasalsoannouncedthattheiPhone15willrecord4KDolbyVisionvideoat60fps.

AppleisalsokeentoshowofffeaturessuchasUSB-Ccharging,DynamicIsland,improveddurability,andthehighperformanceoftheA16BionicandA17Prochipsetsfoundincurrentphones.DidyouknowthattheGPUinthelatteristwiceasfastastheGPUintheiPhone11'sA13Bionic?Icertainlydidn'tknowandAppleistryingtoemphasizethathere.

Ofcourse,youcanalsocomparethedesignsofbothmodelssidebysideonthispage.YoucanseethattheiPhone15ismuchmorecompactthantheiPhone11,eventhoughbothhave6.1"displays.

Itwouldn'tbeasalespitchifAppledidn'ttellyouhowmuchyoucouldgetforyourcurrentphoneifyoutradeitin.Bytheway,therebateisupto$180ifyouarestillusingtheiPhone11and$220fortheiPhone12.However,ifyourphoneisnotinpristinecondition,thetrade-invaluewillbeless.

OnethingtonotehereisthattheReasonstoUpgradepagealsohadtheoppositeeffectonmethanAppleintended.ThefactthatthechangestothepagewerequitesubtlemeansthatitalsoshowsthatthereisnochangebetweengenerationsofiPhones.Forexample,allfouriPhone15modelsaresupposedtooffer"fourtimestheresolution"ofalliPhone11andiPhone12models.

AreviewofthespecsshowsthatalliPhone15modelshave48MPsensors,whiletheiPhone11andiPhone12have12MPmaincameras.Ofcourse,thereismoretocameraqualitythanresolution,soitisoddthatApplewouldfocusonthesespecswhentherearebetterwaysforthelaymantodescribetheimprovementinphotoquality.

OnecancertainlyimaginesomeoneshyingawayfromtheiPhone15ProMaxwhentheylearnthatithasthesameresolutioncameraastheiPhone15.

Andagain,Ithinkthisisthepointofthistool.Wecanbreakdownthekeychangesanddetermineifthe5xtetraprismlensontheiPhone15ProMaxisactuallyworththeextra$400.

Andhonestly,itwouldhavebeenniceifApplehadincludedmodelsliketheiPhone13andiPhone14inthistool.Afterall,thesefolksmaybeconsideringanupgradeandit'sworthcheckingtoseehowtheirphonecomparestothelatestiPhonemodelsorifit'sworthwaitingfortheiPhone16launchlaterthisyear.

Butdespitethelimitedchoicesandtherelativelyminorwaythepagechangesfromphonetophone,itisclearwhatAppleistryingtodohere.It'sawaytomarkettheiPhone15serieswithoutresortingtocomparisonchartsandspeclists.Thosemaybeinformative,buttheyarelikereadingarecipefromthebackofacookieboxinsteadofeatingacookie.

Furthermore,ifyouarethinkingofupgradingyourphonetoamoreexpensivemodel,youneedalittlemorejustificationthanthefactthatthereisanewermodelwithaslightlylargernumberonthespecsheet.Apple'stooltellsyouallthereasons(inApple'sopinion)whyyoushouldbuyanewphone.

Still,givenhowmuchmoneytheiPhonebringsinforApple,it'snosurprisethatthecompanywantsasmanypeopleaspossibletobuythelatestmodel.