Actually the EU only forced them to adopt USB C. Only their 'Pro' model actually has USB 3. Imagine having to pay a premium for the luxury of a 15 year old technology

Did Jobs build teams that invented the GUI, the cellphone, multitouch gestures, or mobile web browsing? No, he didn’t. But he built teams that productized those things better than anyone else before them, and that team forever changed our expectations for computing.

To be an innovative composer you don’t have to invent new instruments, scales, time signatures, etc. You have to know how to arrange existing stuff in new ways.

Yeah because the first iPhone wasn’t a Revolution,

It’s an insult to call this an article, is regurgitating some shit some dudes on twitter said.

Functioning AI voice assist, foldable, better peripherals, better input systems, better data transfer between systems, more durable, better battery life, repairable, more sustainable, better UI, decentralised communication options, meshnet options, etc.

There's plenty to do about smartphones that needs innovating...

are there any great innovations left

Honestly, this is such a weird take because, yes. Of course there are innovations left, you just cannot think of them yourself now because then they obviously would not be innovative but rather same old same old. Now the rate of new innovations probably did slow down a lot, I agree with that, so its harder to find something that is innovative in this space.

Let me install my own third party apps w/o the App store (I know altstore exists, but needing to renew apps every few days is super janky). If I spend my money on a device, I should be allowed to put whatever I want on it, however I want. Let me, the consumer accept the risks of doing so.

This is THE reason I switched from Apple to Android in 2017 and never looked back.

Unless forced this will never happen on Apple devices. The reason has nothing to do what they claim, about protecting users and people not knowing better. It has everything to do with locking people in their ecosystem. If uncurrated store appears it might bring with it applications that help people migrate out of the Apple ecosystem or provide compatibility with "undesired" devices. Better compatibility with Android watches means lower chances of people buying Apple Watch, etc.

I really liked the times when features were added and not killed off.

10 years ago you could purchase a flagship phone with IR blaster for controlling whatever you couldn't find a remote for, or trolling people in public spaces by turning off their TVs. Cloud storage wasn't as popular, but if your phone died, the images were safe on the micrSD card. Bluetooth headsets were a thing, but you could always just use a cheap pair of headphones to stick in the headphone jack. People who desired it could install a custom ROM with all kinds of optimizations and less bloat. It used to be a lot more popular back then. Other than cameras, battery life, and reversible and more robust USB-C connectors, there isn't much innovation. I used to feel like I owned my device much more back then. Now I only use the stock ROM, can either use wireless headphones or ones that use the charging port. I can't insert a microSD, or test new features for Android ported from other devices by someone on XDA Developers. I'm not using the phone the way I want, but the way the companies who made it decided on.

The base model of the iPhone still doesn't have USB 3 and won't have the latest USB-PD. The USB 2 standard was released over 20 years ago. The Lightning plug was released over 10 years ago. The plug technology on iPhones is seemingly being kept out of date on purpose. At least that is what people are complaining about.

It's better for the environment anyway. Regardless of manufacturer. There's also almost no need to get a new device every year. Marginal hardware upgrades mean very little to average consumer, it's just a numbers race and most people don't really take their devices to the edge of performance.

Usb-c is going to be a big deal for connecting devices to the phone.

Android users welcome you to 2017...

Now I don’t need to have some studios lightning adapter to plug in a usb drive or to get video out.

...or not. Apple will limit USB-C to USB 2.0 speeds so... good luck with that.

“We put a bigger number on the box.”

Didn't they actually participate in it's invention...?

Did you forget about the groundbreaking feature of the removal of the audio jack?

That’s probably true for most phones. There’s only so much you can do with the black obelisk they’ve all become and now we’re just quibbling over what external connections they have. I mean you could tweak the camera, put in a better battery, better processor…but the obelisk phone is done as far as what can be “innovated”.