iPhone 14: are Apple launch events losing their lustre?
Social media users have ‘poked fun’ at tech giant’s latest event amid talk of ‘upgrade fatigue’

Apple unveiled its “most advanced” smartphone yet at a much-hyped launch event in the US yesterday.
Four versions of the iPhone 14 were shown off at the tech giant’s Cupertino headquarters, “with an audience attending in person for the first time since the pandemic”, said the BBC. The new device has car crash detection technology and encrypted fertility tracking, and is Apple's first handset capable of connecting to satellite internet.
But while the company also launched new Apple watches and new AirPods Pros, some commentators are questioning whether Apple launches are losing their lustre.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
In the run-up to Wednesday’s event, The Street suggested that consumers might be getting “upgrade fatigue”. And “looking at the upgrades that have been delivered as a result of these new iPhone launches”, some “have been, quite frankly, underwhelmed”, said the financial news site.
Unimpressed critics on social media have “poked fun” at the tech giant’s “seemingly small, incremental improvements”, said the Daily Mail, and “mocked various features the company touted”.
Tom’s Guide said that Apple clearly “wants to make its devices as indispensable as ever”. Marketing consultant Katie Martell told CNBC that many consumers remain excited about the launches because “we really do live in a world where what’s new and what’s next is considered most valuable”.
That hasn’t prevented rival companies from mocking the upgrades obsession. In 2011, Samsung released a tongue-in-cheek commercial in which people queue outside a mocked-up Apple store, waiting for a new smartphone release. One customer asks: “If it looks the same, how will people know I upgraded?”
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Chas Newkey-Burden has been part of The Week Digital team for more than a decade and a journalist for 25 years, starting out on the irreverent football weekly 90 Minutes, before moving to lifestyle magazines Loaded and Attitude. He was a columnist for The Big Issue and landed a world exclusive with David Beckham that became the weekly magazine’s bestselling issue. He now writes regularly for The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Independent, Metro, FourFourTwo and the i new site. He is also the author of a number of non-fiction books.
-
5 tactically sound cartoons about the leaked Signal chat
Cartoons Artists take on the clown signal, baby steps, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Roast lamb shoulder with ginger and fresh turmeric recipe
The Week Recommends Succulent and tender and falls off the bone with ease
By The Week UK Published
-
Adolescence and the toxic online world: what's the solution?
Talking Point The hit Netflix show is a window into the manosphere, red pills and incels
By The Week Staff Published
-
Space-age living: The race for robot servants
Feature Meta and Apple compete to bring humanoid robots to market
By The Week US Published
-
Apple pledges $500B in US spending over 4 years
Speed Read This is a win for Trump, who has pushed to move manufacturing back to the US
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
DOJ seeks breakup of Google, Chrome
Speed Read The Justice Department aims to force Google to sell off Chrome and make other changes to rectify its illegal search monopoly
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Google Maps gets an AI upgrade to compete with Apple
Under the Radar The Google-owned Waze, a navigation app, will be getting similar upgrades
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
How will the introduction of AI change Apple's iPhone?
Today's Big Question 'Apple Intelligence' is set to be introduced on the iPhone 16 as part of iOS 18
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
FDA OKs Apple AirPods as OTC hearing aids
Speed read The approved software will turn Apple's AirPods Pro 2 headphones into over-the-counter hearing aids
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Will the Google antitrust ruling shake up the internet?
Today's Big Question And what does that mean for users?
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Last updated
-
Apple unveils AI integration, ChatGPT partnership
Speed Read AI capabilities will be added to a bulked-up Siri and other apps, in partnership with OpenAI's ChatGPT
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published