Yep nothing to see here, this commentary was maybe notable for the iPhone 4 -> 4s. I went from iPhone 5s to iPhone X and even that jump felt like slightly improving on a good thing. This next jump will be the same again. The incremental improvements do accumulate nicely over 5-7 years between upgrading.

Apple may be more on the pulse for consumers hopes and dreams than NYT when considering what they are incrementally improving. The iPhone 13 camera being the best yet for low-light photography does matter to this non-professional.