Last Friday was a historical day. The iPhone turned 5 years old and in all honesty I cannot find any other product that has revolutionised an industry to a similar extent. Perhaps the invention of the car by Henry Ford is a suitable comparison. The similarities are definitely there. Both created supplementary businesses and both had their fair share of issues.
The iPhone is the jewel in the crown of Apple’s collection of products. It is an evolution of the iPod which also broke an industry wide open (hello music industry!) and then it was cannibalised to create the iPad. I cannot think of a single product that has contributed heavily to the success of the manufacturer, to the extent that the iPhone has done for Apple. We can all remember the excitement that the late Steve Jobs had when he unveiled the iPhone. The story is not perfect though. Who can ever forgot the lack of SD card slots & MMS initially. Antennagate is also not to be forgotten. Any other product that may have Antenna issues will most probably have a few detractors, yet with the iPhone 4 it became a huge PR disaster for Apple, which needed Steve Jobs to step in with a solution (a plastic case for the phone).
The App economy is nothing short of amazing. People have made millions of dollars from Apple in payment for creating software that is to be used on a third party device. Apple has also not done too badly with the finances from Apps. App development licenses and the fear of rejection of the app by Apple has also become somewhat expected. The single biggest thing that the iPhone has done is the ability of a piece of technology to create jobs. In general the employment is focused on one region where the manufacturing happens. Apple has been able to add considerable amounts of employment in China and Brazil. Apple invested in these countires to ensure that their product (iPhone) would be available to the world. This is one side of the story – manufacturing.
A big part of the iPhone’s success is the developers that make the Apple apps. They are found all over the world. In effect Apple has thousands of staff that contribute to their success without actually being on Apple’s payroll.
We are in a period of time in which an Apple iPhone is expected. Conventional wisdom leads to the device being launched in early October. What is to be launched is a completely different story. Apple is as secretive about their products now as they were when Jobs was running the company. I am expecting the following:
- Deeper integration with Facebook as mentioned at the last Apple event.
- A bigger screen, the current display is in need of an update. As much as Apple won’t admit it, Samsung and HTC with their latest releases have put the current iPhone in the spotlight for the wrong reasons. The current iPhone 4s is no longer far ahead of the competition.
- iOS 6 needs to be better in comparison to Google’s latest version of Android software called jelly bean.
- I believe that Apple will ensure that their camera is of better quality. Point and Shoot Digital cameras are no longer the preferred item to take photos with. Thus the camera needs to be upgraded.
- The long shot is iTunes. Even though it is one of the biggest assets that Apple has, they see no need to upgrade it. Maybe with the new iPhone that changes..
The name is another story. It is rumoured that the iPhone won’t be called iPhone 5 but rather just iPhone. I believe Apple will follow the naming convention from the latest iPad, which is not iPad 3 but just iPad.
The reality is that the rumour mill will spin and spin until the device is unveiled by Apple. Tim Cook is most probably one of the few people to know what is in store for us. The iPhone is important for Apple, but it needs a significant step forward to regain the lead over other platforms.
Let the countdown begin.
