Why reinvention is the only way Apple's iconic iPhone can survive
Apple's September 2018 Keynote event is just around the corner, and rumours are already coming in thick and fast about the tech giant unveiling three new iPhones to take on the might of Android biggies, Samsung and Google.
Though the reports remain conflicted on the names, what is all but certain is that these phones will be inspired heavily by last year’s special edition Apple smartphone, the iPhone X.
At its launch last year, the iPhone X was famously described by the company's CEO, Tim Cook, as the device that celebrates 10 years of innovation and one that will "set the path for technology for the next decade".
Far from innovative
However, away from the promised land, and closer to the realm of reality, the iPhone X turned out to be a not-so-exciting affair.
Despite featuring interesting technologies – infrared-backed facial recognition system, wireless charging, gesture-based controls and the all-new ARkit – along with improved performance courtesy a powerful chipset – A11 Bionic SoC – the iPhone X failed on the one metric that the device was being heavily marketed on.
Innovation.
In the name of an innovative edge-to-edge-display, the iPhone maker instead gave its users a notch-ridden panel which did not even attempt to find a fix to the front camera and mic module conundrum – a problem which since has been cleverly fixed by Chinese smartphone maker OPPO and its flagship, Find X.
The other big highlights of the iPhone X, such as the glass back, and gesture-based controls, also turned out to be features that had previously been seen on far more affordable smartphones running Android OS.
Overall, despite being a massive upgrade on the iPhone 7, the new smartphone managed to only look like a device in line with many of the Android flagships already available in the market.
More of the same this year?
Which is why it comes as a surprise that Apple is looking to stick to the formula that already looked dated in September last year.
Reports suggest that Apple is expected to release an updated version of the iPhone X with a 5.8-inch OLED screen, a larger 6.5-inch OLED model (call it an iPhone X Plus), and a new mid-range model that will feature a 6.1-inch display and borrow elements of both the iPhone X and the cheaper iPhone 8 variants.
All three phones are expected to be machined using glass sheets and a metal frame and come bearing at the front the dreaded notch which left Apple with many unhappy customers.
Earlier in the month, there were reports that the new iPhone line-up will come with support for the Apple Pencil. However, the latest chatter points to Apple also shelving such plans indefinitely.
According to respected Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, this is because the Cupertino-based tech giant is not confident that the Apple Pencil will offer a "good user experience” on the new iPhones.
Interestingly though, all three models, including the lower-cost 6.1-inch iPhone, are expected to include support for the new A12 chip, which analysts claim should give the new iPhones a 20-30 per cent bump in performance over last year’s iPhone line-up.
Innovate or risk being left behind
Though the new chipset is a welcome change, it is not really an out-of-the-box feature that we expect from a company which prides itself on innovation. The particular feature – much like the reported new iPhones in general – is only an iterative update and not the kind of reinvention of the formulae that we expect from Apple.
Adding support for Apple Pencil would have been a step in the right direction, but with that also not happening, the new reported new iPhones already appear drab and boring.
And this where the problem truly lies.
There is no denying that the iPhone X in isolation, or even in comparison to other Apple smartphones, came out looking like a winner. However, when compared to Android flagships like the Note 9, the Pixel 2 XL or even the Oppo Find X, the iPhone X felt a little underwhelming.
Yet, for Apple to stick to the same formulae, and populate the market with more of the same, is disappointing. The smartphone industry is based on innovation — and innovation alone is what will drive it forward. This is something that Apple, once the byname for innovation, really needs to get now.