The basic design of the iPhone hasn’t changed much in the last few years. New models get better annually, but the average person probably wouldn’t use the word ‘innovation’ to describe Apple’s recent upgrades. According to Tim Cook though, the iPhone roadmap looks especially exciting and there’s ‘a lot of innovation’ ahead.
Cook ‘could not feel more optimistic’ about iPhone pipeline
Yesterday, Apple reported its holiday quarterly earnings. It was the biggest quarter in the company’s history with over $124 billion in revenue.
Depending on who you ask, however, holiday iPhone sales were either a disappointment or success. A big miss in China, possibly due to AI’s absence, dragged down the iPhone 16 overall despite it outperforming iPhone 15 in most markets.
But on the company’s earnings call, CEO Tim Cook reiterated a bright future for the iPhone.
When asked about iPhone innovation, Cook replied:
There’s a lot more to come and I could not feel more optimistic about our product pipeline…there’s a lot of innovation left on the smartphone.
His words could be interpreted as just boilerplate positivity, which Cook expertly harnesses when speaking publicly.
But they also reaffirm various rumors and reports that point to the iPhone being on the brink of fresh hardware innovation.
iPhone 17 Air and foldable will usher in new wave of hardware innovation
Back in October, hardware chief John Ternus told Apple’s engineering group that the company’s upcoming iPhones would be the “most ambitious in the product’s history.”
While Apple is always working years ahead on new iPhone models, we do know about two models he could be referring to.
Later this year, the iPhone 17 Air will introduce a radically ultra-thin design and new screen size. Thanks to its drastic physical changes, it should be the first model in years that evokes the old question from onlookers, “Is that the new iPhone?”
Top comment by Blurft
Later this year, the iPhone 17 Air will introduce a radically ultra-thin design and new screen size.
Will it really be "a radically ultra-thin design"? I remember Tim Cook saying that the Apple Watch Series 10 had a "beautiful new design," and The Verge reported that audience members laughed after the reveal video because...it looks exactly the same as the Series 9.
The iPhone is already very thin, and I can't imagine any changes being "radical" or "ultra" unless they're literally shaving the design in half.
Thanks to its drastic physical changes, it should be the first model in years that evokes the old question from onlookers, “Is that the new iPhone?”
Given how many people slap a case on their phone, and everything else going on in the world right now occupying people's minds, I doubt anyone but the very-online are going to care enough to even try to discern if an iPhone is the newest model.
I really don't believe consumers will care about a thinner phone nearly as much as some here think.
Then next year, if Apple’s current timelines hold up, we should see the first ever foldable iPhone. The iPhone 18 Fold, as I’m calling it, will have a top-down fold design like the flip phones of olden days—and the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip.
If Apple is able to successfully ship both devices as expected, it will prove an especially exciting time for new iPhone hardware.
What do you think of Tim Cook’s iPhone remarks? Let us know in the comments.
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