For the last couple months the Internet has been chalk full of rumors that Apple is losing its edge, and that the iPhone isn’t as cool as it once was. Maybe some of those rumors are right, maybe not, but Apple’s ex-Ad Guru, Ken Segall, predicts that the iPhone’s biggest years are still ahead of it.
In a recent blog post, Segall speculates that the iPhone will follow a similar development cycle as the iPod. For the first few years Apple has worked on evolving and perfecting the device, but 2013 will be the year that Segall thinks we’ll finally get an iPhone Mini, iPhones in color, and maybe even a big iPhone.
“Back when the very first iPhone was about to launch, it was assumed by many inside Apple that iPhone would follow the path of iPod before it. The first year or two would be devoted to evolving and perfecting the device — and then the iPhone line would be expanded to address various types of customers.
iPod’s biggest years came after it had expanded into a family of products.
Given that history, and given the growing demand for certain variations on the theme, there’s a good chance that the next iPhone will actually be a family of iPhones.”
Segall then breaks down the different iPhone variants we might see. For a more affordable iPhone, Segall says that Apple would never follow the “cheap” path, but will instead use a smaller screen, a plastic casing like the iPhone 3GS, and maybe a weaker processor.
We’ve heard a number of rumors that Apple will start offering the iPhone in different colors in 2013, and Segall agrees. Apple has used colors to jazz up a number of maturing products in the past, including the iPod, MacBook, and iMac. Segall thinks that Apple will give customers more color choices this year so that the iPhone feels like a more personal device.
One surprise in Segall’s predictions is the claim that Apple will offer an iPhone Max or larger screened iPhone:
“The fact is, a lot of people are responding positively to the larger screens offered by Samsung and others. Apple can either watch as its competitors peel away a significant chunk of its business, or it can make an Apple-quality product and give customers a choice of a different screen sizes within the iPhone ecosystem.”
The launch of the iPhone 5 and iPad mini last year prove that Apple’s not afraid to go with a bigger, or smaller, screen size to make customers happy. We doubt we’ll see an iPhone Max in 2013, but if Ken’s right, will 2014 will be the year of the iPhablet?
Source: Ken Segall
