San Francisco: In the run up to Apple’s “See you on the 7th” event in San Francisco seems a bit unusual, it may be because there is a whiff of apology in the air.
Before most major Apple events, there is always a flurry of media speculation, some fabricated, some “leaked,” and all of its designed to build up anticipation, readership and sales.
But at this event, which is expected to see the launch of the 6th generation of Apple’s flagship smartphone, the speculation seems to have given way to cautious presumption.
The internet is currently loaded with stories that all say a version on the following: the new iPhone will come in two new colours — both a shade of black, have upgraded processors and memory, improved cameras, waterproofing and no headphone jack.
The underlying theme: sorry, that’s all there is. Apple will almost surely keep a few surprises for the actually event on Wednesday’s morning, but this iPhone is already being viewed by the media as a phone designed to help keep sales up until the launch of the iPhone 8, which is supposed to be a BIG deal. That phone is expected to make its appearance in 2017.
That another flagship phone is expected to be launched in just one year speaks volumes. Since the launch of the iPhone 3G in 2008, Apple has kept to a regular schedule of releasing a new version of the iPhone, completely overhauled, every two years, with a major hardware upgrade about a year in between. The intervening model is usually branded with an ‘S’, such as the current iPhone 6S. If the iPhone 8 does hit the market next year, the iPhone 7 would be the first major iPhone release to remain on the market for only a single year since the original iPhone in 2007.
(For those of you doing the math and wondering why the iPhone 7 is only the 6th generation, the answer is that there was no iPhone 2. The company jumped right from the original iPhone to the 3G.)
The timing of a less-than-stellar new iPhone will probably raise investor questions about the future of the company under CEO Tim Cook. Cook has lead the company to continued financial success since the death of Apple founder Steve Jobs in 2011, but Apple this year has seen two quarters of slumping sales from its flagship product. Samsung has been narrowing the gap between the two smartphone rivals, adding pressure on Apple, but it is unclear if the global recall of the Note 7 last week will give Apple any breathing room.
Even with the launch of the Apple Watch last year, the company has yet to establish a new market-dominating product under Cook’s leadership. A quicker, more-responsive Watch with enhanced abilities as a sports tracker is also expected on Wednesday.
Any concern over the perceived lack of revenue from a lacklustre iPhone launch could be mitigated by something Apple seems to be doing away with — the headphone jack. Apple purchased Beats Electronics in 2014 for $3.2 billion dollars, but despite the acquisition, Apple has yet to announce any major products that tie the audio products manufacturer into its core line-up. The removal of the headphone jack from the iPhone is widely expected to be a sign that Apple is now ready to bring the two product lines closer together. The removal of the jack will also give Apple engineers the ability to make the iPhone even thinner that it is current depth of 7.1mm.
Gulf News will be attending the “See you on the 7th” event and will be Tweeting live from @gulfnewsbiz. The event starts at 9pm Gulf Standard Time.
