Apple gov't rep says next two iPhones were designed under Steve Jobs
In discussing the possibility of adding a theft resistant "kill switch" to future iPhone models, Apple's government liaison has noted that the next two generations of iPhone have already been developed, and were designed before Steve Jobs' death.
Seeking to stem the tide of smartphone thefts, San Francisco's District Attorney George Gasc?n has met carriers and device makers, including Apple, whose iPhones account for half of the devices pilfered in the City. The depth of Apple's product pipeline surfaced during those talks.
Instead, Gasc?n said the meeting with Apple?s government liaison Michael Foulkes was "very underwhelming," and added, "he did most of the talking. It was incredible. He would just go on and on, one subject to the next. It was hard to follow. It was almost like someone who?s been trained in the art of doing a lot of talking and saying nothing."
Foulkes discussed the research and development behind creating and deploying a "kill switch" system to arrest phone theft, but "also said the next two generations of iPhones have already been developed," according the report.
Gasc?n further commented that the next two iPhone models in the pipeline "preceded Tim Cook."
Jobs passed away the day before Apple unveiled iPhone 4S in late 2011. That indicates Jobs had known about the design of next three generations of iPhones following it.
No carrier or phone maker has made any significant efforts to deploy a fool-proof antitheft device for smartphones, although the industry collectively came up with a national registry in the U.S. that allows victims of theft to enter their device's mobile serial number. Carriers can consult the registry and voluntarily block activation of phones reported as stolen.
The registry is limited by the fact that not all carriers participate, and that many stolen devices are shipped overseas. Adding any sort of kill switch would likely result in lots of new, unanticipated issues for carriers and phone makers.
Any kill switch system that could be "unlocked" could conceivably also be unlocked by sophisticated thieves (according to the arguments against DRM, which say that all locks are ineffective). Any permanently disabling system could be invoked by mistaken users or malicious agents who figure out how to remotely disable anyone's phone using nothing more than their ID number and a false theft report.
Apple has deployed "Find My iPhone" features that enable users to track stolen devices, but these rely on the ignorance of thieves, who can easily disable the tracking system or simply turn off the device. Some have suggested that Apple could at least try to demand a security passcode to power off or disable the tracking of a user's iOS device.
Over the past two years, critics have cited the iPhone 4S and iPhone 5 as evidence that Cook's Apple is wildly different and woefully incapable of remaining as successful as the company had been under Jobs, despite two years of financial reports and sales records that refute that flawgic.
The fact that Apple still has another two iPhone generations that were developed under Jobs also indicates that the charismatic executive had also witnessed and approved of the development of other things in Apple's roadmap that have been recently released, including last summer's MacBook Pro with Retina Display and the newly redesigned Mac Pro that Cook has said the company will release this year.
Seeking to stem the tide of smartphone thefts, San Francisco's District Attorney George Gasc?n has met carriers and device makers, including Apple, whose iPhones account for half of the devices pilfered in the City. The depth of Apple's product pipeline surfaced during those talks.
I'm from the government and I'm here to help you
According to a report by Mike Aldax of the SF Examiner, Gasc?n was left "disheartened" by a meeting with mobile carriers, and hoped that subsequent discussions with Apple would "reveal a commitment toward solutions."Instead, Gasc?n said the meeting with Apple?s government liaison Michael Foulkes was "very underwhelming," and added, "he did most of the talking. It was incredible. He would just go on and on, one subject to the next. It was hard to follow. It was almost like someone who?s been trained in the art of doing a lot of talking and saying nothing."
Foulkes discussed the research and development behind creating and deploying a "kill switch" system to arrest phone theft, but "also said the next two generations of iPhones have already been developed," according the report.
Gasc?n further commented that the next two iPhone models in the pipeline "preceded Tim Cook."
Jobs passed away the day before Apple unveiled iPhone 4S in late 2011. That indicates Jobs had known about the design of next three generations of iPhones following it.
No deliverables for DA voters obtained
While the DA indicated he didn't expect Apple to change the design of the next iPhone based on the discussion held last week, he was hoping for a "plan in place," given that he believes that the technology is possible. He further speculated that Apple isn't too concerned about thefts because "there's just too much being made on stolen phones."No carrier or phone maker has made any significant efforts to deploy a fool-proof antitheft device for smartphones, although the industry collectively came up with a national registry in the U.S. that allows victims of theft to enter their device's mobile serial number. Carriers can consult the registry and voluntarily block activation of phones reported as stolen.
The registry is limited by the fact that not all carriers participate, and that many stolen devices are shipped overseas. Adding any sort of kill switch would likely result in lots of new, unanticipated issues for carriers and phone makers.
Any kill switch system that could be "unlocked" could conceivably also be unlocked by sophisticated thieves (according to the arguments against DRM, which say that all locks are ineffective). Any permanently disabling system could be invoked by mistaken users or malicious agents who figure out how to remotely disable anyone's phone using nothing more than their ID number and a false theft report.
Apple has deployed "Find My iPhone" features that enable users to track stolen devices, but these rely on the ignorance of thieves, who can easily disable the tracking system or simply turn off the device. Some have suggested that Apple could at least try to demand a security passcode to power off or disable the tracking of a user's iOS device.
Embarrassing to the Cook bashers
While San Francisco's DA didn't solve the case of the missing iPhone, his revelation of the size of Apple's product pipeline does demolish the accusations of analysts and other observers who have been trying to establish that Apple suddenly went rudderless and blind the day it lost Jobs as its cofounder and former chief executive.Over the past two years, critics have cited the iPhone 4S and iPhone 5 as evidence that Cook's Apple is wildly different and woefully incapable of remaining as successful as the company had been under Jobs, despite two years of financial reports and sales records that refute that flawgic.
The fact that Apple still has another two iPhone generations that were developed under Jobs also indicates that the charismatic executive had also witnessed and approved of the development of other things in Apple's roadmap that have been recently released, including last summer's MacBook Pro with Retina Display and the newly redesigned Mac Pro that Cook has said the company will release this year.
Comments
Wonderful. Two more years of idiots screaming "RIDING ON THE COATTAILS!"
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tallest Skil
Wonderful. Two more years of idiots screaming "RIDING ON THE COATTAILS!"
While at the same time complaining that Apple is devoid of innovation or new ideas since Steve is gone. Personally I think this is a bunch of BS. Steve may have signed off on stuff but that doesn't mean they're etched In stone and can never be changed. For instance we have no idea if Steve signed off on the mini or not. All we have was that leaked email from Eddy Cue saying Steve was receptive to the idea.
"It was almost like someone who's been trained in the art of doing a lot of talking and saying nothing."
Originally Posted by razyboy
…wouldn't that prevent all iPhones from being stolen…
No.
At some point this becomes ridiculous. Jobs died in 2011. When the next iPhone comes out, it will be fall 2013. That one is likely to have been started while Jobs was alive. From a physical standpoint, it likely will be the same as the iPhone 5, which was almost certainly developed while Jobs was alive. The iPhone 6 (what I'm calling it for convenience) will debut in another year, and I don't think that any company uses a 3 year development cycle for phones.
I call bullshit. I'm sure SJ had ideas of which general direction he wanted future iPhones to go, but thousands of decisions are made every single day in terms of design and direction. SJ left Apple as CEO mid 2011. There's no way in hell iPhones to be released in 2013+2014 were "designed" by him, or that even the major aspects were set in stone. Things change so fast in this industry, and hardware/software processes are dependant on the current technology. You can't make very specific design decisions that far in advance. Even the original iPhone design was changed at the last minute in a major way (ie. glass screen instead of plastic). I love how to avoid giving Apple any credit, any major success they have is dismissed as being part of "SJs roadmap", and yet anything they see as a flaw they chalk up to the current management and the lack of SJ.
Apple will continue to be successful as long as they hold true to their DNA. IMO the team has done a phenomenal job so far, and minus the stock price which bears no rationality, every other performance metric is impressive.
I believe the article says the two next phones were designed while Steve was alive, not "by Steve."
Until such time as Apple can come up with reliable keyed tech (like a thumbprint or voice recognition - color me skeptical), the high volume of theft will not diminish. It will never end. Heck, even with current passwords, I'll bet I can guess most in '1111' tries...
Very believable to me. I work for a pretty large organization and they already have road maps for 2016-2017. And that's in the insurance sector.
SJ left a game plan, it isn't hard for me to believe that plan was 2-3 years out.
Originally Posted by LeCorsaire
As big an Apple and Steve Jobs fan as I am, I found it hard to believe Steve Jobs signs off something 4 years ahead of time.
The design for iPhone 4 was ~80% done before the first one was even decided.
Quote:
Originally Posted by allenbf
Very believable to me. I work for a pretty large organization and they already have road maps for 2016-2017. And that's in the insurance sector.
SJ left a game plan, it isn't hard for me to believe that plan was 2-3 years out.
There very well may have been a roadmap but the way tech changes so quickly I'm sure that roadmap became outdated very fast.
Quote:
iPhones account for half of the devices pilfered in the City
Wow. No wonder he wanted some way to deter such theft.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tallest Skil
The design for iPhone 4 was ~80% done before the first one was even decided.
And they knew it was going to be for the iPhone 4? Or they went back to a design they liked when working on iPhone 4?
Insurance is very different from the cellphone business. Some businesses just function in a different way. I totally believe an insurance company can plan things out 4-5 years ahead, but I don't think a company like Apple can. The technology just changes too fast. All the Warren Buffett companies, the business dynamics change very slowly. Coke and Heinz ketchup basically never changed since their beginning, more than 100 years ago. Insurance is one of those businesses, while Buffett never buys high tech companies, even Apple, for that reason.
"He further speculated that Apple isn't too concerned about thefts because "there's just too much being made on stolen phones.""
...with the above the only somewhat amusing and not very Apple like quote.
I agree. It's most likely an April Fool's piece. A government liaison knowledge about Apple's product pipeline? So much for the Apple secrecy we know about.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tallest Skil
The design for iPhone 4 was ~80% done before the first one was even decided.
April Fools