my guess is that only the 'c' gets 'feature lifts' on the 'tock' cycle, whereas 's' (or plain) gets a performance lift (either new battery or new processor). Reason: Keeps the 1 year OS cycle intact. Introducing new features requires a New OS... my guess is that at most, they want a point release update in the Spring.
Yeah I agree, and nothing in my post says otherwise.
I don't know if Apple is going to do that with their iPhone releases, but I do think that Apple should be releasing hot products in every single quarter, and not have a whole bunch of products all being released around the same time.
It seems that Apple likes to bring out the new stuff just when people are getting into the buying mood.
Same prediction that was made by "analysts" last year. Apple's updates aren't significant enough to warrant twice a year releases. They'd run their innovation pipeline dry within two years.
Every analyst's wet dream prediction. It comes up with such frequency its no wonder they believe themselves. I guess one day a 'services arm' of Apple may become an independent entity, but so far in it's history Apple has strived to offer integrated solutions where hardware is the revenue driver and software and services create the user experience and ecosystem for the hardware and user to operate within. Fantasize as they may - is there any evidence that this is about to change?
iTunes is a major service of Apple's. After years of, arguably, being a break-even "business", it is become an increasingly profitable revenue stream. Horace Dediu has a nice run-down on this over a series of articles. Here's his most recent-impressive revenue numbers: http://www.asymco.com/2013/08/05/itunes-update/
Here's what happens. When Apple releases a new flagship phone, people line up to buy it, and it takes a couple of months for production to catch up with demand. BUT, Apple has historically only offered one size flagship phone. As far as I'm concerned, it would have been better if Apple had released a larger screen model iPhone 6 months ago that was a larger version of the iPhone 5.
The would have created a lot of sales if they did.
So, fast forward to now.
Instead of making last year's flagship the cheaper model, they did a slight enhancement to the battery, stuck it in a colorful polycarb case and made that their second tier iPhone 5C as they came out out the updated iPhone 5 and called it the iPhone 5S.
I think it's a good strategy to make their second tier (eventually their entry level phone) out of a different and less expansive case. I think that's a wise move, but where Apple could have done better was to offer better colors.
But to flip flip every 6 or so months and announce a different sized model is what they SHOULD do and probably the only thing they CAN do due to availability of parts and even people to spit out two large demand products at the same time. Probably why Apple is shipping iPads and not the iPad mini 2's.
Either way, I'm looking forward to the next iPhone with a larger screen. I would like to see them add more RAM to the processor and spit them out with at least 2GB if not 4GB.
The A7 is super fast, so why do you need more RAM-more pixels on a larger Retina screen? Just because more is better? Why couldn't they achieve the same performance benchmarks an A8?
I dislike people referring to the 5C as "mid range". Outside the US, the pricing gets very silly very quickly. Here in the UK, a 5C costs significantly more than a 5S in the US does. Hell, an iPhone 4s costs more here than a 5C in the US.
That's the reason for the constant harping of the analysts about "mid range": outside the US, pricing is significantly inflated and if Apple were to price phones more competitively there are a lot of potential sales they could snatch away from Samsung.
I wouldn't be surprised if Apple unveiled a larger iPhone, larger iPad and/or a phablet at WWDC next year.
Why at WWDC? Because new resolutions will require developers to make use of the auto-layout APIs if they don't already (and many don't). So these devices will need to be announced in advance.
iOS 8 might also introduce split-screen multi-tasking, which will also require the use of auto-layout.
Many believe that Apple is in the early stages of a strategy that would use Touch ID alongside iOS 7's Bluetooth-based iBeacons functionality to create a new mobile payment system. Such a system, if implemented, could be a significant revenue source for Apple thanks to the size of the iOS device installed base alone.
This seems like a more exciting prospect than anything else in this post. I'm imagining brick and mortar stores that have no need to carry inventory.
Suddenly you can fit a specialized store in any little hole in the wall. Folks can come in to touch and feel your product, use their phone to place an order, and then leave empty-handed knowing that their new widget is on its way to your home. No longer must you carry around bags and bags of stuff while shopping!
Really......it took a meeting with cook to figure that out? They don't have anything new, so what else can they do?
If by "they" you mean the analysts, of course they don't have anything new. Meeting with Tim Cook is big news, for them. It's not something that happens every day.
It seems that Apple likes to bring out the new stuff just when people are getting into the buying mood.
I agree that's the case with consumer (especially mobile) products. Institutional budgets tend not to revolve around the fall/holiday buying season.
More often, it seems, Apple is willing or forced to release desktops and notebooks away from the holiday schedule. They SHOULD release new Macs in the Spring and perhaps also the 6" iPhone and 12" iPad, as these may be more expensive (not holiday gifts) and may be more desirable to education and enterprise. Additionally, manufacturing capacity is strained around the consumer holiday buying season.
Also, Apple is at the mercy of Intel's roadmap for Mac silicon. (Constraints on their Mac hardware release schedules may be a reason why some predict that their supplier-client relationship with Intel will change in the near term.)
I don't know if Apple is going to do that with their iPhone releases, but I do think that Apple should be releasing hot products in every single quarter, and not have a whole bunch of products all being released around the same time.
Agreed, especially when there are enough component overlaps (the phones) that the "supply constraints" bite into their availability, the peak demand phenomena: having that max capacity all the time when it's only needed once a year for maybe three months has got to be excessively costly….. even if only for the OEMs and assemblers it still jacks up the unit cost.
The A7 is super fast, so why do you need more RAM-more pixels on a larger Retina screen? Just because more is better? Why couldn't they achieve the same performance benchmarks an A8?
More is better. Larger numbers are better. New is better. Higher version numbers are better. Faster is better.
28 years of Wintel PCs have conditioned me to think this way. Windows gets slower, PCs get faster. Windows hogs more memory, PCs get more memory. This is the way of things. Do not question it. /s
Same prediction that was made by "analysts" last year. Apple's updates aren't significant enough to warrant twice a year releases. They'd run their innovation pipeline dry within two years.
Rather then twice a year releases, Apple needs a new product of some kind to bring out during the summer doldrums ...
Staying with the single release each year, will also preserve the excitement buildup...
Comments
I disagree.
my guess is that only the 'c' gets 'feature lifts' on the 'tock' cycle, whereas 's' (or plain) gets a performance lift (either new battery or new processor). Reason: Keeps the 1 year OS cycle intact. Introducing new features requires a New OS... my guess is that at most, they want a point release update in the Spring.
Yeah I agree, and nothing in my post says otherwise.
Fall of 2014 line up will be:
*iPhone 6 (4", A8)
*iPhone 6 (4.7", A8)
iPhone 5c (4", A6) <--- No change here, maybe price lowered
*iPad mini (A8)
*iPad Air (A8)
iPad Pro (A7X)
Spring of 2015 line up will be:
iPhone 6 (4", A8)
iPhone 6 (4.7", A8)
*iPhone 6c (4", A7) <--- Nothing new here; same internals as the "5s", but in colorful plastic
*iPhone 6c (4.7", A7)
iPad mini (A8)
iPad Air (A8)
*iPad Pro (A8X)
*New models
Updated to include iPad.
Ah, ok, I see now.
I don't know if Apple is going to do that with their iPhone releases, but I do think that Apple should be releasing hot products in every single quarter, and not have a whole bunch of products all being released around the same time.
It seems that Apple likes to bring out the new stuff just when people are getting into the buying mood.
You're not actually taking a Katy Huberty comment seriously are you?
Every analyst's wet dream prediction. It comes up with such frequency its no wonder they believe themselves. I guess one day a 'services arm' of Apple may become an independent entity, but so far in it's history Apple has strived to offer integrated solutions where hardware is the revenue driver and software and services create the user experience and ecosystem for the hardware and user to operate within. Fantasize as they may - is there any evidence that this is about to change?
iTunes is a major service of Apple's. After years of, arguably, being a break-even "business", it is become an increasingly profitable revenue stream. Horace Dediu has a nice run-down on this over a series of articles. Here's his most recent-impressive revenue numbers: http://www.asymco.com/2013/08/05/itunes-update/
Here's what happens. When Apple releases a new flagship phone, people line up to buy it, and it takes a couple of months for production to catch up with demand. BUT, Apple has historically only offered one size flagship phone. As far as I'm concerned, it would have been better if Apple had released a larger screen model iPhone 6 months ago that was a larger version of the iPhone 5.
The would have created a lot of sales if they did.
So, fast forward to now.
Instead of making last year's flagship the cheaper model, they did a slight enhancement to the battery, stuck it in a colorful polycarb case and made that their second tier iPhone 5C as they came out out the updated iPhone 5 and called it the iPhone 5S.
I think it's a good strategy to make their second tier (eventually their entry level phone) out of a different and less expansive case. I think that's a wise move, but where Apple could have done better was to offer better colors.
But to flip flip every 6 or so months and announce a different sized model is what they SHOULD do and probably the only thing they CAN do due to availability of parts and even people to spit out two large demand products at the same time. Probably why Apple is shipping iPads and not the iPad mini 2's.
Either way, I'm looking forward to the next iPhone with a larger screen. I would like to see them add more RAM to the processor and spit them out with at least 2GB if not 4GB.
The A7 is super fast, so why do you need more RAM-more pixels on a larger Retina screen? Just because more is better? Why couldn't they achieve the same performance benchmarks an A8?
I dislike people referring to the 5C as "mid range". Outside the US, the pricing gets very silly very quickly. Here in the UK, a 5C costs significantly more than a 5S in the US does. Hell, an iPhone 4s costs more here than a 5C in the US.
That's the reason for the constant harping of the analysts about "mid range": outside the US, pricing is significantly inflated and if Apple were to price phones more competitively there are a lot of potential sales they could snatch away from Samsung.
Ahem...
http://appleinsider.com/articles/13/04/11/analyst-says-apple-may-launch-new-internet-service-killer-ios-app-after-meeting-with-management
She was right. They did that with iTunes Radio.
I wouldn't be surprised if Apple unveiled a larger iPhone, larger iPad and/or a phablet at WWDC next year.
Why at WWDC? Because new resolutions will require developers to make use of the auto-layout APIs if they don't already (and many don't). So these devices will need to be announced in advance.
iOS 8 might also introduce split-screen multi-tasking, which will also require the use of auto-layout.
Great points.
What about the end of the article?
Many believe that Apple is in the early stages of a strategy that would use Touch ID alongside iOS 7's Bluetooth-based iBeacons functionality to create a new mobile payment system. Such a system, if implemented, could be a significant revenue source for Apple thanks to the size of the iOS device installed base alone.
This seems like a more exciting prospect than anything else in this post. I'm imagining brick and mortar stores that have no need to carry inventory.
Suddenly you can fit a specialized store in any little hole in the wall. Folks can come in to touch and feel your product, use their phone to place an order, and then leave empty-handed knowing that their new widget is on its way to your home. No longer must you carry around bags and bags of stuff while shopping!
If by "they" you mean the analysts, of course they don't have anything new. Meeting with Tim Cook is big news, for them. It's not something that happens every day.
If it was Ming-Chi Kuo, the article would have been accompanied by a short bio and effusive praise for his predictions.
It seems that Apple likes to bring out the new stuff just when people are getting into the buying mood.
I agree that's the case with consumer (especially mobile) products. Institutional budgets tend not to revolve around the fall/holiday buying season.
More often, it seems, Apple is willing or forced to release desktops and notebooks away from the holiday schedule. They SHOULD release new Macs in the Spring and perhaps also the 6" iPhone and 12" iPad, as these may be more expensive (not holiday gifts) and may be more desirable to education and enterprise. Additionally, manufacturing capacity is strained around the consumer holiday buying season.
Also, Apple is at the mercy of Intel's roadmap for Mac silicon. (Constraints on their Mac hardware release schedules may be a reason why some predict that their supplier-client relationship with Intel will change in the near term.)
Ah, ok, I see now.
I don't know if Apple is going to do that with their iPhone releases, but I do think that Apple should be releasing hot products in every single quarter, and not have a whole bunch of products all being released around the same time.
Agreed, especially when there are enough component overlaps (the phones) that the "supply constraints" bite into their availability, the peak demand phenomena: having that max capacity all the time when it's only needed once a year for maybe three months has got to be excessively costly….. even if only for the OEMs and assemblers it still jacks up the unit cost.
More is better. Larger numbers are better. New is better. Higher version numbers are better. Faster is better.
28 years of Wintel PCs have conditioned me to think this way. Windows gets slower, PCs get faster. Windows hogs more memory, PCs get more memory. This is the way of things. Do not question it. /s
WWDC is in June. Why announce before the big conference? The keynote would be boring.
Katy sees Tim in a cab and runs after it banging on the window.
Katy screaming: "Tim, will you be releasing 2 new iPhones next year?!"
Tim yelling at the cab driver: "I've told you twice, hit the peddle!"
Katy, still screaming: "You'll be releasing iPhones twice next year?!"
Tim, exasperated: "Go, man... GO!!"
Katy writes in notebook: "Tim said twice next year is a go."
I've heard he's recently started replying to his email...
The keynotes are already boring... zzzzz.
Rather then twice a year releases, Apple needs a new product of some kind to bring out during the summer doldrums ...
Staying with the single release each year, will also preserve the excitement buildup...