I say today marks the return of "One More Thing...". Enough time has passed since we all lost Steve. To trot this out earlier and without a suitably new product would have been weak copying. Everything Apple has done leading up to today says things are different this time.
Today, a resurrection could be a fitting tribute to Steve and everyone at Apple. If it happens, it'll bring the roof down.
There has been a lot of speculation about the specifics of the soon to be announced iPhone 6 devices. There's too much smoke for there only to be one size of new device. It seems certain new iPhones will be announced with 4.7" and 5.5" screens in a couple weeks.
There have been extensive part leaks surrounding the 4.7" device and a launch, in volume, shortly after the announcement is expected. The 5.5" device has seen significantly fewer leaks and a delayed launch or a severely supply constrained launch seems likely.
Commentators have speculated in particular on possible differentiation between the two devices. Will Apple somehow justify a higher price for the larger screen device with a more attractive feature set? I think the answer in all cases except screen resolution is fairly obvious by looking backwards.
Last year saw the launch of the iPad mini with Retina Display and the iPad Air. Aside from a very slight processor clock speed reduction and difference in display color gamut, the two devices are identical. The larger iPad Air sells for a $100 premium over the smaller iPad mini with Retina Display. I expect that 99% of all buyers know nothing of the differences between these two models and accept a $100 premium for the larger device. Apple surprised almost everyone when they made the iPad mini with Retina Display so capable. I'll be shocked if they don't do exactly the same thing with two new phones.
The second reason for thinking this is more ephemeral. It just seems unlikely, and maybe wrong, for Apple to jump from it's long held position that smaller screens (in comparison to popular Android devices) are better, to a new position where the larger screen phone will be more capable. I'm not saying it's impossible, and Apple has belittled ideas right up until embracing them in the past, but I'll be surprised.
The screen resolution of the new devices is more interesting. John Gruber did a splendid job in a recent post of outlining all kinds of design considerations. If you haven't read it, please do so now and then come back. The post, in particular his speculation about the resolution of the 5.5" device, made me think about one thing, pixel count. Specifically the power required to power those pixels.
Frustratingly, Apple has repeatedly chosen to reduce phone thickness rather than increase battery life. It's a choice I disagree strongly with, but I expect the trend to continue.
I decided to build a Numbers spreadsheet with all previous iOS devices listed. I included screen resolution and battery information from all previous models and the best leak information available on the upcoming iPhone 6 models. I used this information to calculate a power/pixel value for each device.
A couple things jump out when looking at this data when graphed. The first is there were tremendous efficiency improvements after the iPhone 3GS and the iPad 2. The second is that recent devices, iPhone 5C and iPhone 5S, have power/pixel values of 0.00208 mAh/pixel and 0.00215 mAh/pixel respectively. In fact, since the iPhone 4, this value has been around 0.002 mAh/pixel.
John's speculated 4.7" iPhone 6 has a 0.00181 mAh/pixel value. This represents a 19% improvement over current models. This is a nice jump, but not unreasonable given previous improvements.
John's speculated 5.5" iPhone 6 has a 0.00106 mAh/pixel value however. This would be a 102% improvement and seems impossible. There simply isn't enough power to drive the pixels in this display without tanking battery life. Another display resolution mentioned by Mark Gurman breaks down to a 0.00178 mAh/pixel value for an improvement of 20%.
In conclusion, I expect the 4.7" and 5.5" iPhone 6 models to have a consistent feature set and for the 5.5" model to not get a 3x display. There isn't enough power to drive the display. Apple will be happy to sell the larger phone at a $100 premium based purely on size, just like they did with the iPad Air and iPad mini with Retina Display last year.
Anybody who follows tech has to have wondered at some point during the last few years, exactly what Googles aim was with Android. They don't make any money licensing the OS and they earn more advertising revenue from their iOS users. I know I've wondered.
Ben Thompson has written a great post on the topic over on his stratēchery blog. I think his idea is really interesting and has a lot of merit. It will be interesting to see where the Android OS goes in the next few years.
Skeuomorphic v. flat.
Scott Forstall v. Jony Ive.
Blah, blah, blah.
The usually brilliant Matt Gemmell takes the time to put any iOS changes into perspective in a very nice piece on his blog. There's nothing really left to say.
There are lots of iOS 7 concept videos floating around with the immanent announcement of WWDC. I look at most of them and simply ask; "What the hell"? John Gruber apparently agrees and has written a nice, brief thought on the topic.
I've always purchased AppleCare for all my mobile Apple devices. It's often paid off and I haven't hesitated to recommend it to friends. It is a little rough to purchase coverage for each separate device. If this report is true, there may be some welcome changes in store. I'll be really interested to see how a modified AppleCare program will actually work.
Apple needs to figure out a way to provide users with app trials if a developer approves. This method, laid out by Amy Worrall, seems like a great way of doing things. I'd love to see this in iOS 7. I think it would lead to increased revenue for developers, something Apple has always emphasized for their platform.
I love photography. I love Apple products. I love the simple look of Apple’s products on their website.
I’ve never known anything about the photographer behind those photos until reading this story on The Verge. Michael Shane conducts an interview with Apple product photographer Peter Belanger.
Check it out.
MacStories Federico Viticci has written bout his wishes for iOS 7 today. Like almost everything Federico writes about, it’s worth your time to read, especially for his take on international user issues many of us never experience.
There’s much talk about the need for a less expensive iPhone and a larger screened iPhone. I’ve long argued that the more important of the two is the less expensive option. This model wouldn’t even need to be made available in markets that are subsidy based. Horace Dediu looks at the issue in a blog post published today.
The iPhone is the most popular device when price is less of an issue. Shocking.