Apple iPhone turning 10
The late former Apple CEO Steve Jobs holds up an iPhone at the MacWorld Conference in San Francisco in this Jan. 9, 2007, file photo. Since his death in 2011, Tim Cook has been leading the company. / AP-Yonhap
Apple opened ‘smart era,’ but remains stuck with weak innovation
By Lee Min-hyung
Ten years ago today, Apple founder Steve Jobs took the world by storm with a new device that redefined the mobile communications industry.
The iPhone, the first mobile phone offering internet features, paved the way for a new era of smartphones, which has since become a decade-long catch-phrase dominating global tech even today.
Apple’s achievement was noteworthy, as the company has not been hit hard by rivalry from latecomers. The company is not monopolizing the handset market, but not a single rival player has so far succeeded in beating it in terms of brand power and profit ratio.
The strong brand identity — backed by its security-featured iOS software — made the company the world’s largest listed firm by market capitalization. Last month, the iPhone maker set a record $800 billion (913.76 trillion won) market value, raising expectations to top $1 trillion this year.
The following year after the iPhone hit the market, Google introduced its Android operating system (OS), starting up a rivalry with Apple.
With the arrival of the open source platform, electronics companies such as Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics and Sony belatedly jumped on the smartphone bandwagon. Samsung has particularly grown huge enough to pose a threat to Apple by launching diverse lineups from low-end to high-end devices to meet the diverse needs of customers.
But as of last year, Apple proved to remain strong as the first mover into the industry, with its iPhone 6S flagship model topping the list of 2016 smartphone shipments, according to market researcher IHS Markit, which analyzed data for more than 350 smartphone models.
“Apple again has demonstrated that its new iPhones integrate enough innovations and new features to drive sales and remain successful in the market,” the industry tracker said. “The company is also capable of selling older devices for an extended period of time. For instance, the year-old iPhone 6S and 6S Plus were both among the most-shipped models in 2016.”
For some years since the first iPhone made its debut, critics praised Apple for leading innovation with new models each year. The iPhone 4 is particularly cited as the best-ever innovation of all the iPhones, with Apple adding a series of eye-catching features into the device. They included the FaceTime video and audio calling service and its much-hyped Retina high-resolution display. The glass sandwich design was also a main driver for the monstrous success of the device.
However, with the legendary CEO passing away in 2011, the company has started to face setbacks over criticism that its innovation stopped for new models — the iPhone 5, 6 and the latest 7. Of course, Apple added a series of new features to new models, but many customers and critics said the new models came with “little innovation” compared to their predecessors, raising concerns that the company may yield the top spot to emerging vendors.
In September 2014, Apple launched the iPhone 6 by completely revamping hardware designs from its years-long sandwich outfit. The new model came with a 4.7-inch screen size, with the iPhone 6 Plus equipped with a 5.5-inch display.
But aside from the design shift and screen size, the device did not come with any outstanding futuristic or innovative functions.
The year 2017 marks the 10th anniversary of the iPhone, and Apple is expected to unveil a new model, tentatively named iPhone 8, no later than the end of this September.
This comes at a time when its arch-rival Samsung Electronics is seeking to lead innovation in the Android smartphone industry. In March, the Seoul-based company launched its flagship Galaxy S8 series by equipping the device with artificial intelligence (AI) voice assistant Bixby and enhanced security features — including iris scanning.
Nothing has been confirmed over the specifications or launch dates for the new iPhone this year. The upcoming device is drawing keen attention on the market over whether the company can revive its innovative spirit again.