Apple has struck again. Nearly one year has passed since the biggest tech company in the world released the iPhone 5, and like clockwork, another is in the works.
According to the latest report from AllThings Digital, Apple is set to launch the newest version of the iPhone at an event on September 10.
The event will be an important point for Apple, as Wall Street has become less enthusiastic about the company over the past year. In the year to date, shares have fallen 10%, and in the past 12 months, that figure reaches 26%.
Analysts have become concerned with Apple’s waning rates of growth – due in part to both the maturation of the smartphone and tablet markets and increased competition from major players like Samsung.
Combined with the fact Apple hasn’t had a major product launch since the iPad Mini last October – and even then analysts criticised it as just a variation on a theme.
And Apple isn’t likely to debut any new forms of hardware any time soon. Rumours of a watch and a television set or television gadget are still several months, even years, away.
With the smartphone market reaching fever pitch, consumers are becoming less concerned with what the smartphone itself is capable of – hardware – and more interested in the user experience, or software.
This is exactly why the upcoming iOS software, iOS 7, features a major overhaul of the user interface.
So this is a critical point for the Apple strategy. Can it reclaim the audience it so desperately needs for growth?
It definitely needs to pull a few tricks out of its bag. And it just may do that. Here are five things you should expect from the new iPhone announcement next month:
The new version of the iOS software will come alongside the new phone, and is the biggest shake-up since the release itself in 2007. Designed by hardware chief Jony Ive – who now has control over the user interface division, iOS 7 is a massive change in how the software looks and runs.
Check out all the details here.
Apple raised eyebrows last year when it purchased a US-based fingerprint scanning company – and it’s even working with an Australian one as well. The move towards biometrics in technology has been pinned for a long time. Could the next iPhone be the first to make the fingerprint-dependent login a success?
Considering the software includes a reference to a fingerprint scanner – it’s definitely not out of the question.
This is sort of a no-brainer, as every iteration of the iPhone comes with faster technology. But a chip leak earlier this year shows the company is working on the A7 chip. When better to debut it than in a new iPhone?
There have been plenty of rumours about a cheaper iPhone, and plenty of debate about whether or not the company would even release a low-cost design. But given the Wall Street Journal has reported the rumour, there may be some weight to it. Watch this space.
There’s no reason to expect any major change with regard to body design. With the iPhone 5 introducing a longer display, Apple won’t want to change up manufacturing standards any time soon.
Patrick Stafford is a freelance journalist and a former deputy editor of SmartCompany.
