The iPhone 6: Apple’s Next Impact Device

The iPhone 6 may not be coming until 2014 but there’s still plenty to say about it. Before we begin, let’s look at how Apple made a huge impact in 2007 with the release of their first cellphone.

Tech is such a wonderful and constantly evolving thing. Nothing ever stays the same and it feels like most days we hear about a fantastic new invention or concept that could change our lives in some way.

One of the most interesting aspects of evolving tech is the cellphone. While a lot of people simply buy them, place them in their pockets or purses, and just use them for basic functions and app usage, there’s a lot more to cellphones that caught my eye years ago. I love reading about the advances that these companies are making to bring cellphones ever so closer to replacement other tech in our lives. What was once just a phone is now so much more.

I have changed carriers and phones more than I’d like to remember. Sure, it has been an expensive “hobby” but I constantly have that feeling that I need to have the best cellphone out there. I have been on AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, and Sprint. I have owned and used iPhones, Androids, Blackberries, Windows Mobile, Windows Phone 7/8, and many other smaller mobile OS devices that were big back in the pre-iOS days. I feel that I’ve grasped the whole of cellphones and been able to experience all it has at the given moment.

Still, while the cellphone market changes and evolves almost daily, I still find myself looking at one major player and wondering how they’ve done so well for so long. Yes, I’m talking about Apple and their iPhone. While I sit here typing about how cellphones have constantly evolved and changed, the iPhone (outside of hardware) has relatively stayed the same since 2007. You could mention the “if it isn’t broke…” adage but when you step back and look at the history of iOS, the cellular devices that use it, and the way competition has rose up over the years then it’s as clear as day that Apple needs to innovate again.

2007 was the year cellphones forever changed. When the iPhone came out the entire game and business evolved way further than most thought it ever would. Since then, we’ve seen many other attempts at recreating that sort of evolution and while some have come close, nothing that ever trumped the impact that the original iPhone had. While that impact was monumental, it is now old news and people want more, want better, and want it Apple.

How many times have you looked at a Samsung Galaxy S3, a Lumia 920, or even an HTC One X and said “man, if only Apple did something like this”? Obviously not everyone will say that. Not everyone liked iOS or even likes Apple but no one can deny the one fact about devices like the iPhone: they just work.

Apple has done such an amazing job at perfecting the impact they made in 2007. While the hardware has changed, features have been added, and the device designs have improved, Apple has kept their game plan set to a tradition and it has brought them much success.

In 2013, it is expected that the iPhone 5S will release and I say that this needs to be the last iPhone. It is time for a new iPhone. It is time for a new gameplan. It is time to change iOS.

While I’m sure the 5S will bring along some cool things, by the time it comes out we will have reached the peak and pinnacle of what iOS can do. Apple has become limited by its aging system and in order to compete with the upcoming competition, it is time to change.

The iPhone 6, while many believe will release in 2014, should be the first step in a new impact for the cellphone market. Things have drastically changed since 2007 and with heavy hitters like Samsung, HTC, and Motorola upping the stakes with each new device, Apple will need to do something revolutionary to once again change the game.

In 2014, it will be 8 years since the original iPhone released and that means 8 years of revisions and updates. iOS is dated and old, no matter what Apple adds to it. Functions and updates can only take you so far. Look at Microsoft with the Windows Phone 8. While their market share is abysmal at the moment, the radical change from Windows Mobile to Windows Phone 7 and now to Windows Phone 8 have shown true evolution. Even Android has come a long, long way since the G1 device. With each numbered release, Google’s platform reaches new heights and changing perceptions of the mobile OS. Even Blackberry is evolving with the upcoming Z10 device carrying the brand new BB10 OS.

With all this evolution surrounding it, there should be no wonder why there’s so much hype for a Galaxy S4 reveal or why the HTC One is a big deal. There should be no one questioning why Samsung saw record sales and numbers from their S3 device. People want change and innovation. Apple can’t live off of 2007 forever.

So what does Apple need to do? What does the iPhone 6 need to accomplish to make that kind of impact again? With what other companies are doing these days, Apple needs to serve up choices, simplicity, and a functionality all rolled up into a brand new set of devices that went revealed makes everyone think, “what could they possibly do next?”