My friend Justin Ng’s blog about the new Apple headphones reminded me that it’s iPhone season again – that annual craze in the fall when Apple’s new model for their flagship product is introduced. While I can understand his enthusiasm for the controversial yet innovative wireless headphones, I can’t share the same opinion about Apple’s recent operations. The iPhone 7, which, with further research, falls below expectations to say the least, has me questioning Apple’s yearly smartphone releases that have over the years become their status quo.

There simply isn’t enough groundbreaking advancement to justify this new model. For example, previous versions have seen drastic changes to its external design and size, unlike the iPhone 7, which have the exact same dimensions as the 6/6S models. Even storage upgrades will now come at a hefty price – a 32GB iPhone 7 will cost just as much as a 128GB iPhone 6S. Other features like improved durability, longer battery life, and water resistance provide no points of difference from its competitors and are quite frankly, overdue.

With that being said, it would be disingenuous to suggest that there hasn’t been any progress made from the previous model. The iPhone 7 will introduce features like better front and back cameras, more customization options, and of course, the aforementioned wireless headphones. However, those aren’t what their most loyal buyers are looking for. Apple’s value proposition appeals to customers at the forefront of technology – people who keep up with product announcements, watch keynote events, and are eager buy the new iPhone every single year. These same people loved previous revolutionary innovations like the retina display, Siri, and iCloud. However, with nothing significant this year, their loyalty will certainly be tested with the iPhone 7.

Fortunately for Apple, despite a somewhat disappointing year for the iPhone, they may have stumbled into the arms of Lady Luck, with Blackberry announcing a gradual exit in hardware manufacturing and the infamous Samsung Galaxy Note 7 flameout. Still, it’s no reason for Apple to be complacent. There will never be a shortage of new challengers with companies like Google and Sony, and competitive advantages, as suggested by Rita McGrath, will always be transient. With that being said, Apple, at least for now, sits comfortably on the throne of the smartphone industry and doesn’t appear to be going away anytime soon.

Word count: 383

Sources:

Villas-Boas, Antonio. “8 Big Changes Coming to the iPhone 7 That Will Make It Much Better.” Business Insider. Business Insider, Inc, 06 Sept. 2016. Web. 16 Oct. 2016.

Hodapp, Eli. “iPhone 7 First Impressions: Another Yearly iPhone Release, Another Set of Incremental Improvements.” TouchArcade. N.p., 16 Sept. 2016. Web. 16 Oct. 2016.

Kelly, Gordon. “iPhone 7 Vs iPhone 6S: What’s The Difference?“Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 9 Sept. 2016. Web. 16 Oct. 2016.

http://thenextweb.com/apple/2016/09/15/you-wont-be-able-to-purchase-an-iphone-7-plus-on-launch-day/