Well, whouda thunk it. A top Apple executive positing the idea that in 10 years from now, the iPhone — your beloved iPhone (unless you have a beloved Android phone, that is) — may no longer exist.
Before your head explodes at the mere thought of Apple abandoning the iPhone in 10 years’ time, there’s also a chance that in 2035 there will be an iPhone 27, or whatever’s Apple’s calling it by then.
So, why exactly did Apple’s senior vice president of services, Eddy Cue, make such a surprising comment?
Cue made the remark on Wednesday at the Google Search antitrust remedies trial, sharing his thoughts on how artificial intelligence (AI) could one day revolutionize the tech sector.
The executive said that technology is developing at such a clip that it’s possible people will be using entirely different gadgets in the not-too-distant future.
“You may not need an iPhone 10 years from now, as crazy as it sounds,” Cue said in widely reported comments, adding: “The only way you truly have true competition is when you have technology shifts. Technology shifts create these opportunities. AI is a new technology shift, and it’s creating new opportunities for new entrants.”
The Apple executive was essentially suggesting that as AI becomes more advanced, new types of devices or interfaces — such as wearables, mixed reality headsets, or ambient AI assistants — from new industry players could replace the smartphone as our main way of interacting with technology.
Cue’s comments reflect Apple’s awareness that no product, not even the iPhone, is immune to being replaced by new innovations driven by transformational technology like AI.
But could Apple really ditch the iPhone? Remember when the iPod first came out in 2001 and how at the time everyone thought it was the be-all and end-all as far as listening to music on the go was concerned. Well, Apple dropped it as new technology led to the creation of the iPhone, although of course there was a crossover period.
The tech giant has sold more than 2.6 billion iPhones globally since its release in 2007, with total revenue for its most successful product ever exceeding an astonishing $1.5 trillion. With that in mind, t’s hard to imagine Apple announcing the end of the iPhone. But as it’s impossible to know what new tech is coming our way, it’s certainly within the realm of possibility. Watch this space.