IfPhone 2

So, if Apple don’t see the ‘wisdom’ of my earlier approach what else could they do to revolutionise the pre-paid market?

Repeating my keep & compromise list from before:

Keep:
– iTunes music / movies / tv integration
– WiFi / cellular Internet connectivity
– iMessage
– FaceTime
– “VoiceTime” / phone calling
– Siri
– 16 hr battery life
– Darwin core operating system
– iOS interaction modes / conventions (including physical home button)
– ARM chipset

Compromise:
– screen size & resolution
– rear-facing camera?
– storage capacity
– App Store -compatible apps (for now)
– Internet tethering

But what if they compromised some more..? What if they went all out and designed a much simpler device without movie or tv support? Without keyboard input?

The new list looks more like this:

Keep:
– iTunes music
– WiFi / cellular Internet connectivity
– iMessage
– “VoiceTime” / phone calling
– Siri
– 16 hr battery life
– Darwin core operating system
– (some) iOS interaction modes / conventions
– ARM chipset

Compromise:
– screen size & resolution
– rear-facing camera?
– storage capacity
– App Store -compatible apps (for now)
– Internet tethering
– iTunes movies / tv integration
– FaceTime

What could such a device look like?

Based on my last suggestion, the smarter reader may be thinking “improved iPod shuffle”. Or others who’ve been reading the tech press may be already thinking “iWatch”.

Both are sensible ideas, and have likely already been evaluated internally by Apple and discarded.

Look again at the above list.

What’s missing?

For Apple to release a device into a new market they have to feel like they’re making a significant impact on the current state of the industry. Their offering has to create a new category, or solve a fundamental problem constraining that market. They don’t just say: “hey, here’s a market with high margins that’s adjacent to our existing product offerings – let’s build a fridge-toaster!”

Another key clue is the raison d’être for the company – to make computing accessible to everyone.

So the question to ask is: what industry is currently bereft of innovation, into which Apple could drop a completely new, easy-to-use computer disguised as something else..?

And the answer is…

Fashion Eyewear.

…Just kidding. That’s a ridiculous idea.

What they’re really targeting is –