Apple’s most recent earnings report suggests demand for the iPhone in its current, very familiar manifestation is beginning to sag in some parts of the world.
However, CEO Tim Cook is here to assure iPhone loyalists that there’s still plenty of life in the old dog and bone yet, despite Apple Intelligence not propelling the iPhone 16 range to new heights.
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In an earnings call with shareholders on January 30, Cook addressed a question about whether the iPhone could still be innovative.
He said (via Mashable): “There’s a lot more to come and I could not feel more optimistic about our product pipeline. I think there is still a great deal of innovation left in the smartphone sector.”
Naturally, this is being interpreted as a potential hint about new form factors. Apple is widely considered to be launching a super-thin iPhone 17 Air this autumn.
There have been abundant rumours for years that Apple will follow Android manufacturers into foldable handsets, which have been substantiated by the multitude of intellectual property filings highlighting the work Apple is doing behind the scenes on this form factor.
However, while the iPhone 17 Air is expected this year, the foldable is not. In fact, Apple’s first excursion into that market might be via the iPad line, if recent reports are to be believed.
Imperative innovation
This could fall into the realm of “what else was he supposed to say?” but it’s clear the iPhone needs something a little out of the box from a hardware innovation perspective. Samsung’s Galaxy S25 announcements have shown that a good, solid redesign trumps more of the same just with more AI most people don’t give a flying phone about.
iPhone Air? iPhone Fold? They have to give us something out of the ordinary. Because the ordinary is starting to feel very ordinary when you consider the iPhone 16 is a dead ringer for the iPhone 12.
