Apple prepares for the death of the iPhone

Today, smart phones are dominating the computing platform, but Microsoft, Google, Facebook and even Apple are now ready to invest in augmented reality technology, integrated into computer graphics in the real world. The idea is that someday, this technology will be included in a lightweight, smart glass that can replace all the screens in your life, even the iPhone.

Apple also sees what other companies are seeing: the smartphone market is no longer growing like a few years ago and technology companies need something to replace. Apple CEO Tim Cook loves to talk about augmented reality. 'I'm interested in it, just want to scream,' Cook told Bloomberg earlier this month. This is not the first time he jokes about a new big product related to AR.

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'AR will take time because there is some technological challenge. But it will happen and take place on a large scale. We all wonder when and how to live without it. Like how we wonder how we can live without a phone now, 'Cook said last year.

A secret project

Apple has never claimed that it is making glass but it is rumored that the company is exploring a digital glass product. Apple has never talked about future products, but they offer clues in two ways: through sales and through software releases.

Earlier this month, Apple announced the release of ARKit, a software that makes it easy for developers to create AR applications for the iPhone. This has brought unexpected results, and although Apple doesn't show off apps developed with this software, the idea is that in the fall, there will be many AR applications available for select iPhone users. . So if the Apple Glasses comes out, there is already an innovative application library available.

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Apple's AR ambition really started when Apple acquired Metaio, a German augmented reality company, for hundreds of millions of dollars in 2015. Metaio's technology along with ARKit's talents and A few former employees are working on secret projects at Apple.

Since then, Apple has continued to buy several AR-related technology companies. Last week, it was revealed that Apple bought SensoMotoric Instruments, a German company that produces smart glasses, focusing on eye movement, the technology said by AR startups.

The acquisition of SensoMotoris made many observers surprised. This German company has no reputation and many AR-related surveys never mentioned it. But it is also a German company, like MEtaio. On his LinkedIn page, Metaio CEO Thomas Alt, also a German, recorded his current position as the Director of Procurement (DIrector of Procurement) under the strategic business group at Apple.

Apple may be aiming to buy more AR companies. A group of Apple employees, including former Metaio employee, who was present at the Augmented World Expo, took place in California earlier this month, AWE is one of the biggest events. of the AR industry and most major companies, including Microsoft, Facebook and Google, all attended.

Apple is not listed on the list of participating companies and its employees do not claim to be related to Apple. Apple does not respond when asked to comment.

Prepare yourself for new products

Apple never afraid to molt and replace itself. Many former employees also reminded that it was Apple who started working and launched the iPhone because it found it could replace the iPod, which brought in huge revenue for the company in 2005. In the next few years, it is possible. It is likely that there will be a change of platform using the device again, it is only now capable of affecting the iPhone, the product has been much more successful than the previous iPod.

This prediction has begun to rekindle in analytical reports. Apple analyst Gene Munster from Loup Ventures said his Apple prediction model shows that iPhone revenue growth will decline over the next decade. Munster believes that iPhone sales will gradually be replaced by products he calls Apple Glasses, which he expects to launch in 2020 for $ 1,300.

'Apple will conduct' heart replacement 'and obviously they have done so. I think they are preparing for the next change, and its scale depends on how these Apple glasses are made, 'Munster told Business Insider, 'I think the speed of this will be long. than you think, but in the end it will replace the phone. '

According to market research firm IDC, the smartphone market is expected to increase by 3% per year until 2021. The huge wave that Apple created a decade ago has peaked and is going down. . But an emerging category will have great growth potential: it is augmented reality headset devices and virtual reality. IDC predicts that headset growth will reach an annual cumulative level of 198% until 2020. The question is whether Apple plans to reduce iPhone sales to move to this new market.