Judging by how many “murderers” iPhone we’ve heard since the release of the smartphone in 2007, the largest selling product of Apple more lives than brood of kittens. Analyst gene Munster from Piper Jaffray claims that the company is personally “kill” the iPhone, switching to the augmented reality device. Let’s see, on the basis of his forecasts and how realistic such a scenario.
According to Munster, Apple is planning in near future to enter the market of VR devices. This forecast, of course, plausible, but his words seem that the products of “mixed reality” will take away sales of the iPhone, look at least strange.
The expert does not explain what he calls “mixed reality”. One can only assume that this refers to augmented reality in which virtual objects are displayed along with the physical. While augmented reality is much more promising than the fully virtual reality, but that topic is for another article. “We believe that mixed reality has a key importance for Apple in the long run. Over the next 20 years to go on the screen will disappear,” — says gene Munster.
It should be noted that not so long ago the author of these words was trying to predict the price of an electric car from Apple, which actually almost nothing is known. Information about this project is so small that predict its cost is just silly: it is not even known whether Apple Car full car or is it only special software for Autonomous vehicles.
“We believe that jobs instilled in Apple a habit to think innovatively, not to stay in the older segments of the market. Historically, the company produces products that take away sales from previously released devices. It happened with the iPod, the iPhone, then Mac, when did the iPad and iPad Pro and iPad, when the iPhone 6/6s Plus. Apple understands that the popularity of smartphones is not eternal, so the company is exploring augmented and virtual reality, which will become the future of computing,” says the analyst.
In the future, smartphones are unlikely to be as common as it is now. But can virtual reality replace the iPhone? Or capable of augmented reality?
In recent years, the smartphone market has grown to huge proportions. Users appreciate the convenience and power of the computer in your palm. Smartphones and mobile as well as humans that we cannot say about desktops, laptops and even tablets. This means that future “killer” iPhone should be as portable.
Users also need an interface through which they can interact with the gadget and software. Today smartphones with touch screen fully meet this requirement, ensuring easy operation by touch. Simplicity always wins, and therefore the future “murderer” iPhone needs to offer an experience even easier than the Apple gadgets.
Current devices of virtual and augmented reality offer a simple interface and is portable. But they, as a rule, work-based smartphones. There are more complex and functional solutions and for their work requires powerful computers.
In the future devices like Oculus Rift and Microsoft HoloLens can become mobile. Whether it will happen by 2020, when Apple, according to Munster, needs to shift the focus on the device for “mixed reality”? But even if such device can carry, whether a virtual reality helmet to replace the smartphone? If we can control their interface, leading hands in the air?
Again, no one can deny that someday the iPhone will look just as absurd as today look cassette recorders. “We begin to die at birth”. But the truth of the predicting Analytics, and many predictions which proved to be false.
Smartphones have many fruitful years. Relatively soon we will see new innovative iPhone 7. At the moment, the technology of augmented and virtual reality are still in their infancy. Maybe someday they will develop into something more, but to write the obituary for the iPhone too early.
