I had a reporter from Inc.com ask me a few questions on what I thought the iPhone 5 would be like and some other questions with regards to business users. Below is his questions and my answers. I will be talking more about the iPhone 5 in coming episodes.
1. What do you think will be 5-6 new features of the iPhone 5?
1. Upgraded camera to an 8 Mega Pixel camera module. In iOS 5 - Apple has added a few features that are focused on the camera - such as using the volume button as a shutter control and adding quick access to the camera from the lock screen - so an upgraded camera for the iPhone 5 that will be running iOS 5 seems to be a lock.
2. Upgrade of the CPU to the A5 - which is the same processor in the iPad 2. This follows last years process when the iPad 1 had the A4 Processor first and then when the iPhone 4 came out it also had the A4. Apple will also likely bump up internal ram from 512 MB to 1 GB - but likely will not even mention this. Other than the CPU - Apple does not like to talk much about the internals of the iPhones.
3. For Business Travelers - especially on Verizon - the biggest upgrade will be in making it a true world phone. With a chipset that allows for both CDMA and GSM use from the same phone. This chip set is already in the Verizon iPhone 4 - but the Verizon iPhone 4 is not optimized to use both GSM and CDMA. The iPhone 5 - will be designed from the ground up to be a true world phone.
4. Enhanced Voice Controls / Voice Recognition in iOS 5 - just for the iPhone 5. This will take advantage of some features from their Siri acquisition and also from work with Nuance. Expect much greater voice recognition and voice controls with the iPhone 5. Something to be appreciated by the business person on the go.
5. Enhanced Video out / HDMI out - through a dongle and Mirroring of the screen to an external projector - like with the iPad 2.
6. It will NOT be an LTE / 4G phone. LTE is just not widely available yet - especially when you look at the hand full of test markets that AT&T just has. So at this point - it does not seem to make much sense for Apple to go with an LTE phone on Verizon or AT&T. Plus with both of them restricting data usage - with an LTE smartphone you could burn through your monthly data cap in less than an hour.
2. For business users, is this going to be a no-brainer upgrade? Why or why not?
Yes - Especially for those that travel internationally. Having one phone that can work on any US or international carrier will make going to the iPhone 5 an easy decision. Additionally the advanced voice control / recognition options are likely going to making working on the go easier and safer especially when driving.
3. What can a business user do to prep for the new model in terms of
support in the workplace, expected costs, etc.?
The biggest thing to do to save on costs at this point is to hold off upgrading to new handsets until the iPhone 5 is available. If the goal of IT is to get everyone using the same handsets - then upgrading now just weeks before a new iPhone is available will mean companies will have to pay the full unsubsidized pricing for the iPhone 5.
Per migrating from an iPhone 4 or iPhone 3GS to the iPhone 5 - there really is not much to do - other than to make sure you keep backing up your phone on a regular basis. Apple makes upgrading to a new phone drop dead simple.
The most important thing a business user can do - is get approval to purchase the next iPhone now. It is likely going to be sold out or hard to get ahold of for many months when it does get released. So if you want one early - best to get your approval ducks in a row now. If you don't get approval until a few weeks after it is launched - you may not be getting one until sometime in 2012.
4. How has the Android OS encroached on the iPhone in terms of
business features?
I don't believe it has. Supporting the iPhone in a business environment has been a focus of Apple. From security features that have been added with each update of iOS to additional support for exchange. Including in iOS 5 - wirelessly sync'g Exchange tasks. Also for IT departments - it is easier to support the one or two iPhone handsets and one version of iOS - then it is to support the 70+ handsets on Android and the half a dozen versions of Android OS.
On the Android front you hear now of more and more mal-ware and other security issues. This is something you just don't have to deal with on the iOS side. Add in all the different version of the Hardware manufacturer tweaks to the Android OS - and you get a greater and greater fragmentation of the Android ecosystem - which just means more work for IT managing all that.
5. Can Apple possibly keep the momentum going with each new iPhone in
terms of capturing market share, etc.? How will they do that?
Apple will also likely add Sprint to the list of carriers in the US that will get the iPhone. Right now the iPhone 4 even though it is 14 months old is still the number one selling smartphone handset on both AT&T and Verizon. The iPhone 5 will be the number one selling handset on AT&T, Verizon and now Sprint - thus increasing the number of units sold each quarter to new records.
I don't think Apple is overly focused on overall Market share. But rather on increasing the numbers sold each quarter. Expect stock outages through out College basketball season.
