Taking a look back at another week of news from Cupertino, this week’s Apple Loop covers the provisional release dates of iOS 9, battery life vs thin design, the Apple Watch's launch event, Apple's impressive market cap, music journalism in the iTunes store, the Apple Watch as a status symbol, the iPhone 6 and the Xiaomi Mi 4 go head to head, and it's Steve Jobs birthday.
Apple Loop is here to remind you of a few of the very many discussions that have happened around Apple over the last seven days (and you can read our weekly digest of Android news here on Forbes).
Beta Plans For iOS 9
Just missing last week's edition of Apple Loop was Gordon Kelly's round-up of the plans to release iOS 9 to developers and interested parties ahead of a general release:
Far more exciting though is news Apple will also apply this policy to iOS 9. The company is expected to debut the next gen release at its Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) in June and follow up “with a public beta release during the summer, and final release in the fall.”
It's a bit of a risky strategy, because any flaws are going to be pounced on by a few thousand geekerati, but if it improves the general acceptance when it is publicly released to tens of millions of handsets, it's worth a bit of early pain in tech reporting circles. Given that iOS 9 is marked down as being focused on stability and bug fixes, it could be a long summer waiting for iOS to be polished.
The People Have Voted For Power Over Profile
An interesting survey over on 9to5mac shows that of the 3,1000 readers who responded, ninety percent of the readership would like to see more battery life in their iPhones, while sixty percent believe that the smartphones should be increased in size to accommodate a larger battery:
A solid majority of over 60% of respondents said that Apple should thicken the next iPhone to improve its battery life, which is especially noteworthy given that there were other poll options. Over 31% said that Apple should achieve whatever battery improvements it can by improving the iPhone’s chips, while just under 2% said that Apple should instead focus on improving battery cases.
Battery life continues to be an issue in current smartphone design trends, with the vocal members of the public wanting more life while manufacturers, especially Apple, continue to focus on thin designs.
The Time And Date For The Apple Watch Has Been Set
Apple has announced an event on March 9th, where it is widely expected to lay out all the details around the Apple Watch. Titled 'Spring Forwards', and timed to be the day after the clocks go forwards in the US, I would hope to see the pricing and configurations of the various Apple Watch editions, the features that will be included in the first public build of the watches' operating systems, and the likely cost. Apple Insider has the details:
The event will be held at San Francisco's Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, a common venue for major Apple media briefings that are too large for the company's Town Hall theater on its Infinite Loop campus. A notable exception was the unveiling of the Apple Watch, which was held at the larger Flint Center in Cupertino, where the original Mac also made its debut.
Double Or Quits For The Market Cap
Some interesting stats on Apple's market cap were highlighted by S&P Dow Jones Indices’ Howard Silverblatt (and reported in the Wall Street Journal). Apple of course is 'the biggest company' in terms of market cap, and that value is now double that of the company in second place (which is Exxon). Silverblatt also notes that Apple only recently pulled out a significant lead.:
On a year-end basis, the last time the biggest company by market value was worth at least double the second-largest was 30 years ago... At the conclusion of 1983, 1984 and 1985, International Business Machines Corp.’s market cap was more than twice Exxon, which ended each of those years in second place. At its widest year-end point back then, IBM was worth 140% more than Exxon.
The question is how long this lead will last. IBM faded away and Exxon weathered the financial ups and downs to stay ahead of both Microsoft and Walmart when the latter companies traded for second place behind Exxon.
Apple's Move To Music Journalism Continues
Apple is making some interesting moves in the editorial space for music. Early this week a listing for an Editorial Producer with the iTunes London team was posted on Apple.com (reports Musically). The job will mix management responsibilities for content on iTunes and working with the industry on special projects:
iTunes is looking for an editorial producer with experience across pop culture and a specific expertise in music journalism. This full-time position is split between editorial and producing duties. The editorial duties focus on writing, editing, managing a sea of freelancers, and working collaboratively with business and content heads to shape and define editorially driven merchandising promotions.
This follows on from the news last week that popular BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe will be leaving the pop music station to work with Apple. It should not be a surprise that Apple is working with content producers to keep the Apple Store at the forefront of everyone involved in the music business, from consumers and shoppers to artists, labels, and event organisers. With Beats Music now comfortably established inside Cupertino, expect more prominent steps in this space.
When Is A Smartwatch Not A Smartwatch?
The upcoming availability of the Apple Watch (expected in April) is going to be interesting from a branding point of view. Much like the original iPhone had a very limited feature set compared to the equivalent smartphones of the time, the Apple Watch will likely have less functionality than an Android Wear device (let alone the million selling Pebble range and the newly announced Pebble Time).
But Apple's goal is not to sell function, it is to sell a status symbol:
The stainless steel edition is expected to cost upwards of $1,000 and is where Apple will be making a margin commensurate with those Q1 numbers. In steel, the Apple Watch is a clear status symbol where the look of the Watch is more important than ‘just’ the features (which are likely to be the same features across the portfolio). People will want to be seen with the Apple Watch, because it speaks to how they want to be seen and perceived.
Tim Cook's Clone Wars
One phone that Apple watchers have been keeping a careful eye on is from Chinese manufacturer Xiaomi. The Mi 4 (reviewed previously on Forbes) was released a few weeks before the iPhone 6, and it is arguably the closest challenger to that handset in China. I took a closer look at this match-up in a comparison review earlier this week:
As noted, at first glance the Xiaomi Mi 4 does have an echo of the iPhone. It’s just that it echoes the more angular design of the iPhone 5 and iPhone 5S family. With a metal band running around the edges at 90 degrees to the glass screen, with a slight chamfer at the join to prevent a hard edge being felt, and thin metallic buttons for power and volume, that first glance is the closest you will get to mistaking the handset for an iPhone.
It's a closer contest than you might think, find out who comes out the winner in the full review here on Forbes.
And Finally... Happy Birthday, Steve
Tim Cook took to Twitter this week to note that this week would have seen Steve Jobs' sixtieth birthday with a simple quote from the former Chairman and CEO.
The only way to do great work is to love what you do.
Cook has made Apple his own, but Jobs still casts his ghost over Apple.
Apple Loop brings you seven days worth of highlights every weekend here on Forbes. Don’t forget to follow me so you don’t miss any coverage in the future. Last week’s Apple Loop can be read here, or this week’s edition of Loop’s sister column, Android Circuit, also available on Forbes.
