10 Years of Apple iPhone: Will This Year’s Model Be the Best Ever?

The next year’s iPhone could truly be the version we have been waiting for.

Apple iPhone has lost its charm, will that change next year? (Photo: iStock)

iPhone set the standard for mobile computing in its first decade and we are just getting started. The best is yet to come

Tim Cook, CEO, Apple

Nokia making its smartphone comeback may be hogging the social limelight, but this week, Apple is back in the reckoning for its sheer sentimental value. It has been 10 years since the day Steve Jobs unveiled the first iPhone to the world.

Many brands have tried to make the ultimate iPhone-killer, but the jury’s still out on that. But going forward into 2017, a lot is expected from Apple, and the iPhone 8 needs to be better than most iPhone iterations to make its mark.

Could this be the ‘best to come’ iPhone that Cook has been referring to?

The iPhone Apple Never Made

We all know the rumours that Apple was working on an iPhone made out of sapphire glass, and turns out, they were true, according to a Quora user with credible insider knowledge.

Apple’s level of architectural innovation with aluminium had reached its limit, which is why Sapphire was chosen.

If all had gone as planned, then the iPhone 6 would have gotten a Sapphire-based uni-body design and build. Apple joined hands with GT Advanced Technologies (GTAT) to make this happen, and they even got rights to few of GTAT’s patents.

But the cost of making a sapphire-based iPhone went through the roof, forcing Apple to shelve its plan to redesign the iPhone 6, the effect of which has spilled over to iPhone 7 as well. This even led to GTAT filing for bankruptcy.

Apple has always followed the principle of changing things up at its end every two years, but with the iPhone, that clearly hasn’t been done for a while now.

Apple’s Ceramic Bet is Bigger Than You Think

Remember the Apple Watch Ceramic version, which was announced at this year’s iPhone event? Yes, that is the biggest change Apple has made, even more than ditching the 3.5-mm audio jack and making Airpods.

This ceramic finishing, as claimed by Apple, offers more resistance to heat and durability from mishaps – something that’s clearly been missing with the iPhone. Which is why the super-expensive Apple Watch version was rolled out, showing us what game-changing element Apple had up its sleeve.

There’s more to Apple Watch Ceramic Edition than you know. (Photo Courtesy: Apple)

Benefits of Zirconia Ceramic

• Strength
• Radio Transparency
• Heat Dissipation
• Scratch resistance
• Ease of manufacturing
  

The Zirconia Ceramic is a certified material, used by space organisations like NASA, which is also efficient at dissipating heat. It’s also scratch-free, something that no aluminium body will ever be able to compete with.

Apple’s been holding onto the patents based on the Ceramic materials that also includes a transparent casing which houses the radio antennae.

Apple’s patent on ceramic casing for radio antennae. (Photo Courtesy: Apple Insider)

The cost of making millions of iPhones should be ideal for Apple to bring down the cost of each device, something that would be unthinkable if done in small quantities.

If these hints aren’t enough, then maybe we’ve really lost our faith in Apple.

All this points us to the possibility of the next year’s iPhone 8, which also marks the 10th anniversary of the phone, possibly being the big change the world has been desperately waiting for.

If so, then surely the wait will have been worth it.

(With inputs from Quora.)