14 DAY TRIAL // Ken Segall, Apple’s former advertising guy and author of Insanely Simple, predicts that the iPhone is ripe, just like the iPod was when Apple expanded the line of players to cater to all types of consumers.
A belief shared by pundits and financial analysts alike, the idea of Apple launching “a family of iPhones” sounds less and less far-fetched as the years go by.
And, right now, the iPhone seems to be ripe for picking, in terms of expanding its market share with more than one version of the handset.
In a recent blog entry, Ken Segall says, “Back when the very first iPhone was about to launch, it was assumed by many inside Apple that iPhone would follow the path of iPod before it.”
“The first year or two would be devoted to evolving and perfecting the device — and then the iPhone line would be expanded to address various types of customers.”
“iPod’s biggest years came after it had expanded into a family of products,” Segall points out.
In this respect, the creative believes the iPhone will take the same route in the near future.
The iPhone will no longer just ship in two colors, and it will no longer present customers with a single screen size option.
“Given that history, and given the growing demand for certain variations on the theme, there’s a good chance that the next iPhone will actually be a family of iPhones,” Segall concludes.
Segall predicts an iPhone mini, which Apple could market as “the most affordable iPhone,” a new version of the high-end iPhone “now in colors,” and an iPhone Max which Segall would market “bigger is better.”
If Tim Cook is on the same wavelength with Apple’s former ad guru, that “blizzard” of products launching in fall sounds tantalizing, to say the least.