Tim Cook: iPhone 6 to usher in "the mother of all upgrades"
Though much of the focus this week is understandably centered on Apple's new Watch, the two new iPhone 6 models Apple introduced this past Tuesday are more than noteworthy in their own right.
Aside from the obvious change in design -- bigger screens -- Apple added a whole lot of interesting functionality under the hood to make its new iPhone models stand out from their predecessors in a significant way. The new iPhones not only come with Apple's blazing fast A8 processor and enhanced camera technologies, but they also come with an NFC subsystem that will enable users to make mobile payments without ever having to take out their credit cards.
The iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus both go on sale on September 19 and Tim Cook this week told the Wall Street Journal that he anticipates a huge number of consumers will be chomping at the bit to upgrade.
Cook said he expects the introduction of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus will trigger "the mother of all upgrades." While the bigger screens will capture most of the attention, Cook said the phones are "appreciably better in every single way." He said he expects Android users to look at switching to the iPhone.
The point about Android users perhaps switching over to the iPhone is intriguing, if only because one of the longstanding advantages Android handsets had over the iPhone were bigger screens. What's more, Apple was keenly aware of the fact that many consumers were pining for smartphones with larger displays.
As a quick illustration, below is a slide from an internal Apple presentation that was made public during Apple's second California trial with Samsung. Titled "Consumers want what we don't have", the chart shows that the bulk of smartphone growth in the industry could be attributed to devices with displays bigger than 4 inches.
Incidentally, Cook certainly loves employing the phrase "mother of" (fill in the blank). Don't be surprised if iPhone 6 demand is off the charts and Cook tells some media outlet that Apple is experiencing the mother of all backlogs -- a phrase he's already used with respect to the iPad.
