With the release of the Galaxy S8 hogging all the headlines, a section has started asking if there is any message in it for Apple Inc? Apple’s next smartphone release has been discussed at various forums, including the name it will carry. Be that as it may, what is of interest to the analysts is, do some of the specs and features available on the S8 and S8 + affect Apple’s plans for iPhone8? The diehard Apple fan will naturally say it is still too early to say and one has to wait and see. But there is no harm in some analysis.
The Bezel factor
As it happens with the smartphone market, there are lots of speculations and rumours in many tech sites, much before any new phone is launched. Many of them are proved true and many remain just rumours as well. From that perspective, it has been rumoured that the next iPhone will have a bezel-free screen or at least the bezel will be a key marketing point. So has Samsung stolen the thunder with its offering?
Will Bixby beat SIRI?
The other big argument going around is the experience customers will have with Bixby the AI-based digital personal assistant that Samsung has brought into its newly released offering. The expectations are pretty high and some critics have even described Bixby as a ‘SIRI killer’. Again, it might be too early to jump to such a conclusion. For one, Samsung’s phones have been in the market for hardly a day and the actual performance-based reviews and other critiques may still be a few weeks away.
The other and more important factor is, Apple has enjoyed near-unblemished record with its superior technology for decades now and even the odd problems it faced, like the complaints of the phone bending, were effectively handled by the company. Till they release the next set of phones, perhaps it might not be completely justified in concluding that Bixby will be better than SIRI.
All said and done, it is common knowledge that Apple has its own fan following. These are people around the world who never use any product but Apple’s and that is established by their standing in front of iStores for hours whenever a new product is launched. It cannot be denied that many of these Apple fans had felt that the company had not made any drastic modification in its last offering iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus.
The camera, for example, is one area where the expectations are that there may be improvements as and when the next version is launched.
But the jury is still out on what effect the launch of Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ will have on Apple’s plans for its next smartphone.
Image: iphonedigital via Flickr