ZDNet --- Every iPhone Spec and Rumor point to...

This article is really interesting -- something is up with the display. 

And if you knew it was out there, you could read this particular puzzle in a very different way.

If you don't care about Apple's display -- there's a lot about the invasion of the Chinese smartphones in here too.


ZDNet   (Much more at the source)

Perhaps Apple's iPhone 7 isn't just a smartphone, but part of an integrated system that is something else entirely? Meet iPhone 7 Pro, the VR machine.

This morning I read my ZDNet colleague Adrian Kingsley-Hughes' column regarding Apple's apparent uncaring attitude about the Android flagship smartphone competition's tech specs, particularly as it pertains to the rumors regarding what parts are going to make their way into the iPhone 7.

Essentially, he argues that the company is competing against no one, that they have such unflinching brand loyalty given that their customers are so addicted to their products, and thus they are in a position to not give a crap.

Fundamentally, I agree with this. I've written ad nauseum about the upstarts in China that are breathing down not only Apple's neck, but also Samsung's, by producing flagship quality hardware at a fraction of the price.

So if you look at Apple's growth numbers with iPhone, it doesn't look good. Combine this with industry margins on smartphones plummeting due to a Chinese commodity invasion, and Apple has reason to be concerned. But seemingly, they aren't. They seem overconfident.

That being said, if the upcoming iPhone 7 turns out to be evolutionary, I don't think this will be a successful product roll-out for the company. Then the overconfidence is simply arrogance, and Apple will be punished for it by an unforgiving market that is being disrupted by commoditization. 

However, as hard as I am on Apple's ongoing prospects as it relates to the four horsemen of the Chinese smartphone apocalypse, I suspect we are missing something important here.

Could it be that the iPhone 7 isn't just a smartphone, but part of an integrated system that is something else entirely?

There are two things in this particular product release that have caught my attention. First is that there have been no recent rumors at all about display technology used in the device. We've seen mockups of phones, so we know what the form factors look like.

An entertainment device that performs the function of a gaming machine and TV set? An Apple TV without a TV? One that can provide fully immersive experiences and exclusive content from virtually anywhere?

I don't know for certain that the iPhone 7 Pro is really a VR machine. But my gut says that Apple is looking to disrupt, and this could very well be the One More Thing the company is looking for to continue years of mobile industry dominance.