One of the most popular and widely used gadgets from Apple — the iPhone may lose its position in the future and could even be buried in the pages of history like the iPod. This was stated by the company's vice president of internet services, Eddy Cue, during court hearings taking place in the United States, as reported by The Verge.
The court discussions are taking place within the framework of the US government's investigation into the cooperation agreement between Google and Apple. Google pays Apple approximately $20 billion annually to maintain its status as the primary search engine on iPhone smartphones. While commenting on this issue, a senior representative of Apple emphasized that due to the development of new and innovative technologies like artificial intelligence, smartphones and their traditional search systems may also lose their relevance.
According to Eddy Cue, the world is at such a point of technological advancement that traditional devices may be replaced by new technologies controlled by artificial intelligence:
"We are not an oil company or a toothpaste manufacturing plant; they have eternal demand. Although it may sound surprising, perhaps in 10 years, you won't need an iPhone at all," Cue said.
The Apple vice president pointed out that such a situation has been observed in the company's history before. For example, the iPod players, which entered the market as the company's main product and gained massive popularity in the early 2000s, completely lost their significance with the emergence of the iPhone devices. Apple even deliberately brought about this change:
"At that time, we had destroyed the iPod we created with the iPhone device we released. Now it may be the turn of the iPhone," Cue explained.
Currently, the iPhone is considered Apple's most essential and largest source of revenue. These devices account for a significant portion of the company's annual total revenue. However, Apple is currently struggling to find a revenue source that is equal to or even stronger than the iPhone. In particular, the company's attempts to produce electric vehicles ended unsuccessfully, and its entry into the VR headset market did not yield the results the company had hoped for.
At the same time, Apple is investing heavily in research in robotics and artificial intelligence. The company is also actively working on producing new generation devices that could potentially replace the iPhone in the future, such as smart glasses.
It should be noted that other companies have also attempted several times to move away from smartphones using artificial intelligence and new technologies. However, so far, most have faced failure in this regard. For instance, the AI-based smart pager project called Humane AI Pin operated for only a year before shutting down, while 95% of users of the Rabbit R1 device abandoned it within a year.
However, with its technological and financial capabilities, Apple is not without the potential to change this trend and once again shake the technological world.
So, whether new devices with artificial intelligence will take the place of the iPhone in the future or if the era of smartphones will continue for a long time — time will tell. But one thing is clear: Apple could play a significant role in this process of change.
