Tim Cook hints there's 'innovation left' in Apple's iPhone division
A few months have passed since John Ternus, head of Apple's engineering group, was quoted as saying the current iPhone roadmap was the 'most ambitious in the product's history'. The company has not released any iPhones in the intervening period, nor is it expected to do so for a few months still.
Even then, the next iPhone SE, referred to as the iPhone SE 4 or iPhone 16e, is unlikely to be considered an ambitious product by any stretch of the imagination. Instead, it is currently expected to serve as a simpler and cheaper alternative to the iPhone 16 (curr. $683 - refurbished on Amazon).
Yesterday, Tim Cook seemed to reiterate Ternus' sentiment in Apple's Q1 2025 earnings call. Specifically, Cook remarked the following:
There's a lot more to come, and I could not feel more optimistic about our product pipeline… there's a lot of innovation left on the smartphone.
Cook could be seen to have oversold the innovations of iPhones in recent years and their changes from previous models. Nonetheless, his remark is being viewed by some as a nod to some of Apple's rumoured new directions for the iPhone, whether that be the iPhone 17 Air or its Galaxy Z Flip rival. As it stands, the former is anticipated to launch later this year alongside the rest of the iPhone 17 series. By contrast, Apple's first foldable iPhone may not reach consumers until 2026 or even 2027.
