Later this week, Apple will almost certainly reveal at least two new iPhones, along with some other hardware. This year's launch is framed around the fact that it's an "S" year, which usually means that last year's phones get some updated internals, camera improvements, and an "S" affixed to their names. In other words, it might not be a year of radical design rethinks.
But to focus entirely on the iPhone would mean missing the bigger picture around Apple's hardware events. The company's strategy increasingly involves its broader product ecosystem and its services. It wants to get customers more tightly locked in to its products—an Apple Watch only works with an iPhone, after all—and it wants to get them using more of its cloud-based software.
Apple says it has 1.3 billion active devices around the world, a 30 percent increase in activations from 2016. And the iPhone accounts for more than half of Apple's revenue. But sales of iPhone have slowed over the past couple years. Sales of Apple's Mac computers dropped last quarter, too. Its services business, meanwhile, which includes the App Store, iCloud, and Apple Music, has been fast-growing.
So while we're going to see lots of shiny new things this week, for sure (and WIRED will be on site at the Steve Jobs Theater in Cupertino to report on all the announcements), it's important to keep in mind that Apple isn't only trying to sell you a phone. It wants to sell you on the Apple life. And that's a big commitment to consider, even if you're someone who will gladly spend $1,000 on a glimmering new handset.
Phone Home
With all that said, the new iPhones are going to be the most noteworthy announcement of this event....