I think the problem is that the smartphone industry has been hitting a ceiling for years. The improvements made are entirely dependent on incremental scientific improvements, such as battery capacity, processor power versus efficiency, etc.
In Jobs’ day, the smartphone was something new and every feature was a groundbreaking innovation. Nowadays, everything we need (and more) is in a smartphone, and breakthrough improvements are nearly impossible in the current and near technological landscape. See the addition of satellite communication, a feature needed only in exceptional cases and only in areas without network coverage. A useful feature, certainly, that will save lives, but far from a breakthrough that will make a difference for the everyday user. Manufacturers really have to go to extremes to introduce something more distinctive.
We’re currently waiting for the ‘next big thing’, and I don’t think it will be a smartphone in any form – that concept has now been worked out and can only be improved incrementally. It will therefore have to be a “new” concept that can be made mainstream. Think of something like smartglasses, something Apple is undoubtedly working on.
That said; smartphones were really just a rebranding/improvement of a technology/device that has been around for a long time, the Pocket PC. I honestly think we are still a long way from something new that will suddenly spread all over the world. So: there is still a lot of confusion in the world of smartphones.
tl;dr: It wasn’t Jobs, it was the era. It happened to coincide and Jobs was the right person at the right time.
[Reactie gewijzigd door Grabbels op 24 december 2022 10:38]
