2019 is going to be a very weird year for Apple and its marquee smartphone. On the one hand, the iPhone still remains one of the most popular handsets around, but on the other, it’s not as popular as it used to be while costing more than ever. To reignite interest, one analyst thinks Apple will push the innovation envelope to a new level.
Jean Baptiste Su, Vice-President and Principal Analyst of consulting firm Atherton Research, believes that the 2019 iPhone will feature key levels of innovation that will help it stand out from the competition. Among Su’s predictions, the 2019 iPhone may feature a smaller notch, a Touch ID fingerprint reader embedded in the display, and a USB-C port.
All of those would be a first for the iPhone line. Apple has been rumored to move to USB-C as its main port, but given the amount of money it makes on licensing the Lightning connector, that seems unlikely. Or, at least it did so until it moved the iPad Pro to USB-C.
As for Touch ID, though the idea of bringing it back sounds amazing, it seems unlikely Apple would double-dip on biometric sensors. For one, it likes to have a clear cut choice as its main biometric sensor. Second, it would also raise the price of manufacturing.
The smaller notch makes a lot of sense. With Apple advancing its TrueDepth camera system over the past two years, it stands to reason it can pack those sensors into a smaller notch.
That makes two of Su’s predictions very possible. As for whether Apple will actually implement them in the next iPhone, that remains a mystery. At this point, it’s still unclear what Apple plans to do with its 2019 iPhone. We’ll find out more as we get closer to September.
