Adam Minter, Columnist

IPhones Go the Way of the Selectric

Apple's iconic brand has reached the end of the road. And that's okay.

April 20, 2017 at 9:00 PM UTC

Adam Minter is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering the business of sports. He is the author, most recently, of “Secondhand: Travels in the New Global Garage Sale."

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For the iPhone's 10th anniversary, Apple Inc. is planning to release new and upgraded models later this year, with updated designs, improved cameras and better screens. But a more important product launch actually began in mid-March, when the company quietly reintroduced the discontinued, two-and-a-half-year-old iPhone 6 in several Asian countries and Eastern Europe.

That might sound dull. But for Apple, which is banking on the developing world for growth, it's actually a far-sighted move. The company is acknowledging that smartphones have transitioned from elite niche products into mature technologies, owned by everyone and upgraded infrequently. And that means that boring reliability -- not innovation -- will define the iPhone's future.