Apple Still Plans to Sell iPhones When It Turns 100
Apple, a company famously averse to dwelling on its past, finds itself at a curious crossroads as its 50th anniversary approaches. For decades, the mantra instilled by co-founder Steve Jobs was a relentless focus on the future. In 2008, when the Macintosh neared its 25th birthday, Jobs curtly dismissed any nostalgic reflection, stating with an icy resolve, "If you look backward in this business, you’ll be crushed. You have to look forward." This philosophy has long guided Apple’s rapid innovation cycle, pushing boundaries rather than celebrating milestones.
Yet, as the half-century mark looms, even Apple seems to be making an exception. The tech titan, known for its guarded secrecy and forward-leaning posture, is now begrudgingly engaging in a series of global concerts and commemorations. The market is awash with books, articles, and oral histories chronicling the company’s genesis and formative years. This uncharacteristic embrace of its heritage signals a moment of reflection, even for a company that typically shuns retrospection, acknowledging that some anniversaries are simply too significant to ignore.
Amidst this wave of backward-looking content, the author chose a different path, challenging Apple to adhere to Jobs’s original directive: look forward. The central question posed to Apple’s leadership was not about its past triumphs, but about its aspirations and strategies for the next 50 years. What does the company envision for its centennial? To explore this ambitious question, the author secured interviews with two pivotal senior executives: Greg Joswiak, affectionately known as Joz, Apple’s SVP of Worldwide Marketing, who joined the company in 1986, and John Ternus, SVP of Hardware Engineering, a 25-year veteran and widely considered the front-runner to succeed Tim Cook as CEO. A brief, but insightful, conversation with CEO Tim Cook himself, held just before Alicia Keys performed at the Grand Central Station Apple Store to kick off the anniversary celebrations, rounded out the discussions.
After acknowledging the company’s rare celebratory mood – Joswiak conceded, "this is too special" to pass up – the conversation quickly pivoted to the future. Apple’s history is punctuated by its remarkable ability to navigate, and often define, major technological inflection points. From igniting the personal computer revolution with the Apple I and Apple II, to democratizing computing through the graphical user interface of the Macintosh, the company has consistently adapted. The iMac strategically positioned Apple for the burgeoning internet era, while the iPod reshaped the music industry, setting the stage for perhaps its most significant innovation. Despite entering the mobile phone market relatively late, Apple absolutely dominated the mobile era with the iPhone, transforming not just communication but entire industries. These products haven’t just been revolutionary; many have demonstrated incredible longevity and continuous evolution, as evidenced by the recent release of the buzzy new MacBook Neo, the latest iteration of a 42-year-old franchise. However, the current technological landscape is undeniably dominated by Artificial Intelligence, a category where Apple has, by many accounts, appeared to lag behind its competitors.
The executives, however, strongly disagree with the notion that Apple has "whiffed" on AI. Joswiak passionately asserted, "We were doing AI before we called it AI!" He pointed to the seamless integration of advanced algorithms and machine learning features that have long been embedded in Apple products, from Siri’s voice recognition to on-device processing for privacy and performance. "Every single great chatbot works great on our products," he added, highlighting the platform’s robust capabilities. Ternus further elaborated, arguing that even if Apple wasn’t at the absolute vanguard of developing foundational AI models, its ecosystem provides the optimal environment for users to engage with these tools. "Our products are the best place people will use the existing AI tools," he stated, emphasizing the unparalleled user experience and integration offered by Apple’s hardware and software. This perspective suggests Apple sees itself not just as a developer of AI, but as a crucial enabler and enhancer of the AI experience for millions.
The author pressed them further on this point. Looking decades into the future, shouldn’t we expect a paradigm shift in computing, moving beyond current devices to hardware specifically designed for the wonders of AI? This is, after all, the direction figures like Apple’s former design guru Jony Ive seem to be pursuing with OpenAI, joining a growing race to develop new AI-centric hardware devices. "I would assume you want one of them to be an Apple device, right?" the author inquired.
The response was surprisingly non-committal, or rather, steadfast in its conviction about existing platforms. "Let’s not lose sight of the fact that nothing you just said is incompatible with the iPhone," Joswiak declared. His certainty was palpable: "The iPhone is not going to go away. iPhone is going to serve a very central role in any of those things you’re talking about." This bold statement suggests Apple envisions the iPhone not merely as a smartphone, but as a continually evolving, central hub for all future technological advancements, including AI. The ubiquity of the iPhone, its robust app ecosystem, seamless integration with other Apple services and devices, and its unparalleled user base position it as a formidable foundation for future innovation. Joswiak contrasted this with competitors who "struggle" because "they don’t have an iPhone, and so they’re scrambling for what to do. A lot of what they talk about ends up being accessories for an iPhone." He concluded with an emphatic, albeit somewhat veiled, message: "We’re not going to get into future road maps, but I will tell you, iPhones are not going anywhere." Despite this unwavering bravado, it’s widely speculated that Apple will undoubtedly introduce some form of dedicated AI-powered gadget in the coming years, even if it integrates deeply with or serves as a companion to the iPhone.
Later that day, during his brief encounter with Tim Cook, the author immediately posed the question about Apple’s next 50 years. Cook, without hesitation, launched into a rhapsodic description of Apple’s enduring strengths: its exceptional people, unwavering values, and unique culture. He predicted that these fundamental elements, regardless of the technological twists and turns ahead, would continue to make Apple distinctive and supremely successful. "Yes, the technologies of the future will change," Cook affirmed. "Yes, there will be more products and more categories. All of those things are true, but the things that made Apple Apple will be the same for the next 50 years, and the next 100 and the next 1,000." This vision underscores a profound belief in the company’s core identity, suggesting that its success is rooted less in specific products and more in its ethos of innovation, design excellence, user experience, and perhaps, its commitment to privacy and environmental stewardship. It implies that Apple’s ability to adapt and thrive stems from its internal compass, rather than merely chasing the latest trends.
Of course, Cook’s expansive prediction for the next millennium implicitly presumes that the rise of superintelligence won’t fundamentally rearrange reality, let alone corporate structures, within the next five decades. This stands in stark contrast to the views of some leaders in the AI world. OpenAI’s Sam Altman, for instance, has openly speculated that his own successor as CEO might not be a human, but an advanced AI model. When asked if Cook envisioned such a possibility for Apple within the next 50 years, his response was immediate and unequivocal. Cook laughed merrily at the idea, stating, "When you look at the leadership page, there will not be an agentic kind of model on there." His firm rejection highlights a continued belief in human leadership at the helm of Apple, even as AI becomes increasingly integrated into daily life. Left unspoken, however, was the intriguing question of what the people of 2076 would actually be using to look up that leadership page, subtly bringing the conversation back to the enduring presence of Apple’s flagship devices, like the iPhone, well into its second century.
In essence, Apple’s 50th anniversary marks a moment of carefully managed retrospection, but its gaze remains fixed firmly on the horizon. While acknowledging its storied past, the company, through its leadership, projects an unshakeable confidence in its ability to adapt and innovate, believing that core values and the enduring relevance of its platforms, particularly the iPhone, will carry it through the next half-century and beyond, selling iPhones even as it celebrates its 100th birthday.
