It’s interesting how many people critiqued the iPhone 7 for being the same form factor as the 6. Perhaps it was purposely left behind, and AirPods are the new form factor? I wouldn’t be surprised if the “iPhone” 9/10 looks more like AirPods than a phone. Perhaps the phone as we know it will become the accessory — it will lose all its ports and only serve as an (optional) portable storage and display device to accompany something we always wear that lets us connect, interact, pay, access, etc…

Chris, thanks for the analysis — good reminder that our industry’s rush to size up and judge a strategy by the latest launch compromises our patience and is liable to obscure the bigger picture.