22 Predictions About iPhone 2.0

Wouldn’t it be fun if they name it iPhone ][? It won’t happen, but … Then they could even have a mini-upgrade iPhone ][+! Okay, that’s enough geekiniscing for the day.

Spent the day hiking in Marin and having a BBQ with some old friends, somehow the iPhone came up as a topic numerous times, despite none of us being iPhone owners. There’ve been rumors aplenty about an iPhone 2.0, and I think it’s a pretty safe bet something‘s coming. As always, Steve’s playing it close to the chest, which is part of what makes Apple such a fun/special company (disclaimers: (1) I own Apple stock, (2) I own a MacBook, (3) I don’t own an iPod or iPhone, (4) I’m one of those guys that was fairly anti-Mac until mid-last year, (5) I don’t own any black turtlenecks).

In the day of chatting, a few ideas came through our conversations. I’ve decided to go throw my stage in the ground, even though I may be 4 or more months early on any timing. Further, I’m adding a little “likelihood” to each prediction.

1. I believe Apple will have 2 different iPhones available on the market simultaneously (not just v1 and v2, but two distinct models with a lot of similarities). Likely
2. At least one of these models will have a keyboard and will take on BlackBerry/Windows Mobile more aggressively in the business market. Possible
3. 3G. I Garontee!
4. Video recording. Very likely
5. Deeper .mac integration will be built-into the phone(s). Very likely
6. Put the above three statements together for a built-in live video streaming feature. Possible
7. Bluetooth tethering will be possible. Likely
8. A 4+ megapixel camera will be included. Possible
9. One model will be somewhat smaller/lighter/thinner than the 1.0 model. Likely
10. Microsoft will have some type of Office for iPhone available to coincide with the launch. Possible
11. It will not have two cameras (Steve won’t even allow them to put two buttons on it!). Not a chance
12. The battery still won’t be replacable. Likely
13. Real GPS is included. Possible

And now for some more outlandish possibilities. All are a bit more… out there. Warning: to my more serious readers, this list gets increasingly goofy. If in a hurry, it’s probably best to skip it altogether.

1. It might come in multiple colors.
2. They include an ATSC tuner for live, real-time HDTV reception.
3. They skip 3G but include Wimax support.
4. Instead of just two (or one) models, Apple introduces two different distinct lines of iPhones. The second is a much smaller unit – think “iPhone Nano” – but is still all-touchscreen. In an even wackier move, it’s a flip-phone.
5. They make the screen capable of playing 720p resolution video. Again, the more extreme prediction has an HDMI connector and IR interface and doubles as an AppleTV.
6. It has an infrared emitter and supports the TV-B-Gone technology. Just kidding.
7. Apple massively updates the .mac infrastructure to include mobile social networking features for iPhone users. This probably won’t be heavily used as iPhone people can actually feel the aura of other nearby iPhone people…
8. Voice-operation for all controls. As a downside it has the voice of Marvin from Hitchhiker’s, and after 90 days of use goes crazy, HAL 9000-style. After this point, one in every ten times the user touches the screen the iPhone starts playing Rick Astley at max volume.
9. Rather than continue support for YouTube, all videos are sourced from 1938Media, who Apple becomes a sponsor for and Loren introduces a Fake Steve Jobs puppet.
10. Forget touchscreen, instead consider these three words: rotary dial interface.