iPhone Camera: The 'GoPro-ification' Trend

The Weekly Recap: Apple and a Smaller Competitor

Greetings, and welcome once again to Week in Review! Last time, our focus was on eyewear from a brand that often receives negative feedback.

This week, the discussion centers on Apple and a company significantly smaller in scale – 1,600 times smaller, in fact – which is currently grappling with comparable challenges regarding its products.

For those accessing this content on TechCrunch, you can subscribe to receive this directly in your inbox through our newsletter page. You can also follow my updates on Twitter @lucasmtny.

A Parallel in Product Issues

The core issue facing both Apple and this smaller firm revolves around a shift in product perception. Consumers are increasingly viewing their flagship devices not as all-encompassing solutions, but as specialized tools.

This change in perspective impacts how users integrate these products into their daily lives and, consequently, their willingness to upgrade or purchase new models.

The "GoPro-ification" Trend

A key observation is the growing trend of what’s being termed “GoPro-ification.” This refers to a situation where a device, once considered a primary tool, is relegated to a more niche role.

GoPros, for example, excel at specific tasks – action video recording – but aren’t typically used as everyday cameras. The concern is that the iPhone is experiencing a similar narrowing of its perceived core functionality.

Specific Challenges for Apple

For Apple, this manifests in users increasingly relying on dedicated cameras for photography and videography, particularly for professional or high-quality content creation.

The iPhone, while still capable, is no longer consistently the first choice for these tasks, leading to a potential decline in sales and a re-evaluation of its product strategy.

Implications for the Smaller Company

The smaller company faces a similar predicament, albeit on a different scale. Its products are also being perceived as less essential for core tasks, impacting its market position.

Understanding and addressing this shift in consumer behavior is crucial for both companies to maintain relevance and drive future growth.

The Shifting Landscape of Apple Innovation

As one becomes increasingly immersed in the technology sector, maintaining a purely consumer perspective becomes challenging. Having covered Apple events for six years as a TechCrunch reporter, I've found myself experiencing this disconnect more frequently, yet insights often emerge from unexpected sources, such as casual observations on platforms like Twitter.

A simple online comment highlights a growing trend: Apple is progressing towards a future where differentiating between new and existing products is becoming increasingly difficult. The traditional “S” cycle for iPhones is fading, replaced by incremental updates and variations in size since the significant redesign of the iPhone X in 2017.

Apple is extending the intervals between substantial upgrades across its entire product range, and the implementation of these changes is also taking more time. The current edge-to-edge iPad Pro design, initially unveiled in late 2018, took three years to reach the iPad mini, while the standard iPad remains unchanged.

The Chipset Focus and Future Investments

The transition from M1 Macs is anticipated to span several years, as the company has already indicated. A significant portion of Apple’s key improvements now center around enhancements to the chipsets they develop internally. This increasingly positions them as a provider of consumer-grade processing technology.

This isn’t a novel observation, having been discussed extensively, but it gains relevance as Apple expands its workforce dedicated to future endeavors like augmented reality – a technology poised to eventually supersede the iPhone.

Parallels with GoPro

This evolution is leading Apple into a similar design and innovation space as GoPro, a leading action camera manufacturer. GoPro has consistently faced challenges in motivating its loyal customer base to upgrade their hardware frequently. While the scales are vastly different – Apple’s market capitalization is approximately $2.41 trillion compared to GoPro’s $1.5 billion – both companies grapple with similar questions regarding innovation in established product categories.

GoPro recently launched the HERO10 Black camera, featuring improved frame rates and a more powerful processor, aiming to encourage users to subscribe to their services. Interestingly, Apple unveiled the iPhone 13 Pro this week, boasting a faster processor and enhanced display frame rates, alongside a strong emphasis on promoting its service ecosystems.

Reaching a Feature Plateau

Apple’s devices have reached a point of diminishing returns in terms of groundbreaking features. Despite this, the company continues to release new devices, expand its user base to billions, and increase its average revenue per user.

While Apple’s stock price has nearly quadrupled since the iPhone X launch, the core iPhone user experience feels remarkably consistent. This isn’t necessarily negative, but it can be described as lacking excitement.

The Augmented Reality Escape Route

Unlike GoPro, which appears to lack a clear path beyond its action camera niche, Apple is heavily investing in augmented reality as a potential successor to the iPhone.

Despite the technology not yet being fully ready for mainstream consumers, rumors suggest Apple is developing a high-end AR/VR headset, potentially priced in the thousands of dollars, with inherent limitations. A key question is how the iPhone category will evolve once its successor emerges.

It’s probable that AR-focused devices will initially be positioned as premium iPhone accessories, leveraging the accessibility of the mobile platform to deliver new and more immersive experiences. Essentially, augmented reality represents the future of the iPhone, until it no longer requires the iPhone.

Notable Tech News This Week

Several TechCrunch reports garnered particular attention this week. These stories cover a range of developments across major tech companies and emerging trends.

A comprehensive overview of Apple's latest announcements has been released. While perhaps not the most groundbreaking event in the company’s history, the new products are still expected to generate significant interest.

New Product Releases and Updates

GoPro has unveiled the HERO10 Black camera. The company has successfully established itself in a specialized hardware market, creating both a robust device and a comprehensive ecosystem.

Despite annual challenges in delivering substantial upgrades, this year’s model features a notable improvement with the inclusion of a second-generation custom processor and overall performance enhancements.

Autonomous Driving and Regulatory Compliance

Tesla is preparing to broaden access to its “Full Self-Driving” (FSD) beta program. Drivers who have purchased the FSD system can now apply for access.

Applicants will be evaluated by Tesla's insurance calculator bot, and approval will be granted after seven days of demonstrated safe driving habits.

NFT Market Scrutiny

A resignation occurred at OpenSea following allegations of ‘insider trading’. The NFT market, characterized by substantial financial activity, currently lacks extensive regulatory oversight.

OpenSea, often referred to as the “eBay of NFTs,” revealed that its VP of Product engaged in trading based on non-public information, ultimately leading to their departure.

Geopolitical Pressures on Tech Companies

Both Apple and Google have yielded to demands from the Russian government. Maintaining positive relationships with governments in various markets often presents complex challenges for tech giants.

In Russia, both companies were compelled to remove a political application belonging to a major opposition party, highlighting the pressures they face in navigating international regulations.

Featured Articles

Here are some noteworthy articles sourced from our Extra Crunch subscription service this week.

A consideration of potential factors that could halt the current surge in startup activity is presented below.

Potential End to the Startup Boom

“…Record-breaking performance has been observed across numerous cities, nations, and regions. The sheer volume of capital circulating within the venture capital and startup ecosystems makes it difficult to remember previous, more constrained periods. A prolonged bull market for technology startups has created a sense that this is the only conceivable condition. However, this is not the case…”

The upward trend in the valuation of software revenue streams may have reached a plateau.

Software Revenue Valuation

“…I deliberately refrained from analyzing the valuation of software revenues (primarily SaaS) for several months after dedicating considerable time to it in previous quarters. When venture capitalists suggest that simply substituting numbers from one quarter to the next would yield the same article, it signals a need for a pause. Nevertheless, the valuation of software revenues experienced a remarkable period of growth, and I couldn’t resist presenting the data…“

An examination of GitLab’s initial public offering (IPO) documentation is provided.

GitLab’s IPO Filing Details

“…A public offering by the company has been anticipated for some time. GitLab’s most recent primary funding round secured $286 million at a post-money valuation of $2.75 billion, according to PitchBook data. This same source also indicates that GitLab completed a secondary transaction earlier this year valued at $195 million, resulting in a $6 billion valuation…”

Thank you for your readership. Subscribers can receive this directly in their inbox via the newsletter page, and can follow updates on Twitter @lucasmtny.

Lucas Matney