- The Apple iPhone might be considered the most frequently used digital camera, according to Flickr.
- The quality of the iPhone’s camera and the ease of use in sharing images appeals to a broad audience.
- Apple could capitalize on the mainstream’s preference for the iPhone’s camera and software technology by developing a dedicated digital camera product offering.
Despite Snap Inc. (SNAP) self-declaring and billing itself as “a camera company”, there is an incredible and very well-known company which by a number of metrics could be considered the mother of all digital camera companies. According to statistics from Flickr, a photo-sharing service, the greatest number of photographs hosted on its servers have disproportionately been captured using the digital camera embedded in any number of Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone models. Thus, the iPhone might by several accounts be considered the most frequently used digital camera, according to Flickr.
This is truly mind-blowing considering the number of other devices currently on the market which carry the same capability to capture images. Such devices include any number of smartphones running Google’s (GOOG) Android OS, cameras by well-established camera companies, and even those by compact video-cording camera-makers, such as GoPro (GPRO), which can be set to capture still-images.
It is unclear why the Apple iPhone currently owns this disproportionate amount of “market share” within the field of online digital photography. One possibility could be that onboard chip on the iPhone captures better quality images than camera chips on other devices. Another reason could be that Apple iOS makes it relatively simple to share images seamlessly with others online or through a variety of channels (email, social networks, online hosting services). Market research firms likely have some good rationale for why this happens to be the case, and it would be worthwhile exploring at a deeper level. Nevertheless, the mainstream prefers to capture digital photographs using the camera onboard the iPhone.
Many of Apple’s advertisements, whether on television, online digital media, or even exterior billboard space promote the iPhone through the use of the onboard camera’s quality as among its key selling points. There are many fascinating billboards extolling beautiful images and scenery that according to Apple were captured using the iPhone’s onboard camera. Thus, even Apple’s marketing department is well aware that the public recognizes the wonderful camera embedded within the iPhone.
Should Apple engineers leverage battery-lifesaving technology, combining it with fast-charging batteries, in addition to its already incredible digital camera chips, as well as a version of iOS dedicated to capturing and seamlessly sharing digital files across a number of platforms, Apple could very well capitalize on a product conceptualized as a dedicated camera, a proverbial “iCamera.”
While it is very easy to argue that the iPhone effectively destroyed the market for portable and handheld digital cameras, and while one may also suggest that there may hardly be any market available for a dedicated camera device from Apple, resulting from potential cannibalization issues, Apple continues to market a number of products dedicated to a single activity, ranging from the iPod, the iPad, the iWatch, and even the Mac. In addition, many iPhone owners currently carry external battery chargers to deal with power-draining apps and other processes running in the background. Further, many consumers and analysts are wondering when Apple will be coming out with a brand new product offering, at the level of the iPod or the iPhone.
For those that use their iPhones as their sole device for digital image capture, a dedicated digital camera running iOS, with a very long battery life, and extraordinary storage capacity could be a most welcome new addition to the Apple product line.
Thank you for your time and consideration.