A day after Apple’s WWDC keynote, Apple SVP of Marketing Phil Schiller sat down with John Gruber of Daring Fireball for his live episode of The Talk Show.
It’s an unprecedented move for an Apple exec to be interviewed in such a setting and it gave Gruber chance to ask some burning questions about Apple’s product lineup.
One such product decision Gruber wanted to explore was the base level 16GB storage present on iPhones, suggesting that amount was too low. Schiller believes that Apple’s advances with iCloud will help to reduce the reliance on internal storage.
“The belief is more and more as we use iCloud services for documents and our photos and videos and music,” Schiller said, “that perhaps the most price-conscious customers are able to live in an environment where they don’t need gobs of local storage because these services are lightening the load.”
The cloud isn’t the perfect solution, though, and Apple’s clearly optimizing more things for smaller devices with aspects of iOS 9 like App Thinning and smaller upgrade files. Schiller also argued that cost savings in keeping the 16GB model mean that Apple can invest in improving other features like the iPhone’s camera.
The thinness vs. battery life debate was also broached, the argument being that the iPhone is already thin enough and that maintaining the same thickness while reducing internal component sizes could mean more space for battery and extended battery life.
Schiller disagrees, saying that a choice has to be made. “If you want a product that’s thicker with a bigger battery it’s also heavier, more costly, takes longer to charge,” he said. “We model every thickness, every size, every weight and try to figure out what the tradeoffs are. I think we’ve made great choices there.”
I want an Apple that’s bold and taking risks and being aggressive.
The new MacBook with its single USB-C port was also a topic of conversation. It has been criticized by some for its limited I/O options and its new keyboard design.
The Apple exec acknowledges that the MacBook is not for everyone but states that he’d rather be working for an Apple that is creating forward-thinking products rather than one that simply makes incremental product updates. “That’s the Apple I want — I want an Apple that’s bold and taking risks and being aggressive.”
The live episode of The Talk Show has not yet been posted, but it sounds like it will be well worth tuning into when it appears. While Schiller’s answers might not surprise you, the fact he appeared on Gruber’s podcast is thoroughly interesting. New Apple, indeed.
What did you make of Schiller’s Talk Show appearance? Let me know
