Apple to change product refresh cycle to three years: report

In a new development Apple is reported to have changed its iPhone product refresh cycle, and would now introduce major redesigns after a gap of three years, according to Nikkei.com. Apple has traditionally brought out redesigns every two years, but would now wait for three years to bring in major changes to the iPhone.

This change in the product refresh cycle had been attributed to a slowing market, and low innovation in smartphone functions. Major enhancements had little scope in the smartphone periphery, and hence Apple had changed its strategy.

According to commentators, that was the reason all iPhone 7 leaks showed little change with respect to design, apart from the shift of antenna bands.

Traditionally, the 's'  models had signaled an evolutionary change, while a revolutionary change was signalled with a new numeric. The iPhone 6 was a completely new design, while the iPhone 6s saw hardware and software upgrades with no visible design changes. Users expected the iPhone 7 to go through a complete makeover.

However, according to Nikkei.com the big change would only come with the iPhone release in 2017, which had earlier been reported to be called the iPhone  8 instead of the iPhone 7s. The iPhone 7 would see no change, but according to the report, there would be upgrades in camera, and battery capacity.