Report: Apple Is Working On A Note 10 Competitor

Ever since Samsung launched the Galaxy Note in 2011, a subset of Apple users have been clamouring for an iPhone equivalent. In recent years, these calls have grown louder – especially in the wake of the Apple Pencil.

It seems Apple is finally bowing to demand. According to a new report, the next iPhone will support the aforementioned peripheral, which means it’s going to compete directly against the Galaxy Note 10. Bring on the joust!

For the non-iPad users out there, the Apple Pencil is a range of wireless stylus pens that were originally sold alongside the iPad Pro in 2015. It is chiefly used for drawing, note-taking and photo editing and is only compatible with iPad devices. But that could soon change.

According to a Citi Research report obtained by Business Insider, Apple’s 2019 iPhone range – tentatively dubbed the iPhone 11 – will work with Apple Pencil. While the peripheral wasn’t specifically mentioned, Citi included “support for pencil/stylus” in the list of features it’s expecting to see.

Citi Research didn’t really give us much to go on, but it’s worth noting that the research firm has been pretty bang on in the past. In the same report, it also gave details about the iPhone 11’s specifications: expect a larger battery and a beefed up camera array including a 10MP front-facing camera and 14MP rear cameras. Pricing will be roughly in line with the 2018 models.

This is all very interesting, but why has it taken Apple so long to jump on the Galaxy Note bandwagon? It might have something to do with the legacy of former CEO Steve Jobs, who was an avowed hater of the stylus interface. As Jobs famously remarked during the launch of the original iPhone; “God gave us 10 styluses [meaning fingers]. Let’s not invent another!”

In other words, Jobs painted his company into a corner, especially in the eyes of consumers. At the Apple Pencil launch, audience members with long memories laughed during the announcement.

But just like people, companies are known to shift opinions – particularly when a lucrative and largely untapped market sector is up for grabs. The only question now is, just where are they going to house the bloody thing? Unless Apple drastically redesigns the iPhone chassis, there’s nowhere for the stylus to live while not in use. (Our money is on an external magnetic case, which also gives them something extra to sell.)

All will likely be revealed in September when Apple officially unveils its new phone range. What do you think? Is a stylus-equipped iPhone a good thing? Or should they leave this sort of thing to Samsung? Let us know in the comments.

[Via Business Insider]

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