New Phones, New Carriers, New Lines: Apple's Future Is Wild

As Apple fanatics wait with bated breath for an iPhone 5 announcement, vague reports of a completely new Apple product line bubbled to the surface. Elsewhere, Apple asked iOS developers to give users a little more privacy, and the iPhone may take on yet another U.S. wireless carrier soon.

As the summer draws to a close, Cupertino-watchers grow increasingly anxious for the big announcement proclaiming the iPhone 5's release date. New hardware is almost certainly on the menu, and a new U.S. carrier may join the iPhone family as well. Sprint (NYSE: S) will soon start carrying Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) smartphone, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal, which cited unnamed sources.

However, it may still be several weeks before rumors and unconfirmed reports turn into solid dates and product details.

Some Apple hounds were so anxious for news from the company this week that they contemplated vague reports from Asian suppliers that the tech giant could be introducing a gadget line so innovative and ahead of the curve that it could represent and entirely new product line. Reports didn't provide many details but speculated it could be a line of touch-enabled desktop-like computers.

"They're at a point, and a size and scale, where there always seems to be something coming, and the competition always seems to have something coming so they've got to stay ahead," Edward Zabitsky, principal and CEO of ACI Research, told MacNewsWorld.

Financial soothsayers, though, seem more focused on the company's future in areas like cloud offerings and its existing mobile lines.

"What's really happening is that we're moving toward light computing and these OSes that have been optimized and developed for mobile are really OSes for interface with the cloud. So over a long period of time they'll be migrating these light OSes -- that's the direction the industry is moving," said Zabitsky.

With the focus on the cloud, in particular its upcoming iCloud offering, Apple can really dig into its loyal, core user base to generate revenue and a truly streamlined product and consumer foundation.

"Apple is really focusing on the iCloud and Apple Me products. Apple can offer a free e-mail system, and I think people would rush up to have @me.com addresses. This is where it's headed, and it can be a pretty big thing," Hendi Susanto, analyst at Gabelli, told MacNewsWorld.

Apple did not respond to a request for comment.
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