How Apple can make the iPhone king again

Shortly after the launch of the original iPhone in 2007, it was clear that Apple had a certifiable hit on its hands. It was the first smartphone that earned the name — the first mobile device that could put a smile on your face just by doing is job. But more recently the news has brought stories of production cuts and muted reactions to new devices. The iPhone is still a great phone, but little by little those smiles from 2007 are going away. Let’s take a look at how Apple can turn that frown upside down.

Hardware

It seems like Apple is adept at setting trends, but not so good at recognizing them when the market is moved by its competitors. The current and ongoing increase in screen size is the most prominent example.
The company used a 3.5-inch display until 2012, when it bumped it up to 3.99-inches on the iPhone 5. It was the right move in spirit, but completely wrong in execution. The screen didn’t get wider at all — just a little taller. This doesn’t make reading or web browsing any better, and the device feels odd because of its stretched proportions. In fact, the software barely takes advantage of it. It almost felt spiteful, like Apple was giving the unwashed masses the larger screen they craved, but refused to do anything useful with it.
It’s time Apple reacts to the trend is toward larger screens that don’t adhere to Cupertino’s strictly-defined ideas about ergonomics. When you look at a device like the Galaxy S III, it’s clear that you can make a phone with a big display that doesn’t end up being unwieldy. A somewhat larger panel needs to happen. A well-designed 4.3-inch LCD with a thin bezel could work perfectly, and if it’s higher resolution to match all the new 1080p Android phones, that’s all the better.
Apple’s proprietary connectors have also become increasingly tiresome as other platforms have standardized on micro USB. You don’t need to worry about buying expensive cabling just to charge your phone with Android or Windows Phone, but Apple just moved from one proprietary standard to another.
The Lightning connector does some stuff well, like video output. The reversible plug is also neat, but it’s kind of silly to force users into this in the first place. Apple would get massive goodwill if the next iPhone at least came with a simple micro USB adapter bundled. Why not just let users charge their phones on the most common type of phone connector. Including the existing 30-pin adapter is also a possible solution (people have plenty of those around). Apple doesn’t have to stop using Lightning, but $29 for every phone charger is ludicrous.
If Apple continues to follow the tick-tock style of incremental change is has thus far, the next iPhone is going to be a 5S instead of an iPhone 6. That would be a serious error. A spec bump isn’t going to bring the iPhone back to the forefront of the smartphone market.