Apple has consistently pleased it's customers with the iPhone, and it remains an aspiration product, so I suppose they are doing it pretty well to this point. The iPhone has taken a very evolutionary approach to product development, after a revolutionary beginning. I expect that will continue, but of course the danger for Apple is that by playing it too safe, people loose the sense of excitement that comes along with the release of a new version. It's a bit of a balancing act. The other thing to think about is that the iPhone is a premium priced device, as anyone who has looked at purchase off contract knows. If the product life-cycle is too short, how happy will people be that the expensive device they just purchased has already been superseded? Probably not very.
Answer
Apple has consistently pleased it's customers with the iPhone, and it remains an aspiration product, so I suppose they are doing it pretty well to this point. The iPhone has taken a very evolutionary approach to product development, after a revolutionary beginning. I expect that will continue, but of course the danger for Apple is that by playing it too safe, people loose the sense of excitement that comes along with the release of a new version. It's a bit of a balancing act. The other thing to think about is that the iPhone is a premium priced device, as anyone who has looked at purchase off contract knows. If the product life-cycle is too short, how happy will people be that the expensive device they just purchased has already been superseded? Probably not very.