protrusions
Much has been said about the protruding camera lens of the iPhone 6. The focus is often on how hard Apple pushes the quality of its camera. Absolutely, Apple wants to stay near the top of the camera list, but I doubt that was the only conversation Apple had about the issue.
My phone was case-less for quite some time, along with the geekier of my peers. However, since the iPhone 4, it seems that a cased iPhone is easily the norm with average users. Prior to the iPhone 6, among close family, only 2 or 3 of us were usually case-less, out of 14 iPhones. Those of us with the iPhone 6 now all have cases. I would imagine Apple has more comprehensive data on this point, and if the percentage is as high as my anecdote suggests, it leads to two thoughts:
- A slight bump for the camera is completely negligible for a cased iPhone.
- The thickness of cases adds another reason to drive device thinness down to improve the design for the average customer.
On top of the aforementioned notion that a well performing camera is a critical part (if not the zenith) of the iPhone as a device, a high percentage of case purchasing users could have been a lock for the camera bump. Not to mention a mere ~$40 revenue bump from each iPhone 6 customer who opts for a first-party case from the get-go.