The best thing about a great design is the boundaries it breaks and the possibilities created. The worst thing about a great design is that it needs to be changed once competitors start copying it. It’s not the easiest thing to do but the problem has afflicted everyone including Apple and is even more of a concern with the iPhone.

If we look back at the iPod, the core design still exists today carrying on into the iPod Nano and the iPod Classic but is doomed to the iPod Touch. The iPhone on the other hand relies on essential Hardware components being virtualized. The candy bar style looks to be the best form factor Apple could’ve have picked for the iPhone allowing only the screen to be dominant. Focusing mainly on the screen compensates for the lack of Hardware components such as a keyboard, all of this can be changed to better fit the user.

The overall design in my opinion wouldn’t change that much but rather Apple updating the underlying Hardware and focusing on the interface to draw users in. After all, it makes sense to put a bigger priority in Software over Hardware, once a design is finalized it’s static until the next version arrives but having the OS do all the heavy lifting makes it easy to drastically overhaul the interface and usability with a simple update.

Updating iPhones could breathe new life in older Hardware which can be recycled reducing costs.