There's 'still so much that we can do with the iPhone', says Apple CEO

Apple's betting big on its best seller

(Credit: Apple)

• 🤔 Apple CEO Tim Cook has said that the iPhone still has lots of development potential

• 📱 In a new interview, Cook said that the iPhone is likely to “continue to be the center of people’s digital lives”

• 🤓 This comes in spite of Apple reportedly working on new product categories, such as smart glasses and an AI-powered pendant

• 💰 After all, the iPhone is a big cash cow for Apple, with the last quarter seeing record-breaking revenues of over $85 billion

Apple CEO Tim Cook has gone on record to state that the iPhone isn’t going to be dead anytime soon, as it approaches a big milestone.

In an interview with Apple YouTuber Nikolas Molina, Cook said that there was “so much left that we [Apple] can do with the iPhone”, further elaborating that he believes the phone will “continue to be the center of people’s digital lives.”

This is typical corporate speak in an interview from the Apple CEO, although there must be some belief behind the comments.

He seems firm that the smartphone won’t be replaced soon, in spite of Apple exploring new wearable product categories, including an AI-powered pendant and smart glasses.

A lot of the talk at MWC 2026, the mobile world congress in Barcelona, has been about integrating AI without the need for a host device such as a phone, which is why Qualcomm is betting big on its new Snapdragon Wear Elite platform and its hefty NPU for platforms such as smartwatches, wearable pendants and more.

Therefore, for Cook to come out in long-term support of the iPhone suggests that we aren’t quite ready for a phone-less world quite yet.

Moreover, the mention of Apple having “so much left” that it could do with iPhone could be a tease for the long-anticipated iPhone Fold that Apple looks poised to announce later this year.

At the end of the day, money is pouring in for iPhones, with the device hitting record-breaking revenues in the last quarter – some $85.2 billion – which Cook attributed to the current iPhone lineup being the “strongest” that Apple has ever had and “by far the most popular”.

The iPhone turns 20 next year, and Cook sees it as showing no signs of slowing down. In the interview, he predicts that “iPhone’s going to be around for a very long time”, and if the record-breaking revenues are anything to go by, it’d be a big bet if Apple decided to drop it.

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Reece Bithrey is a journalist with bylines for Trusted Reviews, Digital Foundry, PC Gamer, TechRadar and more. He also has his own blog, UNTITLED, and graduated from the University of Leeds with a degree in International History and Politics in 2023.