JP Morgan analyst Mark Moskowitz has an unusual Apple prediction in his latest research note to investors. He says the company will release “iAnywhere,” a converged operating system would be a hybrid of both iOS and Mac.
According to Moskowitz, iAnywhere is very similar to Windows 8, a product that hasn’t worked very well for Microsoft.
From his note:
“While not a new idea, our global tech research team believes Apple could be on the cusp of introducing a new category with ‘iAnywhere,’ a converged Mac OS – iOS operating system that allows an iPhone or iPad to dock into a specially configured display to run as a computer. We expect Apple to maintain a separate Mac OS for traditional Macs.”
The idea of a mobile device turning into a full-fledged computer has been tried by Motorola with the Atrix 4G Lapdock and by Canonical with the Ubuntu Edge phone, but both of them didn’t see any notable success.
Moreover, Apple executives have publicly said that the company has no plans of merging iOS and OS X. Tim Cook had in fact poked fun at Microsoft’s strategy of unification saying “You can merge a toaster and a refrigerator, but that’s probably not going to be pleasing to anyone.”
The analyst’s main argument for the “iAnywhere” unified platform is the slowing growth of the iPhone and iPad. He believes that this new platform would boost growth:
“In our view, iAnywhere could be the stepping stone to a broader peripherals and services-led sale, partially reducing Apple’s dependence on device-led product cycles.”
The “iAnywhere” platform, Moskowitz says, will be launched within the next 12 to 18 months.
While the possibility of a converged “iAnywhere” OS seems unlikely, Apple is rumored to release a 12-inch iPad Pro, possibly running stock iOS.
Update:
We’ve been told that the project is internally called “fusion” and it has been in the making since 2009.
Do you think the premise of the “iAnywhere” platform — a unified OS for desktop and mobile — is something customers would find appealing? Let us know in the comments below.
[via CNET]
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