IPhones Go the Way of the Selectric

For the iPhone's 10th anniversary, Apple Inc. is planning to release new and upgraded models later this year, with updated designs, improved cameras and better screens. But a more important product launch actually began in mid-March, when the company quietly reintroduced the discontinued, two-and-a-half-year-old iPhone 6 in several Asian countries and Eastern Europe.

That might sound dull. But for Apple, which is banking on the developing world for growth, it's actually a far-sighted move. The company is acknowledging that smartphones have transitioned from elite niche products into mature technologies, owned by everyone and upgraded infrequently. And that means that boring reliability -- not innovation -- will define the iPhone's future.