[The Editors' Verdict] iPhone Innovation and the Media

If we were to summarize the iPhone 16 series, unveiled by Apple on the 9th (local time), in just two words, they would be Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Camera. AI, aligned with broader trends, has received ample attention, but the camera seems to have been relatively overlooked. The iPhone 16 features a dedicated camera button. Considering Apple, which has minimized complex keys and buttons and opened the smartphone world through screen 'touch,' this is quite surprising.

There is another noticeable point. In the official promotional video, when emphasizing the camera, the shooting method and photo ratio are horizontal rather than vertical. This is likely because the camera button operation is better suited for horizontal photo shooting. Just as digital cameras have the shutter button on the upper right, the iPhone 16’s camera button is located in the same spot. Could it be that the iPhone, which opened the era of vertical, is now heralding the era of horizontal? Whether this becomes a new trend or not is uncertain. It might just be a fleeting moment in an advertisement without any hidden intention. However, the reason why this scene makes one pause is because of the significant marks the iPhone has actually left on the world.

A scene operating the camera button introduced in the iPhone 16 series

There was a time when content displayed on screens was dominated by horizontal formats. TVs and monitors were made in ratios such as 4:3, 2:1, 1.85:1, and 16:9. There are several reasons why horizontal rather than vertical formats prevailed, but one key reason is that the human eye has a wider horizontal field of view. Both device makers and content consumers felt that this was natural.

The iPhone revolution can be seen as overturning this. For the 'Mobile Native' MZ generation (Millennials + Generation Z), vertical photos are the default. This is because the mobile screens they mainly use are vertical. The aspect ratios of social networking services (SNS) primarily used by mobile natives, such as TikTok, Reels, and YouTube Shorts, are optimized for vertical 9:16 smartphone formats. They simply took photos according to the given device environment and format. The digital world dominated by horizontal was turned vertical due to structural environmental influences.

Formats have power. The format itself can lead trends and create content. The audio content market is a representative example of the power of format. The format of music streaming services like Spotify has transformed the entire music industry. Previously, album-style production centered on specific themes or topics was dominant, but with the streaming era, single tracks reflecting short-term trends have become mainstream. The length of music has also shortened. As music became accessible anytime and anywhere, it started to be used as background. Consumers focus more on the atmosphere music creates rather than the music itself. This connects with the trend of easy listening, which allows music to be enjoyed casually and passively. The music industry, adapted to the streaming format, now generates more revenue than during the LP, tape, and CD eras.

Watching the dynamism of other industries that create and proactively change formats makes one reflect on the current state of journalism. The practice of cramming articles optimized for the newspaper platform into mobile screens continues. Although some leading media outlets experiment with formats such as newsletters, podcasts, and interactive news, such good news is rare. The result of a survey where 7 out of 10 Koreans answered that they "intentionally avoid news" hits even harder.