One can only speculate if
Apple's forthcoming iPhone 7 is expected to have beefed up security. A C/Net story reports Apple is working on ways for iPhone users to store encrypted data on its iCloud service -- and more security features to thwart iPhone hackers.
A new market for securephones sprung up over the past year and includes offerings from Samsung, Blackberry, and LG. The phones are aimed at security and privacy conscious government and business customers, and consumers.
Samsung is running an aggressive advertising campaign to push its new Samsung KNOX securephones. The smartphone giant's full-page ads in The Wall Street Journal say 'only the Samsung KNOX platform can protect your workforce with best-in-class security.' KNOX is a defense-grade security platform which is baked into Samsung mobile devices.
BlackBerry has reinvented itself as a cybersecurity company. They have acquired several security software companies over the past year which are aimed at protecting smartphones across multiple platforms -- including iOS, Android, and their own. Blackberry's newest handset play is the PRIV, a secure smartphone powered by the Android operating system. As its name implies, the phone is all about PRIVacy. The PRIV has launched with Verizon Enterprise in 1,700 plus retail stores.
The LG G5 securephones from
There's several niche pure-play securephone firms which are going after the high end of the market -- including Silent Circle (BlackPhone 2), Sirin Labs (Solarin), SIKUR (GranitePhone), and others. Sirin's Android securephone is still under wraps and will be launching next month, according to its website. A CNBC story reports that Swiss-based Sirin has raised $72 million and the startup's new phone could cost between $10,000 and $15,000. It will be interesting to see what type of security that buys.
Out of all the smartphone makers, Apple has made the most noise around privacy and encryption. iPhones have proven to be personal vaults for its hundreds of millions of users globally. The FBI has spent millions on hacking tools to access data on the nearly hacker-proof later model iPhones. Perhaps the Apple brass is waiting to see how the securephone market materializes before making a big splash with a special iPhone 8 model. Call it the s-Phone ('s' for security) and watch the switchers come running.
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