Late last week, analyst Katy Huberty of Morgan Stanley had shed more light into the “killer app” that could come with iOS 7 (and the iPhone 5S), an app or feature she had pertained to in a previous forecast.  On Thursday, Huberty said that iOS 7 would come with a mobile payment system that will go beyond what Passbook currently offers, as well as a few other potential game-changers including the iRadio music streaming app.  If Huberty is to be believed, then iOS 7 and its “killer app” for mobile payment may be unveiled at the 2013 Worldwide Developers Conference in June.

Aside from the new apps mentioned above, Huberty said in her note to investors that Eddy Cue, Apple senior vice president of Internet Software and Service, is hard at work trying to improve the existing iCloud and Maps applications.  She said that Apple may “charge either developers or users” for some of the new or refreshed services, allowing the Cupertino company to do a better job in monetizing its services business.  One example would be using a “freemium” business model for iRadio – this would entail users signing up to the service on a free trial, before paying a nominal fee for a certain number of songs or hours of music per month.

The “killer app”, said Huberty, would possibly be used by Apple as a selling point for the iPhone 5S, which she believes will be launched later in the year alongside the much-rumored low-cost iPhone.  With both devices expected to ship with the app, this could drive iPhone sales once the devices are released, though recent rumors are now suggesting iOS 7 and the iPhone 5S may be delayed.  According to John Gruber of Daring Fireball, Apple has pulled out engineers working on OS X 10.9 in order to make sure iOS 7 is released in the summer, just as originally planned.

By: Docmemory
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