Apple plays it safe with new iPhone lineup
Apple has recently launched three new phones and a new Apple Watch on the latest Apple launch event at the Steve Jobs theater. Two of the phones are a sequel to last year's iPhone X and X plus, which are named iPhone XS and XS Max respectively. They have also launched a new so-called midrange phone in the new iPhone XR. Apple have barely updated their phones from their last years stock, and have chosen to play it safe with their new lineup. So how does this launch effect Apple, it's market and the rest of the telecommunication industry?
Prediction for the new products
The new lineup has effectively replaced the old lineup of iPhone X and X Plus with one key exception, the iPhone XR. Priced at $749, it's the cheapest phone Apple has launched this year. It is a spiritual successor to the C and SE series', both of which were targeted at consumers looking for a midrange phone. However, the key difference of C/SE series' phones and the brand new XR is the price. At launch, both C and SE series phones started at a much cheaper price than the new phone. The iPhone SE, when it was launched, was retailed at $399 for the 16 gigabyte version. For the sake of an apple to apple comparison, let's compare the 64 gigabyte model with the new XR, which starts at 64 gigabytes. An iPhone SE with 64 gigabytes of ROM was launched at $449, which is still significantly higher than the new iPhone XR. Not to mention the new XR has only an LCD screen, instead of beautiful OLED like it's counterparts from this year.
Overall, the product line did not change drastically this year. They all still sport notches, which was the biggest design change last year. They are all fairly similar in specs to last year's phones. Sure, the XS Max is a bit bigger at 6.5 inches compared to the iPhone X Plus, but at the end of the day it's hard to think that a user of iPhone X or X Plus will have to update their models this year. The XS and the XS Max may get a lot of buyers thanks to the loyal consumer base, but the people might lose interest in XR. Many in Asia will surely choose another device over the iPhone XR.
Reactions
The reactions to the new products have been lukewarm at best. The only product that really brought some useful new tech to the table was the new watch. Other than that, all the new phones seem like the same products from last year but slightly upgraded in function. Apple has also decided to ditch the fingerprint scanner for good, and there has been some mixed reactions about that as well. Not to mention the XR costs way too much for a midrange phone, and many are speculating whether just getting an iPhone X, which is now priced at $799, is better than getting an iPhone XR. Many of iPhone XR's direct completion, such as the Pocophone F1, OnePlus 6 and other Chinese brand phones, have better screens as well. Not that having a better screen than a fairly old 720p display is too difficult to achieve.
Apple saw a slight spike in share prices following the launch ceremony, but the share prices have since steadied. Goldman-Sachs has in fact cut profit estimates of Apple following the release of the new lineup. The firm lowered Apple's fiscal 2019 earnings per share estimate to $13.77 from $14.53 and reiterated its neutral rating for the company's stock. This doesn't mean apocalypse for Apple, as they will still have loyal consumers worldwide who will buy their product regardless of how little innovation the product has seen. However, that means that Apple have committed themselves to those consumers, and are not trying to expand. Huawei, Oppo, Xiaomi and other phone companies, however, are trying to just that. Huawei has even overtaken Apple in smartphone sales already. The others will also inevitably catch up as well. It will be interesting to see what Apple does then, when it no longer has a massive lead over other companies, and have to actively defend themselves from multiple Chinese aggressors.
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