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October 13
Apple Inc on Tuesday launched its next-generation iPhone 12, with faster 5G connectivity that the California company hopes will spur consumers to swap in their old phones and keep sales booming through the end of the year.
The core of the line, the iPhone 12 with a 6.1-inch screen, will sell for $ 799, while a ‘Mini’ version with a 5.4-inch screen will be a bit cheaper at $ 699. A ‘Pro’ version with three cameras and a new 3-D ‘lidar’ sensor starts at $ 999, and the largest ‘Pro Max’ starts at $ 1,099 and goes up to $ 1,399.
The new products will test whether Apple can harness a wave of consumer excitement around 5G wireless data networks, whose faster variants exceed the data speeds of their predecessors by several times.
But whether iPhone buyers see a dramatic speed increase will largely depend on where they are and which carrier they use, what Bob O’Donnell, director of TECHnalysis Research, called “a lot of annoying little details that get in the way of deliver on the 5G promise. “
He said Apple may be disappointing some customers when the phones ship out, but it offers only modest speed increases until carriers build networks.
“I don’t feel like Apple clarified that as much as they could have,” O’Donnell said.
Apple said that all iPhone 12 models in the United States will support millimeter wave 5G, the fastest variant of the technology, as well as low-frequency bands.
However, outside of the United States, iPhones will lack millimeter wave support, even in countries like Australia and South Korea, where carriers plan to roll out versions of millimeter wave technology. Like some cheaper Android devices, iPhone 12 models in those countries will only support lower-frequency 5G versions.
Apple said it had tested 5G in more than 800 carriers in 30 regions globally. Verizon Communications Inc CEO Hans Vestberg appeared at Apple’s livestream presentation to announce that the phones would be powered by the US carrier’s ‘ultra-wideband’ 5G network, designed to alleviate bottlenecks in major cities like New York and Los Angeles, as well as in busy areas like NFL stadiums.
The devices will arrive about a month later than usual for Apple’s annual launches. Pre-orders for the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro in the United States, Great Britain, China, and some other countries begin on October 16 and deliveries begin on October 23. The iPhone Mini and Pro Max will be available for pre-order on November 6. and in stores on November 13.
Apple may face a tepid holiday season due to the coronavirus pandemic, said Jake Dollarhide, chief executive of Longbow Asset Management in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
“Since the convergence of flu season with COVID and colder weather forces everyone to be indoors, I think it will be more difficult to sell iPhones this Christmas. As much as Apple is a technology company, it is not known for its store sales experience, “Dollarhide said.
Shares of Apple fell more than 3% during the event, erasing $ 77 billion in market value, and closed down 2.7%.
MINI HOMEPOD
Apple also announced a HomePod Mini smart speaker that will cost $ 99 and will ship from November 16. Many of the features serve to catch up with similar offerings from Amazon.com Inc and Google from Alphabet Inc.
But Ben Bajarin, a senior consumer market intelligence analyst at research firm Creative Strategies, said Apple had developed its vision for how its devices could interact more directly with their own speakers than rivals. For example, Apple customers can talk on their iPhone or iPad to use the HomePod Minis as an intercom system.
“That is not something that Google or Amazon, particularly Amazon, can do so cleanly,” Bajarin said. “The advantage that Apple has to push is that a good part of those customers (of Google and Amazon) have iPhones. They took advantage of the fact that they own the pocket.” – Reuters
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