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SAN FRANCISCO: Apple released its next-generation iPhone 12 on Tuesday (Oct. 13), with 5G connectivity faster than the Cupertino, Calif. Company hopes it will spur a wave of updates and keep its sales booming through the end of the year.
The core of the line, the iPhone 12 with a 6.1-inch screen, comes in various colors, with prices in Singapore starting at S $ 1,299. The iPhone 12 mini, with a 5.4-inch screen, will be a bit cheaper and will start at $ 1,149.
Both the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini will be available in 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB in blue, green, black, white, and red.
The iPhone Pro comes with three cameras and starts at S $ 1,649, with the larger iPhone Pro Max starting at S $ 1,799.
The iPhone Pro and iPhone Pro Max will be available in 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB models in Graphite, Silver, Gold, and Pacific Blue.
This image provided by Apple shows one of the new iPhone 12 equipped with technology for use with new, faster 5G wireless networks that Apple unveiled on Tuesday, October 13, 2020 (Apple via AP).
Customers in Singapore, Australia, China, Germany, Japan, UK, US and some other countries and regions will be able to pre-order iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro starting at 8pm this Friday (Singapore time) , with availability from October 23. .
You can also pre-order the iPhone mini and iPhone 12 Pro Max starting at 9pm on November 6 (Singapore time), with availability starting on November 13.
Apple said the phones will be available through authorized Apple resellers and “select carriers.”
A display of new iPhones equipped with technology for use with new, faster 5G wireless networks that Apple unveiled on October 13, 2020 (Image: Apple via AP).
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.
Apple said the iPhone 12 models will support 5G millimeter waves, the fastest variant of the technology, as well as lower frequency bands. Some rival Android devices only support the lower frequency versions of 5G.
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.
This image provided by Apple shows the features of the new iPhone 12, which Apple introduced on October 13, 2020 (Image: Apple via AP).
Hans Vestberg, CEO of Verizon Communications, appeared at Apple’s live presentation to announce that the phones would work on the carrier’s “ultra-wideband” 5G network, designed to alleviate bottlenecks in major cities such as New York and Los Angeles, as well as in crowded areas like NFL stadiums. Apple said it had tested 5G in more than 800 carriers in 30 regions globally.
The devices will arrive about a month later than usual for Apple’s annual launches.
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.
Apple’s shares fell more than 3 percent during the event, erasing $ 77 billion in market value.
Users of the Chinese social media platform Weibo complained that the live broadcast of Apple’s event on the online platforms Tencent and Bilibili had been canceled, but said they could still view it on Apple’s website. Tencent and Bilibili did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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 offers from Amazon.com Inc and Alphabet’s Google.
This image provided by Apple shows the features of the new HomePod Mini that Apple introduced on October 13, 2020 (Image: Apple via AP).
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 that they pushed 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.”
