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Apple on Tuesday unveiled a redesigned line of iPhones enabled for 5G network speeds, promising to usher in a “new era” for its flagship product.
The four new 5G smartphones are meant to provide customers with a range of options as the $ 2 trillion company heads into a holiday quarter when it is expected to sell more than 80 million phones.
“Every decade, there is a new generation of technology that provides a sea change in what we can do with our iPhones,” said Tim Cook, CEO. “The next generation is here.”
The flagship iPhone 12 with a 6.1-inch screen starts at $ 829, or $ 130 more than the initial price of the iPhone 11, a move that will likely please investors interested in seeing a higher average asking price. It also unveiled a “mini” iPhone 12, a 5.4-inch model starting at $ 699.
The new iPhone lineup is completed by two Pro models, one with a 6.1-inch screen and a 6.7-inch Pro Max model, the largest screen ever for an iPhone.
All four models have a new hardware look with flattened edges, the first such change in phone design since the iPhone X in 2017. They are also the first phones to use chips produced using the cutting-edge 5-nanometer manufacturing process .
Shares of Apple, which rose 6% on Monday, fell 2.7% on Tuesday, suggesting investors were disappointed that the company did not introduce long-rumored accessories, including “accessories”. Studio AirPods “over-the-ear and lost item tracking tags.
Apple also said that the iPhone 12 Mini and Pro Max models will not be available for pre-order until November 6 and in store until November 13. Citigroup analyst Jim Suva said he was disappointed by the delay. Production was affected earlier this year by the coronavirus pandemic.
The only major hardware product Apple revealed beyond the iPhone was the HomePod Mini, a smaller, oval-shaped home speaker equipped with Siri, which will retail for $ 99. Apple has only 1 percent market share among smart speakers, according to IDC, the market intelligence group.
Analysts expect 5G phones to trigger a massive upgrade cycle, as customers typically own their devices for about four years. Although 5G infrastructure is not yet widely available in many regions, phones select 4G when it is not available or, to save battery power, when speeds are not needed.
The redesigned iPhone line © Bloomberg
While Apple’s first 5G phones will arrive more than a year after rivals Samsung and Huawei, they could help make the network more mainstream.
To coincide with the launch of the phones, Hans Vestberg, Verizon CEO, announced that the company would launch its 5G network on Tuesday, following rivals T-Mobile last December and AT&T in the summer. “5G became real,” he said.
However, Gene Munster of Loup Ventures estimated that Verizon’s announced download speeds (up to 4 Gigabits per second in ideal circumstances) would only be available to 1% of the US population. He estimated it would increase to a quarter of a year. hereinafter.
This underscores how consumers can become confused and ultimately frustrated by the slow and sporadic rollout of 5G. The technology is likely to have a big impact on futuristic trends like self-driving cars, but for average users it’s still a questionable proposition.
“What else can I do with my iPhone 5G that my iPhone 4G can’t?” asked Francisco Jerónimo, an IDC researcher. “Unfortunately, not even Apple has that answer yet.”
More than 100 mobile operators in more than 35 markets would carry 5G devices when the first new iPhones were launched later this month, Apple said.
“The introduction of 5G technology into the iPhone range gives people a significant reason to upgrade and makes buying an iPhone this time a future-proof purchase,” said Ben Wood, analyst at CCS Insight.
Apple now has a wide range of phones for the holiday season, from the cheapest iPhone SE released earlier this year, to the $ 1,399 Pro 12 Max with 512GB of storage.
“Apple has a very clean portfolio of devices that offer a ‘good, better, better’ option for consumers,” Wood said. “It is not that straightforward with rival products, where there is a wide range of products with many small differences and a variety of designs and features.”
