|
Thoughts.
Tech pundits were shown up yesterday. For months, every single analyst, blogger, and newspaper had been predicting a low-cost iPhone that would allow Apple to compete with mid-tier Android handsets and make inroads into developing countries. That didn't happen. Apple's pricing strategy is totally unchanged from previous years and the company, more than ever, seems uninterested in sacrificing margins to obtain market share. Once people figure this out (some, still calling the 5C the "cheap" iPhone, have been slow to comprehend what happened), the share price is going to suffer.
That being the case, why replace the 5 with the 5C at all? For one, there's a huge marketing element in play. Apple is betting that the 5C will increase the attractiveness of the iPhone lineup in two ways: first, that the colours will have immense mass market appeal in the same way the translucent iMacs did. Second, that people will be more willing to buy a product marketed as "new but affordable" than one labeled "last year's model." This, incidentally, may backfire if Apple stops extending OS updates to the 5C within the same time frame as it has stopped supporting older handsets. Next, Apple is splitting the iPhone product line the same way they've split every other product line they have. MacBook Air and MacBook Pro. iMac and Mac Pro. iPad nano and iPod. Now we have the 5S (pro version) and 5C (mainstream version). They expect this distinction to make it easier to sell the phone, as well. Finally, utterly contrary to the rumours, this move may be intended to boost Apple's profit margins by reducing the manufacturing costs of the 5C relative to the 5 while selling it for the same price.
The iPhone 5S was interesting. Apple seems very serious about steadily improving the camera and while smartphone optics are still inferior to dedicated devices, the software side is advancing rapidly. It's clear that Apple is aiming to take over the point-and-shoot market. They imagine in a world in which serious photographers use DSLRs and micro 4/3rds, while everyone else uses an iPhone. This isn't that far-fetched, even today.
Next, the M7 processor. The big news here is that it tracks fitness metrics with much less impact on battery life. Seems like the kind of chip that would be useful to put in another kind of product, should Apple go down that road.
The fingerprint sensor has a lot of potential, but it rests mainly on its integration with services. As a means of unlocking your phone and authorizing iTunes purchases, it's neat, but not yet groundbreaking. Worth keeping an eye on to see how it evolves.
|