Apple’s big iPhone launch Tuesday felt like a bad case of deja vu.
The gadget-maker unveiled a trio of new phones that look almost identical to the handsets it released in 2018 and 2017 — a strategy that is unlikely to reverse the company’s sagging smartphone sales.
At a packed event in Cupertino, Calif., Apple introduced its newest crown jewel, the iPhone 11 Pro — which is, on the surface, virtually a clone of last year’s iPhone XS, save for an enormous and unsightly camera bump that houses three impressive rear-facing cameras.
The iPhone 11 — Apple’s new name for its cheaper successor to the iPhone XR — comes in a slew of new colors including red, yellow and green. But it otherwise looks identical to the XR, save for a second rear-facing camera.
Apple, which used to hold the world captive with each new product launch, didn’t treat the unveiling of the 11 Pro as a revolutionary event. Instead, executives mentioned the company’s newest phone’s high-powered processors and improved displays in passing, while spending the bulk of their time highlighting the new camera system.
“For this launch, [Chief Executive Tim] Cook took off the rose-colored glasses and called the iPhone 11 Pro for what it is: a medium-term type of upgrade before 5G in 2020,” Wedbush analyst Dan Ives tells The Post.
Apple is expected to be waiting for a 5G network before the next big launch. Still, Tuesday’s upgrades (or lack thereof) come as Apple struggles with weakening iPhone sales.
Smartphone sales are down generally, as consumers hesitate to spend money upgrading for phones that are not much different from what they have now. But the problem is especially stark when it comes to Apple,, which has been lambasted by critics for a lack of models that are priced under $1,000.
That brings us to what may be Apple’s biggest innovation Tuesday: Dubbing its cheaper model — and iPhone XR successor — the “iPhone 11” while giving the high-end models the “Pro” distinction.
While this may just seem like a superficial change, it could get more customers to buy the less-expensive iPhones without leaving them feeling like they are getting an inferior device. In the past, the iPhones that received the new number attached to the name were the most high-end models, and most costly (think iPhone 6 and iPhone 7). The cheapo versions generally had a letter attached to them (think iPhone XR or iPhone 5C).
The iPhone 11, by contrast, starts at $699 — a move that could help consumers feel more comfortable shelling out for an upgrade, said Ives.
“Apple for the first time is realizing it had some pricing hubris,” he said. “Customers don’t want to feel like they’re getting some garage-sale iPhone. They don’t want their phone to be viewed as deficient relative to the other iPhones.”
Indeed, the iPhone 11 even got a $50 price cut from last year’s $749 iPhone XR — a move Ives says could also help boost sales in China, where customers are more likely to lean toward cheaper Huawei devices than expensive Apple handsets.
Perhaps the most telling sign of the current state of the world’s marquee smartphone is the fact that it was outshone at Tuesday’s event by the low, low price of Apple’s new streaming service.
In what might even be described as the event’s showstopper moment, the company said it will launch Apple TV Plus at $4.99 — lower than the near-universally-anticipated $9.99 price.
The power play drew gasps because it undercuts Disney Plus’ already discounted pricetag of $6.99 — while making Netflix’s $12.99 rate look downright eye-watering.
Ref: https://nypost.com