Those three product announcements on Monday capped off an Apple AAPL, -0.01% event in Cupertino, California, that seemed somewhat miniaturized.
Advertisement
Dawson said in a blog post that he sees “significant pent-up demand within Apple’s base of iPhone owners who want a smaller iPhone with up-to-date specs and newer features”.
So what was the event this morning all about?
“The launch of the iPhone SE should be read as a retaliation – a battle cry to the Chinese challenger brands that have taken a bite out of Apple in recent months”, said Ernest Doku, telecoms expert at uSwitch.
However, it has hit a bit of a slump in iPhone sales – which account for nearly two thirds of the company’s revenue.
“The iPhone SE provides a new incentive to upgrade for iPhone holdouts who don’t want a large-screen phone”, said analyst Bob O’Donnell of TECHnalysis Research. Apple is also expected to announce a new iPad on Monday in an attempt to buoy flagging tablet sales, and new bands for Apple Watch, the wearable gadget it released past year to mixed reviews.
Apple’s stock fell about 15 percent over the past year, but it’s been increasing since the beginning of February. It’s also odd timing, considering that the larger iPad Pro has now only been out for only 4 months. It represents Apple’s second bid for the crowded mid-tier market after an unsuccessful foray three years ago.
The smaller, new iPad starts at $599 for United States customers, down from around $800 for the original.
The iPhone 6s had one of the best smartphone cameras of 2015, so we’ve got high hopes for the SE’s imaging performance, especially as it throws 63MP panoramas and 4K video recording into the mix too. The display uses ambient light sensors to make the screen reflect the color temperature of the light around you. Pre-Orders begin on the 24th of March.
Contract prices are not yet clear, but this will not be a budget phone by any means. The biggest feature is a thing called Night Shift. A few other minor improvements include the ability to add a Touch ID-powered lock to a note, some helpful updates to CarPlay, as well as some interesting education-specific features.
“You might not know this, but the majority of iPad Pro users are coming from a Windows PC”, Apple’s Phil Schiller said on stage during March 21st’s Apple event.
No new Apple Watch was introduced, but at least the old one is cheaper: the previous $349 Apple Watch will now start selling at $299. We’re still waiting for the Apple Watch 2, but this is a good sign that we’ll be getting it soon. After initial excitement, it did not prove to be a big seller and has since been dropped from Apple’s lineup.
Advertisement
“Tim Cook has said he thinks there’s a lot of life left in the iPhone product line, despite the media and investor community pressuring Apple over the potential decline in premium iPhone sales”, Blau said.
