It’s aimed at consumers who haven’t sprung for the bigger-screen iPhone 6 models that Apple introduced over the last two years. While it comes with an upgraded camera, faster processor and other features, the SE has a starting price of $400, or $50 less than the older iPhone 5S that it’s replacing. This time the company introduced a smaller iPhone (the SE), showed a refreshed edition of the iPad, previewed iOS 9.3, dangled some colorful new watch bands, offered an update on Apple TV and gave reports on sales and how some of its vertical-specific apps (namely health and environment) are doing in the marketplace.
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Apple announced the new phone on stage at an event that also saw the release of new iPads, Apple Watch accessories and more. Apple launched the smartwatch to great fanfare a year ago, although it has yet to win a big following.
A four-inch iPhone isn’t likely to see the kind of blockbuster demand that Apple enjoyed with its large-screen iPhone 6 and 6S models, according to several financial analysts, but it could help Apple boost overall sales. He also said the company sold over 30 million 4-inch iPhones in 2015.
Prices for the iPhone SE will start at $399 for a model with 16 gigabytes of storage. That means it may appeal to some shoppers, especially in overseas markets, who want a premium phone at lower cost. The 6s also sports a larger and sharper 4.7-inch display, which is not tough to use with one hand.
Just like it did with its iPod and Mac products, Apple is plugging the holes in its iPhone and iPad lineups, finding ways to diversify those lines relatively easily. Given past performance we can expect Apple to sell something in the region of, say, 60 million iPhones. Its rival, Samsung, by contrast, is known for selling a multitude of phones and tablets at various sizes and prices.
Apple’s CEO Tim Cook also said that the next event will be held at the new spaceship campus of Apple.
“While China is still growing, I think their next big market is India and this is a good first step toward an India focus”. On Tuesday, its lawyers will square off with authorities in federal court over the FBI’s demand for help unlocking a San Bernardino killer’s encrypted iPhone.
Over at Global Equities Research, Trip Chowdry said the product announcements were “strong”, with the company’s “aspirational brand” becoming more accessible with the lower-priced iPhone and Apple Watch.
Apple has a responsibility to protect customers’ data and privacy, Cook said, adding that Apple “will not shrink from that responsibility”. Cook didn’t back down or mince words in his opening statement: “We need to decide as a nation how much power the government should have”.
Last quarter, the company reported the slowest growth for the iPhone in the product category’s eight-year history.
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Alyssa: Is the 4-inch better or worse for enterprise use cases?
