Retro-looking release rockets Apple from edgy to the norm
Apple’s new retro-looking iPhone is interesting but the launch event lacked the edginess of yesteryear.
Apple’s release of a retro looking 4-inch iPhone and a smaller version of iPad Pro is interesting but the launch event lacked the edginess of yesteryear.
In 2016, the big-ticket items in consumer tech are virtual reality, augmented reality, big data analytics, the “Internet of Things” and how machine learning is trickling down from supercomputers to mobiles and everyday use.
To be fair, they’re not areas Apple has shown a huge interest in to date. And Apple is quietly kicking some amazing goals with its ResearchKit health ecosystem. At the event it launched CareKit, an environment for building applications for fighting ailments such as Parkinson’s disease.
But the Cupertino company doesn’t feel as edgy as in bygone years. Still, Apple continues to prosper financially with devices that the competition cannot match in consumers’ eyes.
The new iPhone SE that Apple announced yesterday is a modern version of iPhone 5s.
On the surface, both have the same four-inch display and same 326 pixels-an-inch screen resolution.
But, when it is compared with iPhone 5s, you get a much faster processor and better graphics performance, a 12 rather than eight megapixel camera that shoots 4K video with lots of extra capability, NFC for Apple Pay, and faster Wi-Fi and LTE mobile data speeds.
Both have a 1.2-megapixel front-facing camera, but iPhone SE lacks the iPhone 6s 3D touch capability.
You might ask: Why compare the 5s and 5SE?
That’s because it’s where the market will come from: existing four-inch iPhone 5s users in love with phones of that size.
Those who migrated to iPhones with larger 4.7-inch or 5.5-inch displays would likely find the four-inch display too small.
To entice iPhone 5s users to upgrade, Apple has kept the price low for the basic iPhone SE with 16GB of storage at $679. That’s low when compared to iPhone 6s, which start at $1079, and iPhone 6s Plus, starting at $1229.
Apple’s decision to replace the iPad Air range with a smaller 9.7-inch version of iPad Pro brings Apple pencil to the traditional iPad, along with a smart connector that powers an attached keyboard without the need for a battery. You can connect the new iPad to Ethernet using an attachment. Screen quality is the signature feature.
Foad Fadaghi, managing director of emerging technology analyst firm Telsyte, said Apple was looking to economical upgrade options for existing customers.
“We’ve noticed as market researchers that there hasn’t been as many reasons for people to upgrade. They say: ‘What are the things that I can do that I cannot do already?’.”
Mr Fadaghi said Apple was clearly more adventurous under co-founder Steve Jobs. “That’s no disrespect to the current management, who are doing a fine job maintaining the financial aspects of the business,” he said.
“But it’s very much playing it safe and trying to technically meet the financial necessities of that organisation. But it’s risky in the technology industry to be playing it very safe.”
But Gartner research director and lead Apple analyst Brian Blau said Apple’s “springtime event” was typically a product update.
The big announcements were usually later in the year. “I didn’t necessarily read anything into them not having a major product announcement right now,” Mr Blau said. “They’re only just half a year into their new iPhone versions.”
The launch came as Apple and the FBI continue to battle it out over Apple’s refusal to unlock an iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino terrorists.
Court proceedings were due to recommence today, but now have been put on hold with the FBI claiming it might be able to unlock the phone without Apple’s help. A third party is believed to be helping the FBI with this.
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