TF Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says Apple will launch a new budget iPhone in the first quarter of 2020 for $399. The external casing of the iPhone will look similar to the iPhone 8 and it will be powered by Apple’s current generation state-of-the-art SoC, the Apple A13 Bionic.
Donna Fuscaldo for The Motley Fool:
If the rumor is true, consumers should expect a smartphone that’s powerful enough to run all of Apple’s services and content. And it will be smaller, with a 4.7-inch screen…
Launching a lower-end iPhone can solve a lot of the company’s pricing issues in certain segments of the world as well as increase the number of people who consume its content and use its services. That area of the business is becoming more important because of the growing reliance on recurring revenue from subscription services to maintain growth… Rolling out a lower-end phone could invite a whole new segment of the market that never used Apple services before… [including] new customers for Apple Arcade, its gaming service that tries to undercut its rivals with a $4.99 a month subscription. That service requires the more powerful A13 processor.
An iPhone SE2 could also improve Apple’s market share, particularly in Asia, where it has faltered in recent years.
MacDailyNews Take: Certainly, at some point with “budget” phones you hit a mass of buyers who simply will not or cannot subscribe to monthly services, not mater how well-priced they are. But, even with a $399 “budget” iPhone, Apple would be nowhere near that point. If they launch such an iPhone, and Ming-Chi Kuo is usually exceedingly accurate, sales of the new device should go very well, indeed!
Apple must be cheap and have market-share, or they are doomed it never ends.
It will end in 7 billion years when the Sun explodes. But Apple will have moved over to what will be renamed Apple Centauri by then. So you’re right, it never ends.
Doomed! Maybe if Apple doesn’t course-correct.
Well-proven economics / common sense / conventional wisdom says that if prices are too high for the product + service offered, then low such a low value proposition will lead to lower unit sales. All other things being equal, lower sales will lead to lower market share and lower profits. But worse, on a platform where services and app surcharges are directly related to market share, Apple will lose app developers if some other platform claims the lion’s share of prospective customers. iOS isn’t as sticky as people think, if people find that they can get the apps they want with more desireable hardware from another platform.
So there is no need to be melodramatic — Apple simply needs to avoid the pitfall that has occurred with the Mac and is plainly occurring also to iOS as well. Product mismanagement that creates small market share will kill the potential of a platform long before its technological expiration date. As cheap as it is to cobble together a parts bin phone for the masses, Apple is stupid not to offer something.
I have yet to meet anyone who wouldn’t be more loyal to Apple if it offered hardware more suited to their needs. A fast reliable small screen phone isn’t a big ask, but it is almost certainly contributing to the overall trend of slowing iPhone sales growth.
Hoping it’s called something simple like “iPhone Touch” or “iPhone Air”.
Air is the stupidest marketing name Apple has tried. Meaningless and inconsistent just like all the alphabet soup iPhone names. Must have hired a marketing consultant from Ford.
iPhone SE that looks like the 8 isn’t an SE the whole point of SE is size and shape
The demand for a new SE is strong on a worldwide range. But Apple will miss the target with a larger phone. SE NEEDS to keep its actual size in order to please a certain type of users!
I probably see as many SE iPhones as any other particular model so a replacement within a year is what I would say is vital to make sure they sustain market share. Many of us prefer a smaller phone and though obviously bigger, the greater screen area in what is by modern standards a compact phone will be a strong attraction to this sector of the market who will be looking to upgrade by then.
When Apple has a new iPhone SE i will buy it. In the meantime i will keep my SE, that is working fine. There is a market for that phone, not only for limited budget people, also for people that are not interested in a bigger phone. For bigger screen size a MacBook or an iPad is better.
I bought three SE’s and love them. Bring on a new one upgraded Apple, please…