Apple flagship iPhone 5s and lower-priced iPhone 5c have received thumbs down from the smartphone industry. But iOS7 is set to attract mobile phone users.
The new smartphones will not assist Apple to enhance smartphone sales in the second half of 2013.
Market research agency IHS did not upgrade its forecast of overall Apple iPhone shipments in the second half.
IHS said there will be 86.1 million iPhone shipments in the second half, up 25 percent from 68.7 million in the first half and a 15 percent increase from 61.1 million in the first half of 2012.
Ovum said moving to a 64-bit architecture means Apple can genuinely claim to have brought something new to the smartphone party.
With the launch of iPhone 5C shows that Apple is focusing on a tier of the smartphone market that is largely dominated today by the Android platform.
These new models and the improvements in the iOS7 software are critical for Apple because the iPhone is facing increased competition with Samsung, Sony, HTC and LG, which are all releasing strong smartphone flagships in 2013. Notably, Apple’s portfolio lacks large-screen smartphone models with 5-inch 1080p displays.
Frost & Sullivan Latin America said ads as battery with greater autonomy, advanced processor and camera were expected by the mobile market. It’s complicated because customers often do not understand the challenge of bringing advances in processors, camera and battery annually.
Why Apple will not sell more phones this year
Apple will ship 158.9 million iPhones for the entire year of 2013, compared to a forecast total for the smartphone market of 1.1 billion units.
“If Apple had hit a $350 to $400 unsubsidized price range for the iPhone 5c, as some had speculated, the company might have had a chance to expand its smartphone shipments beyond what we originally expected in the second half. Even at a subsidized price of $99 with a two-year contract, the 5c will not spur sales because it does not materially expand Apple’s addressable market past the level we had already taken into account,” said Francis Sideco, director for consumer electronics and communications technologies at IHS.
Thumbs up to iOS7
With the new models, Apple is taking steps to bolster its share of the global smartphone market in the face of rising competition.
“Alongside innovation with the iPhone design and features with iOS7, Apple is now also innovating at lower price points, too. By using a different design for the iPhone 5c, rather than repurposing an old flagship, it is minimizing the risk of cannibalization of its more expensive iPhone models,” said Ian Fogg, director for mobile and telecoms at IHS.
The new security measures Apple is adding into iOS7 and the 5s will make the iPhone an even better platform for monetization.
The fingerprint sensor on the new 5s helps make the iPhone a safer device for users to entrust with financial details as well as helping users to safely buy App Store apps. Apple is also making it harder for thieves to bypass Find my iPhone and Remote wipe because users now need an Apple ID and password to turn them off.
Ovum says Apple is certainly offering meaningful innovation here. It should help the company cement its lead as a mobile gaming platform and will give the Android fraternity something to think about in a space whose significance is sometimes downplayed beyond the gaming world.
“Anyone expecting Apple to come truly down market with the iPhone 5C was fooling themselves. The day that happens is the day the company signals that it has run out of headroom for expansion,” said Tony Cripps, principal analyst, Devices and Platforms, Telecoms at Ovum.
“I found it interesting as well as the company today is very tuned into new and emerging markets such as China. I hope that next year Brazil turn priority for the company as well,”said Fernando Belfort, leader of the Technology division of Frost & Sullivan Latin America.
Baburajan K
editor@telecomlead.com
