SEPT 11- This is why you can’t predict what Apple is up to.
In all the years that I have been following the company there has never been a time when anyone got all their predictions right about what to expect at an Apple launch.
This time, everyone knew there was going to be a cheaper phone. But Cupertino just didn’t take the bait.
But then Apple never said it was working on a cheaper phone.
We just thought it should be. Yes, the iPhone 5C did come, but at a discount that would hardly pump up the sales in geographies where it is not available without a contract.
In the US, where a 16GB version can be bought at $99 with a two-year contract, it is a steal. But the unlocked price of the phone even there is $549.
For India, this means the price is not going to be less than Rs.35,000 at present US Dollar rates, unless Apple decided to discount it here for a larger market share. So much for the phone taking on the Google Nexus and the mid-range Lumias.
But Apple has a very strong reason for sticking to its guns. It is a premium brand and that is what makes it tick. iOS is the most monetized of all mobile platforms.
Globally, iOS users are more likely to pay for an app than Android or Windows Phone users. That is because even the cheapest iPhones are a bit pricey.
This means the average user is of a certain purchasing power and can afford to buy apps. Phones of the other two operating systems are available across all price bands between $100 and $800 and many in the lower economic bands will never bother to buy an app.
Android is trying to plug this gap, but it still has to fill a huge gap in getting its users to open their purse strings.
By keeping its premium tag intact, Apple has prevented any dilution of its brand. It seems to have once again chosen value over volume. In the US, if Apple sells a phone for $99, it will make many times that figure by the end of the month through apps and services. In the developing countries, they have to get the value up front as the app economy is still not as robust.
This time Apple has done something new by offering two new phones at different price points at the same time. Usually, when a new phone comes in, the older models become cheaper.
Now, you have the iPhone 5S and a slightly cheaper, much more colourful, iPhone 5C. The latter is not much different from the iPhone 5. So it seems like Apple has just done what it has always done: make the older phone cheaper.
This time, however, it has repackaged it as well.
INDIA TODAY
