Described in the words of Apple Inc. Chief Executive Tim Cook called as “the biggest leap forward since the original iPhone”, the much-anticipated iPhone X with a glass and stainless steel device with an edge-to-edge display was rolled out by the iPhone maker.
Since the leaks about the phone and other products, including an updated Apple Watch, proved to be largely accurate, there was little surprises in store at the launch. However, questions about the about possible supply constraints ahead of the holiday season for the iPhone X’s Nov. 3 ship date was prompted at the launch with the iPhone X’s $999 price tag raising eyebrows.
Apple’s smartphone lineup that had lagged the competition in new features and investors and fans have viewed the 10th-anniversary iPhone launch as an opportunity for Apple to refresh the lineup. Many consumers rejected the iPhone 7 as being too similar to the iPhone 6 last year and as a result the company’s revenue declined.
Noting a major upgrade that one analyst predicted would more than double watch sales was the ability of the users of the new Apple Watch of being make calls and access the internet without the customer carrying an iPhone.
With the exclusion of the home button on the iPhone X, the fingerprint sensor for unlocking the phone was replaced by an infrared camera and hardware for facial recognition, in addition to wireless charging.
Apple said that the later date was consistent with earlier guidance to investors even though it normally ships new products within a week or two of announcing them.
“It’s great to have a product but we’d have liked it sooner rather than later, more like the beginning of October or mid- October,” said Kim Forrest, senior equity research analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group in Pittsburgh.
Apple shares closed down 0.4 percent.
He was not worried about the ship date and liked the new phones features, but also flagged a lack of surprises, said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment officer of Solaris Asset Management in New York.
“It’s sell on the news,” he said. “They didn’t talk about the evolution of Apple beyond the iPhone and into artificial intelligence.”
Presence of augmented reality, in which digital images are overlaid on the real world, was also stressed by Apple executives. But suggestions that the phone does not have the full panoply of 3D-sensor chips that some had expected was evident from their remarks.
While resembling the iPhone 7 line but with a glass back for wireless charging, the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus were also launched by Apple. It was working on a new device, called the Airpad, that would charge all newer Apple products, the company said.
Apple is trying to gain more control over the supplies of its phone parts as it is moving to design more of the internal components which is squeezing some suppliers.
With price tags of $699 and $799, 64 gigabytes of memory, up from 32 gigabytes in previous models, is present in the cheapest of the iPhone 8 models. There is now a $349 iPhone SE, similar to the iPhone 5 for budget-conscious shoppers, Apple also noted.
While Apple is now angling to own a piece of the memory-chip business being sold by Toshiba Corp, the bump-up in memory for the new phones should help suppliers of memory chips.
Supporting a range of third-party apps, the new Series 3 watch will cost $399.
(Source:www.reuters.com)
Since the leaks about the phone and other products, including an updated Apple Watch, proved to be largely accurate, there was little surprises in store at the launch. However, questions about the about possible supply constraints ahead of the holiday season for the iPhone X’s Nov. 3 ship date was prompted at the launch with the iPhone X’s $999 price tag raising eyebrows.
Apple’s smartphone lineup that had lagged the competition in new features and investors and fans have viewed the 10th-anniversary iPhone launch as an opportunity for Apple to refresh the lineup. Many consumers rejected the iPhone 7 as being too similar to the iPhone 6 last year and as a result the company’s revenue declined.
Noting a major upgrade that one analyst predicted would more than double watch sales was the ability of the users of the new Apple Watch of being make calls and access the internet without the customer carrying an iPhone.
With the exclusion of the home button on the iPhone X, the fingerprint sensor for unlocking the phone was replaced by an infrared camera and hardware for facial recognition, in addition to wireless charging.
Apple said that the later date was consistent with earlier guidance to investors even though it normally ships new products within a week or two of announcing them.
“It’s great to have a product but we’d have liked it sooner rather than later, more like the beginning of October or mid- October,” said Kim Forrest, senior equity research analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group in Pittsburgh.
Apple shares closed down 0.4 percent.
He was not worried about the ship date and liked the new phones features, but also flagged a lack of surprises, said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment officer of Solaris Asset Management in New York.
“It’s sell on the news,” he said. “They didn’t talk about the evolution of Apple beyond the iPhone and into artificial intelligence.”
Presence of augmented reality, in which digital images are overlaid on the real world, was also stressed by Apple executives. But suggestions that the phone does not have the full panoply of 3D-sensor chips that some had expected was evident from their remarks.
While resembling the iPhone 7 line but with a glass back for wireless charging, the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus were also launched by Apple. It was working on a new device, called the Airpad, that would charge all newer Apple products, the company said.
Apple is trying to gain more control over the supplies of its phone parts as it is moving to design more of the internal components which is squeezing some suppliers.
With price tags of $699 and $799, 64 gigabytes of memory, up from 32 gigabytes in previous models, is present in the cheapest of the iPhone 8 models. There is now a $349 iPhone SE, similar to the iPhone 5 for budget-conscious shoppers, Apple also noted.
While Apple is now angling to own a piece of the memory-chip business being sold by Toshiba Corp, the bump-up in memory for the new phones should help suppliers of memory chips.
Supporting a range of third-party apps, the new Series 3 watch will cost $399.
(Source:www.reuters.com)
Homepage
Send to a friend
Printable version
Share
