With the launch of the new iPhones and Apple Watch, the new products that Apple usually launches in the fall have already started to arrive. But while September’s event was the first and most impactful over the Christmas holidays, it’s almost certain there’s more on the horizon.
When thinking about what Apple is going to announce next, it helps to take a look at the products it has already launched that year.
For example, this year Apple Watches and iPhones saw their “mainstream” models (the iPhone 14 and Apple Watch Series 8) receive only minor updates, while the company made a turnaround. much more important on its high-end Apple Watch models (iPhone 14 Pro and Apple Watch Ultra).
What Apple is doing with these series of devices can help us understand how it might approach the other products it sells, especially when it comes to the extremes: low-end and high-end.
lower the bar
Apple has taken a very different approach with this year’s iPhones, essentially making the standard iPhone 14 a more boring upgrade (including a slightly improved version of last year’s processor), while incorporating both a Material bigger as more advances Software on the more expensive iPhone 14 Pro.
As for the Apple Watch, the company has managed to create a compelling entry-level product, the Apple Watch SE, by packing its latest chip into a device that has many of the more modern features of its flagship model, but not all. of this one. .
And by pricing it at $299 / MXN$6,499, the company has created a very tempting low-end product that is sure to attract more customers who want an Apple Watch.
So what I’m most interested in is seeing what the next update to the standard iPad will bring this fall. It is likely that Apple will use the same strategy as with the Apple Watch SE and iPhone SE, integrating a powerful chip (although probably an A-series model, to differentiate it from the M1 of the Air and the Pro ), as well as many of the most modern features of the rest of the iPad range: support for the Apple Pencil 2, USB-C, smart connector for the Magic Keyboard…
But all of this raises a question about the design. Apple is able to cut the costs of the Apple Watch SE and iPhone SE in part by using the older case design, which the company has become very efficient at manufacturing.
But in the long run, this has its own cost, as it means using older components and layouts that aren’t used anywhere else. So why put all these new features into an old design?
The entry-level iPad is the last model with a Home button, and its styling is out of step with the rest of the iPad lineup. Apple would no doubt like to modernize it; the question is simply whether we have reached the point where it is more efficient for all your production lines to use the same housing design.
I think this year we could get to that point.
sell aspirations
For me, the most interesting new thing that Apple launched this fall is the Apple Watch Ultra. Back when Apple was selling a high-end Apple Watch (often called the Edition), it focused on case materials to the exclusion of everything else: 24-karat gold, ceramic, titanium.
This type of product was sold with fashion in mind, but over the past two years the Apple Watch has focused on its health and aptitude
It wouldn’t have been surprising if it had come at a price. prime from Apple. After all, it has always been the business.
But by lowering expectations of a device that seemed to cost well over $1,000 / MXN 20,000, Apple has positioned the product to appeal to those who will never use it to climb mountains, run ultra-marathons or do diving.
At $999 / MXN$20,000, the Ultra is just $100 / MXN$700 more expensive than the larger stainless steel Apple Watch, and often costs the same (or less), depending on which strap you’re on. you choose.
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This pricing strategy is much closer to how Apple already handles iPhones and iPads, enticing people to buy more expensive products by placing them within easy reach. When it comes to choosing between a $500 Apple Watch and a $1,000 Apple Watch, most customers aren’t going to spend twice as much just to get a fancier device. But $50 more than the existing top of the line is within reach of many, and the idea of how much more you get for that extra cost is definitely tempting. This same kind of price overlap, for example, helps move potential customers from the iPad Air to the iPad Pro.
The price of having a price range
Apple has always been very smart about pricing and positioning its products on a spectrum. There was a time when you could easily categorize Apple-made products into good, better, and best (and a time when Apple even used those qualifiers).
In a way, Apple has moved away from this classification, just as it has moved away from the simple strategy of having four quadrants of Mac products.
But looking at Apple’s announcements so far this fall, it looks like the “much more better” strategy is back in effect. And given that the iPad Air is the only model that’s already been refreshed this year, it won’t be surprising to see the low-end and high-end of the iPad line tablets from Apple are eye-catching, perhaps leaving the standard model looking a bit lackluster in comparison.
Original article published on igamesnews.com.
