{"id":150388,"date":"2019-09-13T05:55:14","date_gmt":"2019-09-13T10:55:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ict-pulse.com\/?p=150388"},"modified":"2019-09-13T06:00:30","modified_gmt":"2019-09-13T11:00:30","slug":"3-emerging-industry-trends-apples-product-launch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/2019\/09\/3-emerging-industry-trends-apples-product-launch\/","title":{"rendered":"3 emerging industry trends from Apple\u2019s recent product launch"},"content":{"rendered":"

Earlier this week, Apple held its major product announcement event for the year. Although there has been a buzz about the new devices that will be launched, the event highlighted three trends we are likely to see across the wider device manufacture and tech industry.<\/em><\/p>\n

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As has become the practice and around the second week of September, global tech manufacturer, Apple, announced the latest products and upgrades that will be released. This much-anticipated event was held earlier this week, on 10 September to be precise, and did not disappoint. Apple announced the release of new smartphones, the iPhone 11, 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max; new iPads, which now has its own Operating System; and a new Apple Watch (the Series 5).<\/p>\n

In addition to the new devices, Apple announced two other releases. First, Apple Arcade, a games subscription service, which will be part of the App Store, and should become available later this month; and second, Apple TV+, a video subscription that will launch on 1 November.<\/p>\n

Although, as per usual, pundits might argue that these new devices are marginal improvements from the previous ones, the new products are likely to offer better performance than their predecessors \u2013 thanks to more powerful chips, faster processing, even better cameras, along with other new features and capabilities. However, and in my opinion, the bigger news coming out of the Apple event was not the new devices and services, but three occurrences and takeaways during the announcements that could signal a change in the tech manufacturing space, and the wider tech industry, going forward.<\/p>\n

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1. Diversification into content<\/h3>\n

To a considerable degree, and as a device manufacturer, Apple has been providing part of the infrastructure consumers need in order to access and use technology \u2013 through its laptops, smartphones, and tablet computers, to name a few. In establishing iTunes and the App Store, Apple could better control the ecosystem in which its devices operated. For example, apps that could be used by its devices would be vetted by Apple, and in a similar way, iTunes provided a means for music, movie, podcasts , and other content to be safely accessed in the Apple ecosystem.<\/p>\n

In now offering Apple Arcade and Apple TV+, it appears that the company is moving into the content creation space. With regard to Apple Arcade, it is partnering with several developers to provide games for that subscription service. On the other hand, and for Apple TV+, the company has been bank-rolling the creation of original television series and similar content for that new service. Ultimately, and through the launch of those two new services, it appears that Apple is broadening its role from device manufacturer and ecosystem regulator, to now include content creator.<\/p>\n

It could be argued that content creation is not a natural progression for a device manufacturer, but the fact of the matter is that in this day and age, content is where much of attention is placed. Once it is in place, the hardware and infrastructure tends to be overlooked, and content \u2013 what we are viewing and doing on our devices \u2013 comes to the fore.<\/p>\n

Further, with consumers holding on to their devices for longer, at least two years, it means that after the initial one-time purchase, Apple is unlikely to see the majority of its customers buying a new device for perhaps three years. Subscription services offer an excellent way for the company to remain connected to its customers, generate a recurrent revenue stream, whilst also fostering continuing brand loyalty.<\/p>\n

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2. Lower prices<\/h3>\n

Over the past three or so years, and particularly for Apple devices, prices for its devices had been increasing. For example, last year\u2019s entry-level smartphone, the iPhone XR was priced at around USD 749.00. However, the price for this year\u2019s entry level phone, the iPhone 11, will start at USD 699.00. This trend was evident across most Apple product lines, with either prices for new releases either remaining the same, or lower than those of their predecessors.<\/p>\n

In a consumer device market that is becoming increasingly saturated, evidenced by the lower sales across all of the major manufacturers in recent years, industry analysts are suggesting that consumers may not have been able to justify the spend for increasingly expensive Apple devices, in particular, for only marginal improvements in features and performance. As a result, they have been holding on to their devices longer. In Apple lowering their prices, consumers may be incentivised to buy.<\/p>\n

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3.\u00a0 More options for consumer personalisation<\/h3>\n

Finally, and for its devices, Apple is offering a bit more variety. For example, and with regard to is iPhone, in addition to the three new lines that will be offered, consumers are being given a range of colours to choose from. The same for the Apple Watch. However, the ability for consumers to better customise the devices to their needs and lifestyle was more evident in some of the features that were highlighted during the product launch event, such as:<\/p>\n