9/18/2019 Apple to Launch New Low-Cost iPhone in Spring of 2020

Photo by Ben Kolde on Unsplash “iPhone”

Apple to Launch New Low-Cost iPhone

in Spring of 2020
Apple is taking on Huawei with a budget-friendly phone.

Michael K. Spencer Follow

Sep 5 · 3 min read

How does a premium brand like Apple actually cater to the masses?

How cheap is cheap for an iPhone, eh? Apple is reportedly planning to introduce a new
budget iPhone in 2020. It seems the screen will be the same size screen as the iPhone 8.
The story was first reported by Nikkei Asian Review.
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9/18/2019 Apple to Launch New Low-Cost iPhone in Spring of 2020

It will follow the iPhone SE, which was priced at $399. Apple’s cheapest iPhone is
currently the iPhone 7, which costs $449.

iPhone Hype isn’t What it Used to Be

Nobody I know is excited about iPhones anymore. The iPhone 11 doesn’t have any
particular swag that I am aware of. 5G is coming though and folding phones are likely a
passing gimmick.

With Huawei likely out-performing Apple in sales in mainland China and with trade war
tensions, Apple could lose market share in China in 2020 in a big way. Apple is pivoting
to a software services subscription-based business model that will take many years to
mature.

Its wearables are doing great, and the AppleWatch is a clever and dominant product now
in 2019. But Apple has undoubtly lost some of its shine both as an innovator and a
consumer products top tier brand.

Spring of 2020 Could See Cheap Budget iPhone Launch

Apple is planning to launch a low-cost iPhone next spring, sources told Nikkei Asian
review.

The price and name of the new device has not yet been determined, but it is reportedly
seen as the iPhone SE’s latest generation.

Apple needs to do something to take on Huawei, that will likely take over top spot in
smart phone sales from Samsung in the early 2020s. The new device will essentially be
Apple’s first low-cost smartphone since the iPhone SE’s launch in 2016.

Huawei is an Existential Threat to the iPhone’s Future

Even as older iterations of the Google Pixel phone get a huge discount in 2019, Apple’s
new budget phone should be around $400. For developing markets that’s still not cheap.

In reality, Huawei does emerging markets better than Apple ever will. Apple’s future of
iPhones is not, I would say, very promising. Its dominant position in the U.S. is mostly
due to a ban on Huawei. That’s not exactly fair or free-market capitalism at play.

The decision to revive the lower cost model comes amid a rough patch for the iPhone.
Apple reported its first-ever decline in iPhone shipments for last year, and this summer it
lost the title of №2 smartphone maker to Huawei.

We’ve entered the age of smartphone saturation. 5G is coming but not exactly right
around the corner. The global smartphone industry overall also faces its third
consecutive annual decline in 2019, according to IDC projections.

Apple relies on China more than we realize. China is, after all, the Cupertino, California
company’s third-largest market. In China there are quite a few decent smartphone

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9/18/2019 Apple to Launch New Low-Cost iPhone in Spring of 2020

companies, not just Huawei.

Vivo

OPPO

Xiaomi

Apple only has an incredible 6.7% of China’s marketshare in this segment. Not a bright
future Apple, at all.

Apple’s hold on the smartphone market has been slipping. Last month it sank down in
the rankings as the fourth-biggest smartphone manufacturer behind Samsung, Huawei,
and Oppo. That’s right, even Oppo overtook Apple in mid 2019.

Who cares about a budget iPhone? Do you want to own even more subscriptions to new
software services in streaming, gaming, and news in an iPhone captive ecosystem? Not I,
not me.

I’m not really understanding the barrier to entry to become an iOS user or why I would
choose to do this in 2019 or moving forwards. Though Apple still has some legacy brand
shine, that it’s stopping to create a bargain phone is a red flag.

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