Image: Reuters Berita 24 English - Apple Inc. didn't raise the prices of its best-selling iPhones on Wednesday, when it released its big...
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| Image: Reuters |
Berita 24 English - Apple Inc. didn't raise the prices of its best-selling iPhones on Wednesday, when it released its biggest new product of the year. Instead, it focused on safety upgrades instead of flashy new technical specs, with the exception of a new watch geared toward adventure.
The company that makes the iPhone used safety features like the ability to find a car accident and call for help from a remote mountaintop to make its devices more appealing. Apple set itself up as a brand that lets people have fun and try new things without having to worry about getting hurt.
Ben Bajarin, head of consumer technologies at Creative Strategies, said that these intangible features are what make people want to buy products not just for themselves but also for people they care about. "In the end, the increased focus on safety as a service is a very interesting value proposition."
Changes were made to the cameras and battery life of the iPhone line, which is responsible for half of Apple's sales. However, only the iPhone Pro line got a completely new processor chip.
The high-end iPhone 14s cost the same as the iPhone 13s did last year. But Apple got rid of its least expensive option, the iPhone Mini. This means that its least expensive model now costs $100 more than it did last year.
The iPhone 14 will start at $799, and the iPhone 14 Plus will start at $899. Both can be preordered starting on September 9. The iPhone Pro will cost $999 and the iPhone Pro Max will cost $1,099 when it comes out on September 16.
Tom Forte, an analyst at D.A. Davidson, said, "They decided to keep prices pretty much the same despite inflationary pressure."
Nintendo and T-Mobile have both said they won't raise their prices right now.
Apple said that its satellite SOS feature will work with people who help in emergencies. It also said that its FindMy app will let users share their location via satellite when they don't have any other way to connect.
With the iPhone 14, the service will be free for two years. Apple didn't say anything about what would happen after that time.
On Wednesday, shares of Globalstar Inc. went up 20% after the satellite services company said it would be the satellite operator for Apple's emergency SOS service.
The Cupertino, California-based company also showed off three new Apple Watches, including a new model called the Watch Ultra that is made for extreme sports and diving and is meant to compete with sportswatch experts like Garmin and Polar.
Analyst at Canalys Runar Bjorhovde said, "Apple is competing for a group of customers who are already very loyal to their current products and vendors. Apple will have to prove itself over time."
On the watch side, the $799 Ultra has a bigger battery to last through events like triathlons, better waterproofing and temperature resistance to work in the outdoors, and better GPS tracking for sports.
All of the new watches and iPhones, including a Series 8 with the same price as last year and an updated, cheaper SE model, will be able to tell when a user has been in a serious car accident and call for help.
The temperature sensor in the new Series 8 watch will let you know if you ovulated after the fact. The company put a lot of emphasis on how private its cycle tracking was. Since the U.S. Supreme Court ended the constitutional right to abortion in the U.S., tech companies are paying more attention to privacy and reproductive health data.
But even though accessories like the Apple Watch have helped Apple sell more to its existing customers, the iPhone is still the company's most important product. In its most recent fiscal year, the iPhone made up 52.4% of sales, and investors are still wondering what, if anything, will be the company's next big product category.
Analysts think that this category will be a mixed reality headset that could come out as soon as next year. However, Apple didn't say anything on Wednesday about these possible products.
At the end of the day, Apple's stock was up 0.9%, which was less than the 1.8% gain for the S&P 500.
