CALIFORNIA (US) – Apple Inc on Tuesday launched its next-generation iPhone 12, with faster 5G connectivity.
The iPhone 12 with a 6.1-inch display, will sell for $799, while a ‘Mini’ version with a 5.4-inch screen will be slightly cheaper at $699. A ‘Pro’ version with three cameras and a new 3-D ‘lidar’ sensor starts at $999, with the largest ‘Pro Max’ starting at $1,099 and going up to $1,399.
The new products will be a litmus test on whether Apple can induce a wave of consumer excitement around 5G wireless data networks.
Bob O’Donnell, head of TECHnalysis Research, called “lots of little niggly details that get in the way of delivering on the promise of 5G.”
He said Apple might leave customers with disappointment when phones ship, while offering only modest speed increases until carriers build out networks.
“I don’t feel like Apple clarified that as much as they could have,” O’Donnell said.
Apple said all iPhone 12 models in the United States will support millimeter wave 5G.
Apple said it had tested 5G on more than 800 carriers in 30 regions globally.
Jake Dollarhide, chief executive officer of Longbow Asset Management in Tulsa, Oklahoma, said, “As the convergence of flu season with COVID and colder weather forces everyone indoors, I think it’s going to be harder to sell iPhones this Christmas. As much as Apple is a technology company, it’s not known for its online sales, it’s known for its in-store experience.”
Shares of Apple fell over 3% during the event, erasing $77 billion worth of stock market value, and closed down 2.7%.
However, Ben Bajarin, principal analyst for consumer market intelligence at research firm Creative Strategies, said Apple had found its way to be more engaging directly with its own speakers than rivals. For example, Apple customers can speak into their iPhone or iPad to use the HomePod Minis like an intercom system.
Bajarin said, “That’s not something that Google or Amazon, particularly Amazon, can do so cleanly. The advantage Apple has that they pressed on is that a good portion of those (Google and Amazon) customers have iPhones. They leveraged the fact they own the pocket.”