Apple Adds Low Cost Smartphone To Portfolio
In order to have a hold in the emerging market, Apple has introduced a low cost smartphone.
According to the rumors that have been circulating for quite a long time now, the tech titan, Apple Inc. has been scheduled to launch a mid-cycle iPhone sometime later this month in order to regain its share in the smartphone market. Ever since the economic crux weighed down the purchasing power of the consumers, the tech giant found itself in the whirlpool of slowing sales growth. However, the highly anticipated new phone is likely to help the company in strengthening its sales. The subject device is named “iPhone SE” and is reported to have a 4-inch screen with curved edges. It has NFC support for Apple Pay. The phone runs on A9 processor and carries a 12-megapixel camera.
The Canadian investment firm, RBC Capital Markets envisions that the new 4-inch smartphone will be able to gauge $5.5 billion worth sales of around 10 million units. The estimation was based on the average selling price (ASP) of $550. The firm further estimated that the large volume of sales will increase the earnings per share (EPS) of the tech titan by 23 cents. The rumored smartphone was previously predicted to have a price ranging between $400 and $500.
RBC analyst has set the price target of $130 on the tech giant’s stock in addition to maintaining an “Outperform” rating for it. Moreover, the analyst has also expressed that in the March quarter the sales of the new smartphone are likely to crash however in the June quarter the sales are likely to rebound.
The new iPhone SE intends to attract the budget conscious customers who don’t buy iPhones at the exorbitant prices and therefore prefer low cost smartphones. In Indian potential markets, Chinese vendors including One Plus and Xiaomi have strengthened their hold by introducing high spec smartphones, which have been immensely popular among the customers. Moreover, few speculations have been running that Xiaomi is looking forward to enter US by the end of 2017. Therefore the anticipated iPhone SE will be pivotal in slowing down the growing influence of the Chinese smartphone makers.
One of the other aspects of introducing iPhone SE is that the developed markets are on the verge of being saturated and matured. Therefore, Apple has to focus on the emerging markets in order to increase its sales and regain its growth in the developed countries. The low priced smartphones are likely to attract so many consumers who avoid Apple’s prestigious devices due to their hefty prices.
On the contrary, in the developed markets, the stimulus of purchasing a high-end smartphone is the rapid innovation and introduction of new or improved features. Chinese One Plus bagged moderate success due to its highly customized smartphones. Accordingly, if Apple introduced features with more personalized experience, then it will be able to increase its sale and grow highly in the market.