Apple may have been playing it safe when they launched two new flagship models last Friday in Cupertino, the iPhone 5s and 5c. Certainly no one at Apple could have predicted the drop in shares or rise in criticisms that followed.
Apple may have been playing it safe when they launched two new flagship models last Friday in Cupertino, the iPhone 5s and 5c. Certainly no one at Apple could have predicted the drop in shares or rise in criticisms that followed.
Apple’s price dropped to its lowest in three years, by 5.4% on the Nasdaq, the global stock exchange where US tech stocks are most often listed, after the announcement. Analysts believe that Apple missed their opportunity to astound investors and customers.
They criticised the iPhone 5c for being too expensive for emerging markets like China and the iPhone 5s for lacking enough innovative features to rival competition.
According to Professor John Simpson, Co-founder and Director of the Unilever Institute of Strategic Marketing, New York lost its faith in Apple, claiming it is no longer revolutionary post-Steve Jobs.
“People invest in future growth. I don’t think the brand of Apple is damaged. In South Africa sales continue to grow but service for Apple products is a challenge. Is it really possible to expect a company to stay revolutionary indefinitely? If Apple’s new iPhone 5c works for them, then great. Any increase in sales, even 5% – 10% is good, but I can’t predict what will happen.” said Simpson.
Apple plans on closing the gap in the lower end of its market to be more competitive with Samsung and Huawei in emerging markets like China. But the estimated price at launch in China of the “Plastic Perfected” iPhone 5c is 4,488 yuan (R7219), which is more than the average monthly urban income for the country.
Customers in South Africa are in two minds about the new products. Some are very enthused, picking out colours and possible packages while others feel betrayed.
Darian Johnson, web developer and avid Apple customer was excited before the launch of the new Apple iPhone. Now he finds himself disappointed: "before it was announced, I was keen, but the iPhone 5c is priced too high and the 5s isn’t anything new, it might as well be the same as the iPhone 5. I’m not happy. Apple has dropped the ball too many times by not giving its customers what they want – a bigger screen. I’m planning on moving to a different phone, possibly an HTC. I’m just upset because I've invested in all these applications from the iStore.”
Damien Manuel, a professional in the animation industry is open to Apple’s new products but is waiting to see what packages the network providers offer, “I've still got the 4s and I’d definitely get the new 5s. I’m just afraid the 5c won't give me enough freedom. I 'm sure the cheaper 5c has some restrictions on it that the 5s doesn’t. If it can run all the apps the 4s can then I'd get it.”
Despite criticism by customers and uncertainty from investors, the iPhone 5c is estimated to have topped iPhone 5 pre-orders within 24 hours of its launch, since it went on sale last Friday in America. The iPhone 5c is estimated to have had 2.2 million units pre-ordered within 24 hours of launch compared with the iPhone5s' 2 million units. Apple has not confirmed these estimates, but in light of criticisms and investor scares, one can only wonder why they have chosen to remain silent.
