Monday, Sep 09, 2013
Dubai: Timothy D. Cook, Apple’s chief executive is expected to launch iPhone 5S and low-cost iPhone 5C at a Cupertino, California, auditorium on Tuesday at 10am (US time), 9pm Dubai time.
Apple needs to come out with excellent features to take on Android leader Samsung. The Korean vendor has been the number one smartphone manufacturer and Apple has been finding it difficult even with the iPhone 5 launched last year.
“The new iPhone is likely to be available in the UAE by end of October or in the first week of November,” Neelesh Bhatnagar, CEO of Emax Electronics, one of Apple’s authorised retailer in the UAE, told Gulf News.
He said the overall hype of new phone launches is not as it used to be couple of years back. The grey market will not be a big success as Apple devices are available in the UAE around 45 days after the official launch.
According to Gartner’s second-quarter statistics, Android had a market share of 79 per cent compared to 64.2 per cent during the same period last year while Apple had a market share of 14.2 per cent in the second quarter compared to 18.8 per cent in the second quarter of last year.
Samsung had a market share of 31.7 per cent as of second quarter this year.
According to IDC, Apple has a market share of 3.1 per cent as of second quarter
With rumours floating around the websites about the much-awaited new iPhone, industry experts have said that the screen size and shape is almost similar to iPhone 5.
The new iPhone will be just an upgrade of iPhone 5.
But Hamza Saleem, senior research analyst at International Data Corporation (IDC), a research firm, Apple has its own methodology about the phones. The main thing is that the phone should be able to operate with one hand.
“I personally feel that 4-4.5-inch is the optimum size for a phone and beyond that it would be difficult to handle. According to studies, surfing the internet is mainly done tablets and not on smartphones, so what is the point of having a big screen,” Saleem told Gulf News.
Apple may probably change the screen size depending on the “phone naming convention.” Next year if Apple launches iPhone 6 then users can expect a bigger screen. That is the progression we have seen from Apple, he said.
5S is expected to have a four-inch screen size with faster A7 processor, 12MP camera with dual-LED flash, iOS7 and fingerprint sensor. It is likely to come in three different colours — black, white and champagne gold at a later stage.
The small screen size may keep consumers away from Apple. The world is going for bigger screen sizes and Apple is the only vendor to stick to small screens.
Apple is reported to be testing bigger screens (4.8-inch and six-inch), may be for next year.
The mid-range iPhone 5C, mainly designed for emerging markets with lower specs, is rumoured to have same size as the iPhone 5 but with a plastic body and in multiple colours — green, purple, orange, red and aqua. It will be the first time that Apple will be launching more than one model a year. Apple will be launching the 5C in China on Wednesday in the morning.
Apple is targeting China with 5C as it was not able to penetrate the huge market.
“With the mid-range phone coming out from Apple, it will compete with big brands. The new 5C is expected to be between $300 (Dh1,101) and $400. With that price it can be a market beater,” Saleem said.
He said Apple is going in the right direction with a cheaper version which is suited for markets like China, India, Middle East and Africa. These markets have been lagging behind due to the price factor. The brand image of Apple is huge than other handset manufacturers.
Saleem feels that 5C will sell much faster than 5S and people will not buy the mid-range Samsung phones and opt for Apple 5C. I am positive about the new 5C.
By Naushad K. ?Cherrayil Staff Reporter
Gulf News 2013. All rights reserved.
