Apple plays it so safe
New iPhone 11 has some cool new features, but no biggies
THERE’S an old proverb in tech: if your new product is a lot like the old product, release it in a different colour.
The newest iPhone, as such, will come in Midnight Green.
Apple unveiled three new smartphones, as predicted, and each was a little better than the model it replaced.
But while this iPhone trio adds new hardware — most importantly, a new camera in each model — it does not represent a smartphone revolution.
The new iPhones are missing many of the newest mobile tech developments, from in-screen fingerprint scanners to 5G connections, and they’re more expensive.
At best, they represent a big upgrade for Apple users who baulked at an iPhone X purchase in 2017.
In reality, they are a step towards an impressive iPhone revamp in 2020. And, at worst, Apple is phoning it in here.
The company also detailed two new subscription services and new wearable tech that could make its platform “sticky” enough to keep sceptics on board until that big iPhone revamp.
And none of this criticism means that Apple’s new iPhones are bad, of course.
Every new iPhone on its roster got an extra wide-angle camera, which will please a lot of Apple users who’ve been throwing side-eye at Samsung and Huawei handsets.
The new iPhones also got a speed and battery boost from new chips, better audio, new names, and on some there’s something called a slofie (a slow-motion selfie feature that no one asked for).
But, as Kantar global consumer insight director Dominic Sunnebo puts it, “Apple did just about enough from a product innovation perspective to stay competitive over the next year; no more, no less.” The new models are also missing 5G technology, even though it’s now available in a host of Australian cities.
Then there’s the issue of price. Apple’s iPhone 11 Max is poised to become Australia’s most expensive smartphone at $2499.
That will make it $500 more expensive than its Samsung Galaxy Note 10.
While the iPhone’s new Forest shade is beautiful, savvy Apple fans may still choose to save their “green” this year.