All eyes on iPhone
Market waits for next move in Apple’s strategy to regain smartphone share
SMARTPHONES are still on the rise, but Apple’s position at the top of the market has changed radically.
The current shape of the market was totally defined by the release of Apple’s first iPhone six years ago, but six years is an aeon in the tech market.
The latest Gartner figures show that smartphones achieved 51.8% of worldwide phone sales in the second quarter of this year.
But Apple’s part in all this has changed a lot - its year-on-year market share has dropped more than four points to 14.2%.
That figure puts Apple in second place to Samsung, but it’s hardly a close second - Samsung has 31.7% of the world’s smartphone market.
In real terms, it’s thought there are now about 775 million to 800 million “official” Android devices in use, versus perhaps 415m iOS devices (these figures include tablets from both platforms).
The widely speculated-on successor to the iPhone 5 might be two models – a cheaper iPhone and a deluxe gold version.
When you look at the markets, it’s clear Apple will have China and India firmly in its sites for a cheaper model.
For example, many people these days spring for an iPhone 4S over a 5 since it’s cheaper, yet nearly as good as a 5, plus slightly shorter.
Speculation has largely settled on a top-end iPhone “5S” and a “cheap” (this term is always relative when applied to Apple) iPhone “5C”. Of course, nothing’s announced but any news is expected September 10.
On the S, the rumours are currently saying it will be a goldcoloured unit with a thumbprint sensor.
As for a “cheap” iPhone, you can easily work out the marketing idea behind this. The AsiaPacific region is still a growth market for Apple but Samsung has well and truly taken the lead. Apple might still have the cachet but Samsung’s smartphones have more features, and they’re often cheaper. In tandem with a new iPhone is the widely expected release of iOS 7, Apple’s next iDevice operating system.
Apple has made huge strides to satisfy business users since, and iOS 7 will improve the situation significantly.
Enterprise Single Sign-on increases security in the enterprise and makes it much easier for users to access corporate data assets.
AirDrop Sharing for Apps is a way to use real-time document and content sharing for more efficient use of sales, presentation and collaboration tools.
Apple’s version of Low Energy Bluetooth, “iBeacon”, will enable indoor navigation across large buildings and campuses and has device presence awareness and the ability to have locations trigger workflow tracking.
Apple has more than 575 million iTunes customers on file, most of whom link credit cards to those accounts. Should the company be able to integrate mobile payment into Passbook and connect to those credit cards thanks to a “scan to acquire Passbook passes” feature, iOS-based mobile commerce could take off.
So, all hold for September 10.