Cost Matters?
In last issue’s note, I talked about size and form factor concerns in the ever growing mobile ecosystem. Going by performance and functionality advancements, I’m on the camp of convergence between mobile and mobility.
As it turns out, to no surprise, the biggest newsmakers are still smartphones. Last month we reviewed Samsung’s Galaxy Note9. This issue’s biggest story are Apple’s new iPhones and Watches. And as you read this in October, we’re going to have the Google Pixel 3, Razer Phone 2, Huawei Mate 20, as well as rumors of folding phones and 4-, 5-camera devices. It’s a crazy, crazy quarter.
But with all these new devices and rumors oating around, what is the one trend that’s becoming a growing concern among us? The cost of the smartphone.
Apple’s iPhone XS and XS Max have already set a new bar by breaking the $2,000 price point. We’ve nally reached a time where a smartphone can be more expensive than a laptop. It’s mind-boggling; some even say it’s ridiculous. But as I’m writing this, I’m getting reports of a massive, unofcial, crowd/queue already forming in front of the Apple Store in Orchard Road, before Apple has even set up an ofcial line. Who’s laughing at who now? (My design team sure chose an approriate picture to use this month.)
But back to my convergence topic, if prices are any indication, could we be reaching a tipping point? PCs are making a comback because of esports, but it feels like they’re turning into specialist gaming devices, rather than the general-use machines they were in the past.
That role has gone to the smartphone. Yes, a $2,000 phone is a gross excess, but if it’s the one device you ever needed. Would that change your view?