Expert’s view

Apple is aiming to expand its user base with bigger screen sizes on its new iPhones, taking on other smartphone manufacturers. Honor Note 10, Huawei P9 Max and Xiaomi’s Mi Max 3 have 6.9-inch displays while Samsung Note 9 has a 6.4-inch screen.

‘They have to do it finally with wider displays to compete with other Chinese players. Despite the 5.8-inch display, the iPhone X was a solid device, though it felt a little lacking in display size when compared to the 5.5inch iPhone 8 plus,’ Roberta Cozza (left), research director

at Gartner, told Gulf News.

The new iPhones will appeal to more regional markets that care about bigger displays, she said.

The iPhone XR, which is more affordable and a clever addition to the line-up, will appeal more to Asian markets, especially China.

‘Though, they are pushing the limits of what users are willing to pay,’ she said.

With dual SIM facility, Cozza said that Apple users can now have a premium phone instead of using other Android devices as their second phone, especially in Asia and Europe.

Wayne Lamm, principal analyst at IHS Markit, said in a statement that Apple has completed its hardware design refresh that started with iPhone X, and moves to an allnotch display line-up.

According to the ‘Smartphone Model Market Tracker’ report, Apple accounted for 86 per cent of smartphones priced above $751 in 2017. Samsung, with 12 per cent of the market, is the only other manufacturer represented in the segment.