Everyone is wondering what’s the matter with iPhone -lineup? Okay, Macalope hasn’t asked around, but he’s pretty sure everyone is wondering about it. Because he himself has speculated on it.
The iPhone lineup is in the process of some pretty big changes. Of course, this is not the first time it happened, but it has been relatively stable for a number of years, albeit with some smaller variations. Apple made a small phone for a few years, but for the most part you got a base telephone lineup, sometimes with a larger size and a two -sizes pro -lineup.
Now, Apple has slid iPhone air into the set -up instead of the cheapest iPhone Pro, in a move that marks the beginning of some pretty big changes in the next year. The company is expected to follow up on this next year with a foldable iPhone.
It may be tempting to warn that Apple risks returning to the dark days of the mid -1990s when it sent a confusing number of Macs in various configurations that confused customers and cannibalized their own profits. “Steve Jobs implemented a simplified product line for a reason!” You say, and cradle your finger. Sure, but there are two things wrong with this argument. First, who cradles their finger? Who are you, the stuffed shirt dad in a Wes Anderson movie? Secondly, it is completely possible to expand your product offer and provide more options without making things confusing.
The iPad setup provides the perfect object teaching. Until recently, the iPad setup actually had a whiff of the 90s for it, almost as if you could hear “two princes” playing slightly from over a hill. However, the horrible sound faded when Apple rationalized the set -up last year with a single trick: raised prices. Raising prices sets a certain distance between the iPad Pro and iPad Air, making it easier to make a purchase decision.
While some may be complaining about Apple that no longer offers an iPhone Pro at the $ 999 price point, they couldn’t without overlapping with iPhone Air. You can argue that the company should sell the air to $ 899, but that’s another argument that involves customs and aspenes and margins and wants Apple not to be Apple. The bottom line is that the layout makes sense that it currently stands. Likewise, when the company is sent a foldable iPhone next year, the price will help make it clear which device is right for you.
More Sku’s, more choices, but no extra complexity.
One thing we have been able to trust for a long time is that Apple’s new lineup would always be announced in the fall, except a cheap phone that might come in the spring if Apple felt particularly magnificent. The unwashed masses would look up at Tim Cook and say, “May we have a cheap phone, sir?” And Cook would look down and whisper, “No.”, thus creating the “Watchmen”/”Oliver Twist” transition that no one knew they would because there really didn’t want it.
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Although now that Macalope is thinking about it, it sounds to see Oliver go to Fagin with a flying owl ship.
However, those of us who bought a base model iPhone 17 this year may have a longer wait for a replacement next cycle, but as Apple is expected to make the autumn event only, yes, expensive phones: iPhone Pro, iPhone Air and the folding iPhone. The basic model iPhones will not be announced until the spring of 2027, possibly with an iPhone 18E.
Unless we find a way to take on Tim Cook with some kind of owl ship. Dang it, now Macalope can’t stop thinking about it.
We may not like it, but there is a little logic for this timing. In the last two cycles, Apple is improved on the basic model iPhone, giving it more treatment effect and improving its price point by keeping the price the same and increasing the warehouse. In fact, it seems that the base iPhone is doing pretty well this cycle, which can adversely affect Apple’s margin. Pushing out the base model with six months separating the set -up without once changing the specifications or price.
For a long time, a large bank on iPhones has been that there has been very little choice. If you wanted choices in hardware, you had to go to Android. Now Apple shows that it can give more choices without making you remember MUST SEE TV.