The Apple HomePod is Apple’s answer to Amazon Echo and Google Home. Ever since its launch, the HomePod has received rave reviews. It is even being termed as the best-sounding smart speaker on the market right now. According to a number of HomePod users, the Siri-powered speaker tends to leave a permanent mark on the wooden surface. The marks are quite reminiscent of a hollow circle, that has a major effect on the oil-based wood table.
After such complaints, Apple updated its official support page for HomePod. It now reads:
It is not unusual for any speaker with a vibration-dampening silicone base to leave mild marks when placed on some wooden surfaces. The marks can be caused by oils diffusing between the silicone base and the table surface, and will often go away after several days when the speaker is removed from the wooden surface.
If not, wiping the surface gently with a soft damp or dry cloth may remove the marks. However, if marks persist, clean the surface with the furniture manufacturer’s recommended cleaning process. If you’re concerned about this, we recommend placing your HomePod on a different surface.
HomePod’s Base is made using soft Silicone, which is known to observe oil on a molecular level, which makes the table dry creating a permanent mark. Apple announced its Siri-powered smart speaker HomePod at its developer conference in June 2017. At the time, the company said it would go on sale in December 2017. However, due to some reasons, Apple pushed the release and it went on sale on the 9th of February.
Apple HomePod
Powered by the same chipset as the iPhone 6, the smart speaker runs on the A8 chipset. It has built-in Siri, six microphones and HomeKit support to control compatible smart home devices. An interesting feature is the ability to automatically optimise sound for a given room. The Google Home Max also has a similar feature where it automatically optimises the sound based on where it is kept in a room. It also has seven tweeters and a high excursion woofer.
Despite the late launch, the HomePod will ship without features like AirPlay 2, which allows pairing and multiroom audio.
In mid-December, Apple launched the iMac Pro in the US at a starting price of US$ 4999. In India, it was announced that only the base variant with an 8-core processor will go on sale at a price of Rs. 4,15,000. The exorbitant pricing keeps up with Apple’s much higher pricing pattern in India when compared to its American price.
Select Apple stores across the country have started receiving iMac Pro units which means that it is now available to buy. A wider availability of the new iMac Pro is expected by the end of this week.
The iMac Pro has a 27-inch Retina 5K display with a 5120 x 2880 px resolution and 500 nits of brightness. The iMac Pro will be available in only one colour variant, Space Gray.
Under the hood, the iMac Pro’s base model comes with an 8-core Intel Xeon processor which can go up to 18 cores, 32GB of 2666MHz DDR4 ECC memory RAM with the other two variants having 64GB or 128GB of RAM. The base model has 1TB hard drive with 2TB or 4TB being the other two options. Handling the graphics in base model will be the Radeon Pro Vega 56 graphics processor with 8GB of HBM2 memory, this can also be configured up to Radeon Pro Vega 64 graphics processor with 16GB of HBM2 memory.
Just above the display is an improved 1080P FaceTime camera.
In terms of the number of ports and connectivity, it has four Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports, a 3.5mm headphone jack, SDXC card slot, and an Ethernet port.
Along with the iMac Pro, the consumers will also get a Space Gray Magic Keyboard with Numeric Keypad, and a Space Gray Magic Mouse 2 along with the essential cords.
A few days ago, a part of the iOS source code was posted online. It has now been revealed that apparently, it was an ex-Apple intern that leaked the source code.
According to a report, the intern stole the code to help out his group of friends in the iOS jailbreaking community. He did that in order to help them with their ongoing efforts to find a way around Apple’s locked down iOS. According to one of his friend, he took “all sorts of Apple internal tools and whatnot.” This included additional source code that was not included in the initial leak.
The source code was taken down
The report claims that the initial plan was to make sure the source code never left the group of five friends. However, that did not hold up for too long as the code spread beyond the original group sometime last year. Eventually, the source code made its way to Reddit but, apparently, the post was initially deleted by a moderation bot automatically.
That is not where the circulation of the source code and eventually made its way to GitHub this week. Since then, Apple has ordered GitHub to remove the code. According to a source at Apple, the company already knew about the leak. This does make sense since the source code was generously circulated in the jailbreaking community. Someone from Apple was bound to come across this source code just roaming about on the internet.
The leak of the source code was considered to be a security concern in the beginning. The leak could allow hackers to discover iOS vulnerabilities more easily and make creating iPhone jailbreaks simpler. At the time, Apple’s lawyers described the leak as a “reproduction of Apple’s ‘iBoot’ source code, which is responsible for ensuring trusted boot operation of Apple’s iOS software.”
Since then, Apple has seem unfazed about the potential security issues. Apple claims that the code is already three years old and that the security of its products doesn’t depend on the secrecy of their source code.
2017 was a great year for smartphones. The bezels shrunk, dual cameras became a norm, and AI gained a few strides. 2018 promises to be another great year for a smartphone enthusiast and the early leaks and rumours are very promising. Let’s take a look at the top five upcoming smartphones of 2018:
Samsung Galaxy S9/Galaxy S9+
The first big launch of 2018 will be that of the Galaxy S9 and the Galaxy S9+. The smartphones will be launched at MWC 2018 and will possibly be the first to run on the Snapdragon 845 chipset. After weeks of renders and leaks, Samsung will finally unveil two of the most anticipated smartphones of 2018.
Design wise, the two phones won’t look different than their predecessors which is not a bad thing. The Galaxy S8 and S8+ are still two of the most stunning devices on the market. The top and bottom bezels will be slightly thinner and the fingerprint sensor will be repositioned. Unlike last year’s, the fingerprint sensor will now be placed below the camera module instead of next to it. That is a great design change which was called for by many Galaxy S8 and Note8 users.
To compete with Apple’s Face ID, Samsung is rumoured to introduce Smart Scan as well. Apparently, the new feature is a combination of face and iris scanning. This extra layer will improve accuracy and security of the system in extremely dark or lit up environments. These are the situations where iris scanning and facial recognition systems fail. There have been reports that suggest the Samsung Galaxy S9 devices might have a 3D sensor equipped front-camera for improved biometrics.
There are no rumours or leaks about an upcoming Xiaomi Mi A2 or Mi A1(2018). However, considering the popularity of the Mi A1 in India, the company will be hard-pressed to launch a successor in 2018. The Mi A1 had a more 2016 design with thick bezels but, with budget smartphones also moving on to an 18:9 aspect ratio, the Mi A2 will also have a modern design.
The Xiaomi Mi A1 was launched as the Mi 5X in China and the Mi 6X could be the Mi A2 in India. So far, there have been a few leaks pertaining to the Xiaomi Mi 6X. According to leaked images, the Mi 6X will have an iPhone X-like vertically placed dual-camera setup along with fingerprint sensor and an aluminium unibody build.
Up until the Xiaomi Mi A1 was launched, Motorola’s Moto G5 Plus and G5s Plus had the best cameras in the segment. However, the Xiaomi Mi A1 had a great dual-camera setup as well and the Mi A2, in order to sway customers will have to have a great camera performance as well. The Xiaomi Mi A2 is expected to have the same “wide-angle and telephoto lens” combination for the primary cameras. The dual-camera setup on the front is becoming popular as well, meaning the Xiaomi Mi A2 could also have a dual-camera setup on the front as well.
If Xiaomi does launch the Mi A2 or Mi A1 (2018) in India, it is expected to do well, considering budget smartphones from Honor will have EMUI and a lot of consumers still prefer stock Android OS.
The OnePlus 5 and OnePlus 5T saw a rise in price which many people weren’t happy about. There was also no water resistance even though OnePlus decided to increase the price of its new flagship considerably. However, early rumours of the OnePlus 6 are in and it appears that the company will be refreshing its smartphone lineup earlier than expected. A report from Android Marvel claims that the OnePlus 6 will be launched in March of 2018 and have a few new features which the OnePlus 5T is missing.
Inspired by Face ID, the OnePlus 6 will also have its own version of facial recognition. The OnePlus 6 is expected to have a camera hardware setup similar to the iPhone X, complete with a 3D camera module that will use infrared light to measure depth. However, the OnePlus 6 will not have an iPhone X-like notch. Instead, the handset is expected to have a full top bezel where the extra sensors should be found.
The OnePlus 6 is expected to have the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chipset under the hood along with 6GB or 8GB of RAM. Storage options will most probably be the same with 64GB or 128Gb variants of the phone. OnePlus has shown its tendency to launch limited edition variants of its devices and it is fair to assume that the company will do something similar with the OnePlus 6 and possibly, the OnePlus 6T.
Apple iPhone X Plus
2018 Apple iPhone lineup
It’s tentative but, we might see a bigger version of the iPhone X in September of 2018. The iPhone X, launched in September 2017 saw a radical shift from the traditional iPhone design we were accustomed to, since the launch of the iPhone 6. While the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus were similar to their predecessors, the iPhone X was the special 10th-anniversary device, billed as the true successor to the original iPhone which was launched back in 2007.
Early reports claim that Apple will continue the trend and launch three new iPhones in 2018. While two of them will continue to have an OLED display, the smallest of the three iPhones will be cheaper thanks to the LCD display. However, the design of all the three iPhones will be similar to the iPhone X with the notch at the top of the display and vertically placed dual cameras.
Under the hood, an upgraded A12 (tentatively named) chipset is expected which will, as always, perform better than the previous generation and go toe-to-toe with the Snapdragon 845 chipset.
Apple made it clear that it will emphasise a lot on the use of AI and machine learning with the introduction of ARKit. This is expected to be taken a notch higher with the next generation iPhones. What will be interesting to see is the nomenclature of all the three iPhones.
Google Pixel 3/Pixel 3 XL
The Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL launched amidst a lot of anticipation. Google was expected to deliver two of the best Android phones of the year and while the software and AI integration of the two phones was commendable, Google lost the race in the hardware department.
In 2018, especially after having the HTC smartphone personnel on board, Google will be expected to rectify those mistakes and deliver great Android devices which will compete with the likes of the Galaxy S9 and the OnePlus 6.
Similar to the Pixel 2, the Pixel 3 and its bigger sibling will focus a lot on AI and machine learning, and deliver smooth software experience thanks to the stock Android OS. 2018 will see the launch of Android P and the Pixel 3 devices will be the first Android phones on the planet to run o the new Android OS.
The Pixel 2 smartphones had the best camera on smartphones and achieved dual-camera capable features on their single camera setup thanks to Google’s incredible machine learning and AI implementation. We expect similar results from the Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL.
Ever since the iPhone X was launched, Apple has been in the news for reasons far away from the iPhone X. A few months ago, there were murmurs on the internet that Apple slows down older iPhones after launching new iPhones. These rumours were partially true as Apple later conceded. However, the company said that the only reason it slowed down iPhones was to prolong their battery life.
iPhone 8 Plus
Many people who bought the newly launched iPhones wondered whether their smartphones will be dealt the same fate. Apple has come out and cleared the air around the iPhone X and iPhone 8 saying that it has ‘hardware updates’ to handle ageing batteries. This was mentioned as a response to Senator John Thune, head of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Apple has said that the new iPhones “hardware updates that allow a more advanced performance management system.” This should come as good news for iPhone X and iPhone 8 users and future suitors of the new devices. Back in December, Apple had issued the following statement to clear the air around its actions pertaining to older iPhones slowing down with time:
Our goal is to deliver the best experience for customers, which includes overall performance and prolonging the life of their devices. Lithium-ion batteries become less capable of supplying peak current demands when in cold conditions, have a low battery charge or as they age over time, which can result in the device unexpectedly shutting down to protect its electronic components.
Last year we released a feature for iPhone 6, iPhone 6s and iPhone SE to smooth out the instantaneous peaks only when needed to prevent the device from unexpectedly shutting down during these conditions.
We’ve now extended that feature to iPhone 7 with iOS 11.2, and plan to add support for other products in the future.
iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus Do Not Have The Hardware Updates
Ever since the announcement, the company has faced a backlash from consumers and has been received multiple lawsuits from consumers. To somehow curb the criticism, Apple apologised to its consumers and said that a number of changes will be made to regain the trust of its consumers.
We know that some of you feel Apple has let you down. We apologize. There’s been a lot of misunderstanding about this issue, so we would like to clarify and let you know about some changes we’re making.
Apple conceded that it would cut the price of an out-of-warranty battery replacement from US $79 (Rs. 5000 approx.) to US$29 (Rs. 1850 approx.) for an iPhone 6 or later. Also, Tim Cookconceded that Apple would soon release a feature wherein users would have the option of choosing. A user can choose whether to slow down their iPhone or let it run normally and risk shutdowns.
Back in December 2017, Apple invoked a collective ‘gasp’ around the world. Following many conspiracy theories around why older iPhones get slower, Apple came out to clear the air. It accepted that it does indeed make older iPhones slower. However, the reasons the company gave were nowhere the near the conclusions that came out of some mindboggling theories.
Apple said that with time, iPhone batteries become weak, hence, it slows down the CPU speed in order to elongate the battery life. After the backlash, Tim Cook conceded that Apple would soon release a feature wherein users would have the option of choosing. A user can choose whether to slow down their iPhone or let it run normally and risk shutdowns.
In the latest Beta build of iOS 11.3, Apple has released the feature. The new feature is contained within a new “Battery Health” menu. The page has two fields: Maximum Capacity, which shows what percentage of the original charge the battery can still hold; and Peak Performance Capacity, which tells users if their phone’s performance is being throttled due to the battery.
As of now, there aren’t any options to change anything on the menu. For context, Maximum Capacity should be at 100% for new phones, and it should fall down to around 80% after about two years of normal usage. As the battery health decreases, the option will read differently.
For example, the Peak Performance Capability will read differently once the battery has aged:
[blockquote right=”pull-right”]This iPhone has experienced an unexpected shutdown because the battery was unable to deliver the necessary peak power. Performance management has been applied to help prevent this from happening again.[/blockquote]
Ever since Apple accepted to slowing down older iPhones, consumers and national governments have reacted. Apple has been sued by multiple consumers. One such lawsuit was filed by Stefan Bogdanovich and Dakota Speas, the suit claims that Apple’s deliberate effort to throttle CPU performance on the iPhone amounts to “breach of contract.” It also notes that Apple’s behaviour lowers the resale value of existing iPhones and underhandedly coerces iPhone owners to upgrade to newer models.
The feature to disable CPU throttling is expected to make its way to iOS 11.3 stable build soon.
Launched in September 2017, the iPhone X has become the most successful premium smartphone in India. It sold more units than the budget-friendly OnePlus 5T and even the Samsung Galaxy Note8. This happened despite the iPhone X being the priciest iPhone ever. Just like every other new iPhone, the iPhone X runs iOS 11 which had had its issues so far.
Rumoured iPhone X Plus
A new bug is being reported by iPhone X users where they can’t pick up incoming calls. What happens is that the ringtone starts playing but, the screen stays off for several seconds. This means that users are not able to perform the simplest of tasks on a smartphone that costs so much of money. Users tried resetting their devices but, to no avail.
Apple has conceded that it is looking into the matter. Apple is expected to fix this issue and a new iOS update will be rolled out sooner rather than later. Something similar to the controversy-ridden Google Pixel 2 XL as well. After the Android 8.1 Oreo update, many users were not able to pick up incoming calls because the screen would remain off for several seconds.
Every phone, every feature phones light up the display during an incoming call. To face such a trivial issue after paying so much of money for a smartphone is shocking. Although this doesn’t measure to the number of complaints against the Pixel 2 devices, Apple has to take care of this swiftly. In the last couple of months, Apple has come under scrutiny for deliberately slowing down older iPhones.
Google Pixel 2 XL
Tim Cook has since then, come out and said that a future iOS update will let users choose between wearing down their battery or slowing down their iPhone.
After the 2018-19 Union Budget, Apple was certainly expected to increase the prices of its products. The government increased the customs duty on mobile phones from 15% to 20%. Apart from the iPhone SE, all Apple products are currently manufactured outside in India and then imported into the country.
Apple iPhone X, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus will all see their prices go up in India. In December 2017, the company revised the price of its iPhones when the government increased to customs duty from 10% to 15%. Recently, it was announced that the iPhone X was the bestselling premium smartphone in India.
That happened after the price hike in December 2017. After another significant hike, it will be interesting to see how it affects the sale of Apple’s priciest iPhone. Apart from Apple. more companies are expected to hike the prices of their smartphones in India. This is a not good news for the smartphone industry, which already saw a worldwide decline in smartphone sales in the last quarter. The global smartphone shipments declined year over year, falling from 438.7 million units in the fourth quarter of 2016 to 400.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2017.
In December 2017, the price of the iPhone X was increased to Rs. 92430 for the 64GB. Now, it will retail for Rs. 95390 while the 256GB variant now cost Rs 1,08,930. In December, the iPhone X’s price was increased from its original Rs. 1,02,000 to 1,05,730. The 64GB variant of the iPhone X was launched at a price of Rs. 89000.
The iPhone 8 64GB storage variant will now cost Rs 67940, up from the Rs 66,120 price tag in December 2017. The 256GB variant of the iPhone 8 will now cost Rs 81500, up from the Rs 79,420 price tag which was introduced in December. The iPhone 8 Plus will retail for a price of Rs 77560 for the 64GB variant and Rs. 91110 for the 256GB variant.
The iPhone 7 will now retail at a starting price of Rs 52370 in India. The 128GB variant of the iPhone 7 is now priced at Rs 61,560. The iPhone 7 Plus will now retail at a starting price of Rs 62840 for the 32GB variant and Rs. 72060 for the 128GB storage variant. The iPhone 6s, launched in September 2015, will start at Rs 42900 for the 32GB variant, while the 128GB version will cost Rs 52100. The iPhone 6s Plus will start at Rs 52240 for the 32GB version.
Apple Watch Series 3 GPS 38mm will now cost Rs 32,380 in India from the original price of Rs 29,900. Apple Watch Series 3 GPS 42 mm will cost Rs 34,410 compared to the earlier pricing of Rs 31,900.
Apple launched the iPhone X back in September at a record price of US$ 999 for the base variant. The iPhone X presented a huge design change from all the previous iPhones and caught the imagination of a lot of consumers. Post the launch of the device, people were divided on the presence of Face ID and the removal of Touch ID.
iPhone X
There were reports that Apple had reduced the production of the iPhone X due to the low demand for it in prominent markets. However, despite the recent activities, Apple recorded profit for the first fiscal quarter of 2018 (fourth calendar quarter of 2017). Apple announced that it sold 77.3 million iPhones during this phase.
Luca Maestri, Apple’s CFO said:
Thanks to great operational and business performance, we achieved all-time record profitability during the quarter, with EPS up 16 percent.
In the same phase, Samsung shipped 74.7 million phones, 2.6 million fewer than Apple’s 77.3 million. Other OEMs like Huawei and OPPO shipped far fewer devices at 41 million and 29.5 million, respectively. Apple also had the highest average selling price of its iPhones during the quarter at US$ 796.
the American tech giant’s rise is commendable especially considering the industry trend. Overall global smartphone shipments declined year over year, falling from 438.7 million units in the fourth quarter of 2016 to 400.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2017. However, over the course of 2017, smartphones shipments grew by 1% to 1.5 billion units.
In 2017, a lot of premium smartphones with great features and competitive pricing were launched. The OnePlus 5T was launched at a price of Rs. 32999 and had the specifications of a premium device. Apple launched the iPhone X in India at a record price of Rs. 89000 for the base variant. However, despite the steep pricing, the iPhone X was the bestselling premium smartphone in India.
Original iPhone And The iPhone X
In Q4 2017, the iPhone X was the top smartphone in the premium segment, with a share of 21% of the shipments. The iPhone X was followed by the OnePlus 5T at 17% and Samsung Galaxy Note 8 at 8%. According to Varun Pathak, Associate Director, Counterpoint Research the segment grew by 27% in 2017. He wrote in a blog post:
Although the segment is more crowded than a year ago, the top three brands, Apple, OnePlus and Samsung, still contribute to 94 percent of the overall premium market segment.
In 2017, Apple continued to lead the premium smartphone segment with a 47% share in Q4 and 38% throughout the year. This was largely thanks to sales of the iPhone X and iPhone 7. OnePlus was the fastest growing brand in India. It saw a growth of about 343%, capturing 25% market share during Q4 and 19% throughout 2017.
OnePlus 5T
Apple iPhone X
The iPhone X was launched in India on the 3rd of November. At the time of its launch, the iPhone X became the priciest iPhone ever launched in India. The 64GB storage variant was priced at Rs. 89000 while the 256GB storage variant was available for Rs. 1,02,000. The iPhone X also had the biggest design shift since the iPhone 6, with thin bezels and a notch on the top.
The iPhone X has a 5.8-inch 2436 x 1125 px OLED True Tone Super Retina display.
The phone runs iOS 11.1 and is powered by a 3,000 mAh battery which charges through the Apple signature lightning port placed at the bottom of the phone or via wireless charging. Because of the all-glass design, the iPhone 8 also has wireless charging.
Under the hood, the smartphone has the Apple A11 Bionic chipset with a neural engine, a hexacore processor, 3GB of RAM and storage options of 64GB, and 256GB. The small bezels mean there is no physical home button, which is now replaced with gestures for navigation. Siri is activated by pressing the now larger lock/unlock button. The iPhone X is also IP67 certified for water and dust resistance, and wireless charging.
The iPhone X has dual 12-megapixel rear cameras, and it’s equipped with dual optical image stabilization. The sensors are both larger and faster, according to Apple, and the main camera is equipped with a wide angle lens and has an f/1.8 aperture while the secondary telephoto lens has an f/2.4 aperture. In between the two cameras is a quad-LED True Tone flash. Both the front and back cameras have the portrait mode. The rear cameras have the portrait lighting feature, just like the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus.
Back in 2016, Apple launched the iPhone SE as a smaller variant of the iPhone 6s. It was missing a few features like 3D Touch but, it was intended for people who preferred the smaller form factor and wanted the latest specifications. While many expected the iPhone SE 2 to be launched in early-2017, Apple decided to skip the launch. There have been plenty of rumours about the upcoming iPhone SE 2 but, they all might in vain.
Trusted Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has cast a shadow of doubt over the prospect of an iPhone SE 2 launch in 2018. He believes that the company “may have used up its development resources” on the flagship trio it’s prepping for this fall. In his research note, he says:
The announcement of three new iPhone models in the same quarter in the second half of 2017 was the first time Apple made such a major endeavor, and we believe the delay of iPhone X, which had the most complicated design yet, shows that Apple doesn’t have enough resources available for development.
With three new models in the pipeline for the second half of 2018, we believe Apple may have used up its development resources. Also, we think the firm will do all it can to avoid repeating the mistake of a shipment delay for the three new models.
Kuo believes that Apple doesn’t have enough resources to pull off a year with four iPhone launches. He uses the 2017 launch of three iPhones as an example. And with all the three iPhones now with a design like the iPhone X, the process of manufacturing might be even more cumbersome.
However, he hasn’t completely quashed the idea of an iPhone SE 2 launch in 2018. He says that if Apple does decide to launch a successor in 2018, it will be a minor refresh. This means that no bezel-less design or wireless charging. It might end up looking a lot like its predecessor with hardware upgrades like the A11 chipset and a bigger battery.
iPhone SE 2 Concept
Recently, Kuo revealed a few key details about the upcoming 2018 iPhone lineup.
2018 Apple iPhone
Kuo claims the 2018 iPhone X will again start at US$ 1000, the iPhone X Plus will be priced higher (likely US$ 1200-US$ 1350) while the iPhone X SE will be priced at around US$ 700-US$ 800.
The iPhone X 2018 (tentative name) will have the same 5.8 inch OLED display found on the current iPhone X. It will have a 2,700 to 2,800mAh battery, supplied primarily by Unimicron. The 2018 iPhone X will also be powered by a new chipset and is expected to feature advanced Face ID.
The iPhone X Plus will have a 6.5-inch OLED display in a body that might not be much bigger than the iPhone 8 Plus’. It is expected to have a 3,400 to 3,500 mAh battery supplied Unimicron.
2018 Apple iPhone lineup
The cheapest iPhone of the lot will be the iPhone X SE. It will be the successor to the iPhone SE and feature considerable upgrades over the predecessor. Although, these updates might end up costing the essence of the ‘SE’ series. The iPhone X SE will have a 6.1 inch LCD display with a design similar to the iPhone X. This means that Face ID will be introduced in this smartphone as well.
It is hard to imagine that the iPhone X only went on sale about three months ago. There have been plenty of rumours regarding the 2018 iPhone lineup and it appears that there might be some clarity now. Ever since a report claimed that Apple will discontinue the iPhone X before the next launch event, the speculations surrounding its successors have been soaring high.
iPhone X
Ming-Chi Kuo, one of the most trusted Apple analysts has released new information about the 2018 iPhone lineup.
The Tale Of Three iPhones
2018 will see three new iPhones being launched at the Apple annual launch event. One of them will be the 2018 iPhone X, iPhone X Plus and an iPhone X SE. Interestingly, the naming of the upcoming smartphones suggests that the successor to the iPhone SE will indeed be a large iPhone that has design elements similar to the iPhone X.
iPhone X Plus Concept
Kuo claims the 2018 iPhone X will again start at US$ 1000, the iPhone X Plus will be priced higher (likely US$ 1200-US$ 1350) while the iPhone X SE will be priced at around US$ 700-US$ 800.
The iPhone X 2018 (tentative name) will have the same 5.8 inch OLED display found on the current iPhone X. It will have a 2,700 to 2,800mAh battery, supplied primarily by Unimicron. The 2018 iPhone X will also be powered by a new chipset and is expected to feature advanced Face ID.
The iPhone X Plus will have a 6.5-inch OLED display in a body that might not be much bigger than the iPhone 8 Plus’. It is expected to have a 3,400 to 3,500 mAh battery supplied Unimicron.
iPhone X SE?
The cheapest iPhone of the lot will be the iPhone X SE. It will be the successor to the iPhone SE and feature considerable upgrades over the predecessor. Although, these updates might end up costing the essence of the ‘SE’ series. The iPhone X SE will have a 6.1 inch LCD display with a design similar to the iPhone X. This means that Face ID will be introduced in this smartphone as well.
The iPhone X SE will be powered by the latest chipset, just like the iPhone SE was. However, unlike the 2018 iPhone X and iPhone X Plus, it won’t feature wireless charging. It will also miss out on 3D Touch.
As for investor reaction to the 2018 iPhone lineup, Kuo says that there is an air of “conservative sentiments due to concerns about a lack of major spec upgrades.” However, Kuo predicts the market will appreciate the 6.1 inch iPhone X SE, which he says will account for around 50% of the new iPhones sold in the second half of 2018.
It still feels very early to predict what Apple will do in September. Pricing the iPhone X SE at such a price will only make sense if Apple does indeed discontinue the iPhone X. If not, then an iPhone X at a price of around US$ 800 will eat up the potential iPhone X SE sales since it provides an OLED display, and the A11 Bionic chipset is still very capable.
The Apple iPhone SE was launched in March 2016 as a smaller variant of the iPhone 6s. While a revision was expected in 2017, Apple skipped a launch last year. However, new reports suggest that the iPhone SE 2 will be launched this year in Q2.
iPhone SE 2 Concept
Rumour Roundup
This report is a bit contradicting to previous reports about the upcoming iPhone SE successor. The report also claims that the rumoured iPhone SE successor will have a glass back and support wireless charging. This does make sense as all the three iPhones released in 2017 had wireless charging. Apple would want to keep a uniformity among its new iPhones especially with the launch of the AirPower.
AirPower is a wireless charging pad that can charge an iPhone, Apple Watch and the AirPods all at the same time. Bringing in the iPhone SE 2 with the same feature will mean it will be compatible with Apple’s latest product.
The iPhone SE was launched in India at a starting price of Rs. 39000. However, it has received a lot of price cuts lately and is available at a price of Rs. 18,996 for the 32GB storage variant. A lot will depend on the pricing of the iPhone SE 2 in India. Now that the phone will be manufactured by Wistron in its Bengaluru manufacturing plant, the price could be much more competitive.
iPhone SE 2 Leaked Back Panel
The Wistron plant in Bengaluru, which was established early this year, has been producing iPhone SEs for India. But production for the new iPhone SE is expected to be ramped up as Apple may supply other regions with India made units.
The Apple iPhone SE 2 is expected to be priced at around Rs. 30000 to target the mid-range or the affordable flagship category. At this price, the iPhone SE 2 will compete with the likes of Honor View10 and the OnePlus 5T. Although, the OnePlus 6 is expected to be launched in June as well.
Apple announced its Siri-powered smart speaker HomePod at its developer conference in June 2017. At the time, the company said it would go on sale in December 2017. However, due to some reasons, Apple pushed the release and it is now finally available in the US, UK and Australia at a price of US$ 349. The HomePod will hit the stores on February 9th and that is the shipping date of the pre-ordered units as well. It will be available in two colour variants, white and space grey.
While the fanfare around an Apple product launch is enough for it to be sold out within minutes, the HomePod is still available for pre-orders. Even though it is a new kind of product from Apple, the company still makes about two-thirds of its sales from its smartphones.
The HomePod is powered by Apple’s A8 chip, which also powered the iPhone 6. It has built-in Siri, six microphones and HomeKit support to control compatible smart home devices. An interesting feature is the ability to automatically optimise sound for a given room. The Google Home Max also has a similar feature where it automatically optimises the sound based on where it is kept in a room. It also has seven tweeters and a high excursion woofer.
Despite the late launch, the HomePod will ship without features like AirPlay 2, which allows pairing and multiroom audio. Apple has said that those features will be added via a software update.
The Competition
Amazon and Google are its two biggest competitors in this industry. For its size, the Apple HomePod is the priciest offering in the market. The Google Home Max is much larger and is priced at US$ 399. The Google Home is priced at US$129 while the Amazon Echo costs US$ 99. Both Google and Amazon offer an ultra-affordable variant of their smart speakers, the Google Home Mini and Amazon Echo Dot. Both are priced at US$ 49.
A lot of smart speakers in the market also support Spotify playback, the most successful music streaming service now. The HomePod, however, will only support Apple Music.
There is no word on the HomePod’s availability in the Indian market as of now. With Google also not bringing its smart speakers in the Indian market, it’ll be interesting to see both the company’s strategy for India.
2017 saw the launch of three iPhones at the annual launch event in September. Apple introduced the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus that were, more or less, incremental upgrades over their predecessors. The iPhone X was launched alongside and was deemed as the true successor to the original iPhone that was launched in 2007. The iPhone X represented the future of iPhones in terms of design and a few key hardware features.
Immediately after the launch of the iPhone X, it was reported that Apple would launch three iPhones in 2018 with a design similar to the iPhone X. One of these three iPhones was reported to be the “affordable” iPhone with an LCD display as the other two would have an OLED panel. This iPhone with the LCD display is expected to be launched at around US $700, which means it would replace the iPhone 8 from 2017 in the price category.
While these were predictions from researchers so far, a new rumour claims to know more than just the screen size of this upcoming iPhone. It claims that the screen panel to be used on the iPhone is JDI’s Full Active panel which was launched in June 2017. This comes with 18:9 aspect ratio, thin bezels and a 2160 x 1080 px resolution. Nowadays, this configuration has become a pre-requisite for mid-range devices as well.
This means that this iPhone will be less wide than the other two iPhones. The iPhone X has a 19.5:9 aspect ratio while JDI’s Full Active display has an 18:9 aspect ratio. Apple will most probably retain the iPhone X’s configuration for the other two iPhones that will launch in 2018.
According to Ming-Chi Kuo, using LCD panels instead of OLED is a design compromise that will allow the company to sell the iPhone at a price similar to the iPhone 8. Also, this iPhone will swap stainless steel frame with an aluminium frame, there will be no 3D Touch, and just like the iPhone 8, it will have a single camera on the back.
