[ad_1]
<div _ngcontent-c16 = "" innerhtml = "
In what promises to be a "bigger and better" smartphone war, Apple launched the latest salvo with its 6.5-inch iPhone XS Max priced at $ 1,099. The dimensions are a hair bigger than Samsung's biggest rival phone, the 6.4-inch Note 9.
The XS Max, powered by the biggest battery ever installed by Apple, is generally well received for its functionality. But the question remains: is bigger is really what the customer wants? Not only is the newest iPhone almost the size of a small tablet, but the full range of iPhone has increased significantly.
The original iPhone was only 3.5 inches and the Apple product line remained less than 4 inches until the death of Steve Jobs. It's interesting to see how Jobs might have reacted to giant iPhones, given its disdain for big Android phones that you could not get your hands on.
So, what gives with these megaphones? There are four possible reasons why Apple jumps in the train of size.
Getty Royalty Free
- Stay in the arms race. The Apple XS Max, pure and simple, is a competitive answer to Samsung and other Android smartphone manufacturers, who have all crossed the threshold of 6 inches. With this 6.5-inch megaphone, Apple is catching up with the product comparison "mine is bigger than yours". Rather than letting Android guys win the arms race, Apple threw away the glove with a larger model, ironically called "XS" when it's clearly "XL".
- Bigger phones justify big prices. After crossing the $ 1,000 price barrier with the iPhone X, the only way Apple can justify a price of nearly $ 1,100 for the XS Max is its size. It's almost as if we value smartphones in "dollars per inch". In addition to those phones that cost more than a dollar, Apple has been able to preserve its margins by increasing the average price of its entire range of smartphones by $ 100. . If customers can not afford a $ 1,100 phone, the iPhone 8 or the $ 600 XR iPhone is much more reasonable in comparison.
- The "big" thing. Apple is still pursuing "a big thing" with each of its major product launches. With the iPhone X, it was the face identifier. To return to the iPhone 4s, it was the introduction of Siri. Yes, the XS Max has a faster processor and a smarter camera than previous models, but in the end, its goal is to be great! It's about using size as one of the reasons why consumers need to upgrade their iPhone.
- The primary screen. Smartphones have become an integral part of our lives as the phone screen is the screen we use the most in our lives. A recent eMarketer report estimates that nearly 80% of video viewing in the world is done on mobile devices. If phones are the main screen so that consumers can watch videos on YouTube, Netflix, Instagram, Snapchat and other content continuously, it is indeed better to enlarge them, even if it 's not the same. device is heavy. The point of comparison is no longer a phone, but a tablet or a laptop. That was the original thinking that led to the creation of "phablets" like the Galaxy Note – phones that could replace tablets for media viewing.
So which argument best explains the range of Apple products? In my opinion, the strongest arguments are the first two: follow the competition in terms of size and justify the premium that Apple wants to continue to charge. The customer value proposition argument is a bit more blurry and ignores the opportunity to create a compact phone. Apple is criticized for making phones too big for women's hands. Apple's current range offers three choices: big, bigger and bigger. What about the consumer segment, including women in particular, who want a phone that they can use with one hand? Consider the Sony Xperia XZ Compact, which measures approximately 5 inches. Sony has been recognized as one of the players in the smartphone market that is still updating its small offerings. The large-format phone is a market segment that is currently not serviced by Apple and could be an opportunity for Samsung, LG or other competitors. In the race to scale, smartphone manufacturers can leave money on the table by not offering phones that fit in a pocket or palm.
In 1983, Motorola launched the first cell phone, the Motorola DynaTAC 8000x, which weighed 1.75 lbs. and was 13 inches tall. The phone designers have relentlessly pursued miniaturization as a design goal. In 1996, Motorola created the popular StarTAC, which weighed only 88 grams. Finally, the miniaturization reached comic limits, so much so that some phones had false beaks extensible, so that you would not have had the impression to speak in your ear.
The size pendulum rocked to the other extreme. We are reaching a limit on the size of phones and the amount of price that can be extracted for increasingly larger phones. Until technology evolves to other solutions, such as a foldable screen or a screenable screen for watching videos and streaming content, carrying bricks is not the solution.
In the future, I hope that Apple's designers will be able to take the lead by opening new avenues for innovation, instead of catching up with their competitors in an arms race.
">
In what promises to be a "bigger and better" smartphone war, Apple launched the latest salvo with its 6.5-inch iPhone XS Max priced at $ 1,099. The dimensions are a hair bigger than Samsung's biggest rival phone, the 6.4-inch Note 9.
The XS Max, powered by the biggest battery ever installed by Apple, is generally well received for its functionality. But the question remains: is bigger is really what the customer wants? Not only is the newest iPhone almost the size of a small tablet, but the full range of iPhone has increased significantly.
The original iPhone was only 3.5 inches and the Apple product line remained less than 4 inches until the death of Steve Jobs. It's interesting to see how Jobs might have reacted to giant iPhones, given its disdain for big Android phones that you could not get your hands on.
So, what gives with these megaphones? There are four possible reasons why Apple jumps in the train of size.
- Stay in the arms race. The Apple XS Max, pure and simple, is a competitive answer to Samsung and other Android smartphone manufacturers, who have all crossed the threshold of 6 inches. With this 6.5-inch megaphone, Apple is catching up with the product comparison "mine is bigger than yours". Rather than letting Android guys win the arms race, Apple threw away the glove with a larger model, ironically called "XS" when it's clearly "XL".
- Bigger phones justify big prices. After crossing the $ 1,000 price barrier with the iPhone X, the only way Apple can justify a price of nearly $ 1,100 for the XS Max is its size. It's almost as if we value smartphones in "dollars per inch". In addition to those phones that cost more than a dollar, Apple has been able to preserve its margins by increasing the average price of its entire range of smartphones by $ 100. . If customers can not afford a $ 1,100 phone, the iPhone 8 or the $ 600 XR iPhone is much more reasonable in comparison.
- The "big" thing. Apple is still pursuing "a big thing" with each of its major product launches. With the iPhone X, it was the face identifier. To return to the iPhone 4s, it was the introduction of Siri. Yes, the XS Max has a faster processor and a smarter camera than previous models, but in the end, its goal is to be great! It's about using size as one of the reasons why consumers need to upgrade their iPhone.
- The primary screen. Smartphones have become an integral part of our lives as the phone screen is the screen we use the most in our lives. A recent eMarketer report estimates that nearly 80% of video viewing in the world is done on mobile devices. If phones are the main screen so that consumers can watch videos on YouTube, Netflix, Instagram, Snapchat and other content continuously, it is indeed better to enlarge them, even if it 's not the same. device is heavy. The point of comparison is no longer a phone, but a tablet or a laptop. That was the original thinking that led to the creation of "phablets" like the Galaxy Note – phones that could replace tablets for media viewing.
So which argument best explains the range of Apple products? In my opinion, the strongest arguments are the first two: follow the competition in terms of size and justify the premium that Apple wants to continue to charge. The customer value proposition argument is a bit more blurry and ignores the opportunity to create a compact phone. Apple is criticized for making phones too big for women's hands. Apple's current range offers three choices: big, bigger and bigger. What about the consumer segment, including women in particular, who want a phone that they can use with one hand? Consider the Sony Xperia XZ Compact, which measures approximately 5 inches. Sony has been recognized as one of the players in the smartphone market that is still updating its small offerings. The large-format phone is a market segment that is currently not serviced by Apple and could be an opportunity for Samsung, LG or other competitors. In the race to scale, smartphone manufacturers can leave money on the table by not offering phones that fit in a pocket or palm.
In 1983, Motorola launched the first cell phone, the Motorola DynaTAC 8000x, which weighed 1.75 lbs. and was 13 inches tall. The phone designers have relentlessly pursued miniaturization as a design goal. In 1996, Motorola created the popular StarTAC, which weighed only 88 grams. Finally, the miniaturization reached comic limits, so much so that some phones had false beaks extensible, so that you would not have had the impression to speak in your ear.
The size pendulum rocked to the other extreme. We are reaching a limit on the size of phones and the amount of price that can be extracted for increasingly larger phones. Until technology evolves to other solutions, such as a foldable screen or a screenable screen for watching videos and streaming content, carrying bricks is not the solution.
In the future, I hope that Apple's designers will be able to take the lead by opening new avenues for innovation, instead of catching up with their competitors in an arms race.
