It is a ritual. For as far as I can remember, I’ve waited with baited breath and followed every single Apple keynote. Before they had livestreams, there were live blogs. Those who follow me closely, know that I’m extremely critical of the company yet it is undeniable that there is a method to their madness. A seemingly endless ability to create wonder, intrigue and deliver a product that strives for perfection. Widely called the reality distortion field and perhaps rightly so, the magic felt real. Though the half hearted efforts of the last couple of years made many question their faith, we persevered. Yesterdays event though sealed the deal. There was no magic to the small, closed door event where Tim Cook led the show and his partners in crime introduced the new iPhone SE and a smaller iPad Pro. Shattering that distortion field made us see what this was. A hollow bid to lure customers to yet another overpriced piece of hardware.
This isn’t a preview and certainly not a review but more of our thoughts on the idea behind the latest hardware from what we believed to be the most innovative company in the world albeit grudgingly. First things first, the iPhone SE is not a new device. The iPhone 5S in a new garb is a device that in its essence feels like such a non Apple move. All indications point us to the fact that this is a device aimed to diversify the product portfolio and offer something to people who want a smaller device. Unfortunately the move might also point to Apple’s lack of touch with the reality outside the developed economies. Unlike some opinions around the internet, I do believe that India, China and similar Asian markets were definitely on the radar during the development of the product. Despite being a 3 year old model, the iPhone 5s is still a successful product in India. The popularity however was because of it being a low-cost gateway to the iOS ecosystem. The cheapest entry to the iOS ecosystem at under Rs. 20,000, coupled with a smattering of deals across e-tailers made it a phenomenal purchase. Size was far from the primary reason for the popularity of the handset. Indeed of the over 231.5 million handsets sold by Apple, hardly 30 million were of the 5s variety. Yes, the hardware has gotten an upgrade and you now get more or less all the features of the flagship device, but at what cost? The 16GB iPhone SE has been priced at Rs. 39,000 while the similarly specced iPhone 6 can already be got for around Rs. 35,000. With the iPhone 7 right around the corner, even the 6S which already just slightly more expensive, will become highly competitive in terms of price.
Over the last decade and more, Apple has led the charge. It didn’t develop the latest technology, it perfected its implementation. It took its time to bring the latest to tis devices but the technology would be humanized to the point wherein it was accessible and more importantly approachable to even the first time smartphone user. There’s a reason why the company is so well loved. It did this with authority. It achieved this with a drive to standardize their way of doing things. It was highly critiqued and we’re just as guilty of doing that but 9 out of 10 times, Apple led the charge and the industry followed. Where’s that Apple? The last few product releases have been tame to the point of being incremental at best. Gone is the tight security, gone is the theatrical experience that was an Apple product launch and certainly gone is the halo around their products. Yes, Apple is competing with an entire world of smartphones powered by Android but its also true that Apple had the tide in their favor a long time ago. No longer is it the jesus phone or the one that makes you proud to be the owner. It’s a new world where Samsung impresses with their latest technology and backs it up with consumer focused additions that make it much more than a tech demo.
Hey Tim, We understand that walking in Steve Jobs’ shoes is a monumental task and one that you have handled well enough but if the plateauing sales are any indication, the mindset is changing and so is the much more agile newcomer competition. As the company soars to new heights, let’s bring back the magic. Let’s bring back that one more thing?