Taking a look back at another week of news from Cupertino, this week’s Apple Loop includes the wireless potential of the new iPhone 7S, a 3D printed model of Apple’s next smartphone, Apple’s latest quarterly results, the new Osborne Effect, the obsolete MacBooks, the iPad and the tablet market, some love for the Air Pods, and a problem with the Touch Bar.
Apple Loop is here to remind you of a few of the very many discussions that have happened around Apple over the last seven days (and you can read my weekly digest of Android news here on Forbes).
The New iPhone Is Wired For Wireless
The latest leaks around Apple’s latest iPhone designs look to have settled the question over the use of wireless charging. It’s going to be there. Not only are the schematics showing the components and space required for the wireless receivers, but industry specialist have also passed positive comments. Forbes’ Gordon Kelly reports:
The first (simultaneously obtained by reliable veteran OnLeaks and prolific newcomer Benjamin Geskin) shows a design entirely in keeping with everything we have heard so far: vertical dual camera arrangement, home button removed, both the front facing camera and Touch ID integrated under the main display, no return for the headphone jack and the introduction of wireless charging (the circular component).
…adding further credibility to these leaks is none other than Elad Dubzinski, CEO of wireless power giant Powermat. In an official press release discussing the growth of wireless charging he let slip: “wireless charging will become a standard feature in the next iPhone, [so] we are finally at the threshold of mainstream adoption.”
More about the magical charging method in the new iPhone here on Forbes.
Printing The New iPhone
And if you’re looking to see what the new iPhone will look like, Lewis Hilsenteger has taken the proposed schematics and created a physical model to experience the handset months before it is released:
Lewis makes the point that “everybody who is hitting me up with tips is coming with the exact same specifics. Stainless steel around the outside possibly shiny, possibly blasted [finishes].”
…Similarly the edges of the new iPhone’s display will be curved, but that will only be the bevel. When switched on, the curved parts of display will not light up like the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus meaning for all practical purposes it remains flat. Take a look at how the display curves on the flat screen Apple Watch for an example of how Apple has done this before.
More on the 3D Printed example here.
Apple’s Quarterly Results Hide A Secret
The latest quarterly results from Apple were mixed in terms of hardware sales, but the financials were strong, with higher than expected profits and steady revenue leading Apple to raise its dividend to 63 cents per share. Forbes’ Brian Solomon reports:
On one hand, Apple was more profitable than expected, with earnings of $2.10 per share compared with $2.02 expected. Revenues came in about even with estimates, at $52.9 billion. But iPhone unit sales, expected at 52 million for the quarter, reached just 51 million instead.
“We are proud to report a strong March quarter, with revenue growth accelerating from the December quarter and continued robust demand for iPhone 7 Plus,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a statement. “We’re thrilled with the strong momentum of our Services business, with our highest revenue ever for a 13-week quarter.”
Apple did miss its iPhone shipping targets, which led to an interesting comment…
Tim Cook’s Embarrassing Admission On iPhone Sales
CEO Tim Cook took the chance on the subsequent conference call to highlight the lower sales of the iPhone (down one percent) even though revenue was up (also by one percent). Cook suggests that the leaks around the new iPhone models this year have encouraged consumers to make a “pause in purchases” while they wait and see what comes next. In effect, Apple has been caught in its own Osborne Effect:
…the promise of some significant upgrades in the presumptively named iPhone 7S - including wireless charging and a curved screen - has been enough for some users to wait and see the actual product that is being hinted at, rather than go with an expensive current model sporting the old design.
If Apple is not careful, the tiny drop in sales will become a much larger slide during the next quarter. And if the handset is delayed into 2018, Apple is going to have a torrid time in 2017 maintaining iPhone revenue.
Time To Say Goodbye
Although Apple will offer support for its products over a number of years, the time eventually arrives when Cupertino will call a halt to support and flag up the ‘obsolete’ tag. That has happened this week with the last of the white plastic MacBook machines. Juli Clover reports:
Apple today updated its official list of vintage and obsolete products to add the 2010 13-inch MacBook, the final plastic-shelled MacBook it produced before discontinuing the line, and several 2009 MacBook Pro models.
Apple first introduced the unibody polycarbonate MacBook, the third design iteration of the MacBook line, in late 2009, offering it in black and white. The MacBook was sold for only a short time, having been discontinued in mid-2011 after the introduction of the MacBook Air.
The Tablet Revolution Has Stalled
Although Microsoft’s Surface machines and Apple’s iPads are leading the charge in the 2017 tablet market, they’ve not done enough to slow down sales in the entire sector. IDC is reporting a fall in overall sales of 8.5 percent. Jacob Kastrenakes has the details:
Apple remains the market leader, with just under a quarter of all shipments by IDC’s calculations. But its control over the market shrank slightly, which suggests the iPad Pro hasn’t done much to improve sales. In fact, the only major tablet manufacturer to grow this quarter was Huawei, which was up to 2.7 million shipments, from just 2 million the same time last year.
The coming months could be interesting to watch. Apple’s tablet lineup got a lot more aggressive at the tail end of March with the release of a $329 iPad — one of the lowest prices Apple has put on a tablet to date. But it shipped too late to have an impact on this quarter’s results.
Who Loves The Air Pods?
Creative Strategies has worked with Experian to survey owners of the Apple Air Pods to find out how satisfied they are with the product. The results are incredibly positive for Apple:
Creative Strategies again partnered with our friends at Experian to see what has changed with voice assistants and explore some new products as well. This year, we added Apple’s AirPods to the study since Siri integration is a key feature of AirPods… We used every available resource to track down as many AirPod owners as we could. In the end, we found 942 people willing to take our study and share their thoughts on Apple’s latest product.
The big story is customer satisfaction with AirPods is extremely high. 98% of AirPod owners said they were very satisfied or satisfied.
And Finally…
Matt Haughey’s work supplied him with a new MacBook Pro with Touch Bar. It’s safe to say that he’s not impressed with Apple’s latest masterpiece:
Today I was writing an important post in a browser, waved my hand over the keyboard while doing a key combo to take a screenshot, and accidentally triggered the virtual ESC button. I was merely waving my hand over the touchbar and never actually touched it.
The post was gone forever with the “keystroke”.
Apple Loop brings you 7 days worth of highlights every weekend here on Forbes. Don’t forget to follow me so you don’t miss any coverage in the future. Last week’s Apple Loop can be read here, or this week’s edition of Loop’s sister column, Android Circuit, is also available on Forbes.
