Apple is Allegedly Entering the Camera Count Arms Race

AlphaAtlas

AlphaAtlas

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Citing the Wall Street Journal, Reuters reports that Apple is planning to launch 3 new iPhones this year. Despite reportedly lackluster iPhone XR sales, the lower end iPhones are still set to use LCD panels. The highest end model is said to have 3 rear cameras, while the other two will "only" have two cameras. In related news, Chinese retailers are apparently slashing the prices of iPhones following Apple's recent revenue forecasts. The 64GB iPhone XR was discounted as much as $118, while the iPhone 8 got even bigger price cuts, though Reuters notes that iPhone prices on Apple's online storefront haven't budged an inch.

Apple plans to continue with LCD model as the device has been in the production pipeline for months, the report said. However, for 2020, Apple will fully switch to the organic light-emitting diode, or OLED, display for iPhones, thereby completely dropping the LCD model, the report said.
 
As an iphone user myself, all I saw was "Apple inventing new courageous method of adding more cameras to their phones, others copying the idea".
 
Honestly no real reason to upgrade from the 8+. Not really willing to pay $1200+ yet for a phone that offers only minor updates. I'm probably switching to an every two year upgrade cycle.
 
kidstechno3 said:
Honestly no real reason to upgrade from the 8+. Not really willing to pay $1200+ yet for a phone that offers only minor updates. I'm probably switching to an every two year upgrade cycle.
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Went 8+ from 4s. I'm thinking 4 years or maybe more until next upgrade. How many cameras do you really need? I mean, if you are into photography that much - you'd buy a camera, right?
 
Guess Apple finally realized if they aren't going to lower prices then they need to add more features to try and justify the outrageous cost of their new phones.
 
Apple should just reduce all their prices by $200-400 and compete again. Forget all that camera bullshit. XD
 
Flexion said:
Apple should just reduce all their prices by $200-400 and compete again. Forget all that camera bullshit. XD
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They should, but they won't. If anything their ignorance will only further increase the price of the highest end model with 3 cameras.
 
Flexion said:
Apple should just reduce all their prices by $200-400 and compete again. Forget all that camera bullshit. XD
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A low end "stripped" phone model would help Apple out with market share. Apparently they either overlooked this or can't even produce it. Maybe they are afraid that would kill their high end.
 
exlink said:
They should, but they won't. If anything their ignorance will only further increase the price of the highest end model with 3 cameras.
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It's why I am considering for my next phone getting one of the CAT phones. Adding a thermal imager has more uses to me than extra cameras on the back.
 
More cameras, that'll make people buy our crap! Apple should ask HTC how that went for them with the M8.
 
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I mean, cool? if their camera algorithms can produce better photos with more sensors, I guess it's an improvement.

They need to revise the SE lineup, if they're truly going for a 'services are our bread an butter', competing in the mid tier phone market is a must. But given Tim Cook's recent interview for Mad Money, I don't think that's their current plan of attack.

When I bought my X, I did so planning on not upgrading for 4+ years, 3 years to go unless some major innovation happens.
 
rather spend 1200 towards a new MacBook than on a phone that offers me little to no improvement anymore. I'll rock my iPhone 8 until the battery stops holding a charge more than likely.
 
ThatsAgood1jay said:
I mean, cool? if their camera algorithms can produce better photos with more sensors, I guess it's an improvement.

They need to revise the SE lineup, if they're truly going for a 'services are our bread an butter', competing in the mid tier phone market is a must. But given Tim Cook's recent interview for Mad Money, I don't think that's their current plan of attack.

When I bought my X, I did so planning on not upgrading for 4+ years, 3 years to go unless some major innovation happens.
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When we put so much money into a phone, it better last years. That being said, my launch 6 Plus has lasted me 5 years. After being dropped a lot recently, it started to become funky. I'd really like to get Touch ID back before I jump back into a new phone - especially with these prices.
 
Mega6 said:
A low end "stripped" phone model would help Apple out with market share. Apparently they either overlooked this or can't even produce it. Maybe they are afraid that would kill their high end.
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When they tried a lower cost phone before, it had poor sells (5c ?)
Could be different this time, as the iPhone is no longer as much of a status symbol as it used to be, and from my experience there are a lot of people who are stuck on an older Apple phone because they can't afford $1,000+ for a new one.

Still, I'm sure they are worried about cheapening the brand, and don't want to impact their high-end models.
Considering Apples profit margin, I doubt they could ever bring out a true low cost model.
 
Unless Apple changes something, I see them getting left behind long term. Their whole business revolves around phones. No one cares about ipads, imacs, etc. Apple appears stagnant to me, and the their pricing leaves them open to competition stealing the market. Companies are afraid to drop price because they think it cheapens the product. Apple is getting to the decision point in my opinion.
 
ewb302 said:
Unless Apple changes something, I see them getting left behind long term. Their whole business revolves around phones. No one cares about ipads, imacs, etc. Apple appears stagnant to me, and the their pricing leaves them open to competition stealing the market. Companies are afraid to drop price because they think it cheapens the product. Apple is getting to the decision point in my opinion.
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I'm honestly impressed they've done as well as they have with Steve Jobs gone. I agree with you, eventually they're going to start to lose pace.
 
exlink said:
Guess Apple finally realized if they aren't going to lower prices then they need to add more features to try and justify the outrageous cost of their new phones.
Click to expand...
Flexion said:
Apple should just reduce all their prices by $200-400 and compete again. Forget all that camera bullshit. XD
Click to expand...
exlink said:
They should, but they won't. If anything their ignorance will only further increase the price of the highest end model with 3 cameras.
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The problem is that Apple has consistently tried to sell themselves as the "luxury brand". That was Steve Jobs strategy, if you bill yourself as the luxury brand and sell yourself as a luxury brand, you will get enough people to buy into it and pay the money. That has always been their strategy.

To cut prices would be to admit they are not the luxury brand, and will shatter that image. Then they will be forced to actually compete with other brands on the actual merits of their technology, where they are honestly behind.

The real problem is Tim Cook doesn't know how to keep selling the product as a luxury brand the way Steve Jobs could.
 
NoOther said:
The real problem is Tim Cook doesn't know how to keep selling the product as a luxury brand the way Steve Jobs could.
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As people have pointed out here, we are only buyers if (1) it breaks or (2) it has new innovative features.

(2) used to be every model. Not anymore. Now you know why Apple is moving to a "service" oriented model. They can't sell a new iphone every release to all of their consumers like they used to.

Too bad the stock market doesn't understand that Apple's problem is lack of innovation and not a tech sector issue.
 
Mega6 said:
As people have pointed out here, we are only buyers if (1) it breaks or (2) it has new innovative features.

(2) used to be every model. Not anymore. Now you know why Apple is moving to a "service" oriented model. They can't sell a new iphone every release to all of their consumers like they used to.

Too bad the stock market doesn't understand that Apple's problem is lack of innovation and not a tech sector issue.
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The crux of the argument is in your own words...

"They can't sell a new iphone every release to all of their consumers like they used to." They didn't come out with innovative features every release prior, they just had a better marketing plan. The strength of Apple was always based on the genius marketing by Steve Jobs.
 
NoOther said:
The crux of the argument is in your own words...

"They can't sell a new iphone every release to all of their consumers like they used to." They didn't come out with innovative features every release prior, they just had a better marketing plan. The strength of Apple was always based on the genius marketing by Steve Jobs.
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No doubt - Jobs was a Marketing Genius. Cook isn't even close in Charisma.
 
Darunion said:
As an iphone user myself, all I saw was "Apple inventing new courageous method of adding more cameras to their phones, others copying the idea".
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You mean like how Apple copied everything off Android like Fingerprints, facial recognition, and countless other examples?

Apple follows - they don't innovate anymore. And why should they when they have a dedicated sheep market to abuse?
 
Cyraxx said:
You mean like how Apple copied everything off Android like Fingerprints, facial recognition, and countless other examples?

Apple follows - they don't innovate anymore. And why should they when they have a dedicated sheep market to abuse?
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sorry, my post was sarcasm.
 
Cyraxx said:
You mean like how Apple copied everything off Android like Fingerprints, facial recognition, and countless other examples?

Apple follows - they don't innovate anymore. And why should they when they have a dedicated sheep market to abuse?
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I'm pretty sure for years it has been known that Apple copies but their implementation usually is better developed.
 
Cyraxx said:
You mean like how Apple copied everything off Android like Fingerprints, facial recognition, and countless other examples?

Apple follows - they don't innovate anymore. And why should they when they have a dedicated sheep market to abuse?
Click to expand...
Obvious sarcasm was obviously missed.
 
Flexion said:
Apple should just reduce all their prices by $200-400 and compete again. Forget all that camera bullshit. XD
Click to expand...
I agree but don't think Apple has any plans to do this. I listened to Jim Cramer interview Tim Cook earlier in the week. Cramer told Cook they should consider a low cost iPhone again. Cook went on and on about how they aren't going to make a cheap phone.
I'm not a business guy. However, cheaper iPhones mean more people using your services. Apple makes a nice chunk of change from services...so, more people using services=more revenue from services. I'd also imagine that if you get a lot of people in your ecosystem, maybe they will buy more of your products (AirPods, Beats, Watch, etc).
 
steakman1971 said:
I agree but don't think Apple has any plans to do this. I listened to Jim Cramer interview Tim Cook earlier in the week. Cramer told Cook they should consider a low cost iPhone again. Cook went on and on about how they aren't going to make a cheap phone.
I'm not a business guy. However, cheaper iPhones mean more people using your services. Apple makes a nice chunk of change from services...so, more people using services=more revenue from services. I'd also imagine that if you get a lot of people in your ecosystem, maybe they will buy more of your products (AirPods, Beats, Watch, etc).
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Yes indeed. They probably felt that the failure of the iPhone 5c (economical model with plastic shell) was enough data to get out of that market, but I feel that they need to gain back some market share, introduce the iOS ecosystem to more users, etc. But yes, I don't they will reduce prices either. They gotta do something, perhaps offer 6-12 months of Apple Music free, etc.
 
I can see where this would be beneficial, my current phone has two front facing cameras and I thought they were a gimmick for so long, but actually for group photos the wide angle front facing makes for excellent 'group selfies'.

The next part is that I also noticed when shooting HDR that some phones appear to use multiple focal points, so if you are in a vehicle or moving fast, it will create a blurry midpoint image sometimes. So the foreground and background are in focus but anything between isn't.
Two cameras would alleviate most of that issue.

Two front, two rear would cover most use cases. A third for high zoom/longer distance would be useful. I don't care if phone is 10mm or bit more if it takes good photos, it's a lot smaller than me dragging a full size camera around.
 
steakman1971 said:
I agree but don't think Apple has any plans to do this. I listened to Jim Cramer interview Tim Cook earlier in the week. Cramer told Cook they should consider a low cost iPhone again. Cook went on and on about how they aren't going to make a cheap phone.
I'm not a business guy. However, cheaper iPhones mean more people using your services. Apple makes a nice chunk of change from services...so, more people using services=more revenue from services. I'd also imagine that if you get a lot of people in your ecosystem, maybe they will buy more of your products (AirPods, Beats, Watch, etc).
Click to expand...

The problem is when you bill yourself as a luxury item, and then try to re-enter at a low cost point, you are not facing far more competition from competitors that are already in that space. Plus a lot of the people will still find cheaper options. Name brand doesn't usually matter as much when you are looking for value.
 
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