Author, Kali Haze
Designation, Technology Reporter
and
Author, Lily Jamali
Designation, Technology Reporter
.....from, North America
Published 4 minutes ago
Reading Time: 6 minutes
Apple has launched its most expensive phone till date. This is a foldable phone, which costs around three lakh rupees. This is the biggest change in the design of the iPhone after almost 20 years. This is being considered a big bet of Apple's new CEO John Ternes. He replaced longtime CEO Tim Cook this month. Apple has entered the foldable phone market late compared to other companies. Companies like South Korea's Samsung and China's Huawei have already launched foldable phones. While launching the foldable phone at Apple's headquarters in California, Ternes said that other foldable phones look like two phones joined together. He has claimed that Apple's foldable phone will completely change the experience of using it. In America, the starting price of the phone can start from Rs 1 lakh 91 thousand and go up to more than Rs 3 lakh. Skip to Most Read Skip to content
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It took eight years to make it. Being a senior executive in Apple's hardware division, John Ternes has been directly involved in this project. When opened, it looks like a small iPad, while when folded, it looks like a wide iPhone. "It's completely new and yet feels very familiar. It's the size of your passport. It's easy to hold and you can use it with one hand," Ternes said.
But Apple's new products are facing tough challenge from the companies already present in the market. "The real competition is in China, where Huawei has about 80 percent of the foldable phone market," said Francisco Geronimo, vice president of device data and analytics at IDC EMEA.
Ben Wood, chief analyst at technology research firm FDM CCS Insight, said the timing of Ternus' promotion may have been deliberate. This is because this iPhone launch is considered to be one of the biggest iPhone launches in many years. "Nothing happens by accident at Apple," he said.
How is this change in the design of the iPhone being viewed? Carolina Milanesi, analyst at Creative Strategist, was present at the launching event on Wednesday. He said that the way Turnus was put in the spotlight made it seem as if he himself was a product. This change in the design of the iPhone is being seen in response to the criticism that since the launch of the first iPhone in 2007, the company has not been able to bring any big hit product or any such major innovation. Forrester analyst Dipanjan Chatterjee said that the foldable phone may remain just a high-priced cosmetic product. This will add a premium product to Apple's portfolio, but it will not contribute much to the company's growth. Earlier, the highest starting price of the new iPhone was around 900 US dollars i.e. 86 thousand rupees. iPhone also launched iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max on Wednesday. The starting price of iPhone 18 Pro in America is $ 1,199 i.e. approximately Rs 1 lakh 14 thousand and that of iPhone 18 Pro Max is $ 1,299 i.e. approximately Rs 1 lakh 24 thousand. Chatterjee said that foldable iPhones may also suffer the same fate as Apple's Vision Pro headset. The company had kept the price of Vision Pro at $3,699 i.e. about three lakh 52 thousand rupees, but it did not get much success among the buyers. He said, "It could become the company's next Apple Watch, which despite not being as popular as the iPhone, is bought by millions of people every year."
People have become so used to using existing iPhones that this could also become a potential hindrance to the big sales of Apple's new design. "Foldables are a different type of device," Milanesi said. A lot of people are curious about it, but the software and the new way of using it are difficult to transition from an older phone to a foldable phone. iPhone is Apple's best selling product
Wood said that foldable smartphones from companies like Samsung and Huawei account for only two percent of total smartphone sales in the market. According to data and analytics firm FDM CCS Insight, Apple's foldable phones may increase interest and demand among people, but the share of foldable phone sales is expected to reach only four percent in the next decade. iPhone is Apple's best selling product. Every year its share in the total sales of the company is more than half. In recent quarters, the company has claimed that demand for iPhones is at an all-time high. The launch of the newest model of iPhone has also been the company's most successful product launch so far. The company also told about the re-launch of its audio and chat assistant Siri. Now it is being called Siri AI. Starting with iPhone 18, the bot will now be able to search through a variety of information on a person's phone, such as messages and emails, to find information, answer questions, and even perform tasks for the person using it. Some features of Siri AI will also be available on the new Apple Watch. Such as taking notes during conversations and transcribing them. The user just has to turn on this feature. Ternus described the AI capabilities in the iPhone as an intelligent personal hub. He admitted that Apple will use personal information that is used in your daily life. Turnus said that all this will remain private and AI features will often run on the device itself, that is, not through third party companies.
