Sales of Apple's iPhone 16 will Remain Steady Until further Significant Changes Happen

 

Sales of Apple's iPhone 16 will remain steady until more avant-garde versions are available the following year. Additionally, the business is switching to a plastic SE watch, a thinner Mac mini is in the works, and the Photos app in iOS 18 is taking a different turn.

Power On last week: There's still a long way to go before Apple Intelligence lives up to the marketing expectations.

There hasn't been a significant redesign of the iPhone since Apple Inc. redesigned the entire lineup in 2020, introducing new designs and 5G connectivity. And when the iPhone 16 lineup is unveiled later this year, that won't alter.

Even though the iPhone 15 Pro debuted with a titanium casing last year, it was essentially the same device as its predecessor. Even though the Dynamic Island, which was touted as a new interface, was added to the iPhone 14 Pro, it wasn't actually a significant upgrade from the 13 Pro, which was really a slight modification from the 12.

The iPhone 16 lineup for this year will follow that trend. The four new models, which are probably going to be branded the iPhone 16, 16 Plus, 16 Pro, and 16 Pro Max, won't have any significant design changes or significant feature additions over the existing models.

This is what to anticipate:

Apple Intelligence, the company's new suite of artificial intelligence capabilities, will be the main marketing pitch. Apple Intelligence will be available on all iPhone 16 models, and it will also function on iPhone 15 Pro devices. It's difficult to predict how alluring this will be. As I stated last week, I don't believe that upgrading is necessary just for these benefits.

The Action button, which was already included on the more expensive models of the previous year's model, will be available on the non-Pro variants of the iPhone 16. However, iOS 18 will include more customized Lock Screen choices and a more customizable Control Center, which would lessen the usefulness of the Action button.

Speaking of buttons, the future Pro models will feature a new camera control on the right side of the phone. It will function similarly to a DSLR camera's button, enabling you to softly tap it to start autofocus. A firmer squeeze will capture the image. In addition, while taking pictures and movies, you can zoom in and out by swiping the button.

Another update, maybe exclusive to the Pro models, will be somewhat larger screens. The Pro Max will now approach 6.9 inches, up from 6.7 inches, while the standard Pro will drop to 6.3 inches from 6.1 inches.

The colors will be changed as normal. Anticipate the blue on the Pro to be changed, as well as the popular rose gold from a few years ago making a comeback. Additionally, the A18 chip will be released. Eight gigabytes of memory will now be included in all four versions. To operate Apple Intelligence, that is the bare minimum requirement.

These are all good enhancements, if you have an older iPhone, though probably not essential. I don't think Apple will see a gold rush in sales thanks to the new models. It appears from the most recent financial guidance that the corporation does not either. It declined to forecast iPhone growth for the upcoming quarter. We most likely would have received a notification if Apple had anticipated a significant increase.

However, there will undoubtedly be a more significant redesign of the iPhone lineup next year. Apple plans to release a new iPhone SE as early as 2025, marking the first major update to the company's entry-level phone since 2022. This model will have an OLED display that spans the entire smartphone, giving it a similar appearance to the iPhone 14. It will also undoubtedly have Apple Intelligence, as you can also wager. I believe that the new iPhone SE might be a big seller if Apple can bring down the price to about $500.

However, the iPhone 17 will introduce the more significant upgrades in September of next year. A new smartphone model, which I refer to as the "fourth iPhone model," will be available in that lineup.

Three primary alternatives are available in the main lineup: the standard iPhone, the Pro, and the Pro Max. Apple has been searching for a fourth phone model that will appeal to consumers for years. It made an effort to do that in 2020 with the release of the iPhone 12 tiny. The product didn't succeed commercially.

Thus, turning around was the next sensible course of action. Apple replaced the iPhone small with the iPhone 14 Plus, a larger variant of the company's flagship model. Similar to the small, the Plus has likewise mostly failed to find success. One issue is the cost: many customers decide it's worth spending a little bit extra for the better phone because the iPhone 15 Plus is only $100 less expensive than the more potent iPhone 15 Pro.

Apple plans to revisit this fourth-model concept the following year. This time, the strategy is a much thinner design. The plan is to produce a sort of "Air" iPhone that would fall somewhere between the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro. The first MacBook Air, which debuted more than ten years ago and was positioned in the middle of the MacBook and MacBook Pro ranges, is arguably the most appropriate analogy.

The sales pitch will likely sound something like this: You can have something that looks far cooler while still having the specs of an ordinary iPhone if you want something sexier than a standard iPhone but don't really need the performance, screen size, or cameras of a Pro model.

In 2025, a slim model and the redesigned SE might be sufficient to bring the iPhone back to a significant growth rate. At the very least, I believe the Air-style phone will be more popular than the last generation of small and Plus phones.

Still, even this more modest entry will just be a first step in the right direction. Apple will eventually seek to fit a Pro model's power into this more compact chassis. It will probably take until at least 2027 to accomplish that goal. Though all internal indications suggest that a foldable iPad is an even greater priority, I still expect Apple to release a foldable iPhone. This implies that a tablet version might yet be released sooner.

Those possibilities are still years away, nonetheless. Customers will soon come upon a sight that they are likely to recognize: an iPhone that resembles the model from the previous year.

A redesign of the Mac mini will include an Apple TV-sized design. I stated in last week's Power On that at least one Mac in the M4 generation will see significant upgrades in addition to a more potent CPU. I mentioned on Thursday that the Mac mini will be it. The new model will come in both M4 Pro and standard M4 versions, and it will be far smaller than the present model-possibly half as big. Later this year, it is scheduled to be on sale. According to my sources, Apple will start receiving lower-end devices from vendors in August, and the M4 Pro model should be available by October. The Mac mini will get its first redesign since the Steve Jobs era with the new design.

Of fact, the story of the M4 goes far deeper than these new Mac minis. The business intends to release new iMacs and MacBook Pros as early as this autumn. In the meantime, new MacBook Airs should be available by spring (around the same time as this year). Additionally, a new Mac Pro and Studio are being developed. Both of those high-end Mac desktops should be available in the second half of 2019. Apple is still investigating the possibility of releasing a larger iMac, however, it's unclear if it will be an M4 model or something that launches the following year or later.

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Following criticism, Apple changed its mind about the Photos app in iOS 18. I had anticipated that Apple would have to reconsider its strategy after the announcement of the new Photos app for iOS 18 and iPadOS 18. The intended adjustments were perhaps a bit too drastic and somewhat confusing for such a vital and popular tool. A new carousel interface at the top, which allowed you to pin specific memories, albums, or content kinds, was the key upgrade. Additionally, a large portion of the program was rearranged in a way that would annoy certain users.

Therefore, it should come as no surprise that Apple took the new carousel out of the most recent iOS 18 beta release. Additionally, it rearranged the photo grid to make it easier to use and moved albums up the app's hierarchy to minimize scrolling. Possibly the most significant change was Apple's return of saved content to the primary photo grid. These updates arrived at a crucial time: Apple is getting ready to ship iOS 18 with the next generation of iPhones, having now determined that the operating system is complete.

This type of reversal is not unprecedented for Apple. There's really no reason to be stubborn and hold off on making the move until after the introduction of the iPhone 16 when the firm has already reversed course on modifications to the iOS design.

The goal of a plastic Apple Watch SE is to save expenses while yet being kid-friendly. I revealed last month that Apple plans to entirely redesign the entry-level Watch SE. The model will now have a plastic case instead of an aluminum one, a first for the brand. Since the original Apple Watch was released in 2014, this will really be the first model to feature a plastic case.

Why would Apple take such action? First, I'm informed that production costs will decrease with the switch to plastic. Apple pays roughly $5 per unit for the SE's metal casing. I'm told the plastic shell will probably be approximately half that. Even if that might not have much of an impact on its own, Apple is actively seeking to lower the SE's pricing. My suspicion is that the corporation wants to offer something for about $200 in order to make the watch competitive with Samsung Electronics Co. models. At the moment, the SE is $249.

Plastic also has the advantage of being more kid-friendly and allowing for richer colors than aluminum. Apple's recent redesign of its watch marketing to target parents is not a coincidence. Apple has been promoting the watch as a low-cost phone substitute that can help parents remain in touch with their children and track their whereabouts in light of recent school phone bans.

The Timetable

August 13: Google is planning to release the new Pixel devices earlier than normal. The business, controlled by Alphabet Inc., is expected to make its yearly device upgrades public in the middle of summer, far earlier than it typically does in October. The two most likely explanations are that either Google wants to avoid being associated with Apple's September launch, or it wants to minimize the amount of time that product information leak. The Pixel 9 phone, new Pixel Buds, a bigger Pixel Watch, and maybe an update for the Pixel Fold should all be unveiled at the event.