With modern looking phones like the Galaxy S8 on the market... How many people will be willing to upgrade to a new iPhone that looks more or less like the iPhone 6/6S/7? Well I hate to break it to you guys but that’s what apple is giving most of its consumer base. It’s true, Apple will have a new bezel-less iPhone that looks amazing, but the truth is that awesome new iPhone isn’t for you and me. The bezel-less iPhone is actually Apples attempt at creating a new pro phone market. So unless your willing to pay $1200 - $1500 to be an elite member of that club, you will have to look at Apples other option.
The iPhone for the rest of us is expected to look very similar to the iPhone 7. It will have a glass back panel to accommodate wireless charging, but other then that not much has changed. It will still have a back lit LCD panel, it will still have the huge bezels, and it will still have a home button. Sure it will receive Apples regular hardware bumps and i'm sure they will be impressive, as usual... but I don’t think that’s enough anymore. Apple already caught a lot of flack over the iPhone 7 keeping the same design in 2016. That is only going to get worse this time around.
I have been loyal to the iPhone brand since day one, and it still makes me sick to think about having to switch to Android, but when I look at phones like the Galaxy S8 it honestly makes me a bit jealous... and i'm not alone. I look at other phones and think “When is Apple going to give us something fresh and modern looking?” Then all the stuff about a bezel-less iPhone starts leaking, but then reality hits and i'm still left wondering.
I don’t think Apple is wrong for creating a new pro market for its product. The problem is that Apple is neglecting its mainstream iPhone. An OLED screen and smaller bezel are not “pro” features. They are things that are becoming pretty standard with other phone manufactures. So for Apple to market those things as something for a “Pro” line of product is a huge slap in the face to a majority of its consumer base. Yes, I’m sure that they iPhone Pro will have a lot more then OLED and a smaller bezel, and that’s okay... but OLED and smaller bezels are things that the main iPhone should be getting as well.
I think people are going to be disappointed when they see this new iPhone design and then find out that its not for them. They are going to have to look at the regular iPhone and then at the competition.... and its getting harder and harder to ignore the competition. Wireless charging just isn’t enough, in fact its old news that other manufactures have been doing for years. I'm sure some people will upgrade, but people with iPhone 5S and older are becoming a lot less and people with an iPhone 6 and newer wont see much of a point... I predict that this iPhone will sell less units then anything in the 6/6S/7 line... because its just become outdated.
As for the iPhone pro. I think Apple will be successful at creating a new market, but its not going to be a huge market. most people will not pay $1200 + for an iPhone, when they can get a very nice looking Galaxy for a lot less. Sure the Galaxy wont do everything that the iPhone Pro will, but most people don’t need it to. A lot of people just want a modern consumer level phone... and Apple has failed to give them that.
So that why I think 2017 is going to be a huge flop for Apple. They are alienating their base in favor of focusing on a pro product. That is fine for a niche product line like iMac and MacBook, but the iPhone is a much more mainstream product and has become Apples bread and Butter.... They are making a huge mistake here.
It’s also been revealed that the iPhone Pro will not have TouchID in any form. FaceID will be nice but can’t replace a lot of the convenience of TouchID... and there is no guarantee that banks will even allow FaceID to be used for Apple Pay... this is going to be a huge hit to the value of the iPhone Pro and make it even less enticing.
