Following the news that Apple announced its new iPhone 14 line of phones;

Anisha Bhatia, Senior Analyst at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offers her view:

“Apple’s iPhone 14 series is the company’s first eSIM-only phone line-up. The phones exclude a physical SIM tray, but only for the US—signalling a phased approach to test the waters for a portless phone and easing the switch to 5G services without needing a new SIM card. US carriers have improved their eSIM capabilities, but confusion still reigns at the retail level and consumers need to be educated on eSIM benefits.

“The iPhone 14 series also come with an ‘Emergency Satellite SOS’ feature, a first on any smartphone. Apple is taking advantage of its stellar hardware and software integration with a custom-built user interface for its SOS feature, which will aid in satellite location pointing for enhanced connectivity, eliminating the need for expensive sat-com devices with bulky antennas. Apple’s Satellite SOS service will also be available by November 2022, a year earlier than T-Mobile and SpaceX, which is expected to face regulatory hurdles. Further, the service will be provided for free for two years for all iPhone 14 users in US and Canada. However, Google’s Android 14 is expected to support satellite connectivity soon, taking the competition right to Apple.

“The iPhone 14 will be available for $799, the same as last year’s iPhone 13, but comes with the older A15 bionic chip—with the new A16 reserved for the Pro and Pro Max models.  All new iPhones come with improved camera and video capabilities, as well as power and battery efficiency, without any price increases, which is welcome news as consumers grapple with inflation.

“Apple is also taking the fight to Garmin and Samsung with its new rugged Watch Ultra. Active smartwatches are still a niche category of devices, but Apple’s watches are hugely aspirational and will take a good chunk of the rugged wearable market from rivals. The new devices announced today spell a strong fiscal Q1 2023 and holiday period for Apple and will continue its upgrade super cycle that began with the iPhone 12. Apple’s product refreshes are enablers of their services, which has seen high revenue growth in recent times, and make it incrementally harder for iPhone users to switch camps to Android.”