Posted by Mumbai: For all Apple product lovers and fans worldwide, the Apple event 2023 early this week ended their long wait with the launch of a new iPhone 15 series and other Apple products like Apple Watch and iPods. Apple Wanderlust Event this year also marked some of the distinct changes the Cupertino, US-headquartered company has quietly adopted, indicating its willingness to move with the times.
Apple event 2023: Launch of new iPhone 15
This year Apple launched a new iPhone 15 series that includes four models – iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone Pro Max. But for some fans, the Apple event 2023 was a big disappointment after the launch of the much-awaited new iPhone 15 series.
Some of the fans claimed on social media platform X that there wasn’t any difference between the older iPhone 14 and new iPhone 15 Pro models as both the iPhones looked alike in physical appearance.
But Apple has introduced big upgrades in the new iPhone 15 series, including a new 6-core GPU and faster neural engine for enhanced performance, big displays, long video playback capacity, a new pro camera system, a powerful mobile gaming engine and other features.
India-built GPS navigation system: NavIC
For the first time, Apple has offered support to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) developed NavIC (Navigation with Indian Constellation). Apple has incorporated this India-built GPS navigation system into its newly launched iPhone 15 series.
Probably, a big win for India. Since 2017, Apple’s top suppliers and contract-manufacturer namely Foxconn, Pegatron, and Wistron have been assembling iPhones in India, including the iPhone SE, iPhone 6s, and iPhone 7 models leading up to the newly launched iPhone 15 series.
India currently accounts for just 5% of iPhone’s total production globally. However, industry experts expect iPhone production in India to increase in the next few years. Given that Apple is seriously considering India and Vietnam as its new manufacturing and assembling hubs. The company is gradually downsizing its manufacturing operations and reducing dependency on China in recent years.
USB-C connector and EU’s DMA
Besides, Apple introduced a widely used USB-type C connector for charging in new iPhone 15 models, replacing its decade-old lightning port. Not only the new iPhone 15 series but it said that Apple has adopted the USB C-port across all its devices including the new AirPods Pro.
USB C-connector has become the de-facto standard across the smartphone industry today as it offers faster device charging and data transfer speeds.
Even though Apple has finally adopted the USB-C port in its smartphones, some analysts strongly believe the move is due to the European Union’s DMA regulations. EU’s Digital Market Acts (DMA) ensures that there’s a fair market practice by big companies and stops them from abusing their market positions.
Calling EU’s Digital Market Acts (DMA) as “remarkable,” US-based GlobalData’s Technology Analyst, Ardit Ballhysa, said,”The USB-C point on new iPhone highlights how influential the DMA ruling is, where not even the most valuable and arguably, one of the most influential companies in the world is immune from it.”
Titanium-made iPhone 15 Pro
In addition, the company also replaced the stainless steel bodies of iPhones with aerospace grade Titanium alloy, which is considered a much stronger and more durable material. And probably that makes Apple the only smartphone maker to use Titanium in its devices. “Yes. Apple is the only smartphone OEM to use Titanium material but not the first to do so,” remarked Ballhysa.
“Both the Essential Phone and Xiaomi Mi Mix Alpha offers Titanium in their enclosures, but both were also discontinued. Hence Apple is the only smartphone OEM to currently offer smartphones with Titanium enclosures,” he explained.
Titanium makes devices stronger and more durable. But for Apple, it is more about the sustainability and durability aspects of its iPhone 15 Pro models. This simply means these new iPhones will have less physical wear and tear or damage, leading to a longer device life. And that also translates into reducing the demand for resources and parts for repair or replacement in iPhones in future, according to Ballhysa.
Right to Repair Act and Apple iPhones
Probably, for the time, Apple appears to be more open and supportive of repairable aspects of iPhones than ever in the past. “The company claimed its Pro models are more repairable owing to the back slab being easier to replace. This is very positive for the Right to Repair movement, which Apple was notorious for lobbying against until the very recent,” observed Ballhysa.
“Apple’s drastic change of heart and expressing the support for California legislation SB 244 – a Right to Repair Bill that would make available the means for consumers to repair their devices on fair and reasonable terms,” added Ballhysa.
With no official word from Apple about the California legislation during the Apple event 2023 experts were left to speculate with their reasoning and guesses.
“Apple has not publicly explained the reasoning behind its decision. But the best guess is – Apple doesn’t want to continue being seen to fight the Right to Repair movement as it gained traction and support throughout several states across the US for fear of discrediting its public image,” Ballhysa opined.
Sustainability, Environmental impact and Apple products
Moreover, on the sustainability and environmental aspects, Apple has replaced leather cases with fine woven and recycled materials. While many Apple fans welcomed the move to use fine woven material in cases, some raised doubts on Apple. “The company was not using genuine leather, so it hardly makes any difference,” some fans posted on social media platform X.
However, the new Apple watch 9 series and Ultra 2 smartwatches, come with a new S9 SiP (system in a package) processor, powering the latest intuitive features like neural sensor-based finger-tapping controls, 60% increase in battery, 3000 nits display brightness and more. These new Apple smartwatches are completely carbon-neutral, the company claimed.
More so, the company claimed that all Apple products will have a net -zero climate impact by 2030 and will eliminate all plastic from its packaging by the end of 2024.
Like its smartphones and products, Apple has developed and adopted an innovative marketing and communication strategy to push and promote its new products into the markets by emphasizing product features and scoring points on the sustainability and environmental front.
What remains to be seen here: Will this strategy drive Apple product sales and revenue in 2023?