By For itself, Apple is doing fairly well. With a fleet of high-end products under its belt, the best marketing money can buy, some of the top minds in the business working for it, and a degree of brand awareness that now verges on embedded genetic memory, the Cupertino Corporation is worth $2.5 trillion. It could be better, though. Thanks in part to the recently revealed “scary fast” M3 MacBook Pro and iMacs, as well as the holiday sales of the iPhone and iPad, Apple’s capitalization topped $3 trillion in December 2023.
But to a firm that is still worth so much, what’s half a trillion dollars? Quite a bit, as it happens. Particularly considering that Apple’s plans for electric vehicles have backfired, unit sales are dropping, and the Vision Pro—Apple’s “Next big thing”—fell off the radar faster than D. B. Cooper. Even worse, despite an 8% growth in the smartphone market, market research firm IDC (International Data Corporation) projects a 10% decline in iPhone sales.
It is by no means the end of the road for Apple, however. However, it might be time to turn left. Apple may find its greatest success to date in the “Next small thing”—a rediscovery of the midrange and budget audience—even though the corporation is reportedly searching for the next “Next big thing” and has even displayed an unusual haste to get in on the ground floor of home robotics.
Apple must rediscover its affordable pricing strategy.
Look through Apple’s catalog to see a variety of devices that are ready to provide the premium Apple experience at the premium Apple cost. Let’s avoid getting bogged down in details or delving too deeply into the question of whether or not these gadgets are worth the high prices they carry. Rather, let’s look at Apple’s more reasonably priced options, which are located immediately below these dazzling flagship eyeglasses.
Wait, what? None exist. For one thing, there isn’t a committed, reliable midrange line that buyers can cling to every year. This makes it possible for Android smartphones, Chromebooks, and Windows laptops to rule these markets. However, such need not be the case. When it comes to leading a drive in the midrange, Apple already has options. The next iPhone SE 4 and, if rumors about a MacBook rivaling the Chromebook turn out to be accurate, eventually.
The upcoming iPhone SE 4
While companies like Samsung, Google, Motorola, OnePlus, Honor, and others offer reasonably priced and cost-effective alternatives in the midrange and budget markets, Apple only has slightly less expensive older models or the incredibly alluring possibility of the iPhone SE in 2022—a device that is so divorced from the current iPhone experience that one could mistake it for a Temu fake.
Apple is losing money if it ignores the midrange, and competitors like the Galaxy S23 FE and Pixel 7a are stealing their meals by providing high-quality products at competitive costs. The iPhone SE 4 may represent Apple’s best chance to take market share in the midrange. Although the details of Apple’s next smartphone are still being worked out, there are a lot of rumors circulating about an updated iPhone XR/13 hybrid design that will feature an OLED panel and the Action Button from the iPhone 15.
When it comes to the iPhone SE 4 and any future midrange devices that Apple may have planned, the price will be crucial. The Apple tax is a real thing that is frequently a bit too much to bear. Regaining market share and reinstating Apple as a midrange player would need to produce a compelling smartphone at a lower cost because consumers searching for midrange options won’t be persuaded by a fruit logo alone. We don’t think the newest iPhone SE 4 will be released until 2025; by then, it will face stiff competition from devices like the Google Pixel 8a and the Samsung Galaxy A35, which are expected to be released in 2025.
To make this device competitive, Apple has to find the ideal mix between performance, pricing, and a premium-like experience. However, people in Cupertino must give up on the notion that the SE line dilutes the iPhone and acknowledge that a more affordable device might make its smartphone lineup more accessible than before.
The MacBook, which sets the end to Chromebooks
A rumor on the internet stated that Apple was thinking of releasing a completely redesigned MacBook in September 2023. The M2 series was doing well at the moment, and the M3 MacBook Pro had not yet been released. So far, Apple Silicon has proven to be a successful venture for the corporation, and the M-series of CPUs has outperformed the competition until Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon X Elite processors.
Even though Apple’s laptops were outperforming their PC competitors, rumors circulated that Apple was considering developing a MacBook to take over classrooms—an inexpensive macOS notebook that would compete with the Chromebook. Sources claim that Apple intended to lower the price of its planned MacBook to better compete with its Chromebook rivals. This is a startling idea, given that many of these laptops can be purchased for far less than $500. Apple reportedly intended to do this by using less expensive materials and components.
