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In March 2016, Apple released the iPhone SE, which was basically meant to compete with
lower-end smartphones, giving people access to an iPhone for a much cheaper $399.
Apple got to that low price by using previous-gen hardware, and a lot of people loved it.
Now, there are tons of rumors of a brand new iPhone SE 2, or possibly named iPhone 9, coming
next month in March, just like the original SE did 4 years ago.
However, the world has changed drastically in the last 4 years, including some major
new markets like India which are waiting for the perfect smartphone, and I believe that
phone is the iPhone 9.
So before I explain why this iPhone is incredibly important to the future of Apple, let me go
through a list of all of the rumors I could find on the details of this new budget iPhone.
As I've mentioned before, it'll most likely be released next month at Apple's annual
March event, but there are some worries about the Coronavirus delaying its release, and
I'll talk about that in just a minute.
Just like the original SE borrowed hardware from a previous iPhone, the iPhone 9 should
also be reusing an old design and hardware, like having the same design as the iPhone
8, with a 4.7” display, large bezels on the top and bottom, and a Touch ID sensor.
However, this is a small chance that we'll actually get Face ID on this phone, but most
rumors say otherwise.
The iPhone 9 could be a bit thicker than the 8 to allow for a bigger battery, as well as
packing the same main camera as the iPhone 11, but possibly excluding the ultra-wide
lens.
This is great news because rumors point to the iPhone 9 being priced at around $400,
so you're getting an incredibly good camera for a fairly low price.
I personally think that the camera layout will change a bit, like maybe having a larger
camera bump to ensure that you can't use old iPhone 8 cases on this new iPhone 9.
It should use the same aluminum frame, a glass back with wireless charging, possibly a centered
Apple logo and the same A13 Chip with 3GB of RAM from the iPhone 11, which is very powerful.
And as for the storage, we're expecting it to start at 64GB.
So in reality, you're really getting a lot for the $400 price tag, and I'll explain
why a price this low still makes financial sense at the end of this video.
Now let's get into why this iPhone 9 is such a big deal for Apple.
Believe it or not, there are a ton of people who are still using the iPhone 6, 6S, 7 or
even the original SE.
And there's a couple of reasons why they've abstained from upgrading for so long.
First off, newer iPhones are quite a bit more expensive than before, so people who don't
care much about new technology don't see the value in upgrading.
Some users really don't like the idea of Face ID, so they're not able to let go of
the Home Button.
On the other hand, others simply don't like the large size of all of the latest iPhones.
The new iPhone 9 would virtually fix all of those issues, being affordable and packing
a super fast chip. This translates to a lot of people with older iPhones finally upgrading,
especially if Apple offers a really good trade-in program.
That means more sales of iPhones and accessories like cases, but that's not even the biggest
deal for Apple.
While a lot of people in the states can afford iPhones, there are a lot of countries that
don't have it so easy, namely India and China.
In those countries, budget smartphones rule the market for a couple of reasons.
First off, there aren't as many high-paying jobs there, so it's more difficult for the
vast majority of people to buy an expensive iPhone.
And in the case of India, there are tariffs on imported iPhones, so they can potentially
be more expensive than they are here in the States.
Here's a fact that you may find a bit hard to believe. Last year, Apple's iPhone XR
from 2018 was the best-selling smartphone in the world.
Yes, you heard that right, last year's iPhone XR selling better than any other smartphone.
This quote from Indiatimes.com explains why:” Apple also adjusted the price of the iPhone
XR in China and several other markets like India, which helped keep demand strong during
the quarter.”
And check out this article, saying that India has a massive market of 480 million smartphones,
with Apple's current share of that market sitting at just over 1%, because of the high
price of Apple's premium smartphones.
However, it was among the fastest growing smartphone brands in India in the quarter
to Dec. 2019, and that's all thanks to the success of the iPhone XR, for mainly one reason,
because it was the cheapest way to get a new iPhone.
And now, the iPhone 9 is about to take that spot, at a much lower $400 price tag, making
it more attainable to markets where the budget smartphone is king.
Now on the topic of the coronavirus, quite a few factories that assemble iPhones have
been closed down, but in recent news, more factories are beginning to resume production
in China.
So even with these delays, Apple is still rumored to launch the iPhone 9 at their March
event.
On the topic of tariffs causing iPhones to be more expensive in India, Apple has actually
been working on an answer to this for years.
There are already multiple iPhone manufacturing facilities in India including Wistron, which
has been assembling AirPods and lower end iPhone models like the SE for years, with
one goal in mind, avoiding import tariffs and making those iPhones cheaper for the Indian
market.
Last month, it was reported that Wistron's third plant in India is ramping up iPhone
production, so that adds to many rumors of the upcoming iPhone SE 2, or iPhone 9, being
assembled in India alongside China.
And due to the Coronavirus, it was reported that Foxconn has moved some of its iphone
production to India as well.
This ultimately means that the Indian market is getting the iPhone 9 without having to
pay the import tariffs for the phone itself.
The only problem Apple's gonna have is keeping up with the demand since their Indian factories
aren't as capable as the ones in China, especially since the Chinese market is going
to be all over the iPhone 9 as well.
So the point of all of this info is this, if the one-year old iPhone XR was able to
grab the spot for the best-selling smartphone in the world, imagine how well the brand new
iPhone 9 for $200 less is gonna perform.
And with more and more iPhones in the hands of people in markets like China and India,
that means more organic advertising in terms of word of mouth or increase in popularity
within their culture.
And that's just the tip of the iceberg in Apple's master plan.
Since the $400 pricetag of the iPhone 9 doesn't leave much room for profit margin, Apple is
instead relying on getting more people in lower markets into the Apple ecosystem.
This means more people having access to the iOS app store and buying apps and games.
More people paying for Apple software like iCloud and Apple Music subscriptions.
More people buying an Apple Watch because they now have an iPhone.
More people buying iPads, buying MacBooks, buying AirPods and more.
THAT is Apple's master plan, and that long-term goal of giving more of the global market access
to anything and everything Apple.. is worth not making very great profit margins on the
$400 iPhone 9.
And that is why the iPhone 9 is such a huge deal for Apple.
We're also expecting them to release the 2020 iPad Pro next month in March, so if you're
interesting in leaks and rumors on that, check out that video right over there, and if you
aren't already subscribed, click the circle above to do so right now because we'll be
reviewing the iPhone 9 as soon as we get our hands on it. Thanks for watching, and we'll
see you in the next one!