Global technology leader Apple announced the iPhone 14 series on Wednesday. While every iPhone launch trends for weeks on the internet, the tale this time around is a rather spicy one. Apple has decided to ditch the SIM card slot for the iPhone in the US market, restricting the options to two E-SIMs only.
As the reports of no physical SIM slots went viral, the internet erupted with memes lashing out at the premium electronic manufacturer. Existing iPhone users were left disappointed by not having the option to swap SIMs on the go. Users pointed out that the E-SIM-only iPhone 14 would be useless when the owners travelled to any foreign land, as they wouldn’t be able to insert the local SIM when needed.
Some of the comments took a satirical dig at Apple, which was recently fined heavily by the Brazilian government for not providing chargers along with new iPhones. One user wrote that the future generations of Apple’s smartphones would be called e-Phones instead of iPhones, and they would be just like NFTs. Another user wrote that buying an iPhone and not being able to use it while visiting home would bring “premium tears” to the owners.
Apple sets a new record for its iPhones with a helping hand from the Indian market
All time record
According to a report by PTI, Apple has doubled its business in India in the December quarter on the back of strong performance of its online store, and the tech giant sees a good growth trajectory going ahead, its CEO Tim Cook said. The Cupertino-based tech giant posted an all-time record revenue of USD 111.4 billion globally for the first quarter ended December 26, 2020, up 21 per cent year-on-year. International sales accounted for 64 per cent of the quarter’s revenue.
India’s helping hand
“… If you take India as an example, we doubled our business last quarter compared to the year-ago quarter. But our absolute level of business there is still quite low relative to the size of the opportunity,” Cook said during an analyst call. The company, which competes with players like Samsung and OnePlus in the premium smartphone segment, has been aggressively ramping up its presence in the Indian market.
Apple’s online store
“India is one of those, where our share is quite low. It did improve from the year-ago quarter. Our business roughly doubled over that period of time. And so, we feel very good about the trajectory. We are doing a number of things in the area. We put the online store there, for example, and last quarter was the first full quarter of the online store,” Cook said. Apple launched the Apple Store online in India on September 23, offering Apple’s full range of products and support directly to customers across the country for the first time.
Brick-and-mortar on the way
Apple plans to set up brick-and-mortar outlets in India in addition to the online store as the iPhone maker looks to further cement its position in one of the world’s largest smartphone markets. In the past, Apple has stated that it is keen on offering online and in-store experiences to Indian users that are at par with its global standards and that it aims to open its maiden retail store in India.
Over a billion iPhones
Cook said the company hit a “new high watermark” for its installed base of active devices, with growth accelerating as it passed 1.65 billion devices worldwide during the December quarter. IPhone grew by 17 per cent year-over-year, driven by strong demand for the iPhone 12 family. The company’s active installed base of iPhones is now over 1 billion. The company shipped 81.9 million iPhone units in Q4 2020 globally.
The new models launched on Wednesday include the iPhone 14 ($799), the iPhone 14 Plus ($899), the iPhone 14 Pro ($999), and the iPhone 14 Pro Max ($1,099). The launch event was held in Cupertino, California, and was attended by technology experts, reviewers, and influencers from across the globe. Apart from the physical SIM slot, Apple has also decided to ditch the controversial notch design for the Pro models. Instead of the notch, the Pro models have something Apple’s calling “Dynamic Island,’ which is nothing but a new notch design with fancy features.
Interestingly, Apple has decided to retain the physical SIM slot for international markets like India. A user from India commented that had Apple ditched the SIM slot for their market, it would have created a lot of chaos as users were not ready for E-SIMs. Some disappointed users also stated that they might not purchase iPhones anymore due to the lack of physical SIM slots.
FAQs
How many variants does the new iPhone have?
The new Apple iPhone has four variants, iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro, and iPhone 14 Pro Max.
When will the iPhone go on sale?
The new iPhone 14 will go on sale on October 7, while pre-orders will commence on September 9.
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