iPhone Duo: The apps weren’t ready, but the market was
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How did Apple manage to sell millions of new smartphones at $2,000 each in a downturn?
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iPhone Duo: The apps weren’t ready, but the market was
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How did Apple manage to sell millions of new smartphones at $2,000 each in a downturn?
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Credit: Apple
It seems clear by now that one of the most widely shared criticisms of the iPhone Duo picked up by many of those who got to take an early look at the device was a little unfair.
They complained that there weren’t many third-party apps when they looked at the device. But what made that point such weak sauce was when those reviews were written.
I don’t think most developers build apps with the media reviews schedule for new hardware in mind. (Perhaps they’d get more publicity if they did.) Instead, they tend to target products at the point when people can buy them, which in the case of the iPhone Duo meant October 23.
The apps are on the way. Many landed today
After those first reviews appeared, Apple published a press release describing more than 50 apps it knows are coming for its folding smartphone. These include key streaming services Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Paramount+. They include Microsoft Office products, Zoom, Slack, and Instagram.
While not included in Apple’s release, the Omni Group has released its first iPhone Duo products, while the team behind Ulysses have already updated their much-loved pro writing app.
“The response to iPhone Duo from our developer community has been incredible, and we’re inspired by how quickly they’ve embraced its larger display and new ways to interact,” said Susan Prescott, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide Developer Relations. While you would expect Apple’s developer lead to say something like that, it remains a polite rebuttal to some of the objections critics raised to the device.
Not every criticism is unfair
That’s not to say every criticism can be rejected. You’d expect people to find weaknesses in a product aimed at the mass market with a two-thousand-dollar price tag. It is fair to let people know that the apps aren’t available yet, but it is also appropriate to say they’re on the way.
Finding those weak spots and reporting honestly on them is exactly what gadget reviews are all about. Apple did have to make some compromises to get the product out the door. That means no Face ID and a slightly poorer camera — you won’t be purchasing the Duo for pro photography or making a movie.
What the iPhone Duo 2 might fix
You need to think about tech as a continuum. Even as you read the critics slamming the lack of Face ID support and camera choice, you can somehow already tell those limitations will become improvements Apple will introduce in just over 11 months when the iPhone Duo 2 hits stores.
Bloomberg’s well-connected Apple reporter, Mark Gurman, claims Apple is already working on an under-display Face ID sensor, with a view to introducing it in the next version of the device. Wait for v.2 if you really want those things.
Knowing the limitations doesn’t seem to have dented the enthusiasm for the product. Crowds gathered outside Apple Stores to greet the new iPhone dawn as Apple’s iPhone Duo (briefly) hit stores worldwide. Everyone knew availability was limited, but still they came, hoping to get ahold of the device. Seeing what was coming, Apple increased its iPhone Duo manufacturing orders.
Meanwhile, Apple just seems to have sold millions of phones at an astonishing $2,000 each in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis that has knocked around 20% off the size of the global PC and smartphone markets. How on earth did it manage to achieve that?
How Apple sold millions of Duos at $2,000 each
I think it’s a mix of things.
Apple’s customer loyalty helped. Good trade in deals and Apple’s shrewd introduction of Apple Upgrade earlier this year also helped. Carriers also seem to be offering decent deals on iPhone Duo; partly because they are feeling the pain of smartphone sales slowing down and must maintain customer sign-ups to bolster revenue.
Excitement at the new product plus the well-covered perception that Apple had few units to sell probably stimulated interest; as did the fact that the people with $2,000 to spend on a first-generation device are unlikely to be feeling the same squeeze on household budgets as the rest of us. Apple’s brand certainly helped, as did the fact we’ve been talking about foldable iPhones since around 2011.
The market was primed. The market was ready. The apps arrived when the phone did.
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