For dedicated Apple fans, September is usually a time of the year to look forward to, because that is when the new iPhone range is announced. However, many experts expect that this year’s models will disappoint many people. In fact, some expect it to be downright dreary.
Later today, Apple’s CEO Tim Cook will announce how much money the company has made over the April-June quarter. During his speech, journalists and analysts will listen to every word, trying to get a sneak preview of Apple’s future plans for iPhones and other devices.
The notoriously secretive CEO is not likely to reveal a lot though. Being secretive has its drawbacks, however, because analysts and other industry “experts” will often take a single word or phrase and build up a huge picture of things to come that may or may not turn out to be true. Recently, they have been very fond of speculating on whether the upcoming iPhone 11 will be a massive disappointment or not.
They seem to more or less agree on one thing: the iPhone 11 will be a fairly dull piece of technology without any ground-breaking features.
Research and investment management firm Alliance Bernstein predicted that the 2011 iPhone will “look largely identical” to 2018 models, except for the XS and XS Max, which will have triple camera systems. The firm’s analysts also predicted that there was a “risk of another relatively muted product cycle.” Investment bank Macquarie also expects a “lacklustre year for iPhone.”
Most analysts, however, believe that in 2020, Apple will be ready to launch its first 5G phone, which will be a very important step forward for the firm at a time when many of its competitors either already offer 5G or are very close to doing so. This technology is so important because it offers hitherto unknown mobile internet speeds.