The aftermath of Apple’s new iPhone 8 launch
15 OCT, 2017
Apple’s new iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus failed to gather a huge crowd in contrast to consistent big openings in the past, last Saturday, The National confirms.
Bouncers were lined up outside the Apple store expecting a high turnout, however, there were less than 70 people lined up outside Dubai’s Apple store. This has been the worst iPhone launch since the original iPhone in 2007.
The launch of iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 plus received a muted reaction worldwide. The Independent reports, 30 to 40 security guards set up a maze of barricades outside the Apple store in China at 6 AM. Nevertheless, when the doors were ready to open there were only two people waiting.
“There was a low turnout for the launch but that was expected. Apple customers are eager to buy the iPhone X, which is the true game-changer,” said Orson Oduber, Genius at Apple, Dubai Mall.
The first two people in the line outside Apple store were UAE residents, followed by tourists from Russia and Uzbekistan.
As the first customers entered two minutes before 8 AM, Apple employees formed two lines welcoming them with a round of applause, The National confirms.
“I bought the iPhone 8 plus because my iPhone 6 was becoming obsolete, and that’s the thing about iPhones,” said Farah El Bahrawy, Student at American University in Dubai, “after two years they start lagging, and my phone was lagging so much that I needed an upgrade.”
“The new iPhone 8 plus is great though, the camera is almost as good as a DSLR and it’s much faster. I didn’t want to wait till the iPhone X as it’s completely new technology and even at the conference there were problems with the features. I’d rather buy a phone that Apple perfected.”
According to FactSet data, Apple shares fell 5% prior to the launch of their new collection. The American multinational technology company witnessed the worst performing week in the stock market since 2010, when iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS launched.
“The Apple share price has been decreasing since the weeks prior to the launch of the new iPhones for mainly three reasons. First of all, there was a rumor about the possibility that production was at risk due to a supply imbalance of components,” said Angelo Corelli, Associate Professor of Finance at American University in Dubai.
He added, “The long waiting time for the iPhone X to be available made the investors unhappy and skeptical about the sales. Finally, having two phones series on the market from the same producer, presented at the same time may generate product cannibalization and other phenomena that penalize the overall sales.”
On the other hand, Mashable reports that iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus launch has been overly exaggerated, and even though the sales were twice as high for the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, Apple is expected to cover up with the release of iPhone X, which will be available in stores on 3rd November.
