Will the iPhone 7 rebound Apple’s declining sales?
Apple will sell lots of iPhone 7 handsets, but will it truly rebound against the Android onslaught?
Apple’s on the cusp of announcing the iPhone 7, but it does so in a market that’s been slowly slipping from its grasp, with Android handsets taking the majority of overall sales, and even the iPhone’s position as lead premium device sales being taken over by Samsung’s Galaxy series phones.
Still, research suggests that while Apple’s sales have been a bit flat in the first half of 2016, it could be in for a big rebound with the iPhone 7. Local analysts Telsyte suggests that the "tick" cycle of Apple’s tick-tock upgrade will mean more than the usual number of iPhone enthusiasts will upgrade from older iPhone models, having the dual effect of spurring new iPhone sales as well as releasing a lot of older model iPhones into the market, either as cheap second-hand options to compete with lower-cost Android handsets, or as direct hand-me-down units to friends or family.
Meanwhile, in further encouraging news (if you’re Apple or an Apple fan), if you’re rocking a smartwatch on your wrist down under, chances are it’s an Apple Watch.
According to Telsyte’s research, Australians are finally starting to warm up to the concept of smartwatches, with sales growing by 89% in the first half of 2016 compared to the first half of 2015. Of those sales, Apple commanded more than 50% market share, followed by Samsung’s many Gear watches and Fitbit’s Blaze smartwatch.
Telsyte’s estimates suggest that one in three wearables purchased in 2016 have been smartwatches as distinct from other fitness wearables. Exercise functions, style and the growth of NFC contactless payments such as Samsung Pay and Apple Pay were cited as reasons for the growth in smartwatch sales.
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