Apple makes proprietary hardware packaged on exclusive software. But increasingly, the business model has moved from the hardware to “services and solutions” within the ecosystem. That is the reason we do not read that much on the number of iPhone and iPad sold these days. If that remains, Apple’s future to win those services and solutions space will mean more users, and not necessarily selling fashionista and expensive hardware. So, Apple needs to have numbers.
So, the new playbook Google is unveiling which is to make cheap 5G phones with India’s Jio is a first shot on the battle for the soul of 5G: “India’s telecom giant Reliance is working with Google on a $25 billion plan to develop affordable 5G smartphones and services, the company said on Monday.”
Do we expect to have a cheaper version of iPhone for the 5G era as the company looks for ways to deal with Google’s plan to flood the future with ultra-affordable 5G phones?
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Reliance Chairman Mukesh Ambani said during the company’s annual general meeting that Jio’s 5G network, which will be launched starting with New Delhi and Mumbai before being expanded across the rest of the country by next year December, will be the world’s largest.
The plan, which is the latest in the company’s efforts to disrupt India’s telecom market, is expected to be executed in two months. It has a promise of crashing the cost 5G devices in India, making it “ultra-affordable”.
“To take the 5G mass market, a sub-$100 phone is imperative and Jio is rightly positioned to bring 5G to the masses,” Reuters quoted Neil Shah, vice president of research at Counterpoint, as saying.
Certainly, not many will care since the iPhone is a fashion symbol besides being a great device. But if Google attacks from the bottom, many will not ascend into the higher iPhone. More so, Apple is pushing Apple Pay to the developing parts of the world. The implication is that it will need users in those regions to buy into the Apple Universe to make use of Apple Pay.
Source: Tekedia