Foldables, 5G and the future of the iPhone in 2019
Foldables 5G and the future of the iPhone.
We're starting off 2019 with a clean slate.
No laptop, no desk, just me feeling a little bit exposed over here not gonna lie.
But we have a lot of news and rumors to cover today, so let's get started.
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Apple has had a rough start to 2019.
The company had to come out and publically reset its financial expectations for the holiday quarter.
Basically warning investors that they just weren't gonna meet their financial goals.
That's the first time in at least 15 years they've had to do that.
And that just was week one of 2019.
The main culprit, iPhone sales.
For weeks, we'd heard rumors about Apple having to cut production orders from its manufacturers of its new iPhone lineup.
Even here on this show we talked about that, but I was still giving the company the benefit of the doubt.
Now the writing's on the wall and all over the internet.
The new phone's just not selling as well as Apple had hoped.
The company mentioned the trade war with China as one of the potential culprits, with increasing tariffs.
And yes, that might be a factor, but it's not the only reason.
Price is a huge one, especially in China, where iPhones face even steeper competition against cheaper rivals with high-end features.
Now, couple that with the fact that Apple replaced 11 million batteries last year, this after having to lower the price of battery replacements on the iPhone.
This means that potentially, 11 million people held on to their older devices because there just wasn't that incentive to upgrade anymore.
And sure a better camera is great, slightly faster processor, bigger screen, but that just doesn't justify the price tag for a lot of people, and we're seeing that now.
So what's it gonna take to convince users to upgrade?
Well, that's where foldables come in.
[SOUND] Foldable phones are coming in 2019.
Royole's Flexfize all ready out in the wild.
Samsung is just months away from launching it's first foldable galaxy phone.
Motorola just announced the return of the Razor with a foldable screen.
And other big names in the industry like wallway, Microsoft, LG, Shalme and Opal have also teased foldable devices for this year Now, that breaks the question of it and when, Apple is jumping on this foldable trend.
And this one is more a matter of when because Apple doesn't have a choice at this point.
Apple has already registered its fair share of patents when it comes to foldable devices.
Now, here's a recent one discovered by MySmartPrice.
Unlike the foldable devices we've seen from Samsung and Royole, which basically fold in half.
These images seem to suggest Apple's foldable phone would be a lot more flexible.
And have almost a wrap-around screen that could contort into many different shapes.
Now obviously, this would mean that the glass itself would have to be a lot More scratch resistant if it's exposed.
So, the document even goes on to detail that it might have some kind of sapphire blend on the screen.
But as we all know, patents don't necessarily guarantee a product.
By the looks of it Apple is Still trailing behind its competitors when it comes to foldable devices.
So we'll likely have to wait til 2020 to see it come to consumers.
But let's be honest, Apple is not too concerned about being first.
In fact, When Samsung first launched the Galaxy Gear smart watch, it was over a year later that Apple finally brought the Apple watch to market.
Five years after that, the Apple watch still has the upper hand.
Now, the other big feature that could breathe new life into the iPhones is 5G connectivity.
Another big tech trend to look out for in 2019.
By the 2019 holiday season it's rumored that every major Android vendor in the United States would have some kind of 5G phone available except for the iPhone.
According to reports, Apple's dispute with Qualcomm is one of the major Brits.
And though Intel just announced their new 5G modem.
It isn't expected to hit phones until 2020.
Now that's not to say that Apple could still pull a Hail Mary and surprise us with 5G in 2019 But these are the facts.
So what will this year's iPhone look like?
Well, a lot like last year's, at least at first glance.
Apple is rumored to be launching three new iPhones in 2019, the successors to the XS, XS Max and XR.
So eleven?
Eleven Max An 11R?
That's a mouthful.
Now there's been talks of a three camera array on the back of at least one of these phones, likely the max as reported by the Wall Street Journal and our leaks with these renders.
I'm personally hoping for the latter to become a reality because that First image, the bump on the back would be ridiculous.
There's also talks of a smaller notch, which is very likely, as other companies start to move towards a hole-punch display with a little circle on the front for that front camera.
Also, a faster and more reliable Face ID, which would make sense, and maybe a move to a USB-C port, like the new iPads.
Now if Apple doesn't deliver on the 5G connectivity for the iPhone, they would at least be adding a new antenna, with better WiFi and better performance, which would increase the battery life as well.
But the company is not putting all it's apples in one basket if you know what I'm saying I just, I just had to, it was right there.
Apple's rumored to be finally launched that Air Power mat, and the Airpods 2, which would boost up its accessory sales for 2019.
The iPod touch and the iPad Mini are also rumored to be making a comeback, two products that I kinda thought were dead.
And that's just hardware.
Software is next.
That's it for today's show.
But as you can see there is still plenty to talk about so next week.
We're actually going to take a look at Apple's other Lifeline in 2019 as it beats up its service Industries will get to what that means and take a look at some of the.
Rumors regarding its new streaming service.
And in the meantime, make sure to read up on all the latest Apple news on cnet.com.
And I'll see you guys later.
[MUSIC]
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