The Apple iPhone 7 hit the stores last Friday and we are just past the first weekend after the sales started.
As with all Apple release dates, the day turned into a media frenzy with coverage coming in from across the globe. Apple released the phone in 29 countries and the iPhone 7 Plus and iPhone 7 Jet Black have already sold out, as previously reported on Nashville Chatter.
In his mission statement in 2015 Tim Cook said that Apple is “constantly focusing on innovating” and he believes “in the simple not the complex,” according to an article on FXCM.
In this article we look at the different worldwide reactions and whether the iPhone 7 has delivered on Tim Cook’s promise.
Asia
The first continent to get their hands on the latest model was Asia. The citizens of Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Singapore and China had the honor of experiencing the phone before anyone else. Queues in China were, according to some news outlets including Reuters, muted compared to previous launches with one Chinese Apple fan finding herself unexpectedly first in line in Shanghai.
Experts have put this down to the tougher competition from local brands that are not only cheaper but have similar applications. In Hong Kong, many of the first buys were scalpers who immediately resold the phone for 100% profit just outside the Apple store reported CNBC this month.
Europe
Apple products are always at the top end of the price range, but Europe is feeling the pain a little more this year. Gazette Review documents how the iPhone 7 in Hungry is 44% more expensive that in the US. Italy and Norway are second and third in terms of the highest prices. The UK has also seen a sharp increase in price with a £60 ($79) increase due to the value of British Pound decreasing as a result of the recent referendum to leave the EU. In London the flagship Apple stores did not experience the large queues they have from previous launches. This is because UK Apple users could only pre-order so there were no walk-in customers.
America
America, the home of Apple, also saw reduced numbers in the amount of customers queuing for the new phone. Apple’s flagship store in New York saw lines of only 400 people compared to 650 for the previous iPhone 6s, states Mac Rumors. Other customers who pre-ordered were reportedly disappointed that they couldn’t receive their phones on the release date and could instead have them shipped out at a later date. However, like Europe and Asia, Apple quickly ran out of stock for the Jet Black model and the iPhone 7 Plus demonstrating that demand is still high.
Sales Hurt Due to Shortage of Supply
Sales figures of the iPhone 7 were pretty much similar to that of the iPhone 6s sales last year, however, due to growing demand, many units were sold as pre-orders and there very few units available at the stores for pickup.
Reviews of the new phone have been generally positive across the board. Many sites have picked up on the lack of headphone Jack and the new AirPods with Engadget advising customers to avoid them.
The performance of the phone was seen as an improvement and it is considered the best iPhone on the market. The consensus is that while the phone is a nice upgrade to the previous 6s model, it is not the giant leap forward in technology that has been the talking point of the previous generations. If the rumors are to be true then next year, the tenth anniversary, will fulfill Tim Cook’s promise to continue Steve Job’s legacy.