October 13, 2020
01:30
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The American tech giant Apple presents the long-awaited iPhone 12 on Tuesday. Despite the uncertainty about faltering 5G networks, expectations for the new smartphone are high.
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Analysts feared that the pandemic would plague Apple for a while, especially after a disappointing second quarter. Those fears turned out to be unfounded. In the third quarter, Apple posted record sales of $ 59.7 billion.
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Despite the closed stores, loyal consumers were able to find their way to Apple’s products. Conveniently, you do not have to queue for hours online. The hype normally stirs up the buying madness for the stuff of the Cupertino company.
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Yet there was some dissatisfaction with the company recently. Apple introduced a new iPad, two Apple Watches and a fitness service in mid-September, but the iPhone 12 was omitted. Covid-19 still got in the way of the tech giant.
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Course jump
A month later the time has come. The day before high mass, which starts on Tuesday evening at 7 p.m. Belgian time, the expectations for the latest smartphone are high. Apple stock made a jump off Monday
5.2 percent, the highest increase in a month. The stock exchange house Wedbush suggested that the iPhone 12 is the most important product since the iPhone 6 in 2014.
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Apple sold a record 231 million phones of that sixth generation in fiscal year 2015. The bigger screen was the main reason. Many analysts believe the iPhone 12 will do even better.
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5G network
Most of the attention will go to 5G. “That is definitely the big novelty,” says Stijn Plessers, who is closely following Apple as an analyst for KBC. Still, Apple must recognize its superiority in its South Korean competitor Samsung. Traditionally, Apple has always been the follower. Samsung already launched the first 5G phone on the market a year ago. ‘
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The faulty network is the biggest challenge. The question is whether it is sufficient coverage in every country to support the iPhone. There are serious doubts for the United Kingdom. The 700 MHz band would not be able to support 5G, according to informed sources from the British newspaper The Telegraph.
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Actually, Apple is launching a state of the art phone on a network that is not yet fully developed.
Stijn Plessers
KBC-analist
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The rest of Europe is not that far either, according to Plessers. “Actually, Apple is launching a state of the art phone on a network that is not quite up to date,” says the analyst. “South Korea leads, followed by Japan and China.”
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Wim Zwanenburg, strategist at asset manager Stroeve & Lemberger, says that a large part of the success depends on whether applications work on 5G. ‘Those networks don’t work perfectly everywhere yet. It takes time.’ For Plessers it is the question of the chicken or the egg. What should come first: the network or the phone? It has happened before that Apple launches a device and that technology follows. That is also the case with the smartwatch from Apple, even though Samsung already introduced the Galaxy Gear smartwatch on the market. ‘
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Latest gadgets
Furthermore, attention will go to the latest gadgets of the iPhone 12. Apple may say goodbye to the LCD screens and switch to OLED screens. They are thinner and more flexible. The screen is said to have a built-in fingerprint scanner. It is applicable to four different models, which Apple reportedly releases in the price ranges of $ 809 to $ 1,259.
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It seems as if there is already a lot of information on the street, but for now it is still strong rumors. On Tuesday evening, Apple CEO Tim Cook gives the redeeming answers.
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