Surge In iPhone Pre Orders Today But Don’t Expect Too Much In 5G Coverage

Australian retailers are anticipating a surge in pre orders of the new Apple iPhones that will be available at JB Hi Fi from 11.00pm today.

Shipments of Apple’s just-unveiled iPhone 12 line-up may reach as high as 80 million units by year-end 2020 with both carriers and retailers in Australia banking on supply to bolster sales running into their peak buying period.

Retailers that we have spoken to claim that Apple’s more affordable pricing strategy is likely to entice users with older iPhones to upgrade.

Foxconn Electronics a key Apple manufacturing partner (Hon Hai) has secured the bulk of orders for the new iPhone 12 series and will see its shipments for the new Apple smartphones peak through the first quarter of 2021.

Key to the new Apple iPhone offering is 5G and despite poor reception and limited reach in Australia manufacturers are pushing ahead with the more expensive 5G handsets.

Apple announced its new iPhone 12 family earlier this week and they are first smartphones developed by the tech giant to boast the fifth-generation technology.

Thomas Husson, vice principal analyst at Forrester, said: ‘5G alone is not mature enough to justify on its own a significant premium for the new iPhones but at the same time Apple is best placed to kickstart consumer demand for 5G.’

‘Apple is likely to maintain leadership on the high-end smartphone market by adding performance and ease of use to its new range of flagship devices.

‘While increased connectivity will matter for countries where 5G is getting traction, differentiated experiences will also come from faster processing and obsession to design details.’

Analysts claim that although 5G made its debut in 2018, many people are unsure what it does and if it is worth switching from its 4G device to a 5G compatible model.

Consumers living in areas not supported by the next generation technology will only get a 4G experience.

Daniel Hays, strategy partner at consulting firm PwC said, ‘For some consumers, the experience on 5G might just feel a lot like 4G.’

‘I think the thing that we’re kind of seeing and experiencing at the moment is that the hype around 5G has far outpaced the reality at this point.’

Hays also noted that a full rollout of the 5G network will likely not happen for another five to seven years.

Apple is not pioneer the 5G phone market, as Samsung has already released dozens of devices last year that support the network.

However, even with its smartphones like the Galaxy S20, it still came in third for number of 5G phones shipped last year.

About Post Author

David Richards

David Richards has been writing about technology for more than 30 years. A former Fleet Street journalist, he wrote the Award Winning Series on the Federated Ships Painters + Dockers Union for the Bulletin that led to a Royal Commission. He is also a Logie Winner for Outstanding Contribution To TV Journalism with a story called The Werribee Affair. In 1997, he built the largest Australian technology media company and prior to that the third largest PR company that became the foundation company for Ogilvy PR. Today he writes about technology and the impact on both business and consumers.