{{Apple Inc’s new iPhones got panned by Wall Street on Wednesday as investors decried one model for being too costly for emerging markets such as China, and dismissed the other model as lacking enough game-changing features.}}
The world’s most valuable technology company missed an opportunity to introduce a low-end smartphone to drive sales in Asia, where Samsung Electronics and China’s Huawei have a wide lead over Apple, analysts say.
The plastic iPhone 5C unveiled on Tuesday will sell for 4,488 yuan ($730) in China, Apple said. That is more than the average monthly urban income in China, and about double the cost of mid-tier devices from Samsung and other vendors. The cheapest phones in China, made by the likes of Xiaomi, go for about $100 apiece.
“Investors were put off that Apple’s price point didn’t go low enough to attract a new market. It doesn’t have the same range in price that Apple’s competitors have,” said Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott in Philadelphia, which manages about $58 billion in assets.
The high-end iPhone 5S disappointed Wall Street and revived fears that Apple’s most innovative days may be behind it. The phone has a fingerprint scanner to improve security, but analysts said that was not likely to be enough to make the iPhone 5S a sure win in the crowded smartphone market.
“There was nothing transformational announced. It has the fingerprint scan and new colors, but bigger features, like different screen sizes, don’t seem to be at the ready. This was less than expected from a company that has a reputation for surprising with a killer product or strategy,” said Luschini.
Shares of Apple slid 5.4 percent to close at a month low of $467.71 on the Nasdaq after at least three brokerages downgraded their rating on the stock. Still, Apple remains up 18 percent since the start of July, when anticipation about the phones began building.
agencies
Leave a Reply