Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) just released its newest line of iPhones, and Samsung recently launched its $2,000 folding phone called Galaxy Fold.
It’s been hard for smartphone makers to create designs that will keep consumers buying their latest products. Apple’s latest phones have lower price tags and promise longer battery life, better cameras with more settings and options, and faster processors. The company improved what was necessary to keep consumers attracted to its latest line of smartphones.
On Apple’s latest launch, it introduced its new base model, the iPhone 11, which will start at $699, and the highest-end model, the iPhone 11 Pro Max, with a price tag of $1,099. The company’s higher-end models, the iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max, are expected to have a better battery life than previous models, with the iPhone 11 Pro lasting four hours longer than the iPhone XS and the iPhone 11 Pro Max lasting five hours longer than iPhone XS Max.
Samsung decided to improve its hardware but also go a little step further and make its latest phone foldable, which probably wasn’t the feature that every consumer was hoping for, but it’s unique nonetheless.
This foldable phone was supposed to be released in April, but the first version of the phone broke very easily. The company has attempted to make the necessary improvements, but it’s only been a few months since the first version, so it’s hard to think that all the problems got ironed out.
This latest version has a lot of on-screen warnings to decrease the number of consumers who might accidentally damage the phone. The warning prompt that pops up includes warnings like these:
- Avoid pressing hard on the screen. Tap lightly to keep it safe.
- Your Galaxy Fold isn’t water or dust resistant.
- Don’t allow any liquids or foreign objects to enter it.
- Don’t attach anything to the main screen, such as a screen protector.
Not quite the device consumers were hoping for. But I’m also not sure what someone was expecting when getting a foldable phone. I think opting for a smaller phone would have been a better option than buying a smartphone with a foldable screen.
The Desperate Need for Innovation
Companies working to develop smartphones with innovations that are useful or even life changing to customers have found it difficult in recent years. Yes, you can improve the processors and cameras to make them better and keep people satisfied, but it seems like something is still lacking for this industry.
The latest generation of cellular network technology might be the inspiration these smartphone makers need. 5G is going to be a groundbreaking technology and bring new innovations with it.
Investment bank Goldman Sachs says, “The boom could be explosive for smartphone makers such as Samsung — and Apple if it gets a 5G phone out next year — in the early going.”
The bank has increased its 2020 5G smartphone estimate to 120 million from 50 million. Rod Hall, an analyst, recently found out that his supply chain research is pointing toward much higher 5G device sales than originally expected — especially in China. This comes as a surprise, since it looked as if 5G would only be available in limited parts of the world since Chinese network build-outs were delayed because of Huawei trade restrictions.
Hall wrote:
We believe Huawei’s ability to build 5G NR gNBs without U.S. components should help to drive meaningful deployments in China in 2020 which support additional Chinese 5G device sales.
This comes at a time when Huawei’s founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei said last week that his company will offer an exclusive license for one U.S. company to use his firm’s 5G software, which will give connectivity up to 100 times faster than the current 4G network speeds.
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This license with Huawei and a to-be-announced U.S. company would mean they both will be competing from the very beginning of the 5G race. Huawei’s CEO is confident that Huawei will be the more successful company in the end. He said the revenue from the licensing sale would include more funding for investments and innovation.
Ren said:
When we nurture competition, it will drive our workforce. It will stop people from becoming complacent. I don’t see competition as a threat, but as a driver of further progress.
Ren also mentioned that Huawei is already producing Huawei base stations without components from the U.S. and is expected to double its product next year. So the recent ban from the U.S. isn’t entirely affecting Huawei’s business, and the company is still striving to be a leader in 5G technology.
5G Sparks Innovation and New Ideas
5G is going to be huge moneymaking opportunity for a lot of companies involved. The technology is going to deliver ultra-fast downloads to users. And that’s why communications companies like Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ), T-Mobile (NASDAQ: TMUS), and AT&T (NYSE: T) will be reaping the massive rewards for starting early and implementing 5G technology sooner rather than later.
The time to get ahead is now. Verizon realized this, and that’s why it has been dedicated to rolling out 5G throughout the nation. It’s on track to have 5G in 30 cities by the end of 2019.
That means it’s time for consumers to make use of the technology and have the right devices to benefit from the fastest connectivity. Companies like Apple, Samsung, and Huawei will be focusing even more on 5G to meet those consumer demands so those consumers are able to take full advantage of 5G.
5G is going to open the path to even more innovative technologies. As Huawei’s CEO said, “5G is not rocket science. In the future, the biggest industry will be A.I.”
There will always be bigger industries to come and more groundbreaking technology, but for right now the biggest one approaching us is 5G, and that couldn’t be any clearer.
Until next time, Monica Savaglia Monica Savaglia is Wealth Daily’s IPO specialist. With passion and knowledge, she wants to open up the world of IPOs and their long-term potential to everyday investors. She does this through her newsletter IPO Authority, a one-stop resource for everything IPO. She also contributes regularly to the Wealth Daily e-letter. To learn more about Monica, click here.
