The supply of new-generation iPhones — the iPhone 11 series — is expected to be sufficient for the first round of sales in Taiwan, which could boost buying, according to sources from the local computer, communication and consumer (3C) distribution sector.
In particular, the more affordable iPhone 11 is expected to account for more than 50 percent of the supply, indicating Apple Inc has changed its strategies by increasing promotion of the cheaper model this year to stimulate consumption, the sources said.
The sources added that the first wave of sales in Taiwan is expected to hit a peak in iPhone sales over recent years.
Photo: Bloomberg
On Tuesday last week, Apple unveiled two high-end models, the iPhone 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max, along with the cheaper iPhone 11, and said it would start global sales for the new iPhones on Sept. 20. Taiwan is to be included in the first round of global sales.
The 5.8-inch organic LED (OLED) iPhone 11 Pro, featuring Apple’s new triple camera lenses, carries a starting price of NT$35,900 (US$1,151), while the 6.5-inch OLED iPhone 11 Pro Max model will sell at a base price of NT$39,900, according to Apple’s Taiwan Web site.
The more affordable 6.1-inch LCD iPhone 11 will start at NT$24,900, NT$2,000 cheaper than its predecessor, the iPhone XR.
Distributors said although the new iPhones cannot support 5G technology, the pricing strategy, with prices of the iPhone 11 series and even the previous models marked down, is expected to help Apple fend off rising competition from brands in the Android camp which have unveiled many models for 5G use.
Pre-order sales of the new iPhones began worldwide on Friday last week and according to the major telecom operators in Taiwan, the advanced iPhone Pro Max and iPhone 11 Pro models have received a warm response, especially their 256GB version in “midnight green,” a color Apple is using for the first time for its iPhones.
According to Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信), the iPhone 11 Pro Max and iPhone 11 Pro 256GB appeared more popular based on its online reservations, with the midnight green version being a hit.
Far EasTone Telecommunications Co (遠傳電信) said its online reservations showed more than 10,000 consumers logged on largely targeting the iPhone 11 Pro, while Taiwan Mobile Co (台灣大哥大) said the iPhone Pro Max was most popular, followed by the iPhone 11.
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”
Sales in the retail, and food and beverage sectors last month continued to rise, increasing 0.7 percent and 13.6 percent respectively from a year earlier, setting record highs for the month of March, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Sales in the wholesale sector also grew last month by 4.6 annually, mainly due to the business opportunities for emerging applications related to artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing technologies, the ministry said in a report. The ministry forecast that retail, and food and beverage sales this month would retain their growth momentum as the former would benefit from Tomb Sweeping Day
Thousands of parents in Singapore are furious after a Cordlife Group Ltd (康盛人生集團), a major operator of cord blood banks in Asia, irreparably damaged their children’s samples through improper handling, with some now pursuing legal action. The ongoing case, one of the worst to hit the largely untested industry, has renewed concerns over companies marketing themselves to anxious parents with mostly unproven assurances. This has implications across the region, given Cordlife’s operations in Hong Kong, Macau, Indonesia, the Philippines and India. The parents paid for years to have their infants’ cord blood stored, with the understanding that the stem cells they contained