Apple’s big 2019 reveal looms, so it might be interesting to take measure of user sentiment as the company prepares to launch its new iPhone and new services.
Interest in new iPhone appears to be increasing
Apple hasn’t announced its new iPhone, and while names differ, most reports now use the phrase “iPhone 11” with reference to the new device.
That’s not a precisely accurate term (there have in fact been 21 iterations of iPhone), but it does the job while we wait to see what comes next.
Typically, interest in the new model device peaks across the (usually) slow summer news cycle. This year is no different.
Search activity for "iPhone 11" has been increasing steadily across August in the U.S., according to the latest data from SEMRush.
SEMRushThere’s also some interesting insight in terms of Twitter sentiment analysis.
This shows that when it comes to being enthusiastic about the new device, most people are hanging back to find out what Apple is offering. Sentiment breaks down as follows:
- 82.84% of Twitter sentiment is defined as Neutral.
- 14.54% is defined as Positive.
- 2.62% is negative.
This suggests Apple continues to reach its core base of iPhone customers, while interest across other groups as yet uncommitted to the new product is growing.
What happens next? That’s up to Apple…
Much of what happens will be defined by what Apple shows us in September, which is when it is expected to introduce its new iPhone model.
Wedbrush analysts suggest the company has booked around 80 million iPhone units for production in the coming weeks.
This should be considered along with a recent survey that suggests as many as one in four existing iPhone users will upgrade to the new device once it is made available. And while surveys aren’t always accurate measures of public opinion, there are several other reasons the company may see some success, as detailed here.
Apple is also attempting to stimulate interest this season with the introduction of new subscription-based services, such as Arcade, News+, Card, and TV+.
These should energise device sales while also mitigating the impact of a slowing smartphone market, most say.
What about Apple’s services?
I also asked SEMRush to assess interest in Apple’s services, in this case the pending Apple TV+ service the company is expected to be announced globally later this year and (of course) Apple Card.
SEMRushHere’s what they have provided in terms of Twitter sentiment analysis:
Apple Card
- Neutral: 79.49%
- Positive: 17.48%
- Negative: 3.03%
It is difficult to read too much into this data.
My feeling is that it represents good and strong interest among Apple’s core customer base, but it isn’t yet clear if this translates into reaching new consumers.
Apple continues to improve Apple Card, and it seems highly probable this will represent a profitable service within 12 months, as Apple/Goldman Sachs woo some of the world’s wealthiest users into using the card for purchases – perhaps of an iPhone?
We know the card is just the latest of what will eventually become a string of financial products from Apple. Apple Pay, Apple Card, Apple Cash, and Daily Cash all combine inexorably to become fiat-related banking services and a potential foundation for some form of fiat-supported cryptocurrency.
An earlier JD Power survey claims over half of Apple’s existing Apple Pay customers say they will apply for an Apple Card, so watch this space.
Apple TV+
- Neutral: 80.21%
- Positive: 17.11%
- Negative: 2.67%
While Apple Card strikes home on a relatively limited demographic (Apple customers with good credit), Apple’s TV+ service strikes a much wider range of potential viewers.
That is because the service is being made available across a range of non-Apple devices, such as some televisions and using AirPlay 2 onto third-party streaming devices.
The inference here is that you won’t necessarily need an Apple device to access TV+ content – you probably will, but there are alternatives, and the cost of entry could be as low as an entry-level iPad or iPod touch in order to stream content to your existing system.
Apple is investing $6 billion in TV+, apparently, but we don’t really know how it is spending this money. Some is being rolled into original content, but I have come across speculation the figure may also include some content licensing deals.
We’ll wait and see, but in terms of Apple’s holistic approach to boosting hardware sales by creating a strong supporting ecosystem that both supports and inspires those sales, the company must be hoping that at least some of its shows break into the mainstream.
It wants and needs to deliver a hit show.
That will be when Apple creates a direct connection with consumers that side-steps existing taste gatekeepers, which may perhaps enable it to preach to the unconverted, as well as its loyal cadre of highly satisfied and motivated customers.
Twitter sentiment doesn’t seem to indicate success in that task yet, but it suggests (once again) good interest among its most loyal users.
The mission to reach new people will be determined by the company’s content, cost, and service availability – and whether it finds a series that captures popular imagination.
One more thing
It is quite possible it will take Apple another year to deliver a TV hit. If that is the case, then that future success will likely help generate interest in Apple’s first 5G iPhones when they appear in 2020, potentially followed by 5G wearables, iPads, and (eventually) Macs.
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