iPhone X (ten): The Real Purpose Behind The eXpensive 10th Anniversary iPhone

The beautifully-made iPhone X advert, with a very catchy song (Best Friend, by Sofi Tukker)

Every year at the onset of fall in North America, people are anxious to see the change in the colours of foliage around them. And having been introduced to the new version of the iOS mobile operating system at Apple's World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC) during the summer, people around the world are waiting with bated breath for the arrival of the new iPhones. This year, everyone was a little more excited than usual. It was the tenth anniversary of the iPhone, a device that has revolutionized the way we interact with our digital world and forever transformed how we communicate with each other. Analysts rumoured that Apple would launch a brand new device that would herald the future of the smartphone, while speculators began to fervently render images and create concepts of what this device might look like.

Apple finally released new iPhones on September 12, 2017 during the first product event at the Steve Jobs Theater in the company's futuristic new headquarters called Apple Park (a.k.a., the Spaceship). The company showed the world the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, two so-called "new" iPhones that just added a glass back to the same design that Apple has been recycling since the iPhone 6 was introduced in 2014. Yes the devices also have updated processors (as all new iPhones do), but there is nothing significantly different about them. However, towards the end of the keynote, CEO Tim Cook said the classic words that were often used by Steve Jobs before a big reveal, "one more thing". And then the world saw the iPhone X for the first time. This was an unprecedented move for Apple, as the company has never launched three new iPhones at the same event. Although the presentation ended with applause and attendees from the media praised the iPhone X during the post-event preview, Apple did something in the run-up to the retail launch on November 3, 2017 that has never been seen in the history of the iPhone. Eight of these concerns are detailed below:

1) Apple sent the device to unknown YouTube reviewers who only focused on praising the new Face ID feature. Why did Apple avoid reputed media sources such as The Verge, Mashable, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal in the initial promotions of its flagship device?

2) Apple did provide the iPhone X to the above mentioned media sources later, but they were given a 24-hour deadline to film their reviews. Why did Apple not give them a few days (or a week) to fully understand the new device and develop a comprehensive review?

3) Apple always rolls out all new iPhones for retail on the same day. Why did the company choose to delay the launch of the iPhone X by 1.5 months, knowing that it would affect initial iPhone 8 sales?

4) Apple claims the iPhone X is "all screen". Why does it blatantly lie about the fact that the notch (or unibrow) at the top actually intrudes into the screen and cuts out a portion of the full screen video?

5) Apple spent considerable time on stage showcasing the Animoji feature. Why did it mislead customers by hiding the fact that this feature uses basic facial sensing technology that is also present in existing iPhones?

6) Apple touted AR as a game changer for the iPhone. Why did the company only focus on the "gaming" aspect of this technology in all the marketing materials?

7) Apple has been using Touch ID as the standard user authentication system for security and payments since 2013. Why did they abandon a tried and tested technology in favour of facial recognition, which has not been proven to be as reliable as a fingerprint?

8) Apple spends $247.51, $295.44 and $370.25 to manufacture the 64GB versions of the iPhone 8, 8 Plus and X, respectively. Why did the company set their retail prices at $699, $799 and $999, making them the most expensive iPhones ever?

While all these concerns are reasonable and raise suspicions about the iPhone X launch, Apple is likely to be unfazed as it has already captured 72% of the North American smartphone market in Q3 2017. The average price of an iPhone was $618 during this period, nearly three times that of rival Samsung's comparable Galaxy devices. This market share is likely to be boosted further during the upcoming holiday season by the iPhone X, a device with no revolutionary new features that Apple has still been able to market quite well. By carefully controlling the pre- and post-launch hype around the iPhone X, Apple has made it aspirational enough for customers to queue up on launch day and be willing to pay as much as they would for a laptop. In India, the top-end 128GB iPhone X costs as much as the Tata nano (the world's cheapest production car) did when it launched in 2008!

Apple's stock price surged to record levels ($176.24) following the retail launch of the iPhone X earlier this month. Since the primary purpose of any business is to generate value (profits) for its shareholders, it seems that Apple has been doing a good job so far. The only thing that worries me is that in its quest to make more money, the company is slowly losing its focus on creating customer value, which was the vision that Steve Jobs built this company upon. However, as they say, "Only time will tell."