Apple held its first new product launch event in 2022. Apple's low-end iPhone SE and high-end Mac desktops announced at the conference showed that Apple is also using every means to reach a larger audience. Apple has never been known or succeeded by cheap stuff. Even such a company had to start segmenting its customer base.
That was evident at the spring product launch on Tuesday. As widely expected, Apple has announced a third-generation update to the company's cheapest smartphone, the iPhone SE. In addition, the company introduced a new high-end desktop computer called the Mac Studio, featuring a new processor based on the M1-series processors, starting at $1,599, not including the display.
Add in Apple's latest display on Tuesday, and it's going to cost the average consumer $3,200 for a full desktop computer alone. Laptops have long been the mainstay of personal computer sales. And as people travel back and forth between home and office, mobility becomes even more important. But Apple has always had a loyal customer base in display-demanding areas such as design and media production. Apple's iMac desktops start at $1,299, and the powerful Mac Pro desktops even start at $6,000. Apple noted on Tuesday that the new M1 Ultra chip gives the Mac Studio a 90 percent increase in processor performance over the much more expensive Mac Pro, which uses Intel chips. Apple Senior Vice President John Ternus confirmed at the launch that the company is also working on a new chip for the Mac Pro.
On the other hand, while the iPhone SE is 43% less expensive than Apple's cheapest iPhone 13 last fall , the iPhone SE's audience is relatively niche in terms of a large number of Apple fans. Analysts estimate that the last iPhone SE accounted for less than 10% of total iPhone sales in the past seven quarters since its release in early 2020, according to market researcher Visible Alpha. On Tuesday, Apple added its latest mobile processor to its latest upgrade to the iPhone SE, but the low-end phone has only a base camera and a screen that's much smaller than last fall's flagship iPhone model.
The new iPhone SE and Mac desktop computers, which were released on Tuesday, are unlikely to be top sellers, but they also play an important role in Apple's business as it needs to continually raise its performance targets and expand its audience. Now that Apple is coming out of its strongest growth cycle ever, it faces a more lackluster growth outlook. Analysts expect the company's revenue to explode by 33% in the fiscal year that ended in September, but it will only grow at an average annual rate of 6% over the next three years.
Apple needs all the help it can get.
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