Apple “iPhone 11” announced, price remains unchanged for top models

Recently CNN.co.jp reported the following:

アップル「ｉＰｈｏｎｅ　１１」発表、上位機種は価格据え置き

2019.09.11 Wed posted at 12:44 JST

アップル「ｉＰｈｏｎｅ　１１」発表

サンフランシスコ（ＣＮＮ Ｂｕｓｉｎｅｓｓ） 米アップルは１０日に開いた記者発表会で、スマートフォン「ｉＰｈｏｎｅ」の新モデルを発表した。

新しいｉＰｈｏｎｅは、高性能モデルの「ｉＰｈｏｎｅ　１１　Ｐｒｏ」「ｉＰｈｏｎｅ　１１　Ｐｒｏ　Ｍａｘ」と、価格を抑えた「ｉＰｈｏｎｅ　１１」の３機種。それぞれｉＰｈｏｎｅ　ＸＳ、ＸＳ　Ｍａｘ、ＸＲの後継となる。

いずれもバッテリー持続時間やカメラ性能、ハードウェア性能の向上を図っているが、外観は従来のモデルと比べてそれほど大きな違いはない。

ｉＰｈｏｎｅ　１１　ＰｒｏとＰｒｏ　Ｍａｘは背面に３台のカメラを搭載。アップルによると、バッテリー持続時間は１１　ＰｒｏがＸＳに比べて４時間長くなり、Ｐｒｏ　ＭａｘはＸＳ　Ｍａｘに比べて５時間長くなった。

アップルのティム・クック最高経営責任者（ＣＥＯ）はＰｒｏモデルを「最もパワフルで最も進化したｉＰｈｏｎｅ」と形容している。

米国での販売価格はｉＰｈｏｎｅ　１１　Ｐｒｏが９９９ドルから、Ｐｒｏ　Ｍａｘは１０９９ドルから。これまでのＸＳおよびＸＳ　Ｍａｘと同じ価格に据え置いた。

同社ｉＰｈｏｎｅ事業部の売り上げは直近の３四半期連続で２けた台の落ち込みが続いていた。消費者が新しい端末に買い替えるまでの期間は長くなり、米中貿易戦争のあおりで中国での需要は減退している。

ｉＰｈｏｎｅ　１１の値段を６９９ドルに抑え、昨年発売したＸＲの７４９ドルより安く設定したのは、そうした市場の変化を認識した対応と思われる。

新しいｉＰｈｏｎｅは１３日から注文の受け付けを開始し、２０日に店頭で発売する。

同社は新しいスマートウォッチの「Ａｐｐｌｅ　Ｗａｔｃｈ　Ｓｅｒｉｅｓ　５」やタブレット「ｉＰａｄ」の第７世代の端末も発表。また、新たに継続課金のサービスも打ち出し、ゲームやオリジナルドラマのストリーミングサービスをそれぞれ月額４．９９ドルで楽しめるという。

Translation

2019.09.11 Wed posted at 12:44 JST

San Francisco (CNN Business) -- Apple at the press conference held on the 10th announced a new model of the smartphone - "iPhone".

The new iPhone was a high-performance model of “iPhone 11 Pro”, “iPhone 11 Pro Max”, and “iPhone 11” with a lower price. It would be the successor to iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR, respectively.

All of them were having improved battery life, camera performance, and hardware performance, but the appearance was not much different from the previous model.

iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max were equipped with 3 cameras on the back. According to Apple, the battery duration of 11 Pro was 4 hours longer than XS, and Pro Max was 5 hours longer than XS Max.

Apple's CEO, Tim Cook, described the Pro model as “the most powerful and most advanced iPhone”.

Prices in the US range from $ 999 for iPhone 11 Pro and $ 1099 for Pro Max. The price was the same as the previous XS and XS Max.

The company's iPhone business unit sales had continued to decline by two digits for the last three consecutive quarters. It took longer for consumers to buy new devices, and demand in China was declining due to the US-China trade war.

The price of iPhone 11 was kept at $ 699 and was set to be cheaper than the $ 749 of XR released last year. This seemed to be a response that recognized such market changes.

The new iPhone would start accepting orders from the 13th and would be sold at stores on the 20th.

The company also announced the 7th generation devices of the new smart watch “Apple Watch Series 5” and the tablet “iPad”. In addition, a new continuous billing service had been launched, streaming services for games and original dramas could be enjoyed for a monthly fee of $ 4.99.

     So, Apple is hoping to use a new model iPhone to boost up its declining sales.