iPhone 14: are Apple launch events losing their lustre?

Apple unveiled its “most advanced” smartphone yet at a much-hyped launch event in the US yesterday.

Four versions of the iPhone 14 were shown off at the tech giant’s Cupertino headquarters, “with an audience attending in person for the first time since the pandemic”, said the BBC. The new device has car crash detection technology and encrypted fertility tracking, and is Apple's first handset capable of connecting to satellite internet.

But while the company also launched new Apple watches and new AirPods Pros, some commentators are questioning whether Apple launches are losing their lustre.

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In the run-up to Wednesday’s event, The Street suggested that consumers might be getting “upgrade fatigue”. And “looking at the upgrades that have been delivered as a result of these new iPhone launches”, some “have been, quite frankly, underwhelmed”, said the financial news site.

Unimpressed critics on social media have “poked fun” at the tech giant’s “seemingly small, incremental improvements”, said the Daily Mail, and “mocked various features the company touted”.

Tom’s Guide said that Apple clearly “wants to make its devices as indispensable as ever”. Marketing consultant Katie Martell told CNBC that many consumers remain excited about the launches because “we really do live in a world where what’s new and what’s next is considered most valuable”.

That hasn’t prevented rival companies from mocking the upgrades obsession. In 2011, Samsung released a tongue-in-cheek commercial in which people queue outside a mocked-up Apple store, waiting for a new smartphone release. One customer asks: “If it looks the same, how will people know I upgraded?”