Apple is known for their September release schedule for their iPhones. People know that that is the time they decide whether they need to upgrade to the latest iPhones and it works rather well.
However on the Android side, some manufacturers have been playing a different game. In order to keep up with the latest trends, some have been doing a twice a year release schedule. This is currently done by OnePlus and was done previously by Sony (to disastrous results).
In light of all of the dangers of having a bi-annual release schedule, it seems that Apple wants to follow on this trend.
According to CNBC, JP Morgan analysts are predicting a change in iPhone release strategy where they’ll be launching new devices twice a year starting in 2021.
Apparently this shift will allow the company to have increased flexibility to change its products within a six month time frame to compete with other device makers.
Apple has always released major iPhones in September or October since 2011 which coincides with the lucrative quarter that precedes the holidays. With the new shift, the analysts predict with their supply chain checks that they see two new iPhone models in the first half of 2021 which are followed by 2 more models in the second half of the same year.
The analysts also predict that Apple will launch 4 new models instead of the usual three for the 2020 lineup. They also predict that Apple will release a ‘low cost’ iPhone resembling the iPhone 8 in the spring.
These are predictions so we can take them with a grain of salt, but the thought of Apple doing it is not insane at all. Apple is ahead of the competition in some aspects (processors and biometrics) but they are behind on others like design, 5G implementation and OS bug fixes and this could help them iron them out. Also, they run the risk of making their releases boring due to the bi-annual release schedule.
