Apple unveiled its iPhone 11 models Tuesday with a price cut for the most basic models while also laying out plans for streaming and gaming services as it bids to weather the slump in the global smartphone market.

Price appeared to be a key consideration as the tech giant reduced the entry level price for the iPhone 11 to $699 and undercut rivals for its gaming and streaming television subscriptions.

Apple unveiled three versions of the iPhone 11 including “Pro” models with triple camera and other advanced features starting at $999 and $1,099, unchanged from last year’s prices, touting upgraded features including ultra-wide camera lenses.

The surprise from Apple was the reduction in the starting price at $699, down from $749 for the iPhone XR a year ago even as many premium devices are being priced around $1,000.

The new iPhones are “jam-packed with new capabilities and an incredible new design,” Apple chief executive Tim Cook told a launch event in Cupertino, California as the company set plans to sell the new handsets on September 20.

CONTENT AS ‘SWEETENER’

Apple’s announcements appeared to be aimed at emphasizing value as the company looks to shift its business model to reduce its dependence on smartphones and tie in digital content and other services to its devices.

“We got a stream of nonstop product launches, with content being used as a sweetener,” said Avi Greengart, analyst and consultant with Techsponential.

“I think the iPhone 11 is compelling and may convince people to upgrade earlier than they might have otherwise given the lower price and longer battery life, not just an improved camera.”

With the new devices and services, “I think there are more reasons to stay with Apple than to defect from Apple,” said Patrick Moorhead, analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy.

STREAMING AND GAMING

Apple TV+ service will launch November 1 in more than 100 countries at $4.99 per month and will include a “powerful and inspiring lineup of original shows, movies and documentaries.”

While Apple’s streaming service will have limited content at first, its price is below the $6.99 for the forthcoming Disney+ service and the more expensive plans from Netflix.

“Clearly Cupertino is looking for market share coming out of the gates with these surprising price points that we loudly applaud,” said Daniel Ives of Wedbush Securities.

Apple is featuring scripted dramas, comedies and movies as well as children’s programs in the service, which will compete against streaming giants like Netflix and Amazon.

“With Apple TV+, we are presenting all-original stories from the best, brightest and most creative minds, and we know viewers will find their new favorite show or movie on our service,” said Zack Van Amburg, Apple’s head of video.

Apple said customers who purchase an iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, iPod touch or Mac will get the first year of the service for free.

The company’s online gaming subscription service, Apple Arcade, will launch next week, offering exclusive titles for mobile and desktop users.

The new service, which will also cost $4.99 per month, will include more than 100 game titles made for Apple devices and will be available in some 150 countries.

“You can’t find these games on any other mobile platform or subscription service. No game service ever launched as many games, and we can’t wait for you to play all of that,” product manager Ann Thai told the Apple media event.

Apple also unveiled updates to its iPad tablet and Apple Watch smartwatch, also emphasizing stable or lower prices with cuts to older versions.

“We think the lower iPhone 11 price point and trade-in program will help promote upgrades, specifically in China, while the Apple Arcade and TV+ offerings will help accelerate services growth,” CFRA Research analyst Angelo Zino said in a note about Apple.

Apple shares ended the formal trading day up slightly to $216.70, while streaming television rivals Netflix and Disney both finished down about two percent. AFP

Apple has asked its Taiwan-based supplier to begin shipping two new versions of the iPhone next month, including a lower-cost model, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

The Journal, citing unnamed sources, said Taiwan-based Hon Hai Precision, the parent company of Foxconn in China, was readying both a standard iPhone with new upgrades and a less expensive model with fewer features.

Last week, the news site AllThingsD, part of the same company as The Journal, said Apple had scheduled a September 10 event to unveil the new smartphones as part of an effort to regain momentum.

An Apple spokesman declined to comment.

Apple’s move comes with its chief rival Samsung reportedly set to unveil its own smartphones and other devices, including a smartwatch.

Speculation has centered around whether Apple will shift its strategy to include a lower-cost handset to appeal to more consumers, especially in emerging markets.

A survey released by Gartner last week said Apple’s share of the smartphone market worldwide fell to 14.2 percent in the second quarter, while Samsung’s share rose to 31.7 percent.

Gartner said the Google Android operating system was used on 79 percent of smartphones sold in the period.

President Obama’s trade representative on Saturday vetoed a ban on imports of some Apple iPads and older iPhones, dealing a setback to rival South Korean electronics company Samsung.

U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman overruled a June decision by the U.S. International Trade Commission, which had banned imports of the iPhone 4 and some variations of the iPad 2. The commission ruled that the Chinese-made Apple devices violated a patent held by Samsung and couldn’t be imported. The ban never went into effect, though, because the Obama administration had 60 days to decide if it would uphold the commission.

Obama is against import bans on the basis of the type of patent at issue in the Samsung case. The White House has recommended that Congress limit the ITC’s ability to impose import bans in these cases.

Samsung and Apple are in a global legal battle over smartphones. Apple argues Samsung’s Android phones copy vital iPhone features. Samsung is fighting back with its own complaints.

In an email, Apple spokeswoman Kristin Huguet said the company applauded the administration “for standing up for innovation.”

Samsung said in a statement late Saturday night that it was disappointed in Froman’s ruling, saying the ITC “correctly recognized that Samsung has been negotiating in good faith, and that Apple remains unwilling to take a license.”

Froman wrote in a letter to the commission that he has concerns about patent holders getting too much leverage over competitors that use their technology under licenses.

Companies license patented technology to competitors so the devices can communicate as part of an industry standard for cellphones. Under the “standards-essential patent” legal theory prevailing in federal courts, holders of such patents are obligated to license them to all comers on “fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory” terms.

U.S. courts have ruled that such patents cannot be the basis for import bans. The International Trade Commission follows a different standard than the courts, but the Obama administration wants it to adhere to the same principles.

Froman wrote that he shares the Obama administration’s concerns that the holders of standards-essential patents could get “undue leverage” over their competitors.

Last year, a federal court ruled that Samsung owed Apple $1 billion in damages for infringing on non-essential Apple patents. But the judge refused to impose an import ban on Samsung phones and later struck $450 million from the verdict, saying the jurors miscalculated. The case is set for a rematch in appeals court.

Samsung is the world’s largest maker of smartphones. Analysts estimate it outsold Apple nearly 2 to 1 in the first three months of the year. However, Apple’s smartphone business is more profitable

The iPhone 4 was launched in 2010 and is the oldest iPhone still sold by Apple. The ITC ruling applied only to the AT&T version of the phone. Apple is likely to retire the model.

Apple launched the iPad 2 in 2011. The ruling applies only to the version equipped with a cellular modem for AT&T’s network.

The ruling also applies to older iPhones, though these are no longer sold by Apple.

SAN FRANCISCO: Supply issues have snarled the U.S. rollout of Samsung Electronics Co Ltd’s latest flagship smartphone, which will go on sale at carriers Sprint and T-Mobile later than expected, the wireless service providers said on Wednesday.

Samsung attributed the disruption to unexpectedly strong demand for the Galaxy S4, the South Korean company’s direct challenge to Apple Inc’s iPhone.

“Due to overwhelming global demand of Galaxy S4, the initial supply may be limited. We expect to fulfill inventory to meet demands in the coming weeks,” the company said in a statement.

At T-Mobile, online orders will now begin April 29 instead of Wednesday as initially planned because of “an unexpected delay with inventory deliveries.” Sprint will take online orders starting Saturday as planned, but the phone will be sold at retail outlets only as it becomes available.

“We had planned to launch this next generation of the award-winning Samsung Galaxy line-up on Saturday,” Sprint said in a statement. “Unfortunately, due to unexpected inventory challenges from Samsung, we will be slightly delayed with our full product launch.”

AT&T, on the other hand, said everything was on track and the S4 would go on sale this Saturday as planned.

“Demand is far stronger than we had expected and as a result we are having difficulties in fully meeting initial supply requests,” Lee Don-joo, head of sales and marketing at Samsung’s mobile business, told reporters in Seoul.

He said the global launch would go ahead as planned on Saturday with carriers which had agreed to receive the initial supply. The phones would be shipped to other operators once network tests had been completed.

News of the patchy rollout came a day after Samsung, in one of its signature marketing strategies, took out an eight-page, full-color insert in the Wall Street Journal heralding the arrival of the device.

And by early summer, it will have set up Samsung “Experience” stores in about 1,400 Best Buy locations, designed to showcase its line-up of mobile and other electronics devices.

It was unclear what specific issues Samsung had encountered with the Galaxy S4 debut.

Supply shortages often plague the global launches of popular smartphones. iPhone buyers once routinely waited weeks or even months to receive their purchases.

Samsung’s “S” line of smartphones spearheaded its assault against Apple in past years and was instrumental in helping the company claim top-spot in the global smartphone market.

The new S4, which sports a host of software-enabled features, is seen as stealing a headstart on what’s widely expected to be an upgraded iPhone later this year. But the phone, which Samsung has said will be available in over 150 countries by the end of April, has drawn mixed reviews so far.

The Wall Street Journal’s Walt Mossberg, a widely followed gadget impresario, said the S4 was a good phone, just not a great one.

Industry watchers have said the success of the S4 could hinge on a supply back-up plan aimed at preventing a repeat of costly problems encountered in the launch of its premium smartphone last year.

Some analysts predict the new Galaxy could top 10 million unit sales in the first month after its launch, so any hiccups in the smooth delivery of core components could be disastrous.

The risks are high. A simple manufacturing error involving unsatisfactory design of handset cases cost Samsung 2 million units of lost sales in just a month after it launched the S III in May last year.

Shares in Samsung fell 0.5 percent in early Asian trade, lagging a 0.4 percent gain in the wider market.