Taking a look back at another week of news from Cupertino, this week’s Apple Loop covers the iPhone Six Plus going head to head against the Nexus 6, falling iPad sales, seven of the best iPhone cases, Apple's website hints at new Apple Watch capabilities, the new home for the Steve Jobs movie, Apple's $700 billion market capitalization, Chase Bank and Apple Pay, and why Woz is wrong to think the Six Plus was late.
Apple Loop is here to remind you of a few of the very many discussions that have happened around Apple over the last seven days (and you can read our weekly digest of Android news here on Forbes).
The iPhone 6 Plus Narrowly Fails To Beat The Nexus 6
Forbes' Gordon Kelly has taken a look at the two 'big-name' phablets of the festive season to see if he can declare a winner. The Nexus 6 is in Google's corner, while the iPhone 6 Plus is fighting the good fight for Apple.
...in reality they are Google and Apple’s first attempts to make a phablet. This inexperience shows in a number of areas. Both need finishes with more grip and the iPhone 6 Plus desperately needs better ergonomics. Meanwhile Android and iOS have very few features to capitalise on either phone’s big screen and this needs to change quickly.
If you are prepared to go big, right now the Nexus 6 gets my vote for its ergonomic form factor, larger display, better external speakers and vastly cheaper price. To my mind the margin of victory for these wins is bigger than the iPhone 6 Plus’ triumphs in video and battery life, while they both have great cameras.
In the end it's a very narrow victory for the Nexus 6, but neither phablet has enough to attract converts - these are two large handsets for the faithful. Perhaps next year's iterative updates might improve that, but for now you can read Kelly's full analysis here on Forbes.
It's Not A Good Sign That iPad Sales Are Falling
IDC's regular look at the tablet market does not make for the greatest of boardroom reading for Apple. With the overall tablet market up 7.2% year on year, it's not a promising sign that sales across the iPad range have fallen by 12.7%.
There are a number of reasons that could explain this - a longer than expected replacement cycle slowing users upgrading to the newest tablet, the high retail price in the iPad range compared to the low-end Android tablet market, or the huge push on the sub $149 Android tablet, could all be playing a part.
The key takeaway for me is that even in a growing market, the market share percentage is not critical - it's all about the unit sales. And in that regard, the fact that iPad sales are dropping is not going to be welcome.
If You Want To Get A Phone, Get A Case!
My Apple focus has been on the iPhone 6 this week, and specifically on how to carry Apple's latest smartphone. The case manufacturers are getting to grips with the dimensions of the handset and the stocks are building up for the Christmas rush on covers. I've taken a closer look at a handful of cases, from the high-end luxury wallets from the Netherlands to the cheap as chips bumpers on Ebay.
It’s worth mentioning that I had a particular focus on three issues when looking at these cases. The first is the accessibility of the buttons and ports around the outside of the iPhone (particularly the headphone jack), the second is the amount of extra friction and grip that a case offers the user (I find the iPhone 6 is rather good at slipping out of my hand when it is naked), and finally how much protection would a case legitimately offer in the event of a drop or fall.
With all that said, bring on the cases!
Apple Passes Out Another Few Apple Watch Crumbs Of Info
Apple is slowly releasing details on the Apple Watch, both for consumers and developers through its homepage (reports 9to5Mac). Apple.com/watch (still refusing to use the word 'smartwatch' in any marketing) now splits out the features from a single page into three headings - Timekeeping, New Ways To Connect, and Health & Fitness. From discussions of the built-in watch-faces, to the widget system used to alert you (they're called 'complications', which typifies Jony Ive's minimalist approach).
The only new detail has come direct from Angela Ahrendts, who told 9to5Mac that the retail launch is expected to be part of 'the spring season'. Previously the date has been the more tech-friendly 'early 2015'. Looks like Apple is focusing in on style and trends if the release date is season based!
Steve Jobs Lives...
Following the loss of leading man Christian Bale, and Sony Pictures as its studio, Aaron Sorkin's Steve Jobs biopic has found a new home at Universal Pictures (writes The Hollywood Reporter). Danny Boyle is still set to direct the vignette-based film of Apple's late CEO, which is based on Walter Isaacson's biography.
$700 Billion And Rising
Just after trading began on Tuesday, Apple passed a market capitalization of $700 billion on Wall Street. With shares trading close to $120 per share, the effective market cap touched $702 billion. In comparison, on Tuesday Microsoft was on $394 billion, Google was on $367 billion, and Amazon on $157 billion.
To celebrate the new high, Paul Vigna at the Wall Street Journal highlighted seventeen facts about Apple at $700 billion, which includes my personal favorite:
Apple is bigger than all of the following companies combined: Google Samsung, HTC, BlackBerry, Lenovo, Hewlett-Packard, Cirrus, SanDisk, Sony, Broadcom, and Pandora.
The Chase Is On
The expansion of Apple Pay across America continues, and now Chase Bank has given the NFC based system a vote of confidence with a ninety second advert for the Chase Freedom credit cards... where all the cards are integrated into the iPhone and Apple Pay completes all the transactions.
With heavy input (and apparently final sign-off) from Apple's SVP Phil Schiller) the advert will run on YouTube in ninety-second format, and thirty-second versions will appear on network and cable television until the end of the year.
...and Finally
Was the iPhone Six Plus really three years too late? Apple's co-founder Steve Wozniak thinks so, and he's not afraid to say so in an interview with CNNMoney:
Apple could have had a much bigger share of the smartphone market if it had a larger-screen iPhone for the past three years. It could have competed better with Samsung.
This of course relies on the assumption that Apple would have been chasing market share three years ago. History has shown that instead they chased profit and not share. The iPhone sold in record numbers each year and even if the competition sold more, Apple still made more money and influence than the competition (which is the goal with the iPad, but as noted above it's not working out as well for the larger screens).
Personally I think Apple is happier where it is now, rather than launching a 4S Plus in 2011. Tell us what you think in the comments.
Apple Loop brings you seven days worth of highlights every weekend here on Forbes. Don’t forget to follow me so you don’t miss any coverage in the future. Last week’s Apple Loop can be read here, and don’t forget this week’s edition of Loop’s sister column, Android Circuit, is also available on Forbes.
