iPhone 17: Apple’s Make-Or-Break Moment
Tahmid H. Waris
Staff Writer
Saying that the release of the iPhone 17 is Apple’s last chance at regaining the trust of their loyal customers is no joke. There haven’t been many important changes in the iPhone since the iPhone X. Over the years, this repetitive release of what feels like the same phone has angered customers, leaving many switching to Android, as those devices continue to evolve at a level Apple has not kept up with. It also doesn’t help that Apple has recently fallen behind in the AI sector, even though they were the first to enter it. Their early release of Siri gave them a head start, but other companies quickly took the lead when Apple failed to maintain focus. This has contributed to why people are losing interest in each new iPhone release.
Siri was introduced as an AI assistant and was a headline feature of the iPhone, but nowadays it is seen as a forgotten feature of the iPhone. This has to do with the fact that they rushed the release of the AI made with underlying technology to release with the iPhone 4S. What started as a pioneer in the AI sector, Siri was quickly overtaken in the AI race, and over the years they have only proven how ill-equipped they were to even participate. Apple invested in radical improvements, however when those did not yield the results they hoped for, they fell back on the mere-exposure effect, their main marketing strategy.
Apple, under Tim Cook’s direction, has long understood and shown its ability in shaping consumer psychology. This is apparent in their main strategy regarding the iPhone: the mere exposure effect. The mere exposure effect is a psychological phenomenon where people develop a preference for something they have been repeatedly exposed to. In this case, it relates to how used to the iPhone people are that they continue buying the same new release. But times are changing, and Apple’s loyal customers are frustrated that they have to spend over a thousand dollars on new releases with minimal feature changes. Whereas once the familiar design pushed customers to keep buying the new edition of the same product, it now works against Apple as customers are tired of the brand making just enough changes to every new iPhone. This is because Apple is falling behind competitors when it comes to innovative features. The iPhone 17 can be considered a last chance for Apple. Many customers feel that if they do not implement major changes with the iPhone 17, they never will, and therefore customers would be better off taking their business elsewhere.
Contact Tahmid @ waristah@shu.edu