Marketing Strategies for Apple's iPhone X

This article explains the different marketing strategies implemented by Apple to sell and promote its new flagship device, the iPhone X. It discusses how Apple has differentiated its products from other similar devices and still maintain its premium status in the market. The article also talks about the ethical and social issues faced by Apple and its marketing plan for the iPhone X.

MARKETING 101
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The following narrative explains the different marketing strategies implemented by Apple to sell
and promote its new flagship device. The iPhone X. it will explain how Apple has differentiated
its products from other similar devices and still maintain its premium status in the market. The
iPhone X is a flagship device that has one of a kind feature and surpassed its predecessors in
terms of quality. Apple has positioned the product in the upper class of the market that belongs to
individuals who can afford to pay for the premium features provided by the device. Targeting a
specific group of people, Apple has maintained its status as a premium brand in the market, with
a loyal base of customers who appreciate functionality over cost effectiveness. Thus it has
become the highest selling smartphone on the market.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION 4
MARKETING CONCEPTS AND PRINCIPLES 4
MARKETING MIX CONSIDERATIONS 7
Product: 7
Place 8
Price: 8
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITIES AND ETHICAL ISSUES 8
INFORMATION COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES 10
MARKETING PLAN 10
CONCLUSION 11
REFERENCE 12

INTRODUCTION
Last year marked the end of the first decade of the post iPhone era. An ea ushered in by Steve
Jobs with his landmark keynote of 2007 that gave an explosive birth to the current market of
smartphones. To commemorate this occasion the company has released the iPhone X which has
become a target for both criticism and praise. As its new bezel less aesthetic appeal is being
applauded by a large section of its customer base the new lip on the top of the screen to
accommodate cameras and other sensors has been baffling for even its ardent admirers. With all
things considered, the company's new flagship device has received a considerably warm
welcome and as per the second quarter reports of the company iPhone x an increasing amount of
sales compared to the 1st quarter. Contradicting the predictions of analysts the iPhone X has
become the highest selling smartphone in the U.S. in the first quarter of 2018 (Strauss and Frost,
2016). Over 16 million units of the device has been shipped in the first 3 months. Priced at 999
dollars for the basic model vendors were worried that wooing buyers with the latest smartphone
would a severe issue but they were surprised to see the sales figures had rose by 2.9 % in the
second quarter.
MARKETING CONCEPTS AND PRINCIPLES
The segmentation, targeting and position approach of apple represents its core marketing efforts.
Segmentation is the division of the population into certain groups on the basis of a number of
parameters and targeting refers to the process of choosing a set of groups which have been
identified through segmentation to position and sell the product (Ryan, 2016). The segment of
Apple’s current target customers include certain character traits. They include the appreciation of
designing, performance and overall quality over the price of the product. The term positioning is
identifying a marketing mix that will be most appealing to the target segment.
For the Iphone X apple has decided to use the mono segment type of positioning thus making a
positive effect on on single customer segment. Apple like all its other products have positioned
the iPhone X as a premium flagship offering, valuing quality and overall customer satisfaction

over price. The product like its predecessors offers the latest advancements in smartphone
technology for additional costs (Humphrey, et al. 2018). Their target consumer segment
comprises of individuals who are well off and are willing to pay extra for a product that comes
with the most advanced design, functions and technological capabilities in the market.
Apple’s strategy of market segmentation for the iPhone X involves dividing their base of
customers into 3 different sets. The first segment include customers with high loyalty for the
brand. This group of Apple enthusiasts are further divided into two sub groups. The first one
consists of people who have a strong sense of loyalty towards the brand and act as the primary
buyer of every flagship device that is released by the company(Bianchi, and Andrews, 2015).
They are not only customers of the iPhone but are also consumers of the other series of apple
products. This segment includes individuals who use more than one device or service that is
offered by the brand. They are well aware of the features provided by the device and know how
they will benefit from the product and thus they are willing to pay the extra amount of money to
acquire these features. The second subgroup consists of individuals from the upper middle and
upper class individuals who may not be ardent Apple enthusiasts but understand the premium
value of the the brand name and are able and willing to pay extra for the product. They are the
main group of customers for whom Apple is able to maintain their higher pricing levels (Kim, et
al. 2016). They mostly belong to the age group of 20-45 years and understands the brand value
of a premium flagship device like the iPhone.
The second segment consist of people who will be attracted to the novelty and design of the
product. This group contains people from every income group who have the ability to pay the
lump sum amount for the device. They may not have the loyalty of the first group but Apple
aims to bring them in with the exclusivity of features offered by the iPhone X. They belong to

every possible age group and are already using a smartphone and Apple aims at providing a
better option to simplify their needs.
The third segment includes a group of people who feel like buying the iPhone would enhance
their social status due the premium brand value of Apple (Lovelock and Patterson, 2015.).
Though they may already own a previous version of the iPhone, they are still willing to scour for
the latest. They mostly belong to age group of 18-25 years and cannot be considered to show any
kind of loyalty towards the brand though they help increase the brand value of Apple with their
fascination and peer to peer promotion.
Apple has Shipped over 16 million units over a period of three months, or the first quarter of the
year. This has led to the iPhone X being the best selling handset in available in the current
market contradicting the prediction of market analysts. Overall, since its release in November
2017 the company has shipped over 50 million units worldwide. The 16 million units of the
iPhone X shipped in US in the first quarter has led to a 16% YoY increase with OEM showing
that Apple is successfully taking Samsung's market share at a continuous rate in the premium
segment of the market (Estrada, Smith and Wehner, 2018). The super premium segment of
Apple, in which the iPhone belongs accounts for 20% of total sales in the US in the first quarter
with Samsung trailing behind at 8%. The overall +$800 price segment increased by 28% with an
additional share of 3% over what was reported in the last quarter of 2017.
MARKETING MIX CONSIDERATIONS
Product:
Though the iPhone X has show promising figures loyalists of the brand have argued that the face
recognition system though extremely and can be used in complete darkness, actually hampers the
magical user experience previous iPhones that they were used to. Users critiqued that the new
iPhone takes more steps and more additional gestures for navigation through the new user
interface (Xie, and Ding, 2016). They added that this was a huge step backward and is a cause
for frustrations among many loyal iPhone enthusiasts. Though the bezel less is its main attraction

and provides a brilliant experience the thickness of the screen automatically means that there is
no room for the signature home button of the predecessors of the new model. The components
required for the facial recognition are all compressed into the top of the screen in an extended
part that is being referred to as the notch (Estrada, Smith and Wehner, 2018). This notch has also
become a topic of argument as though it is being used by other brands on their models it mostly
harms the user experience during the playing of videos. Some softwares also have not been
updated to accommodate the notch.
Place
Apple has large chain of sales and distribution channel. It divides its distribution into
geographical segments and manages its business by dividing the market. It is currently selling
the iPhone X through its exclusive retailers and authorised resellers who are directly selling the
products to the customers. There's no official third party involved in the chain of distribution of
the product in the United States (Yun, et al. 2018). Though Apple sells its product directly, third
party cell phone carriers are used for the network. The device will be available throughout the
states with little to no delay in after sales services.
Price:
Apple has priced the basic model of the iPhone X at a steep 999 dollars. In this highly
competitive market of the smartphone industry most brands use a varied strategy to keep their
product prices low in order to win the competition, grow sales and expand their market. On the
contrary Apple has always stuck to its premium pricing approach. All their products have a hefty
price tag and can be purchased by individuals who come from the high income group of society
and can appreciate the flamboyant functionality of a flagship device like the iPhone X. it
maintains its image of selling premium products in a highly competitive market despite being
challenged heavily by its competitors (Kingsnorth, 2016). Apple believes that the unique
experience that their devices provide are enough to justify the price tag and maintain this loyal
base of customers. This has been proved as Apple has released its quarterly report of sales

figures and they show that despite pessimism regarding the device Apple has actually increased
their market share..
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITIES AND ETHICAL ISSUES
As Apple celebrates the growing sales figures of its flagship device it faces a dilemma with two
ethical as well as social issues that seem to have no apparent relations with each other.
Of all its technological marvels, the 3-D facial recognition technology of the iPhone X has
created the most buzz (Fan, Lau, and Zhao, 2015). The credit goes to its innovative cameras and
sensors that enable the user to unlock the device by pointing the phone at their face.Though it has
exceeded all its competitors in this field new legal and ethical issues have surfaced as privacy
advocates and technologists worry that ramifications will be terrible if the faceprint data falls in
the hands of cyber predators (Yang, Sun, and Lee, 2016). Though officials have assured the users
on behalf of Apple that the data will only be stored in the device itself and nowhere else some
question remain in the minds of users as facial recognition technology takes a new leap with
Apple as its innovator.
Another issue that haunts the Apple user are recent reports by the media on the abhorrent
conditions of workers at the Apple’s manufacturing factories. These reported rumours have left
Americans who are socially conscious with the dilemma of whether to use the iPhone or not.
Americans who support socially responsible manufacturing practices have become intimately
accustomed to their iPhones and iPads. But they are now questioning themselves on whether to
ignore the strong evidences that have surfaced and abandon their beloved iPhones. With he
release of the iPhone X, Apple needs to respond strongly and handle these allegations
responsibly before there customers choose to act and abandon the brand (Nagle, and Müller,
2017). Though Apple enjoys a strong loyalty from its customers ethical and moral issues as
grave as these is bound to have serious effects on the brand value of the company.

INFORMATION COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES
Apple uses its own exclusive promotional strategies at mirror their unique line of products and
compliment them perfectly. The procedure of marketing begins from the product itself and the
company utilises its brand value to the fullest. (Zhang, Liang, and Wang, 2016). Apart from all
of this the brand also uses a mix of both online and offline campaigns for promotion of every
product that they launch. Apple has a massive following on all the social media platforms present
in today's market. And it has used these tools to vehemently market the iPhone X. release various
videos of the various features provided by the device. A number of videos comparing the camera
of the new Iphone with a professional camera can be found on internet. These vdes prove the
superiority of the device. Apart from their own websites various other online marketing and
promotional channels were used for publicity. E retail chains like Amazon who are selling the
product are also promoting the brand. The huge buzz around the innovativeness of the product
has also helped with the campaign.
Apple has conveniently used the various information and communication technology channels
for marketing the iPhone X. Videos of the product on Youtube help users to familiarize with the
product and act as an engaging promotional experience. The iPhone X promotional video known
as the “meet the iPhone X” has already received more than 10 million hits thus proving that
iPhone has gathered all the necessary attention on social media. Different product review
channels and websites have also covered the product extensively (Ismail, et al. 2017). Apple has
always used a multi pronged marketing strategy for their products and the results of these efforts
are visible in the form of higher sales numbers and increased revenue for the company.
MARKETING PLAN
For the iPhone X the marketing plan needs to be precise and to the point. The strongest factor of
every new new iPhone as mentioned earlier is it’s differentiation from the competition. For
example every new iPhone comes with a brand new tagline. For the iPhone it was “the only
thing that has changed is everything” iPhone X it was “say hello to the future” . a position like

this itself promote the brand (De Mooij, 2018). Apple chooses not to compete with its
competition but instead points out how the world changes with the arrival of every new iPhone.
The launch events are expected to be dramatic and every new feature of the iPhone X is
thoroughly highlighted. The new wireless charging feature and other such innovations are
awestrikng for the audience. Social media platforms like twitter, instagram and facebook are
highly utilised by the brand to discuss and promote the uniqueness of such features. Spec
comparisons by tech savvy individuals and second hand sales offers are also efficient
contributing factors. The apple store cme with their own brand of exclusivity with sales staff
who are highly knowledgeable and extremely friendly. The genius bar located inside the Apple
store are one of the elements contributing to Apples one of a kind brand value. It is a tech
support station that provides concierge style assistance to the customers. The are highly efficient
and can answer almost any queries regarding the devices (MBA Skool-Study.Learn.Share.,
2018). If all these factors contribute efficiently for the marketing of the iPhone X , it will have no
problem maintaining its lead as the highest selling smartphone in the current market.
Competitive analysis
The following table compares the iPhone X with its current competion. The Galaxy S8, LG V30
and the HTC U11 (Naudus, 2018).

Apple Iphone X Galaxy S8 LG V30 HTC U11
Pricing $999, $1149
(off contract)
$725 (off
contract)
Not available $649, $729 (off
contract)
Known
dimensions
143.6 x 70.9 x
7.7mm (5.65 x
2.79 x 0.30
inches)
148.9 x 68.1 x
8.0mm (5.86 x
2.68 x 0.31
inches)
151.7 x 75.4 x
7.39 mm (5.97 x
2.97 x 0.29
inches)
153.9 x 75.9 x
7.9mm (6.06 x
2.89 x 0.31
inches)
Weight 174g (6.14
ounces)
155g (5.47
ounces)
158g (5.57
ounces)
169g (5.96
ounces)
Screen size 5.8 inches
(147.32mm)
5.8 inches
(147.32mm)
6.0 inches 5.5 inches
(139.7mm)
Screen resolution 2,436 x 1,125
(458ppi)
2,960 x 1,440
(570ppi)
2,880 x 1,440
(537ppi)
2,560 x 1,440
(534ppi)
Screen type Super Retina
OLED
Quad HD+
AMOLED
Quad HD+
FullVision P-
OLED
Quad HD Super
LCD 5
Battery Up to 21 hours
talk time, 12
hours internet
3,000mAh 3,300mAh 3,000mAh
Internal storage 64 / 256 GB 64GB 64GB 64 / 128GB
External storage None microSD microSD microSD
Rear camera Dual cameras:
Wide-angle,
12MP, f/1.8
telephoto,
12MP, f/2.4
12MP, f/1.7 Dual cameras:
16MP, f/1.6
13MP, f/1.9
12MP, f/1.7,
1.4μm pixel size
Front-facing
camera
7MP
TrueDepth,
8MP 5MP, f/2.2 16MP, f/2.0

f/2.2
Video capture 4K at 60fps 4K 4K 4K
Bluetooth v5.0 v5.0 v5.0 v4.2
CONCLUSION
Apple is a flagship brand in the field of technology and has no need for introductions. The
company had made an explosive return in the market n recent years and this growth is strongly
based on the sales of their flagship devices, the iPhones. The company's latest release, the iPhone
X has received a warm welcome and the results from its quarterly sales reports have clearly
indicated that the brand is nowhere close to losing its market value and business momentum
(Lieb, 2017). The device provides its users with a submersive experience and intuitively
responds to the needs of its user. Apple has surpassed its own standards in designing the device.
The bezel less display promises to elevate the user experience to a whole new level, creating a
higher amount of user satisfaction for its loyal enthusiasts. This device, like any other Apple
product has received extensive media coverage and has become the highest selling smartphone in
the current market.

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