The Apple iPhone 12 is not even here yet but the outlook is already positive mostly. Samsung, which currently leads the 5G smartphone category according to most estimates, is expected to slide to the third position in H2 2020 following the release of the first 5G-enabled iPhones. China, in particular, will be a proxy for assessing global leadership. The Chinese market is pretty competitive and thus, as a new DigiTimes report points out, the price will be a huge determining factor for the success of the iPhone 12 in the second half of the year.

Apple is a little late to the party. The first wave of 5G-ready phones arrived in 2019 and they were high-end devices with plump price tags. That’s no longer the case, thanks in part to chip makers Qualcomm and MediaTek who have rolled out 5G-capable mid-range SoCs that have made affordable 5G phones possible. So, it will be interesting to see how Apple prices the iPhone 12 to boost sales. 

iPhone 12 starting price might not be as low as predicted earlier

China’s government is keen on stimulating the domestic market by encouraging the growth of the 5G industry. Local players will try to price each other out of the market by releasing more entry-level 5G handsets and this could be a threat for the iPhone 12. 

So, while the iPhone 12 will probably do well in the US, it’s success in other markets, particularly China, will be largely dependent upon the price.