Apple Under Pressure to iPhone 8 as Smartphone Market Slows

As Apple and Samsung gear up to launch new flagship smartphones, the market

 leaders are seeking a wow factor that can help them fend off challenges from rising

 Chinese-based manufacturers.

Apple is under particular pressure to dazzle as the culture-changing California 

iPhone maker looks for a way to maintain its image as an innovation leader in a 

global market showing signs of slowing.

"Clearly, Apple wants to do something different for the 10th anniversary" of the 

Phone, NPD Group analyst Stephen Baker told AFP.

Baker said this is a challenge for Apple because "it is still going to be a flat piece

 of glass and the other things we talk about around a phone."

Apple is widely expected to unveil the latest iteration of the iPhone in September

 while smartphone market leader Samsung is holding an August 23 unveiling 

likely to launch its Galaxy Note 8 handset.

The two market leaders are seeing rivals, mainly from China, chip away at 

market share, creating pressure to showcase innovation, say analysts.

Some reports say the new iPhone will include a high-quality, edge-to-edge 

screen with a notch in the top for an extra camera supporting 3D facial recognition.

Some speculate that the back of the new handset will be glass and will offer 

wireless charging.

"We are expecting a major design refresh on Apple," GlobalData analyst Avi 

Greengart told AFP.

"That has been a sore point, especially in China. People are looking to show 

off a status symbol, so it needs to look different than Huawei or Xiaomi, and I

 think it will."

Apple has lost ground in the Chinese market, with revenues down 10 percent

 in the past quarter from a year earlier in its "Greater China" segment.

Some reports say Apple could release as many as three new handsets, 

including an "iPhone Pro" aimed at capturing the high end of the market.

Shifting market
Global smartphone sales saw a modest decline of 0.8 percent in the second

 quarter of 2017, as market leaders Samsung and Apple consolidated their 

positions, an IDC survey showed.

The South Korean giant maintained the top spot with  a 23.3 percent market

 share, while Apple held onto second place with 12 percent, according to IDC.

Huawei was the third-largest vendor, with an 11.3 percent market share. The

 Chinese electronics giant closed the gap with Apple, adding two percentage

 points to market share from a year earlier, according to the survey.

China-based Oppo and Xiaomi rounded out the top five.

Samsung is in stride with a recently released Galaxy S8 flagship phone, 

seemingly recovered from an embarrassing recall of a Galaxy Note 7 model

 due to batteries catching fire.

"Samsung had the Note 7 debacle, but it appears their troubles are behind 

them," Greengart said.

"Samsung is doing some amazing things with its display and design."

NPD's Baker said he expected "the drum beat of Hero Android phones" that 

could challenge the iPhone "to be a little louder this year that it has been."

Meanwhile, the Google-made Pixel smartphones that debuted last year will 

likely get a second generation in the months ahead.

New Pixels are expected to have richer screens and an additional front speaker,

 and to follow the trend of adding a second camera on the back for depth-sensing.

Gartner analyst Brian Blau suggested that, aside from Apple trying to wow with 

an anniversary iPhone, flagship handsets launched this year would have

 incremental improvements, not radical transformations.

"There will be a small number of new players, and that always brings excitement," 

Blau said.

New entries include the "Essential" smartphone from a startup founded by Andy 

Rubin, credited with being the father of Android software.

Essential, whose backers include Internet colossus Amazon and China's Tencent 

Holdings, began selling its $699 handset this month, touting the handset's ceramic

and titanium construction and the ability to add accessories on a magnetic connector.

Augmenting reality
Some analysts say the upcoming handsets may showcase the ability to handle 

augmented reality (AR) as a way to revive interest.

Google has pushed augmented reality with a "Tango" phone, and enabled Pixel 

handsets to be used for virtual reality with "Daydream" gear. And Apple has made

 an AR kit available to developers that could lead to iPhone apps.

"The standard AR demos we have seen for years as a future thing - seeing how 

new furniture looks in your living room or virtual coupons hanging in mid-air in 

supermarket aisles - we will see this fall," Greengart predicted.