Apple is gearing up to announce new hardware at its “Wonderlust” event on Tuesday. Fans can expect to see the iPhone 15 series, the Apple Watch Series 9 along with a second-generation Apple Watch Ultra and AirPods Pro with a USB Type-C charging case make their debut.
As is tradition every year, as new products are introduced, older ones start to phase out from Apple’s portfolio. This stands especially true for the Pro iPhones, which are immediately discontinued. After last year’s “Far Out” event, where the tech giant announced the iPhone 14 series among other things, Apple discontinued the iPhone 13 Pro models, the iPhone 12 Mini and the iPhone 11. The Apple Watch Series 7 was also discontinued after the Apple Watch Series 8, Apple Watch SE (2022) and the Apple Watch Ultra were announced. This year will be no different.
Going by Apple’s track record, the iPhone 14 Pro models will be removed from Apple’s official website and stores. The iPhone 12 and the iPhone 13 Mini are also likely to be discontinued.
According to Counterpoint Research, from its launch in September 2021 to the end of 2022, the iPhone 13 Mini contributed to less than five percent of the iPhone 13 series sales. The case with iPhone 12 Mini, which was discontinued last year, is also the same, with 10 percent share of sales.
This was one of the key reasons why Apple replaced it with the Plus model in the iPhone 14 lineup and is likely to do the same this year with a PLus 6.7-inch display model, which also only held a seven percent share in the US market, as per an April 2023 report by JPMorgan Chase.
The official leather cases from Apple are also rumoured to be discontinued. The leather cases were first introduced with the iPhone 5s in 2013 and have had periodic updates over the years. This year, as Apple continues its journey to becoming carbon neutral by 2030, it is reportedly looking to replace the leather with a “FineWoven” material, which is expected to have a significantly lower carbon footprint.
According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, several other accessories, such as watch bands and MagSafe wallets could also see a dip in stock — probably because of the same reason.
Gurman also notes that Apple is also looking to minimise inventory of the first-gen Apple Watch Ultra, which is expected to get a minor upgrade this year along with the addition of a new black colour option.
The event will kick off at 10.30 pm IST. It will also be available on YouTube, Apple's official website, and the Apple TV app for live streaming. CNBC-TV18 will also be covering the event through a live blog and news stories tracking the announcements, so don’t forget to tune in for that.
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