Apple may be cooking up big things for its iPhone and iPad brands in the coming years with innovations and a new marketing strategy to entice more customers to be Apple users. The Cupertino-based giant appears to be "underpricing" its products particularly the AirPods wireless earbuds and the Apple Watch Series 1 now posting one of the lowest prices in their particular markets.

The Apple name has been synonymous with luxury with many consumers willing to pay the "Apple tax" or the steep premium on the iPhone and iPad brands for many years. However, long held iPhone niche has been slowly encroached not just by the Samsung Galaxy handsets but by China smartphones like Huawei with many innovative features at much lower prices. Moreover, Microsoft and Google have also joined the tablet fray to challenge the iPad brand with Surface Pro and Nexus brands. Hence, Apple is delving into new territories like Augmented Reality which may eventually land on the iPhone and a redesign of the iPad Pro lineup, but it needs to do more than that and it has by "underpricing" some products.

For Apple to ensure that its iPhones and iPads regain its foothold on its respective niches, the marketing team at Cupertino is using a different strategy unheard of in a decade. According to the Above Avalon analyst Neil Cybart, Apple seems to be "underpicing" its products specifically the AirPods wireless earbuds and the Apple Watch Series 1, Fortune reported. The AirPods retails at $159, the lowest in the market while Motorola's VerveOnes headphones are priced at $249. Meanwhile, the Apple Watch 1 is at $269 as compared to the Samsung Gear S3's $350 price tag and Fossil Fenix 5's $599.

The new marketing philosophy is directed towards reduction of the entry-level pricing, which is a good way to entice more customers to the Apple ecosystem. In the last ten years, Apple has been doing the opposite by going for exclusivity and scarcity to justify its steep prices for many of its products. The iPhone 8 is still expected to be at the top-end of the market with its reported $969, according to MacRumors. Actually, other Apple products are still pricey and Apple's "underpricing" strategy, for now, is only for the AirPods and Apple Watch, which Cybart reveals could still fetch higher prices without any issue.

With Apple "underpricing" some of its products, other tech companies are making their own adjustments, though there is hardly any room for it. Motorola now reduced its price for its headphones from $249 to $189.99 while Earin's wireless headphones are now $199 from $249. The new price adjustments are still above Apple's $159 price for the AirPods. Nonetheless, Apple seems to be busy not only with unannounced as of yet innovations for the iPhone and iPad brands but also in effectively employing a marketing strategy to ensure the Apple ecosystem stays viable.

Read more
Tags Airpods, Apple Watch, IPhone, Apple