#AppleEvent 2021: New iPhones, new colours, but same old design [Social media analysis]

Global media intelligence company, Meltwater, tracked and analysed social media mentions around the September 2021 #AppleEvent to uncover how the company still encourages users to “Think Different”.

#AppleEvent global mentions

Social media buzz began on Tuesday, 7 September 2021, a week before the event, when Pop Crave shared, on Twitter, that the #AppleEvent would be taking place on 14 September, and that the iPhone 13 was expected to be unveiled. Anticipation began to rise following the news, with just over 14,000 global social media mentions on ‘#AppleEvent’ on 8 September 2021, and the hashtag garnering a social media reach of 41.3 million people worldwide.

On Tuesday, 14 September 2021 (the actual day of the ‘#AppleEvent’), the hashtag received 296,000 social media mentions and had a social media reach of 2.61 billion people worldwide, indicating the global high interest in what Apple were launching among online users.

These numbers more than doubled the following day, where the data collected 638,000 social media mentions on the hashtag on 15 September 2021, garnering a global social reach of 2.74 trillion.

Global Social Volume (blue) vs Social Reach (green) on ‘#AppleEvent’ between 6 September and 17 September 2021

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With the event being livestreamed from the United States of America (USA), the top five countries with social media users engaging the most on the hashtag were the USA, Japan, Thailand, India and Malaysia, respectively.

The data indicates that interest from Japan and Thailand for the ‘#AppleEvent’ was centred around users sharing their thoughts on Apple producing an iPhone with a 1TB storage capacity as well as the cost of the iPhone 13 range. The data also shows that interest from India centred around how the iPhone 13’s design didn’t look any different to the iPhone 12 and were not too impressed with the small changes that had been made to the new lineup of iPhones. In Malaysia, social media users were quite fond of the new colours that the iPhone 13 came in, with ‘Sierra Blue’ emerging as a stand-out colour.

Global Heat Map on Social Media Mentions for ‘#AppleEvent’ between 6 September and 17 September 2021

New iPhones, new colours, but same old design

Compared to the 2019 #AppleEvent, where three new iPhone 11 devices were announced, and the 2020 #AppleEvent, where no new iPhones were announced, it comes as no surprise that many were expecting, and excited about, the announcement of a new iPhone 13.

And social media users were in for a treat, with the announcement of four new iPhones 13 devices, which dominated much of the online conversations surrounding the #AppleEvent.

The data collected 293,000 global social media mentions on “iPhone 13” on 14 September 2021, which is almost double the amount of global social media mentions that the iPhone 12 received during the 2019 #AppleEvent (where “iPhone 12” received 172,000 global social media mentions during September 2019).

Mentions on ‘iPhone 13’ took a similar trajectory as mentions on hashtag “#AppleEvent”, where these mentions more than doubled the following day, with 641,000 global social media mentions on “iPhone 13”, garnering a global social reach of 2.74 trillion.

Global Social Media Volume (blue) vs Social Reach (green) for ‘iPhone 13’ between 6 September and 17 September 2021

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On 14 September, the total number of global social media mentions on the new iPad products were 573,000, and the total number of global social media mentions on the new Apple Watch Series was 293,000, indicating that globally, social media users were much more interested in the iPhone 13 than the other Apple products mentioned during the event.

Global Social Media Volume (blue) vs Social Reach (green) for ‘Apple Watch Series 7’ between 6 September and 17 September 2021

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Global Social Media Volume (blue) vs Social Reach (green) for ‘iPad’ between 6 September and 17 September 2021

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While social media users had more good than bad things to say about the latest iPhone 13 range, many were left with mixed feelings about it, particularly around the phone’s design and looks.

Eighty-three percent of global social media users had these mixed feelings towards the new iPhone 13, with many users questioning whether to buy the phone or not due to the similarities when compared to the design of previous iPhone models, particularly the iPhone 12.

The 11% positive sentiment that the data found praised Apple for the new colours that the iPhone 13 came in, with ‘Sierra Blue’ emerging as a fan favourite, as well as the Pro range of iPhones emerging as fan favourites for what users might purchase. The 6% negative sentiment is attributed to social media users expressing their disappointment in the design of the iPhone 13 and Apple’s lack of innovation in this regard.

Global Sentiment Analysis on ‘iPhone 13’ on Social Media between 6 September and 17 September 2021

With yet another #AppleEvent done and dusted, and many avid fans of the Apple brand eagerly awaiting to get their hands on the iPhone 13, social media was surely buzzing from announcements made by the tech giant.

Users might still question the design of the phone, but one thing is certain: Apple knows how to get the world talking about their products and always successfully excite the masses with their innovations.

For a free demo of the Meltwater platform and social media monitoring capabilities, click here.

Source: Data gathered by Meltwater between 6 September and 17 September 2021