Tim Cook faces iPhone slump

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Tim Cook faces iPhone slump

Apple Inc.’s Tim Cook confirmed Wednesday that the latest iPhones, his flagship product, are not selling up to expectations. The news exposes his toughest challenge since taking over as chief executive officer from the legendary Steve Jobs: how to take the company forward when it’s top product has lost luster with consumers.

[Bloomberg]
 
All too clear that their top end iPhones are overpriced.Only so much you can leverage your brand before you get push back from the consumer.
 
Daring Fireball has a good bit on this:

https://daringfireball.net/2019/01/steve_jobs_and_apples_last_previous_earnings_warning

Even if Jobs were still around I don’t think Apple could get away with a message so short with today’s news. But Cook’s letter was just too long. There was no story to it, no narrative. It should have been something along these lines (paraphrasing for succinctness, obviously — well, maybe not obviously):


We all know the Chinese market is ****ed up — half because China is China and half because of you-know-who’s dumbass trade war. This quarter that ****ed-upped-ness hit iPhone harder than we expected. But China is the whole problem — everything else is noise. Customers around the world love the iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR, and iPhones account for 90 percent of the profits in the entire handset industry. We expect that to grow as our competitors struggle to differentiate themselves from each other.

What people took away from Cook’s letter and TV appearance today is that the iPhone laid a turd last quarter. Properly delivered, the takeaway should have been that China is crazy but the iPhone is still kicking the **** out of the entire rest of the handset industry and is only pulling further ahead.
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The reality of the profit warning is that China is badly underperforming, partly due to their unique market and partly due to the trade wars. Otherwise, Apple are still barnstorming.
 
The iPhone XS / MAX are simply to expensive.
I have one and plan to make it last now as long as possible if thats the price range they are playing in.
 
People are starting to realize Apple is going overboard with their flagship pricing, especially when other makers are actually giving you more for less - like Poco and OnePlus.

Same fate will hit Samsung although pretty soon.
 
its so darn pretty though. that i7 needs to come down more then i can do my usual second hand upgrade...
 
Its not only pricing. Apple seem hell bent on ensuring you cannot repair or replace parts. So youre forced to renew every time. Thats not very ethical.

 
WaxLyrical said:
Its not only pricing. Apple seem hell bent on ensuring you cannot repair or replace parts. So youre forced to renew every time. Thats not very ethical.

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Louis Rossman's got a couple of clips on this very topic.
Dodgy AF!
 
Chris_the_Brit said:
So Apple have finally figured out the price point at which even the iSheep are not prepared to pay.

Who knew that a $1500 phone wouldn't fly off the shelves? :ROFL:
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Well, you can get a Xr for half that! Probably could have gone a bit more aggressive with the price point. $700? $650? At $650 it would represent damn good value for money!
 
sand_man said:
Well, you can get a Xr for half that! Probably could have gone a bit more aggressive with the price point. $700? $650? At $650 it would represent damn good value for money!
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That's not an accurate comparison. It's like saying you can get an XS Max for half the price of a Galaxy X so therefore it's good value.

Thing is - you can also get an Android for half the price of an Xr with better specs.
 
I wonder how a new iPhone only every two years would change the game.

Could it lead to more sales?
 
SauRoNZA said:
I wonder how a new iPhone only every two years would change the game.

Could it lead to more sales?
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Interesting - but I think technology moves too far ahead in that time, even for Apple ;)

Instead of only being a generation or two behind everyone, we'd be looking at 3 or 4 generations behind!
 
But at the same time there would be more change and more anticipation leading to higher sales.

The whole annual phone thing really is a bit silly especially when nobody has annual contracts anyway.
 
WaxLyrical said:
That's not an accurate comparison. It's like saying you can get an XS Max for half the price of a Galaxy X so therefore it's good value.

Thing is - you can also get an Android for half the price of an Xr with better specs.
Click to expand...
Merely stating there cheaper alternatives within the iPhone range.

Xr is a highly competent handset. Screen res at 326ppi is underwhelming, sure, but 6.1" screen, decent battery life, A12 chipset, single lens camera rated on a par with the Pixel 3, modern design! There's a lot to like on the Xr.

I honestly don't believe there many iPhone users jumping to android on account of the higher prices. In fact there's evidence to suggest the opposite. Android users switching to the Xr as it's viewed as a value proposition. Besides it's not just the cost of switching handset/OS. There's the cost of purchasing apps on the new platform.

Had Apple been more aggressive coming in at $600-$650, that would have represented excellent value for money IMHO. Cheap enough for me to dump my OP6? Probably not cause I'm really loving it...
 
SauRoNZA said:
But at the same time there would be more change and more anticipation leading to higher sales.

The whole annual phone thing really is a bit silly especially when nobody has annual contracts anyway.
Click to expand...

I used to hate Sonys 6 month cycle - I no sooner got the phone in my hands (new, cutting edge) and there was a replacement out
 
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