Apple Company • Page 418

Tim Cook will host meeting for all Apple employees to talk iPhone | Cult of Mac

Maybe it’s time for Tim to realize that prices are increasing while innovation isn’t. People are tapping out and no one is really interested in paying MacBook prices for an iPhone.

 

That's ... not ... true ... ?

 

Jobs’s arrogance got him into trouble at times, but at other times it was his saving grace. One of the finest moments in Apple’s history, at least from a messaging standpoint, was the company’s response to the iPhone 4 antennagate controversy. That press conference was a masterstroke. But underlying its success were two things: (1) the story truly was vastly overblown — the iPhone 4 antenna did have a weakness but it was a terrific product overall; (2) Jobs knew this and took a “I can’t believe I have to waste my time with this bullshit, but OK, I’ll explain it to you” attitude into dealing with it.

I think Cook’s genuine and inherent humility holds Apple back on days like today. Apple needed less “I’m sorry, let me explain” and more “Fuck you, this is bullshit, let me explain”. 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 shit out of the entire rest of the handset industry and is only pulling further ahead.

Steve Jobs and Apple’s Last Previous Earnings Warning

 

Haha, I was just reading that post. Gruber's press release was pretty funny. I'd venture it would have caused an investor revolt, but funny nonetheless.

 

the most expensive iPhone is the 512GB XS Max - a storage size that maybe less than 2% of the world actually needs or utilizes - is $1,449. the base level MacBook Pro is $1,299


the most commonly bought iPhones all still retail under $1000

come on

 

also if you're using cloud services correctly no one really needs more than 64GB on their device

 

Giving excuses doesn’t matter when the prices are there. Apple has chosen to make their #1 selling device with its two most-advertised models start at $1,150 (for anything more than 64 GB, which face it, consumers want more than that) and $1,200 for 64GB.

Their cheap model, which starts off close to $800 is what is really in competition with other premium models from other companies and it’s losing that because 1) consumers know they are losing features that were included in phones with smaller starting prices years ago 2) the competitors are selling phones with more features at the same price range.

Apple has gotten too cocky with thinking their loyalty has no price limit. With how long an iPhone can last, people are less likely to have any incentive to upgrade when the only things increasing are the prices and the sizes of the phones.

You can be in denial all you want to but the reality is that this has come back to haunt them and Tim having to do “one of the hardest things” he has had to do as a CEO is the reality. Apple cannot continue listing their best phones at $1,000 and $1,200 with only 64GB being offered at those lowest offers. A MacBook starts at $1,300 and offering any iPhone at that price (two Xs Max price offers) is ridiculous. I’ve been an Apple fanboy for over a decade and I do not feel bad for Apple for seeing these losses when they pull those prices for any iPhone model in the current market. The only thing that sucks is that these losses will affect the employees which is why Tim is having to have a meeting. Hopefully some of them will tell him how it is.

 

here's an opinion you probably won't like but maybe the XS is priced higher than a Galaxy S9 is because the iOS software and ecosystem is worth that price difference.

everyone always compares just the hardware features an says "Samsung has an UHD display and dual lens camera etc etc and is 200 dollars less."

well yes, it's less expensive because the OS on these phones are fragmented and garbage

 

This isn’t a matter over which OS is better, it’s a matter of how high iPhone prices have increased when there is not a current incentive for people to upgrade. As seen with the decline in sales, consumers are not willing, and shouldn’t give in, to pay the starting price of $1,200 for an iPhone model and hearing “iOS is better than Android” doesn’t influence them to cash out a few extra hundred when the common user just wants to use social media and music. The competition is getting tighter in the eyes of consumers and that’s something Apple and their prices are going to need to adjust to.

 

The new guidance is for the second best quarter in the company's history. The gross margins are going to not change.

The evidence leans far more on there being a confluence of factors for less than expected, BUT STILL A FUCKING SHIT LOAD OF iPHONES BEING SOLD, such as: China and iOS 12 and the new battery program making phones last longer. Higher prices may have depressed sales as well, but looking at gross margins, it wasn't that big of a factor. A phone being so good that people are able to keep using it longer is a good problem to have. China itself, for quite a few reasons, is a bigger issue. And, a market that actually wants higher priced goods, as long as they're "new:"

None of that lock-in exists in China: Apple may be a de facto monopolist for most of the world, but in China the company is simply another smartphone vendor, and being simply another smartphone vendor is a hazardous place to be. To be clear, it’s not all bad: in China Apple still trades on status and luxury; unlike the rest of the world, though, the company has to earn it with every release, and that’s a bar both difficult to clear in the abstract and, given the last two iPhones, difficult to clear in reality.

However, what is simply not true is the idea that "consumers are not willing to pay" ... because there's zero evidence to back that up. Apple are still on track capture the majority of profit in the entire smartphone industry for the quarter.

 

Um ... the company is going to make north of 30b in this quarter.

Why? Because it's smaller? An iPhone is a lot of people's computers, and for many, it's better than any MacBook. Performance and convenience wise.

 

Of course they can.

The argument can be had if they should release cheaper phones as well (I believe they should). But there's a history of those devices being seen as "cheaper" and therefore not selling as well (iPhone 5C). But a diversification in the price and device market -- an XR like phone at 5.5 inches for example -- doesn't mean they'll lower the price of the flagship device.

 

the starting prices for top of the line iPhones are: 749, 999, and 1099 - don't make stuff up with the 1200 bullshit because YOU think you need 256 GB.

I know plenty of people who have spent less on a Pixel or Galaxy and regretted it instantly because they don't have iOS and that ecosystem (and yes there are also plenty of people who don't really give a crap about how intuitive or pleasing the user experience is)

and the competition is not getting tighter at all

 

also the XR, IMO, is absolutely a flagship phone - just ask some of the users here who have bought one.

Apple sells 3 flagship models (XR, XS, XS Max) starting at $750 (and really even less than that if you trade in or sell your phone prior)

 

Don’t call the XR a top of the line iPhone when it doesn’t even have 3D Touch and my cheap 8 model does.

This isn’t about me (btw, I use iCloud so GB isn’t a concern). It’s about consumers. iPhones are the only phones where you have to pay $1,200 for a 64GB model or higher.

You need to face reality and realize you do not share the common mindset. If you did, Tim wouldn’t be having a meeting with his employees over low iPhone sales.

 

(The XR's camera and battery and chip are so much better than your 8.)

 

I use 3D touch a lot less than I thought I would tbh

 

you're going to use the lack of 3D Touch as the reason why you think the XR isn't a top of the line phone? you're gonna ignore how incredibly impressive the Liquid Retina display is? or the battery life? or the camera?

wow.

 

There's a wide difference between revenue guidance being shifted by about $6b and this "the world is falling iPhone sales are tanking" mindset. iPhone sales being comparatively down for a variety of reasons doesn't mean they're not selling at all.

(And, I'm willing to bet other handset makers are going to have similar issues given the current trade war with China. That this is an industry issue moreso than just an Apple issue, although there are other factors at play that are Apple-specific.)

 

I use it for selecting text mostly, yay for trackpad mode, and a few apps. But the "haptic touch" on the XR works just fine as a replacement. I've used Hannah's phone enough to see that.

 

And as was said earlier - what do these people want. Apple builds solid phones and supports them with updates for way longer than the standard 2 years (at best) for Android. People hold on to their iPhones. Sure some of that could be due to a lack of innovation, but solid build quality and software support play a part as well and should not be looked as a negative.

I can’t stand when these YouTube reviewers show off a $300 Xiaomi phone and conveniently forget to mention it will likely never receive another Android update. Even worse, you drop $800 on a Galaxy S9 or $1K on a Note 9 and Samsung pushes last years Android update 2 months after Google unveils the new one. That’s unacceptable.

 

exactly - not enough people realize that the software factors into the price as well

sure you might spend 800-1200 bucks on one of the X series iPhones but you damn well know that that phone is gonna last you at least four years

 

I have nothing of note to add here that isn’t been discussed but my X is the greatest phone I’ve ever owned. My wife upgraded to the XS this year because she was not happy with her photos and videos downloading slowly from iCloud and I could understand that frustration. She got the 512GB and I haven’t had to help troubleshoot a thing since launch which is great piece of mind of me. She’ll likely be interested in the camera on the next model but will probably just stick with the XS for a long while. Only thing I foresee making me upgrade at any point is once this phone is not longer supported by most features of the current OS.

I guess to reign it in and talk to the point that consumers aren’t flocking to buy devices: good? Idk that there were any supply constraints this year like there have been in the past ... and this is bad? Idk, the Apple news wire seems to be clamoring for a story since they no longer have access to concrete sales numbers. All this drama is about inconsequential things when it comes to consumers. The devices still rule so for me, almost of this hullabaloo is much ado about nothing.

 

we ditched cable in favor of streaming services, and in our bedroom we have like a Gen1 apple TV that doesnt have the ability to download new apps onto it so in order to have the TV stream in the bedroom we have to upgrade our apple TV and the wife is annoyed but im lowkey psyched bc that means i can put the living room one in the bedroom and buy the 4k one for the living room

 

The best way to go.