iPhone 5s Demand Wanes in China, While Interest in iPhone 6 Accelerates

Apple can't get a larger screened iPhone out soon enough. They've been lagging too far behind on this feature.

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I demand Wanes, too.

Why should it only be Chinese iPhone 5s getting all the Wanes?

Making 4.7" & 5.5" models makes no sense. They will go with one new 5" iPhone 6. Tested the HTC M8 and Galaxy S5 recently. Both have 5" screens and both felt comfortable to hold and use. Use the same 5" screen in the next iPod touch to maximise economies of scale and boost sales to handheld gamers.

"In the near term, we sensed disappointment around demand for the iPhone 5S."

Really? Where are the numbers to back that claim? How can you say you're analyzing something objectively and base said "analysis" on how you "sense" it? Furthermore, what sort of an objective variable is "disappointment"? How do you measure it? Disappointment in regards to what, exactly?

Without proper data—and even more without proper analytical variables—, that's just claim chowder, nothing else.

I feel if Apple only release a 4.4" phone this year, they'd have to wait another year to release an even bigger phone. People would be totally annoyed had they bought an iPhone 6 not knowing a larger option was coming a few months later. Apple would need to confirm that a 5.5" phone was coming in early - mid 2015 although this would affect sales of the 4.4" device. Suggesting, if there's to be two size models, they'd need to announce/release them at the same time.

#logic?

People wanted Apple to make netbooks. Apple said no and made the iPad.
People wanted Apple to make phablets. Apple will hopefully say no as well and make something even better.

The 5S was a stop gap until the 6 came out

It's not scientific propulsion technology.

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Now everything is clear.
iPhone 5c was also targeted to Chinese.
It's a bad idea of targeting such global product to a single very specific market.

We "sense disappointment"??

Who needs actual data when you're not just any "analyst" but in fact Obi Wan Kenibi?

Meanwhile, recent data here suggests the iPhone is a MASSIVE success in China:
http://m.cultofmac.com/cultofmac/#!...hone-market-in-china,5322ef34e56d0bb853553309

Mactendo said:

Now everything is clear.
iPhone 5c was also targeted to Chinese.
It's a bad idea of targeting such global product to a single very specific market.

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Who says the 5C was targeted to China? It's an evolution of Apple's previous successful pattern making last year's high-end iPhone be this year's mid-range. And it has outsold previous year's midrange. Mission accomplished, it would seem.

And who says Apple has (or should) target the low-profit bottom end of the market?

As for the high end of the market, which is not small in China, see my link above.

losthorse said:

Apple used to know what people wanted more then the people themselves... more evidence that Apple is fading.

“If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.”
- Henry Ford

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True: people thought that a BlackBerry keyboard was a necessity. Sometimes what people want is because they haven't tried something better.

But screen size is simpler than that: it's not a fundamental part of the experience the way a touch keyboard is. And it doesn't come with the obvious penalties (slow, crappy) that netbooks did. It has pluses and minuses, of course.

You can't say by definition that anything people want is wrong, and you can't say "old Apple" never responded to customers. They always have.

The iPhone is a maturing product. So, just like with laptops and desktops, a point comes where a choice of size is reasonable to offer. Balance that against the developer issues and it's something to weigh carefully. But the right time for it is not "never." I'd say it's now!

Queue the 'size matters' jokes.... now.

Who would buy a 7 month old phone when new ones comes out every month? Especially in china where they are too loyal to their local brands.

jett0516 said:

who would smell a 7 month old fart when new farts comes out every day? Especially in china where i can make sweeping generalizations.

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Fixed?

Demand Wanes?

Someone Demand Wanes? Here you go.

Whether this guy has any idea what he's "sensing" or not, it's entirely possible that China has particular cultural demand for a larger-screened phone. South Korea, for example, certainly seems to have a massive preference for massive phones. (Though one does wonder if that's not at least partly due to all of the homegrown company's flagship "phones" being huge.)

And really, it's fine if Apple decides to respond to that and make big phones if they do so in a way that also keeps them usable. Sometimes people aren't asking for what they really want, but sometimes there's a legitimate demand. But if Apple doesn't continue to make a reasonable, 4-inch iPhone also available, at or near flagship specs, I'm going to be seriously pissed.

It'll be hard to say for certain whether there's a market for smaller phones or not unless at some point Apple offers both simultaneously, since currently there are so few good small Android phones that the choice of good small phone overlaps entirely with the choice of iOS, so there's no way to separate one from the other. But I know for a fact that there is a market out there who really does want something about the size of the current iPhone for both one-hand usability and pocketability reasons, so if Apple, having proven that they know how to perfectly satisfy that demographic, subsequently fails to, I'm gonna call shenanigans.

losthorse said:

I hope the rumors of a larger iPhone are incorrect (but sadly I think are accurate).
http://gizmodo.com/5847981/this-is-why-the-iphones-screen-will-always-be-35-inches/all

Apple used to know what people wanted more then the people themselves... more evidence that Apple is fading.

“If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.”
- Henry Ford

Click to expand...

For it's time the 3.5 and now 4 inch screens were great. But considering how much gets done on ones phone now, and as someone who really likes and enjoys the iPhone platform and uses it quite frequently in a one handed manner; I want a larger screened iPhone. (Not a phablet, but just something with a larger screen)

One of the biggest issues with a larger screen, is one handed use. Apple introduced swipe from edge gestures in iOS 7 and particularly the swipe from the left side of the screen to replace the 'tapping of the back button'. When implemented correctly, my thumb no longer needs to reach that pesky top left corner to go back to something within an app. So now, a larger screen is more plausible for one handed use.

This is not a case of faster horses.

losthorse said:

I hope the rumors of a larger iPhone are incorrect (but sadly I think are accurate).
http://gizmodo.com/5847981/this-is-why-the-iphones-screen-will-always-be-35-inches/all

Apple used to know what people wanted more then the people themselves... more evidence that Apple is fading.

“If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.”
- Henry Ford

Click to expand...

ARE YOU SERIOUS? You have absolutely no notion about the market, especially outside the US, where Apple has less than 10% market share. People want and love bigger screens.

besides, obviously Apple would keep the 4" line, that people love. Everybody would be happy, besides trolls and people like you that have absolutely no idea of what is going around outside of their heads.

Of course Chinese 5s sales are slowing in anticipation of the iPhone 6. I would bet that's the case for Apple internationally. No news here.

I do hope they keep a 4" model around. If not I'll have to look at the "mini" androids or just keep my iPhone 5 and accept I'm paying too much after my contract is up with VZW in January 2015.

losthorse said:

When has Apple ever tried to prevent people from being "totally annoyed" because they just released a new product? Poor logic.



hashtags do nothing here.

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#okaysure

losthorse said:

I hope the rumors of a larger iPhone are incorrect (but sadly I think are accurate).
http://gizmodo.com/5847981/this-is-why-the-iphones-screen-will-always-be-35-inches/all

Apple used to know what people wanted more then the people themselves... more evidence that Apple is fading.

“If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.”
- Henry Ford

Click to expand...

Strange you would quote a man who also almost ran his company into the ground by not releasing more models. And by the time he did, it was too late and Ford never quite recovered.

I love the current 5S form factor, and much prefer it over my 4.7" HTC. That said, I also recognize that there are people out there with larger hands and/or poorer eyesight who could benefit from a larger display.

In addition, most people in the world can't afford to buy both a tablet and a phone, and so Apple would do well to offer phablets.

I think offering multiple sizes should be seen as an evolution, similar to how Apple offered iPods in different colors, shapes and sizes; not as Apple's inability to create new products we didn't know we needed... that *may* come sometime this year.

losthorse said:

“If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.”
- Henry Ford

Click to expand...

This quote is NOT an accurate analogy here.... It's more like Henry Ford made a car (which people wanted) but then stuck with it. Others were making Trucks and Vans and more, but stubborn Ford said "NO! You people just want a sedan dang it! You don't know what you want; I know what you want!"

That's just burying your head in the sand. People have spoken and most want a large screen phone. If you take out the iPhone almost all smartphones sold are 4.5-5.5". Most people don't buy the iphone because it has a smaller screen; they buy it because they like the design/iOS. I know many people who have an iPhone despite the small screen not because of it...

I used to be behind Apple in this too, but my screen just feels way too small now... I think 3.5" was perfect initially, but now the technology is here to make the phone's as small/thin as possible while getting to ~5".

iPhone 6 and trending toward larger screen

Of course there is considerable interest in the iPhone 6 with a much larger screen. The 4.7 will not go over big as who cares about a .7 inch increase. The 5.7 will be a huge seller. Doesn't Apple have anyone in its Corp. that can think BIG?

Mad Mac Maniac said:

This quote is NOT an accurate analogy here.... It's more like Henry Ford made a car (which people wanted) but then stuck with it. Others were making Trucks and Vans and more, but stubborn Ford said "NO! You people just want a sedan dang it! You don't know what you want; I know what you want!"

That's just burying your head in the sand. People have spoken and most want a large screen phone. If you take out the iPhone almost all smartphones sold are 4.5-5.5". Most people don't buy the iphone because it has a smaller screen; they buy it because they like the design/iOS. I know many people who have an iPhone despite the small screen not because of it...

I used to be behind Apple in this too, but my screen just feels way too small now... I think 3.5" was perfect initially, but now the technology is here to make the phone's as small/thin as possible while getting to ~5".

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Indeed...
3.5" was awesome when those were mobile phones with some added features. Today's devices are no longer 'just phones'. They're multipurpose devices that happen to also do voice. Beside younger people don't use phones, they SMS and surf stuff.