Apple Slashes iPhone 5 Part Orders Due to Weak Demand

b0fh said:

Can you actually buy one from Google?

They may be trying to fix some issues...

http://www.droid-life.com/2012/11/2...-idea-since-the-last-phone-with-a-glass-back/

Click to expand...

Nexus 4's are unobtanium right now. The $299-$349 OFF CONTRACT pricing has made them a HUGE hit. I've got a Galaxy S3 and I considered buying a Nexus 4 but I never could get an order placed before Google sold out. I'll just hold out at this point for the Galaxy S4 since it's likely to have an A15 SOC (assuming Sammy can work out the power issues).

The iPhone 5 and iOS 6 and are just boring to me at this point. You can't jailbreak it and it's really nothing more than a stretched iPhone 4 that runs a little faster. Large screen phones are the future whether Steve Jobs liked it or not. Apple can figure that out or watch as Samsung continually steals sales from Apple.

Anecdotal evidence and a single data point, but:

I had a 3GS and after 3 years decided to upgrade to... an iPad mini with LTE. I wanted a bigger screen. I was then gifted an iPhone 5 but I returned it because its marginally bigger screen is just a slap in the face IMO. What I really wanted would be a 5-6" at least. A significant change.

If the iPad mini hadn't come out, I would probably be stuck with iPhone 5. So there you go, one ip5 got cannibalized by iPad mini.

cardinalryan said:

You are 100% correct as far as I'm concerned. I honestly can't see a good reason to buy an iPhone over a top of the line Android phone. Unless you like smallish, non innovative devices, the iPhone hasn't much to offer.

Click to expand...

Really? What's innovative about the Galaxy S3? Was the Ford Crown Victoria "innovative" because it was big?

Only the TINIEST segment of the buying public seeks a burst of "excitement" every single year from their phone. I'm one of them... so are many tech forum-goers of course.

But what most people want is the best phone possible, not the maximum amount of change for change's own sake. Change for change's sake is marketing--and that's not what I want driving the design of my phone.

The iPhone 5 would be "more exciting"--to that tiny group of people--if they changed a bunch of superficial stuff. Instead, it's merely far and away the best handheld device that has ever existed, with none of the absolute dealbreaker problems of Android*

* Poorer selection top-quality apps

* No FULL restore of everything when you get a warranty swap or upgrade to a new device

* Malware galore; even safe apps can harm your performance and battery life

* Open source "freedom" that means freedom for the carriers... not for you

* Speed, battery-life and ease of use still second best (despite certain specific features being nice on ANY platform, the big picture is still nicest on iOS)

* Worst of all: devices abandoned (no more updates) LONG before you even finish paying for them!

Android is fine for some... but it comes with HUGE compromises. The compromises in iOS are FAR fewer and smaller for me.

BlueRaider said:

Large screen phones are the future whether Steve Jobs liked it or not. Apple can figure that out or watch as Samsung continually steals sales from Apple.

Click to expand...

I certainly hope not. Large screens are just a gimmick. If we really devolve to cheap junk from Samsung because we equate "big" with "good," then our best days are behind us.

somethingelsefl said:

Apple has reached a point where they are realizing that people have these unrealistic expectations of what's possible in the tech world....consumers seem to want Apple to invent a flying car, that runs on wind energy, and is the cheapest on the market.

Apple may not be perfect and they will always have improvements to make, but to for people in the MR forum to say that Apple's "poor" product lineup shows how far they fallen behind is just plain silly.

Consumer expectations are starting to take their toll on Apple, they set their own bar a little high. Hopefully they can fix this.

Click to expand...

The unrealistic expectation is that Apple is on a road with no bumps in it. For several years running, it seemed like nothing could go wrong. The competition is much tougher now and the road will be that much bumpier.

ThatGuyInLa said:

I love my AppleTV, my iPad Mini, and my 2010 27" top-end iMac. For a phone nowadays I am completely impressed and happy to use my contract free, $45 a month, UNLIMITED, Samsung Galaxy S2. ($240 to buy outright)

.

Click to expand...

Im the same, i love most Apple products, i have a 2011 MBA, a new 27" iMac, an Ipod video and an iPad 2. I even loved my iPhone 4 when it came out, i got it on launch night. The thing is there are better phones on the market now, the trend is going towards large screen phones with many new features that ios just does not have, the Nexus 4 for example simply blows the iPhone away imo. Apple would need to blow me away with the next iPhone for me to switch back, i really hope it happens but im doubtful.

Can't see Apple waiting to fall just to release the iPhone 5S now.

Ouch, I really do not want them to get into a shorter refresh cycle but then again this is what you get when dealing with a fickle consumer base.

enkadrummer88 said:

When are people gonna remember that Apple's vision is to NEVER make cheap products to compete with other companies, but to make GREAT products (at all costs) to please the consumers?

Click to expand...

That's Apple's problem, the iPhone 5 isn't a "GREAT product" that is pleasing to consumers. I'm a longtime Apple fan, and even I am looking at buying a Samsung Galaxy SIII instead of an iPhone 5. Apple is losing it thanks in part to Tim Cook's lack of vision. As someone said above, the iPhone and iOS is a stale design.

This is good news; hopefully apple will stop resting on their laurels and start realizing that they have not been very innovative lately.

Just remember how many they sold the first week out....

viperGTS said:

This worries me a little...

Click to expand...

More than a little. iPhone is half of Apple's profits. Even if this story is false or incorrect expect Apple to get hammered tomorrow.

Hopefully this is just Apple changing suppliers or bringing out the 5S sooner than expected. I can't stand Samsung and don't want them or the perpetual spies (aka Google) controlling the mobile future.

Last time I checked, IGZO displays didn't come from LG.

Stories like this have been out before (eg a cut in iPad orders). Fast forward a couple of months and it turned out Apple was shifting some of its production to Brazil.

faded.memories said:

I've thought about buying a 5, but ONLY because I moved and Sprint has no data service here. (Considering picking up a Verizon unit, they have LTE coverage.)

The 'upgrade' killed Maps and YouTube, and there isn't a jailbreak out so the new phone is in many ways a couple steps back.

I predict that if a jailbreak ala Absinthe pops up, so will the iPhone 5 sales...

Click to expand...

I think you severely overestimate the number of people that jailbreak their iPhone.

KPOM said:

I certainly hope not. Large screens are just a gimmick. If we really devolve to cheap junk from Samsung because we equate "big" with "good," then our best days are behind us.

Click to expand...

It looks like you found the reason people are not buying iPhone 5 - the screen is too big!

KPOM said:

I certainly hope not. Large screens are just a gimmick. If we really devolve to cheap junk from Samsung because we equate "big" with "good," then our best days are behind us.

Click to expand...

You obviously haven't used a Samsung phone...there's nothing cheap about it. Whether you like it or not, the screen is of tremendous quality and it's a much better device in just about every conceivable way.

Like I said earlier, I'm an Apple fan, but there's no more denying that the iPhone is no longer a leading product. It is plum weak compared to its competitors.

Ed A. said:

That's Apple's problem, the iPhone 5 isn't a "GREAT product" that is pleasing to consumers. I'm a longtime Apple fan, and even I am looking at buying a Samsung Galaxy SIII instead of an iPhone 5. Apple is losing it thanks in part to Tim Cook's lack of vision. As someone said above, the iPhone and iOS is a stale design.

Click to expand...

Are you serious? What's so innovative about the Galaxy S3? Having a big screen to hide your other shortcomings doesn't make something great or innovative. There is NOTHING appealing to me about that phone. It is too big to fit into my pocket, and too big to hold comfortably. On top of that, it is plastic, like the iPhone 3GS back in 2009.

My thoughts

For me: here's is the deal.

Remember how awesome the original iMac looked? Bondi blue translucent? It was amazing. The critics and competition mocked it until they tried to copy it. It looked nothing no ever computer before

Then remember when Steve Jobs introduced the new iMac G4? How you were just amazed at the sheer artistry of the industrial design? How no computer on the market even began to compare with it? How it leapfrogged over the original iMac?

Right now, the iPhone is in the Original iMac Stage. They need to introduce a brand new standard-bearing kick-ass design and redefine what the concept of a phone is supposed to look like. It needs to be sexy as hell, because right now, the iPhone is past the drool-worthy stage. The iPhone needs to enter the iMac G4 Stage.

jkool said:

Last time I checked, IGZO displays didn't come from LG.

Stories like this have been out before (eg a cut in iPad orders). Fast forward a couple of months and it turned out Apple was shifting some of its production to Brazil.

Click to expand...

Nope. Apple missed sale estimates in at least two of the last three quarters.

Maybe people are getting bored. I've had every iPhone except for the 3G, and now I'm starting to seriously consider getting the next Samsung Galaxy S-phone to replace my iP5. I kinda want some basic phone control features that Apple won't give us -- e.g. call blocking. Used to be that I was willing to endure the lack of features because the experience was so much smoother than android. But that seems to not be an issue anymore.

If Apple doesn't step it up, I think there are a lot of people that are going to look elsewhere for their next shiny gadget.

cardinalryan said:

You obviously haven't used a Samsung phone...there's nothing cheap about it. Whether you like it or not, the screen is of tremendous quality and it's a much better device in just about every conceivable way.

Like I said earlier, I'm an Apple fan, but there's no more denying that the iPhone is no longer a leading product. It is plum weak compared to its competitors.

Click to expand...

My mom has one. I hate it. It's cheap, and the only thing it has going for it is that it is big. Bigger =/= better.

----------

lilo777 said:

Nope. Apple missed sale estimates in at least two of the last three quarters.

Click to expand...

To be fair, Apple has always topped its own forecasts. Steve Jobs used to sandbag Apple's earnings guidance. Tim Cook seems to be more realistic.

KPOM said:

More than a little. iPhone is half of Apple's profits. Even if this story is false or incorrect expect Apple to get hammered tomorrow.

Hopefully this is just Apple changing suppliers or bringing out the 5S sooner than expected. I can't stand Samsung and don't want them or the perpetual spies (aka Google) controlling the mobile future.

Click to expand...

You are out of luck then because those two companies offer the best in mobile. Apple is out of its league and can't stay on the same field with Samsung and Google. They were a bully and picked a fight they can't win.

KPOM said:

Are you serious? What's so innovative about the Galaxy S3? Having a big screen to hide your other shortcomings doesn't make something great or innovative. There is NOTHING appealing to me about that phone. It is too big to fit into my pocket, and too big to hold comfortably. On top of that, it is plastic, like the iPhone 3GS back in 2009.

Click to expand...

If that is the case, iPhone 5 should be even less appealing to you because Galaxy S3 has everything iPhone 5 has and then some.

enkadrummer88 said:

When are people gonna remember that Apple's vision is to NEVER make cheap products to compete with other companies, but to make GREAT products (at all costs) to please the consumers?

I'm very skeptical of a cheap iPhone coming any time soon.

Click to expand...

Apple could make the same level of quality they do now and sell it cheaper. They don't lead marketshare but they do lead in profits, and by a fair margin. It doesn't take a genius to work out that Apple's iPhone markup is more than it needs to be.

So Apple needs to ask itself, does it want to be relegated to a tiny niche market again, or does it want to fight back with a more competitively priced product?? I hope it's the latter. I have no time for this elitist snobbery that associates with certain brands. I'd like to see a more competitively priced iPhone.