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Analyst Predicts No Siri on iPhone 5C, Fingerprint Scanner Solely for Device Unlocking on iPhone 5S

BaldiMac said:
I'm not sure which history you are looking at. According to Jobs, "At the critical juncture in the late '80s, when they should have gone for market share, they went for profits."
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That was a different thing - that was profit as in milking the customers instead of producing value for money.

You can get a lot of market share by selling lots of cheap items.
You can get some market share by selling top quality at a good price.
You can try to sell top quality at too high a price, and that is what Jobs says Apple did in the late 1980's when he wasn't there.

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rdlink said:
Once he said no Siri on the economy iPhone his credibility was shot.
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Well, you try to give the customers the best possible value for their money. Since putting Siri on an economy iPhone doesn't cost Apple a penny, it would be rather stupid not to put it there.
 
Do people use Siri a lot? Enough to cause consternation from the lack of access? I've had access to Siri for about 2 years now, and apart from the novelty for the first few days or later for demonstration purposes, I have never really used Siri. I know there's a lot of promise, but it hasn't ingrained as part of my daily "workflow" as I had once hoped it would. For me today, lack of Siri won't make a signification difference.
 
ninjazoe said:
Non-retina - no one would buy the iPhone in 2013 with 3GS display :eek: if you can get iPhone 4 for such low price now.
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There are lots of people who can't perceive the difference between the two. Some of them even would rather buy a flip-phone if available.

A non-retina display would cost less to Apple, passing the savings towards the sale price of this new iPhone.

And for those who really want a retina display, there is a higher price model.
 
bedifferent said:
Gee, I wonder if the plastic will be anything like the 3G/3GS models (Apple just settled a ~$155 million dollar class action suit citing the 3G/3GS models suffered from known defects of which Apple charged costumers for replacements)
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I forgot about the 3GS. From the looks of pics though. I'd assume the 5C would be more durable.
 
absurdamerica said:
Apple normally locks down features to get people to buy the more expensive product or upgrade more frequently. Don't kid yourself, people were easily able to use Siri on the iPhone 4 when they hacked it to work, yes, it was slightly worse since it didn't have the better noise cancellation found in the 4S, but it worked just fine.
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I agree with you. Siri potentially not being on the 5C would not because of hardware limitations.

It's just that Apple may sell LOTS of these in all kinds of developing markets and the load on Siri could be crippling. Of course Apple likes to make reasons to make people buy the more expensive options so that could also be a factor too.
 
mtneer said:
Do people use Siri a lot? Enough to cause consternation from the lack of access? I've had access to Siri for about 2 years now, and apart from the novelty for the first few days or later for demonstration purposes, I have never really used Siri. I know there's a lot of promise, but it hasn't ingrained as part of my daily "workflow" as I had once hoped it would. For me today, lack of Siri won't make a signification difference.
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Try using it to send messages, set timers/alarms, plot routes etc.

It takes a while to learn what it can do but once you know the ropes it becomes pretty integral as it's so much faster than doing those things manually.

Using Siri - "Set a timer for 15 minutes" (Takes 5 seconds)
Manually - Unlock, enter passcode, navigate to clock app, select timer, set the correct value and hit go. (Takes 25 seconds)
 
spacemanspifff said:
Here's something for the Analysts to read and then write up for their dumb old shareholders.

If Apple really does have two iPhones ready for release - and if one of them is going to be a cheaper plastic one - and if they then proceed to sell the cheaper one into the same markets as the current phone...

...I predict that the iPhone 5S will be a spectacular failure.

BTW - this new direction Apple is taking, in going after all the markets and making loads of different models to fit all the niches and price points is what almost sank the company the last time. The difference is, now there is nobody at the helm to tell them to stop it... unless... has anyone seen Scott?
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So...what exactly is the iPod shuffle and nano then? Or the iPad mini? :confused:
 
gnasher729 said:
That was a different thing - that was profit as in milking the customers instead of producing value for money.
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Leaving out no-incrmental-cost features for marketing reasons is the walking talking definition of "milking the customers instead of producing value for the money".
 
Apple would have to be brain dead not to include siri on the 5c. Don't believe it.

but it wouldn't be a deal breaker for me. I have used siri maybe 2 or 3 times.
 
BaldiMac said:
Or the licensing cost from Nuance is significant enough that Apple needs to eliminate it in order to meet margin goals.
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Let me get this straight.... For one thing almost no one believes this analyst. But on the remote chance that he is right you already have an excuse lined up for Apple (as poor as the excuse might be). Is that about right?




Michael
 
The chances of Siri not being on the 5c are like Apple not making the screen non-retina. It just won't happen.
 
Never cared for "The Munsters". So I am not listening to Mr. Munster himself.

The 5C WILL have SIRI. Apple wants this to sell not flounder.
 
martygras9 said:
I agree 100%. 5C is going to do well. Therefore it would seem like a rather odd decision to have been made. The cost they'd incur on their servers would be minimal given the ROI they'd be seeing.
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Agreed. Apple will invest in technology to "just make it work". And to be honest, that is what really sets them apart from the competition (Yes, yes.. I know. Maps was a big disaster but its on its path to recovery).
 
AnorexicPig said:
Replace 4S ? Don't think so,it will replace both the 4S and 5. And seriously 300$ off-contract is a pipe dream. Should be at least 400$ .
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Considering the 3GS was $349 off contract, I don't see it as a pipe dream. It should at least match that.
As for the "no Siri", I weep for Gene Munster. He went from being the one clued in Apple analyst back in the day to not in touch with reality.
 
Amazing Iceman said:
There are lots of people who can't perceive the difference between the two. Some of them even would rather buy a flip-phone if available.

A non-retina display would cost less to Apple, passing the savings towards the sale price of this new iPhone.

And for those who really want a retina display, there is a higher price model.
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You really think there is a possibility that Apple doesnt give a retina display in this new iPhone 5C?

Come on man.
 
mtneer said:
Do people use Siri a lot? Enough to cause consternation from the lack of access? I've had access to Siri for about 2 years now, and apart from the novelty for the first few days or later for demonstration purposes, I have never really used Siri. I know there's a lot of promise, but it hasn't ingrained as part of my daily "workflow" as I had once hoped it would. For me today, lack of Siri won't make a signification difference.
Click to expand...

A month or so ago my iPhone 4S was stollen and I had to start using an old iPhone 4: two things immediately killed -- lack of Siri and bad camera. Once you start dictating your text messages while walking it is very painful to stop. How anyone who has Siri support wouldn't want to use that feature is beyond me.
 
It has been almost a decade with this same guy, predicting for Piper Jaffray or whatever they call themselves, making outrageously wrong and uninformed predictions on Apple that even a casual Apple fan knows aren't possibly true.

I work hard for my career and frankly I must be making a huge mistake because apparently I could have been an analyst and just made wildly wrong guesses for the media and gotten paid all these years.
 
TC03 said:
It lessens the brand? That's your argument? Apple has done plastic since forever. MacBooks, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, iPod, etc. Apple does plastic. Besides that, what is the brand? Tim Cooking has been talking a lot about 'stickiness of the ecosystem'. I think 'the brand' is becoming less 'well designed hardware' and more 'functional, pleasant and easy to use ecosystem'. The brand is the ecosystem. It's not the hardware, it's iOS (and OS X).

For Apple to continue making sustainable profit (growth), a low cost iPhone is essential since the market is getting commoditized, meaning cheap phones are getting better and better. This will hurt iPhone sales in the long run, because a $199 can do a lot of things just as well as a $699 iPhone. I know, in the US the iPhone costs just $199, but that's still a $199 more than cheap Android phones that serve the needs of many just as well. The ASP of the iPhone has already been steadily declining because the old iPhones are getting more and more popular.

Using last year's top model as the current budget model is a difficult strategy. Why? Because the device was not designed to be cheap. If was designed to be the best, yet people who buy 'budget' iPhones don't always need the best, they just need an iPhone that serves their needs. Conclusively, targeting the mid-end market with last year's high end phone is not exactly a good fit. Also, take into account that premium materials (glass, aluminium) etc. have a pretty stable price, thus forming a constraint on how low the cost price can drop for Apple. Furthermore, I can imagine that Apple wants to reduce fragmentation by maintaining one screen size, one resolution and one connector.

iPhones are just devices to get people to use the Apple ecosystem. As hardware is becoming less relevant in general, the ecosystem becomes more and more important. In order to survive in the long run, Apple needs to get their ecosystem to as many people possible. To do so, they need to maintain their market share or improve it. You can't without a cheaper iPhone.

A cheaper iPhone is vital for the future of Apple and iOS in general.
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1. Apple "has" done plastics. Their new trend is away from plastic.
iPhone 4/5, new Mac Pro, MBP new iPod etc etc. The plastics are in the past. But if this is true the 5C will change this trend some what.

2. Apple as a brand is still the same as it always is. "The best products just just work" That includes post sales service too. Cook hasn't changed that.

3. I think more lower margin items are not vital for Apple. In my opinion making the best products people will pay a premium for is what Apple need to keep doing. The iPad (or whatever Apple product) costs more? Initially yes (but not over time). But that's ok cause it's the best. And people are willing to pay a premium for the best. Having ever decreasing margins is just on the path to scraping the bottom of the barrel. If there is no product cannibalisation and it does not cheapen Apple as a whole I am fine with it. But I don't think this is the case. I feel Apple is at a crossroads now. They can keep making cheaper products and risk falling back into the 90's way too many products bloat. Or Apple can limit their new product lines and have quality over quantity. This is a very important issue for Apple.

4. Does Apple even need a budget model phone? People argue it's for 3rd world countries and children. But I think the 5C if it's released wont be $99. It'll be like $300 at least outright, if not more. And many 3rd world people can't afford food let alone $300 for an iPhone. And the ones there who are rich and can, they have class too. They would want the best, hence they get the 5/5S.

I can see most 1st worlders wanting a cheaper iPhone. I would. I'll probably get one. But I don't think it does much for Apple bottom line. Unless Apple is doing this as a trial run to test the waters of a cheaper (but not cheap) iPhone. In that case that's ok. Apple can financially can afford a flop or two. But how much a flop would hurt Apple as a brand? That damage could be large.

I think Apple defo do not need a cheaper iPhone. But it could work if Apple only sold the current model + the C. And not keep the older models going. As they do now.

5. Maintaining market share means nothing to Apple. It always has meant nothing. Maintaining margins and profit share. That means a lot to Apple. If Apple sell less but have the lions share of the profits, then Apple is happy. I just think Apple is plateauing on this metric. But Apple still want their mondo yoy growth to keep happening. It will have to stop eventually. Can't keep going on for ever. And if Apple use lower margin products now to fuel their yoy groth obsession, it could hurt Apple in the long run.

6. "A cheaper iPhone is vital for the future of Apple and iOS in general."
We agree to disagree here. But I think we will see who is right soon enough.
 
In other news, the "analyst" reports that the 5C will come with a new "moon on a stick" feature.

If there are quotes from "analysts" then I typically tend to ignore them, they are not so much rumours, but more akin to wild speculations about what might happen.
 
Ted13 said:
A month or so ago my iPhone 4S was stollen and I had to start using an old iPhone 4: two things immediately killed -- lack of Siri and bad camera. Once you start dictating your text messages while walking it is very painful to stop. How anyone who has Siri support wouldn't want to use that feature is beyond me.
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I don't use the text dictation for a couple reasons: it makes more mistakes than it's worth, and it often just hangs since it always has to go to the Apple servers. Only thing I use Siri for regularly is setting alarms, and I can live without that
 
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