Angela Ahrendts Says Apple Won't Try to Upsell Customers to iPhone X

[zapm]

Hey Angela, I need a good phone with a modern screen and a good camera. Also I want big storage for my photo's and videos. I also want a digital assistant that understands and works. Also maps that are up to date with transitions and cycling paths. Sorry, what you say? € 700 not enough? And you don’t sell something with a good assistant? You recommend the Samsung Galaxy S8 for me because it’s so much better than the € 799 iphone 7 and has a better screen to body ratio, Amoled screen and all the other things I expect from a modern phone? Thanks Angela, I’ll go shop somewhere else

Glad you're shopping somewhere else. Can you and your S8 go whine somewhere else now too?

 

[Rogifan]

Face palm.

Okay, so internal policy is not to upsell cutomers in-store. That's cool. I don't like being upsold anyway.

But that aside... Wow. The iPhone X is an upsell. This is the first time in iPhone history that you aren't getting the latest and greatest at standard flagship price. You want the latest and greatest, you have to pay extra.

What is “standard flagship price”? I didn’t know there was a specific price that is the only price of flagship iPhone could ever be.

 

[antoxicion]

This is not entirely true to the Apple store nearest to me. Bought my iPhone 8 Plus and the guy literally looked at me confused as to why I wouldn't just hold out for the X.

I basically told him to not worry, I've done my research. But overall made me a bit unsure about my purchase.

 

[MistrSynistr]

It's also a myth for people to suggest Apple is elitist and out-of-reach of the lower earners. The truth is Apple now has an incredible iPhone within reach of literally every budget. They have a fantastic range of awesome products.

You won't be disappointed whatever iPhone you buy. There is nothing better than iPhone.

Hi Tim.
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This is kinda stupid because of course Apple won't be up selling Cust to the iPhone X. If they did it would be like ok Cust here why don't you buy the X, don't you have enough money for it? It's only $1,100.00 aren't you rich enough? It would be bad marketing that would backfire on the employees out front.

They won't be upselling it because it will be out of stock half the year next year.

 

[5105973]

At that age - an iPod Touch or iPad is a much better bet than an iPhone. Do they need LTE/cellular capabilities at that age? No. My daughter is 6. She has an iPad. We can iMessage us or family members. An iPhone would be a huge waste of monthly cost and expense.

All of my other kids had a phone at age 13 - a flip phone. Once they showed us they could take care of it for a year and they saved up some, they could get an iPhone - but they had to pay for part of it.

We used older iPhones without the sim in it instead of iPhone Touch, but it was the same idea. They used the camera to take pictures and videos of things going on around the house from a kid’s perspective. We got some funny stuff.

Its not the technology I have a problem with, but the content that can be accessed with it. There is a lot going on in You Tube and social media that I think kids and even adults can live better without.

 

[zorinlynx]

OLED is only unnaturally color saturated at the OS level on competing devices. There’s nothing fundamentally wrong with OLED in this regard.

OLED is the future of phones, tablets, TVs, laptops etc, so get used to it.

I can make my LG C7 OLED TV look less saturated than any LCD iPhone out there. So again, don’t confuse poor software color management profiles on Android OLED phones as something inherently wrong with OLED.

I hope this ends up being the case.

My friend had an OLED based Android phone for a while and I hated the oversaturated look. His next phone was LCD based and looked SO much better.

It's concerning because even if you can set the phone to be less saturated, Apple usually isn't big on providing those sort of options. Look how long it took us to get Nightshift.

 

[Rogifan]

To be upset about the gold watch as an example of apple's elitism is like being upset at tiffany and co for a $100k engagement ring.

If you have to scoff at it for its existence, *it's not meant for you and you need to move on.*

I never did understand the hate considering there was nothing different about the gold watch other than it being solid gold. It didn’t have a better screen or faster chip, more memory or bigger battery. It was identical to its stainless steel counterpart in every way except for materials it was made out of. I guess it came in a slightly nicer box but that was it. I don’t get how that could be offensive to people.

 

[v0lume4]

What is “standard flagship price”? I didn’t know there was a specific price that is the only price of flagship iPhone could ever be.

It's relative. What I'm saying is this -- look at the iPhone 8 models. Basically the same phones as last year -- still priced similarly to last years models. Then look at the iPhone X -- the "actual" new iPhone. It's $1,000. It's priced as an upsell from the iPhone 8 (which is essentially an "S" model; or at this point more like an "SSS" model but I digress).

Back in the day, when an iPhone redesign would happen, it would completely replace the previous design as the new iPhone. Now, you have "A new generation of iPhone" (from apple.com, regarding the iPhone 8), which is actually 2014's design, priced at standard flagship price. Then you have the iPhone X redesign positioned as an upsell from that. Realistically, the iPhone 8 shouldn't exist at all. It's ridiculous.

edit -- Changed a few words for clarity. Second paragraph was sort of a mind dump

 

[ke-iron]

This is a good thing. I hope they keep the traditional iPhone form factor around for a while, as I don't really have any interest in the iPhone X. OLED screens are way too unnaturally color-saturated and I like my TouchID.

While OLED can display deeper and richer colors, I won't call them unnatural or saturated. It only seem that way because they use that as a marketing strategy to show how it can display colors better. If it's a tv then you need to get it calibrated or choose a different color profile. If it's a phone and you're able to, choose a different color profile. The iPhone X OLED will not be like this because Apple would have it properly calibrated to show truer colors.
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You must be over 7 years old to purchase an iPhone X.

Incorrect, you must be older than that age to use Face ID. As far as buying a cellphone I have no idea what the age requirements are.

 

[5105973]

Whole point of going outdoors is you aren't enjoying your technology then. What could you possibly need a pocket PC for? Of course, it's not good for anyone to sit at home playing video games all day either, but most get tired of doing that.

I went to middle school just after the iPhone 3G came out. So, the height of the smartphone revolution at the time when everyone would be getting their first phones. Everyone there adopted it within a few months, and it had a blatantly negative impact. Kids sat at a table (yes, technically outside) on phones instead of playing sports or even talking. Finished college a year ago, and I can say it was even worse in high school and college.

Are you kidding? When I was a kid and would be out walking and ran across a really cool looking bug or plant, I’d have to try to memorize what it looked like then go home and ask my mom to take me to the library across town to find the bug or plant in some book if my dad didn’t have it in any of his books. We didn’t have much money or space for lots of books but my dad tried to maintain a decent reference library. Chances are, by the time I found the right books, I could no longer remember all the markings and other unique characteristics to help me identify what I saw.

Now we go out and if we see a cool bug or are bitten or stung by one, we can photograph it with our smart phones, look it up on a search engine and within minutes know all about it. Same with plants or birds. It’s been absolutely astonishing to discover how many insects have crossed vast distances out of their normal ranges to find their way to where we live. My daughter was bitten by a huge horsefly that apparently should only be found in Utah and a limited range beyond it. But there I had a photo and positive ID to prove this particular horse fly managed to get thousands of miles away from its natural habitat somehow. I’ve never seen another like it before or since.

With newer advancements like Google Lens, the ability to identify things will become even more streamlined so that we can put the phones back in our pockets and get back to nature that much quicker.

There also amazing apps available to astronomy enthusiasts.

But yes, it is necessary to encourage and develop good habits with technology and not fall into bad ones.

 

[Urban Joe]

iPhone 8/8+ is the best value of the new lineup but based on those sales upselling people to the X really isn't going to be an issue... this is going to be the mother of all iPhone releases

 

[kazmac]

Carriers are the worst for trying to upsell the customer to phones or accessories. I have never had Apple pressure me or try to influence me to purchase a specific phone or accessory. I don't believe that's how this company operates. The consumer chooses to to spend based on what they need, not what they don't need.

^ THIS. Will never buy another phone from a carrier; they were so obnoxious at the Verizon store with the upsell, one time was too much.

If anything, Apple attempted to get me to sign for classes and asked me if I knew about their business arm. Politely said no to both. I had to ask about accessories.

 

[roland.g]

Hey Angela, I need a good phone with a modern screen and a good camera. Also I want big storage for my photo's and videos. I also want a digital assistant that understands and works. Also maps that are up to date with transitions and cycling paths. Sorry, what you say? € 700 not enough? And you don’t sell something with a good assistant? You recommend the Samsung Galaxy S8 for me because it’s so much better than the € 799 iphone 7 and has a better screen to body ratio, Amoled screen and all the other things I expect from a modern phone? Thanks Angela, I’ll go shop somewhere else

Hey HJM.NL,

I have a table that sits unevenly. I need to shim one of the legs to keep it from wobbling. What should I use. No, a Samsung Galaxy S8 might be the right thickness but it would probably break too easily and costs too much for a simple table shim. Thanks for the thought. Too bad it isn’t a good replacement for a shim though, seeing as it isn’t a good alternative to an iPhone either.

 

[rom3o]

The iPhone X is an upsell. This is the first time in iPhone history that you aren't getting the latest and greatest at standard flagship price. You want the latest and greatest, you have to pay extra.

This. Remember when the iPhone 4 was introduced offering all those greatly improved features like the retina display with doubled resolution and quadrupled contrast ratio, the new front camera for FaceTime, a gyroscope, second mic for better call audio quality and the all-glass design while being the thinnest smartphone on the market (at launch)? All of that at the exact same price point of the 3Gs.

The X’s improvements over its predecessors seem pretty comparable to me, but they come at a premium of $ 230 over the base iPhone 7 Plus. Those features should be standard, I can’t see how even more fragmentation might do any good for the plattform.

 

[Quu]

1. Go to school and work hard
2. Get a job and work hard
3. Pay your debts because you work hard
4. Buy your child an iPad or iPhone because you’ve got the money that you earned working hard.

Not rich nor famous. Just hard working citizens. Can you do that?

Of course, the above depends on weather a person worked hard or party hard in their youth.

My kids share an iPad Mini. I never said anything about iPads or iPod Touches in my message did I? - Giving a 6 or 7 year old an iPhone is just ridiculous. Honestly it's bad parenting giving a young child like that infinite access to the internet and phone calls and texting.

If my kids want to use the internet they can do so under my supervision. That iPad my children have does not allow browser access or application install access, only the apps we (the parents) put on there are allowed. To lockdown an iPhone the same way would make its primary use (calling, texting, mobile internet use) useless.

By all means get your child an iPad or an iPod Touch at 6 or 7 years old. Wait until they're 12-13 or older for an iPhone in my opinion.

 

[Michaelgtrusa]

One thing for certain, the X will sell out into 2018.

 

[HiRez]

"...until we get production capacity up", she whispered under her breath.

 

[joshuamj]

I call BS on that. I was picking up my iPhone 8 on launch day (in Toronto, CAN) and when I got to the store they tried to "sell me everything" under the sun. He was trying SO hard to get me to buy other stuff that I told him point blank to F OFF with that upsell crap. Grabbed my iPhone 8 and left.

I concur with filmantopia. I worked at Apple Retail for 4.5 years and there's no commission or incentive to up-sell you. Now sure, it looks good if your sale contains AppleCare (+), but as an employee of Apple it's pretty difficult to find someone who doesn't benefit from AppleCare (unless they're resellers).

 

[mrzz]

It's also a myth for people to suggest Apple is elitist and out-of-reach of the lower earners. The truth is Apple now has an incredible iPhone within reach of literally every budget. They have a fantastic range of awesome products.

You won't be disappointed whatever iPhone you buy. There is nothing better than iPhone.

"There is nothing better than..."

 

[drewyboy]

Why not? Everyone can use an iPhone. That is the point. They are simple to use, while also holding incredibly powerful capabilities.

Since when do you entrust a $1,000 device that is easily broken by dropping it to a 6 year old?

 

[DVNIEL]

I need the iPhone X. One week till the pre order.

People in Africa need food. You don't NEED an iPhone X.

 

[drewyboy]

To be upset about the gold watch as an example of apple's elitism is like being upset at tiffany and co for a $100k engagement ring.

If you have to scoff at it for its existence, *it's not meant for you and you need to move on.*

Oh please, how about you stop sounding so elitist yourself. You know EXACTLY what you're getting into when you go to a Tiffany's. You don't just stumble into one of their stores. I would know since my wife's engagement ring & wedding band are from there.

With Apple, they were never known for "luxury" wear goods. The whole purchasing experiencing for the gold watches just screamed elitism. Those scoffing, myself included, is because Apple is a tech company, not a luxury jewelry company.

 

[Constable Odo]

What Angela is saying isn't something greedy, big investors really want to hear. For most businesses, the whole idea is to upsell a product to customers. You go into a car showroom and right away, they're going to tell you that you don't really want the bottom feeder and that a wise purchaser needs a much more suitable (expensive) car. The only problem is that Apple only sells expensive products so maybe that tactic won't work.

As a retail Apple investor, I just want the consumer to buy any iPhone before leaving the store. Better a lower model than none at all. It's really hard for me to believe that Apple won't upsell their products. It's really not going to help bring more investors onboard. I can only hope Apple knows what it's doing. Apple only has a high-end range of products and that's it. If Apple wants to leave the choice up to consumers on how much they want to pay, well, Apple must have some other tricks up its sleeve to squeeze customers dry.

 

[RickInHouston]

It's also a myth for people to suggest Apple is elitist and out-of-reach of the lower earners. The truth is Apple now has an incredible iPhone within reach of literally every budget. They have a fantastic range of awesome products.

You won't be disappointed whatever iPhone you buy. There is nothing better than iPhone.

Please put down those pom poms.

 

[unobtainium]

They really don't have to and with limited Samsung display production hindering their full output (once the other components are there) they won't have the capacity to upsell - guessing the X is going to be in tight supply way into next year even at $1k (short of a big face ID issue).

The big thing is what happens next year when this becomes normal iPhone tech. Does the $1k iPhone go away or become the new normal?

It will be the new normal. The iPhone X basically plays the role of the “Pro” device in the iPhone lineup. Look at the iPad Pro and its increased price point, or the huge price hikes for MBPs starting in 2016. Apple recognizes that there’s a tier of consumers who will pay crazy prices for the latest and greatest.