Apple CEO Tim Cook Calls Reports That iPhone XR is a Flop 'Bologna'

[MICHAELSD]

The XR is nicer than it sounds on paper, and the display has the best color/contrast of any LCD I’ve seen from Apple. Unfortunately I’ve become so accustomed to 3D Touch that it’s more difficult to give up than I assumed, and while the display otherwise looks great and surprisingly sharp the difference in resolution is especially noticeable in text compared to the 8 Plus.

I would gladly upgrade to the XS Max if I could but I’m in the minority of customers who purchased a XR because they absolutely are unable to use the OLED models due to Apple’s implementation of PWM. I really would love to keep it since I haven’t ever skipped an upgrade but in some ways it feels like a downgrade from the 8+. But for the average consumer that it’s designed for that doesn’t necessarily care about PPI or 3D Touch it’s close to perfect.

 

[^^BIGMac]

Testy Timmy, doing the bob and weave. Release the numbers Tim.

It’s actually called “shake ‘n bake”.

 

[I7guy]

It’s actually called “shake ‘n bake”.

{off topic}
Your avatar. One of my favorite TV shows of all time.{/off topic}

 

[MrGuder]

My Bologna has a first name it’s Apple
My Bologna has a 2nd name it’s Apple
I use my Apple everyday and if you ask me why I’ll say....
Cause Apple Apple has a way with Bologna.

 

[citysnaps]

I wouldn't know if it flopped or not. But it was a very strange phone, the screen was bigger but had a lower resolution and was a regular LCD, so you didn't get more visible space, just a larger phone. On top of that its the first iPhone without 3D Touch since 3D Touch was introduced. No new features, but did get the new camera and processor, so your really trading some features for others.


I had a hard time recommending one phone over another due to these caveats this time around. Felt a little more clear cut before or at least more of a cost/benefit approach, but not this time.

Greater battery capacity, too.

 

[dogslobber]

wait, what's bologna? have i been misspelling bologny my entire life?

It's a soccer team in Italy.

 

[Narrator Jack]

HappinessSafety, let's get a visual of Tim primping, preening, or strutting in Bologna, Italy.

 

[dgdosen]

Because if they're happy, they will eventually replace that product with another.

You can have the greatest iPad in the world, but ones relative happiness might be diminished by:

Laptops:
- you mess up your laptop keyboards
- charge $500 (more?) to repair when they do fail
- hike prices too high and too fast..
- make us by a touch bar
Phones:
- hike prices too high and too fast...

The best thing you have going for you is privacy.

 

[AngerDanger]

He's not entirely wrong. I thought it was salami, but I'm no expert…

 

[dgdosen]

This is the time to load up on Apple stock. It will easily double within the next year or two (assuming the clown in charge of this great country doesn't completely destroy our economy in that time).

I've been a shareholder for over 25 years, and over that time the stock has thrived despite two recessions, Steve Jobs's death, and a myriad of other short-term downswings caused by emotional selling precipitated by clueless talking heads. Trolls have predicted doom and gloom during that entire time, even when Steve Jobs was around, and none of it has ever come true.

The bottom line is Apple is running on all cylinders, and well positioned to continue to succeed. And I say that even as I question their ability to succeed in their redoubled efforts to expand into services, and area that Apple has mixed results in over the years. They are simply leaps and bounds ahead of everyone else in their ability to create innovative products that anyone can use, and couple that with great customer service and attention to detail.

I don't know - Apple circa 2018 is looking like Microsoft circa 2001. It might take a 'come to jesus' moment and 15 years or so to turn it around.

 

[Icaras]

Curious...How do you like the camera, compared to the X?

It’s great. I’m impressed by it. You still get quality portrait shots with the rear camera. You just can’t take rear camera portrait shots of non humans unfortunately though.

The XR is probably fine at $749, but I really do think the XR would be greatly benefited by a more reasonable contextual pricing scheme—how about a XR mini at $649, a XS at $899, and a XS Max at $999. That is a much more attractive lineup. How about a name overhaul, while we're at it. iPhone mini, iPhone, iPhone X, and iPhone X Plus.

I absolutely agree. Sounds like the perfect pricing scheme to me and I too want a smaller, cheaper XR!

 

[Gasu E.]

My Mom useta make me sammiches of Flop Bologna. Yum!

 

[44267547]

when you WERE the richest company in the world, what is there to be afraid of in continuing to release your numbers? I think their decision to no longer do that, answers that question.

Just curious, why are you insinuating the word ‘afraid’? What is it that you’re saying that Apple/Tim Cook is afraid of? I mean, aside from what he already explained regarding the stagnation with the iPhone and China’s commerce, what is it that you think that they’re afraid of doing now versus what they did then in releasing numbers, given the report that he released last week to the investors.

 

[MrGuder]

I’m in that statistic who kept their 6s after getting a new battery for $29.00 heck why not? Works as fast as when I first bought it.

I plan to upgrade when Apple gets rid of that notch which from all the recent news articles seems will happen very soon.

 

[mrbobbo]

Please learn what your words mean, or get a better editor. Bologna? Demure?

 

[Cryates]

Could care less about sales numbers. My XR is my favorite device that I’ve ever used, and that’s all I have to add.

 

[usarioclave]

The most important thing, says Cook, is that "customers are satisfied."

Apple used to want to surprise and delight us. I know, I know, this is the Tim era. But still, satisfied is not the same as delighted.

I still smile when I remember the iOS slot-machine like option picker, purged during the Interface Revolution by the anti-skeuomorphs. Of all the little UI things in iOS that was the best.

 

[robbyx]

when you WERE the richest company in the world, what is there to be afraid of in continuing to release your numbers? I think their decision to no longer do that, answers that question.

Like most people who has nothing to hide, release the numbers.

It’s hardly specific enough to be a materially false statement....not even close. Why won’t he release sales numbers? We both know the answer.

Do yourselves a favor and think. Everyone knows the smartphone market is saturated and mature. We all know Apple's iPhone sales are pretty flat these days. No other company releases unit numbers. Apple did it for a while to show off. They were the underdog for so long in the computer business. I'm sure Jobs was thrilled to finally be able to brag about insane sales numbers. Cook's mistake was choosing to stop announcing sales numbers at a time when everyone already knew the market was saturated. If he'd made this decision two years ago, no one would have cared.

What matters most is revenue and active user base. Is Apple making or losing money? Is the iOS user base growing or shrinking? What is the value of the customer relationship? More and more Apple customers aren't buying a new iPhone every year (as is the case across the board in the smartphone market), but are they subscribing to Apple Music or buying an Apple Watch? The revenue says yes, as those segments continue to grow. Same goes for the user base. In January 2016 Apple hit 1 billion active iOS users. In February 2018 that number grew to 1.3 billion.

Stop beating the stupid sales numbers dead horse. Any reasonable person can understand why Apple decided to stop breaking out numbers.

 

[Bustycat]

I never regretted getting an iPhone XR. With a LCD screen that doesn’t heart my eyes comparing to OLED screens, and a battery that can last the whole day, iPhone XR is really underestimated by many people.

 

[JosephAW]

I have no intention of buying an XR anytime soon. Maybe after my 7+ gives up the ghost and I can get one new around the $399 price point when the next gen iPhone is released and older models are greatly discounted.

 

[Baymowe335]

I gotta believe it is indeed a flop. In NYC, which is extremely loyal to new iPhones and where I constantly see iPhone X/XS’s and even a lot of Max’s, I have yet to see a single XR in the wild!

Must mean it’s a flop then!

Can’t beat anecdotal data from a single, unknowing source!

The CEO of Apple can NOT lie and he just told you it’s the best selling iPhone.

 

[mrdoodle]

The XR would be so compelling if only it had 3D Touch. We can't go backwards. That's not how this works.

 

[Kram Sacul]

A forgettable phone that's too big, has an outdated screen and doesn't even have 3D touch. Hopefully Apple learns from the Xr mistake and either produces a true budget iPhone or a followup to the X that's actually compelling.

 

[robbyx]

The XR would be so compelling if only it had 3D Touch. We can't go backwards. That's not how this works.

I feel the opposite. I wish they'd just get rid of 3D Touch across the board. It's a poorly supported feature that I would wager the vast majority of iOS users don't use. In fact, I'd bet that a large chunk of iOS users don't even know it exists. Part of the problem is the fact that Apple has never supported it across all iOS devices. Some have it. Some don't.

 

[Oldfash33]

The low upgrades this year are because of price and the lack of anything new in the XS. I’ve upgraded every year since the 3g and I’m not going to spend over 1k for almost nothing new. You could also argue that anyone who is in the market for something other than a phablet was pretty much given the finger because apple wanted to try and grow their user base in China.

Bingo!