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I see no point in upgrading unless you have a model that no longer gets iOS updates. iPhone hardware has long since outpaced the software. There’s pretty much no discernible difference in performance for everyday apps between my 14 pro max and my son’s XR.
 
The Chinese are simply being practical. Why upgrade to basically an incremental rev of the same phone? Tim might have to do more than visit. Maybe pull another discount similar to the iPhone XR. I will say it again, Apple need phase roll out new iPhones to new regions and limit revs maybe every two years.
 
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4,5% down does not seem a lot considering the growing anti US sentiment in China and how tiny the changes to the iPhone lineup this year are.
 
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Reality is this is only going to continue as the Chinese phone makers continue to improve.
And even more important as the iPhone continues to be a stagnant product. The difference from the 12 to 15 is amazingly small. Faster CPU, better camera, and ???? And in real life I don't even see a speed difference. After the joke of a 15 launch, people here were basically saying the iPhone is a mature product, so what do you expect in innovation.

Look at the Chinese makers and Samsung today to see where iPhone will be heading in the next 5-10 years.

Timmy should be selling Pepsi with John Sculley, he wants to be CEO where he can sell the same product for 30 years and be applauded for it. Tim (What's a computer) Cook, has no business being anywhere near an innovation company. Remember that Apple had record profits under Sculley and he was the highest paid tech CEO -- then a couple of years later Apple was on the edge of bankruptcy and it took Steve Jobs and a $150 million investment from Microsoft to save them. What Timmy's doing now is the exact same as Sculley -- stagnant products, a mess of product lines that make no sense, locking down the ecosystem, killing user hardware upgrades, and pricing that makes them a laughing stock. The case wheels, the vesa mount.

Apple as an innovative tech company no longer exists. It's traded everything for short term profit and done it extremely well. The eventual outcome is inevitable.
 
One phone, barely. Now go check the Selfie ranking. Apple and Huawei is nowhere near.
Yep, and that one phone is Huawei this article talks about. So no wonder its photos look better. That's just a reality. Hard to swallow for some it seems like.
 


Apple CEO Tim Cook has made a surprise visit to China amid reports that iPhone 15 sales are down in the country compared to last year's iPhone 14 models (via Bloomberg).

Tim-Cook-iPhone-15-launch.jpg

Cook visited an Apple's Taikoo Li store in Chengdu to watch a local gaming tournament for the major Tencent game "Honor of Kings" and talk to shoppers and staff. Cook later posted about the event on Weibo with a short video, saying that "the energy tonight was off the charts!" Cook then visited a Yucheng elementary school to see how students use the iPad to support local culture.

The appearance comes just a day after two Counterpoint Research studies claimed that iPhone 15 sales are down 4.5% versus last year's iPhone 14 lineup in China, causing Apple's share price to fall. As a result, Cook's visit is being widely associated with concern about iPhone 15 sales in China across various mainstream media outlets.

Cook's posts on Weibo during the trip have also aroused a usual amount of ire. For example, Cook shared a photo of Chengdu at night shot on an iPhone 15 Pro Max. The post was then "flooded with complaints" about the ostensibly poor quality of the image and unfavorable comparisons to pictures from Chinese devices like Huawei's recently Mate 60 Pro.

Article Link: Apple CEO Tim Cook Visits China Amid Reports of Lower iPhone 15 Sales
The fact is, whilst iPhones are still good phones, the last time Apple had a market leader was the 13 Pro....now they're just concentrating on keeping the price down and the fake saving the planet PR.
14's & 15's are simply not quite there, especially with photography. 99% of iPhone users aren't Pro's and will never use features like Pro Raw, Log or Pro Res or the high USB c transfer speeds, however we all want to take the best snaps possible, alas current Apple iPhones are a bit hit & miss with that 😡
 
I'm missing the connection between a trip and sales going down. Is it assumed that his "celebrity" will help increase sales? Surely market research could be done by locals better than the CEO coming into a small part of the country too.
You need to educate yourself on tech blog journalism and it’s motives.
 
I didn't say that. Having social media "flooded" (MR words) with comments about the "poor quality" of the iPhone 15 images is not objective. There is no way Apple was sharing "poor quality" images (someone else linked the image in this thread -- it wasn't "poor quality"). This means much of the comments are from state-sponsored bot accounts and/or nationalists who don't like "Western" companies and/or people/bots who don't like Apple. I'm not sure what's controversial about acknowledging that?
Well you have no evidence for such accusation. It may or may not be state-sponsored.

Just look at MacRumors. There are plenty of people who sign up for accounts just to attack Apple over various things.
Uh, that's just long shot. Care to provide any examples? I really disagree with this statement and while there may be some individuals doing such thing, it definitely is not something widespread - here in MacRumors.
 
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Strong/compelling photographs that move a viewer come from the photographer. Not from a piece of gear.
It's both. It's hard to capture moving action pictures in high quality with bad gear. Same goes for night photography. Hard to get great results with bad sensor generating lot of noise.
 
Because there’s nothing to encourage people to upgrade? Let’s face it, every year a new camera in the same body maybe with a different metal in a different colour, hardly worth shelling out another 1400 quid. Eventually sales will stagnate, combined with people watching what the spend your going to have to realise you need to bring the price down
 
I'm missing the connection between a trip and sales going down. Is it assumed that his "celebrity" will help increase sales? Surely market research could be done by locals better than the CEO coming into a small part of the country too.
This was my first thought too. Is there no one currently in China that can provide Cook with the info he seeks?

This isn't going to help his green street cred.
 
Heres the photo TC uploaded to Weibo. Its bad, but not because of the 15PM camera, but because of compression/resizing.
my iPhone 13 Pro takes photos just as bad at night, actually worst and it's not the compression
 
Apple CEO Tim Cook has made a surprise visit to China amid reports that iPhone 15 sales are down in the country compared to last year's iPhone 14 models.
Reports which I am sure are false, seeing how Apple reported there being more switchers in China in their last earnings report.
Apple's last earnings report was on Aug. 3, 2023 for the 3rd quarter period ending July 1, 2023. When was the iPhone 15 released? Think about that for a bit.

Now, tell me how reports of iPhone 15 sales in China being down vs the iPhone 14 over the same period cannot be true?
 
Of course this is happening they are taking our technology product and copying it and selling it as their own.
Really?. Are the Chinese phone makers copying Apple camera modules and tech and then improving on them beyond what Apple can do?.
Or maybe they had business partners like Leica some years ago with better lenses than what Apple gives us? (Take a night video and see the horrible green or purple dots due to reflections in all iPhones since forever!), or maybe Huawei has invested and developed its own tech?, maybe Apple just buys stock camera modules form Sony without developing its own tech?, maybe Hw is investing more money and resources than Apple in R & D?.
 
Reports which I am sure are false, seeing how Apple reported there being more switchers in China in their last earnings report.
Both can be true especially when you consider that a jump in switchers will mean those same people don't need to make a purchase again for a bit.
 
Heres the photo TC uploaded to Weibo. Its bad, but not because of the 15PM camera, but because of compression/resizing.
And everyone from his team surely were complimenting him about “how good eye and wonderful shot” he took. Apple is soooooo self pleasing since Steve passed away. Just pulsing the same tech year after year for 7 years, then, a small upgrade and repeat
 
Hopefully he's there to let them know that Apple will be phasing out their presence in China over the next few years.
Apple (and other companies) will diversify so all their baskets aren't in China, but they won't be phasing out their presence in the country.


 
"The post was then 'flooded with complaints' about the poor quality of the image and unfavorable comparisons to pictures from Chinese devices like Huawei's recently Mate 60 Pro."

Have to love those state-sponsored bot accounts and/or nationalists who don't like "Western" companies and/or people/bots who don't like Apple. It's like the commenters who come to MR to complain about how terrible Apple products are.
While both devices are really good, Huawei takes better pictures in certain conditions and modes. Apple is no longer the industry leader when it comes to camera technology and performance. At least with iOS 17 they improved the horrible processing from iOS 15 and 16.
 
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