I'm almost tempted on buying a 4S just for a 3.5" screen. Mainly because its a 4.5" phone. which sounds more appealing to me than my current iPhone 6. Crazy talk but its true.
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Apple Expects First Ever Decline of iPhone Sales Next Quarter
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You got some things right, except for the 4" screen size. It's not just about the size of the phone fitting in my pocket. It is also about the 4" screen size being the largest that is compfortable for one handed operation. If this is not important to you, then super - go enjoy your phablet. But stop telling me that it is not important to me.
But you are dead on right that a new 4" model should not be a lobotomized economy model.
That's the reason they're taking a major risk to become a newbie in the cutthroat auto business. The pressure to find "Plan B" or to spread their eggs to another basket is on. You have a lot of smart people working at Apple who know they need to find another product to keep the company swimming in cash. They're thinking 5-15 years from now.
I bought my 6 64GB for $849 in 2014, that same model for the 6S is $1059. No thanks. Bought a Xperia Z5 for $649 CAD instead. The retail price is way too high to upgrade every year.
It was widely reported that the iPhone 5 / 5S was the last iPhone designed with input from Jobs and the 6 the first one without his involvement.
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It's what some people wanted. The part of the market that wanted an iphablet was obviously underserved and rushed to buy them when they came out. Just as obviously, 60% of iPhone customers don't want an iphablet and are now staying out of the market. A smart leader would make products that satisfy both tastes. A foolish leader would limit his $700B company to making one size to fit all.
Wonder how many of these 60% were ones who found the new sizes too big to handle. I miss my iPhone 5c now after getting a 6; the 4" was a good size for one handed use. 4.7" is too big for a lot many hands. And I have got big hands.
Solar charging? Better battery life? Apple would never accept that kind of idea. "Functionality is more important than battery life. We are price consciousness and want to make the iPhone affordable for anybody and any economic standpoint. If you need more battery, please support Apple by buying a $100 battery case. Seriously, please buy it." - Tim Cook
The "ten vocal whiners" are saying the same things that just about every iPhone owner I know and most of the shoppers I've overheard in Apple stores have been saying. That's why 60% of customers have voted 'no sale'. Enjoy your iphablet, but quit presuming to speak for what the rest of us want. Cook blew it when he decided to exit the 4" market. Whether or not he can admit his mistake and reverse it will determine whether he should stay or go.
But to succeed, 3D Touch needs to be implemented across all iOS devices. This should be the year for doing exactly that, not pumping new iPads and a 4" iPhone without 3D Touch. The iOS line up is getting dangerously fragmented.
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Not if it's an 'economized' model.
Fake innovation can only mislead customers for so long, unfortunately
Best comment! That's exactly what Apple has been doing: fake innovation.
Give us a flagship 4'' device. Bigger doesn't mean faster, more expensive or better. We need a 7 in three sizes with the same price and internal specs.
One could argue that the current products are designed to combat declining sales by being non repairable/upgradable and also forcing the user to purchase multiple accessories.
[doublepost=1453879525][/doublepost]People are finding less reason to upgrade. Apart from the 6 plus that was crippled with only 1gb ram, the iPhone 6 is a great phone.
I'm expecting the iPhone 7 to Also fail to make record launch sales if they remove the headphone jack. You have to be careful when you get too greedy and push gimmicks and accessories on people. Lots of people would still be very happy with an iPhone 5s design with iPhone 7 internals.
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My money is the removal of the headphone jack, and a wave of accessories for the iPhone 7, one for a 3.5mm jack, another to charge and listen at the same time etc...that's when the users will question carrying a phone and accessories around. They have a great product, they need to keep the usability simple
There was nothing ground breaking in the 6s models. If Apple had made significant gains in battery life I would have been the first to line up for an upgrade, but they seem determined to continue to get thinner even though most core Apple consumers would rather have more battery life then anything else.
I always find the choice of words of economists really funny - you'd almost think Apple is in some kind of financial trouble judging by the article, while in fact, they're make record high profits from iPhone sales.
TL;DR of the article:
This year Apple will likely not sell dramatically more iPhones than last year, but they will still sell a gigantic amount of iPhones. All is well, move along.
TL;DR of the article:
This year Apple will likely not sell dramatically more iPhones than last year, but they will still sell a gigantic amount of iPhones. All is well, move along.
I have to laugh. When Apple's flagship was 4" everyone said they were doomed because the screen size was too small. Now they're doomed because they don't have a 4" flagship. Fact is Apple is still selling more phones than they ever have and the Q2 YOY decline is probably driven in large part by 6/6 Plus being supply constrained in the 2014 holiday quarter and some of those sales being pushed into the 2015 March quarter. I do think it makes sense though to have a flagship line up of 3 sizes: 4", 4.7" and 5.5". Clearly there are some who haven't upgraded because the screen sizes are too big for them.
What countries were the 6/6 Plus sold in the the 5S wasn't?
You prefer a smaller screen sized phone. Fine. Obviously there are 74M people that think differently. It's easy to say now that Apple should have kept a 4" flagship but go back a couple years and everyone wanted Tim Cook's head on a platter because the screen size was too small. Samsung was the darling of the media and Wall Street for catching on to this larger screen size want first.
Considering it's not just Apple struggling this could indicate longer upgrade cycles in general as most smartphones are now good enough for what people use them for and they don't see the need for a new phone every year or two.
What countries were the 6/6 Plus sold in the the 5S wasn't?
You prefer a smaller screen sized phone. Fine. Obviously there are 74M people that think differently. It's easy to say now that Apple should have kept a 4" flagship but go back a couple years and everyone wanted Tim Cook's head on a platter because the screen size was too small. Samsung was the darling of the media and Wall Street for catching on to this larger screen size want first.
Considering it's not just Apple struggling this could indicate longer upgrade cycles in general as most smartphones are now good enough for what people use them for and they don't see the need for a new phone every year or two.
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It's not even because the projected drop in sales will be due to another manufacturer's phone grabbing the sales away from the iPhone, which would be a worrying situation.
I wished it was just the exchange rate if 600us dollars in the uk we pay £600 uk pounds where it should be £400 but that's the price
We are actually paying slightly less than the US at the moment.
The 16GB 6S costs $649 before tax in the USA. At today's exchange rate that converts to £452.50 which is £543 including our 20% VAT.
The 16GB 6S is currently selling for £539 in the UK so don't be surprised if we see an increase coming soon if the value of the Pound doesn't go up against the Dollar.
I buy my iPhone on a 2 year cycle and hand them down in the family.
I am reconsidering when whether I will go with the 7 due to the exchange rate. Its obvious that if Apple don't take part of the hit then sales will not be as great.
Also all upgrades have given me something compelling
3 - first iPhone
4 - retina
5- larger screen
6 - larger screen/fingerprint sensor
7 - what can they offer me? :
I am reconsidering when whether I will go with the 7 due to the exchange rate. Its obvious that if Apple don't take part of the hit then sales will not be as great.
Also all upgrades have given me something compelling
3 - first iPhone
4 - retina
5- larger screen
6 - larger screen/fingerprint sensor
7 - what can they offer me? :
- I don't want to go larger than 5"
- Perhaps they can add wireless and/or fast charging
- Killer for me would be a phone that won't break when dropped and hence not needing a case.
- Add a magnetic portion for magnetic mounts on the back
- Make it waterproof (as much as the watch is)
- Thinner bezels top and bottom (make it smaller without decreasing the 4.7" screen).
- Better camera
They aren't at the top now. Marketshare wise, android devices rule. Profit wise? Apple rules. But don't mistake that profit as in Apple leads in marketshare. Most people do not use iphones.
And all this is ok. Apple is a premium company. Premium products don't usually lead in any kind of marketshare overall in any categories...usually. Apple has been the exception for a lot of things. Ipads, smart watches, mp3 players, etc.
What can Apple do with iphone to grow sales? Not much. They've taken the premium smartphone market. Reaching down to a lower income market is way risky for a premium company. I would be more worried about sales declining.
Ecosytem services and software are key. I'm sorry, but icloud remains a huge joke. Photos and photo library? Utter crap. Apple Music? A disgrace. This stuff should be free for people who purchase Apple hardware for at least a year, if not two. Unlimited storage. Unlimited music. You want to sell hardware. Investors don't give a crap about your apple music revenue. Or your icloud revenue. These exist only to sell hardware.
You want a system so sticky that people will have to buy iphones in the future. But crap services that actually cost way too much won't make for a sticky system.
There's not one, not one, Apple service or piece of software that is essential for me. The best ones are probably imessage and facetime which is sad considering both of these could use a lot of improvement as well.
Apple products working together is what makes Apple appealing to me. But when I have to search for workaround 3rd party solutions for something like photos, it just sucks. The average person has no clue what their doing with photo mgmt with iOS. That's a tragedy for a company that runs everything. If the camera on a smartphone is a big deal for consumers then certainly managing the pictures is pretty important.
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According to rumors, you're going to get an improved digital music experience with the new lightning earbuds. You'll need an adapter to use older headsets. But my guess is that they'll market the music thing to death.