evidence? A lot of my friends or people around me mentioned that they wanted to upgrade but Apple priced them out. You don't need evidence, the word on the street with the current economy in some countries = educated opinion that is that Apple priced a lot of people out. Simple as that.
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Apple Reportedly Plans to Cut Price of iPhone XR in Japan Due to Poor Sales and Restart iPhone X Production
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Depends on where you live. The iPhone is still somewhat of a status symbol since there are still loads of people using garbage android phones that are 3,4,5 years old. Any iPhone blows those out of the water.
It will be interesting to see, and of course with the numbers no longer being confirmed, speculation will be very intense.
Having said that, what we do know is iPhone volumes have been flat for years, it probably wouldn't take too much to nudge them into reverse...
A more immediately pertinent question than might first be imagined - can we seriously expect iPhones starting at $1,200 if there's even a whisper of sub-par sales at $1,000? I don't see any remaining scope for further price rises (without damaging volumes) as of now - they're really straining every sinew to justify $1k. At least I see it that way until the glacial force of inflation has eaten away at the value of $1,000 over months and years...
The product development at Apple is going in the right direction. They are doing a good job of trying to justify the creation of modified products (Face ID and Touch ID swap). I get it, they have to make money. Where they have dropped the ball is pricing. They did a great business move with the increase in price for the X. They then made another increase very shortly afterwards which was ill-advised. They have literally priced a lot of people out, even the faithful monthly payers who don’t even own their phones.
A monthly payment of over $60 is common, which is ridiculous to some, and then the idea of getting a new phone that is pretty much the same is more discouraging.
The only way that any of this makes sense is if the big picture was to raise prices until sales drop, then dial it back to the previous successful high point and make that be the new norm, with people thinking that Apple listened to their complaints. That would be genius, and I expect that will happen with the next iteration.
A monthly payment of over $60 is common, which is ridiculous to some, and then the idea of getting a new phone that is pretty much the same is more discouraging.
The only way that any of this makes sense is if the big picture was to raise prices until sales drop, then dial it back to the previous successful high point and make that be the new norm, with people thinking that Apple listened to their complaints. That would be genius, and I expect that will happen with the next iteration.
Ok....the XR is $49 more than the iPhone 8 was last year($699) and it’s way nicer. How is that totally pricing people out? If $49 is THAT unattainable for people who already were going to buy an iPhone then it’s time to re-evaluate your situation. I’ll agree the XS is priced way too high. But the XR is an amazing upgrade from any 2-4 year old iPhone. The problem the XR has was that tons of jerks on YouTube destroyed it for have “low res” screen, which it’s not. It’s fine. And guess what? All those same YouTube stars are eating crow and posting videos on how great the XR is for the money. Some have even gone so far as to say “ I was wrong about the iPhone XR”.
Don’ t forget that all these things are rumors. Don’ t forget what happened last year with the x and all these kind of rumors.
Don’ t forget that press and analysts will try to force Apple to give sales numbers , since Apple announced they won’ t give the sales nr’ s anymore . And overstating, rioting, of these rumors by analysts and press would be the way to do this.
Don’ t forget that Rome has been burning the last 3 years but apple keeps on reporting record profits, etc.
Don’ t forget this post when apple reports $95 billion of revenue over this current quarter.
Don’ t forget that press and analysts will try to force Apple to give sales numbers , since Apple announced they won’ t give the sales nr’ s anymore . And overstating, rioting, of these rumors by analysts and press would be the way to do this.
Don’ t forget that Rome has been burning the last 3 years but apple keeps on reporting record profits, etc.
Don’ t forget this post when apple reports $95 billion of revenue over this current quarter.
According to Apple insider...
Apple has restarted production of last year's iPhone X, according to one of the nation's most prominent financial publications, which claims the company is doing so out of international demand and a questionable obligation to fill a sales quota with OLED supplier and smartphone rival Samsung.
Rumors of slowing iPhone sales may be overstated.
Apple has restarted production of last year's iPhone X, according to one of the nation's most prominent financial publications, which claims the company is doing so out of international demand and a questionable obligation to fill a sales quota with OLED supplier and smartphone rival Samsung.
Rumors of slowing iPhone sales may be overstated.
I would disagree. The Apple Watch actually has increased in price point considerably over the last two years. The stainless steel Apple Watch increased from $600 from where it was two years ago to now $750.00 for the 44MM. If you think about it, $750 for the 44 mm stainless watch is highly exorbitant, even though it has a lot of functionality and some incredible tech, do you think the average consumer can afford that? I don’t think they can, which is why the aluminum sport model is the more popular choice for obvious reasons. My point is, the Apple Watch it certainly expensive beyond most competitors.
Restarting iPhone X production means customers want the superior Qualcomm vs Intel modem and Samsung vs LG OLED display and without the excessively greedy iPhone Xs markup.
Might reach a character limit listing all those.
So tools can't be Status Symbols?
A Porsche is a tool that is designed to transport you just like every other car.
Sounds like something those Europeans should take up with their governments.
I’m always being told by Left-Wingers that VAT is magnificent because it provides for social services via government.
All these potential iPhone buyers better not let the VAT dissuade them from buying, lest they be accused of trying to kill people (as the rhetoric goes in the US).
This is where I’m at. In the past the Apple tax was reasonable for the quality of the product. As a long time user of apple products and someone that loves the OS ecosystem I find myself looking at other options outside of apple more and more. I’m going to wait and see how things play out over the next year, but I may be jumping ship if prices don’t come back down to earth. I’ve always been a day one iPhone upgrade guy, but i’m Holding on to my X for at least another year.
Some tools can be status symbols but I wouldn't really class a phone as one. The only phones that would be a status symbol are the custom ones that cost far above the standard phone.
"Everything that goes up, will go down."
"Everything that has a beginning, has an end."
I think Apple has desperately been trying to maintain their high margins now for a long time, and their way of increasing prices lately is just another sign of this. All to keep the stock price going up. This will end some day. Perhaps soon. There is simply too much greed involved here, and obvious good products that should have been made for the consumers, have not been made or been neglected.
Apple is not doomed, but when it starts to go downhill a little, I wonder what Tim Cook will do. Step down?
How true, my X on Verizon has the best reception I have ever had. I pick my iPhone up and swipe up all at the same time and it opens. 95% of the time. The 5% I think is when for whatever reason it wasn't totally laying down and maybe figured it was being raised to unlock with Face ID. But, it is better than my Touch ID was on my 6s Plus. Plus swiping is much more intuitive for me. Perfect form factor. Great screen. This iPhone won't be replaced until it dies. All IMHO----
You forgot to mention the cables, dongles, ram updates, ssd, Apple TV, keyboard and mice. Oh wait... the whole line needs a big price reduction and innovation overhaul to get the feeling of value for money again = happy customer
https://www.laptopmag.com/articles/macbook-air-2017-vs-2018
I honestly think iPhone is just the tip of the iceberg. Their entire product line has seen a noticeable to significant increase. iPad, Mini, MacBooks, Watch. I love my Apple products but with the price increases, with what you get at their price points vs. what's available by the competition it is getting more and more difficult to justify. They're definitely reaping what they have sown. I also wonder if there are too many options with iPhone and associated costs to manufacture, market, stock, etc.
Perhaps my experience in Japan is a bit different.
For day-to-day expenses, housing, transport, I would say Japan is on-par if not cheaper than other developed countries.
When it comes to imported goods (or even electronics made in Japan), the prices are usually set in USD and adjusted back to JPY which means to the average Japanese, yes some luxury goods seems more expensive due to the relatively lower overall salary in Japan.
To the regular Japanese, daily living expenses are not that high. You can get quality goods even on the low end of the spectrum. Even in the US, once you go too cheap for food you have to wonder.
For a foreigner or higher earning people, Japan is actually relatively cheap compare. Housing is pretty inexpensive compared even major cities in China.
Apple products certainly are not expensive in Japan. It's due to their currency fluctuations Apple has adjusted the prices to compensate, but again like all imported goods it only seems expensive relative to the Japanese salary, but definitely not more expensive to the US...
What Japanese people are more sensitive to is quality. They've got a nose for it, so to speak. The XR is basically low quality goods compared to the X/XS is why they are not buying them. I'm not saying Japanese people don't care about price; everyone does. For $750 USD what other choices are there?
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in europe its not that simple. Our pricing is way higher. And I was mainly talking about X & XS as those are the ones that crossed 1000pounds and that is insane!!!
XR is an attempt to make it more swallow-able but I don't think thats enough.
So, for me - I'll keep my iPhone 6 for another year. Wanted to get the XR but its huge and don't like the bezels. Can Apple not cater for people with small hands?
In fact, iPhone SE2 would be perfect so maybe march/april will surprise us with something
iOS, what Apple believes it’s biggest selling point, isn’t ahead on android anymore and has fallen far behind in services like maps, assistents. You can’t sell like Gucci or Prada if your wear isn’t premium. People are starting to notice and I’m happy for that
Are you really trying to make a point that iPhones aren't (also) used as status symbols?
They may be useful, powerful, you name it, computers but nowadays iPhones are probably one of the most used objects as a status symbol.
They’re both correct. Apple overplayed it’s hand by increasing their prices and the cheapest XR is too expensive in comparison the competition has to offer. To be fair, name one product from Apple you think is fairly priced
That and let's face it smartphones are now in the mature part of their product life cycle. People can now go years with out needing to worry about performance getting slow enough that they actually need to replace their phone. There also hasn't been any ground break end use changes in features and functions. People can live without animojis.