While those are certainly real possibilities, the simplest conclusion to reach is that sales are less than Apple would like, not that the Xr or Xs are necessarily ‘flopping’ though. Especially when you put all the pieces together: these sales tactics, Apple no longer wanting to release unit sales, and a widely recognized saturation of the smartphone market as a whole.
Which brings me back to my original point. If you think Apple is doomed, then everything they do will seem that way to you, and you will not even be able to start entertaining alternative possibilities or explanations.
Here's what I do think. I feel that sales of iPhones may not be as strong as what Apple would like, but this is despite their current prices, not because of them. Lowering the prices is not going to have a noticeable impact on either sales or Apple's bottom line. We don't know Apple's own internal sales expectations. We know that some Apple component suppliers have had order reductions, but we don't know which models they were for, or if this was countermanded by a corresponding increase in orders somewhere else.
I would argue that ultimately, it really all boils down to the critics here wanting to see the current Apple fail. The discontent has been rumbling for some time, between Apple's perceived neglect of the Mac, coupled with their renewed focus on the iPad, rising prices and entering of new markets which the critics feel that Apple has no business dabbling in (not least because they perceive these new enterprises as the main reason for Apple's apparent lack of enthusiasm for the Mac).
They can't even begin to envision, much less accept, that perhaps the way forward is with iOS, not macOS. They think Apple has lost its way, and are pretty much falling over themselves to latch onto every single piece of news that might suggest precisely that.
Also, Apple has in fact lost a fifth of its market capitalization. It was the first trillion dollar company, but is now valued at only $800 billion. I will allow Apple a lot of slack here and say that a large chunk of that loss is not due to Apple or Tim Cook, but a certain world leader wreaking havoc on the markets with their tweets and trade tactics. I don’t recall anyone saying Apple is at a disadvantage with respect to their R&D projects.
It's in the Bloomberg article linked in the first page, somewhere in the middle. Here is the excerpt.
Apple is working on several new products and services, including an augmented-reality headset, driverless car technology, and digital offerings like original video. Analysts also expect a new business model centered on subscriptions.
Those options are riskier than the iPhone, which for a decade enticed millions of consumers to hand over hundreds of dollars for a new handset every two years. The public hasn’t flocked to AR technology in the same way yet, while Netflix Inc. has a huge head start in digital video, Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo leads in autonomous vehicles, and Amazon.com Inc.’s Prime service has nailed subscriptions online.
All the top companies have lost a significant chunk of their market cap. In fact, Amazon at least has lost more than Apple (last I recall), but sure, pin this all on overpriced iPhones. The first is a fact, the latter is an opinion (and an extremely sensational and clickbaity one).
In their eyes, Apple just can't win. Especially when negative Apple news draws the clicks.
