Apple Reportedly Reassigned Some Marketing Staff to Work on Bolstering Sales of iPhone XS and iPhone XR

[timber]

Apple is still doing great products, some great others amazing.

Even when they drag their feet for years just like with the Macs in the end they usually release great products.

But if they keep going higher and higher in their positioning they will alienate people first because they don't see value and later because they just can't afford anything.

And that will hurt them because computers (be it as a phone, as a watch, as a notebook) just can't be run like a small scale luxury provider.

 

[Xenomorph]

Clearly, the solution to lower sales is HIGHER PRICES.

The iPhone XR should start at $1399.

The iPhone XS should start at $1899.

Upgrade to the next storage tier? That's an additional $599.

THINK OF THE PROFITS!
[doublepost=1543938056][/doublepost]

XR is already an incredible deal, it's basically an XS with a cheaper (but still amazing) screen. I wouldn't believe these rumors about sales being down, there have been many such rumors over the years and they have all turned out to be false. Apple rearranges staff for various reasons, don't assume the sky is falling just because someone changes their title on LinkedIn.

Yes, it's an """INCREDIBLE""" """""DEAL""""" *



* only when compared to a higher-price device.

 

[nexusrule]

iPhones make up 59.12% of all apple revenue but "not particularly relevant"

You don't understand what the meaning of the sentence you (partially) quoted is.

 

[sw1tcher]

Then, we get stories like this:

Apple's largest supplier reported 24 percent surge in revenues from OLED display, components sales

Apple isn't the only company that Samsung provides OLED displays to though.

https://www.oled-info.com/samsung-oled

Samsung is currently producing over 300 million AMOLED displays in a year, used mostly in smartphones - such as Samsung's own Galaxy S7 (and S7 edge ) - but also in smartphones from Gionee, Meizu, Acer, HP, Vivo, Microsoft, Lenovo, ZTE, Hisense, Konka and others. Samsung also produces large mobile OLEDs for tablets, laptops and monitors.

Apple is getting their OLED displays from LG too.

https://www.extremetech.com/mobile/277070-new-iphones-may-use-lgs-oled-displays-instead-of-samsung

Apple finally moved from LCD to OLED displays with last year’s iPhone X, and Samsung was its exclusive supplier. This year, Apple has expanded the use of OLED panels, and Korean press reports that Samsung doesn’t have a monopoly on iPhone OLEDs anymore. LG’s OLED panels have reportedly passed muster at Apple, so there will be both Samsung and LG panels in this year’s iPhones.


And more smartphones are using OLED displays vs a year ago.

https://www.oled-info.com/oled_devices/mobile_phones?page=1

 

[Mike Oxard]

I'm still enjoying the hell out of my 8s.

They didn't make an iPhone 8s

 

[zubikov]

I'm kinda regretting the upgrade from iPhone 7 to Xs. Despite a way better camera and screen on the Xs, I can't stand face ID, the bulky size and inability to grab the phone on any edge without activating the screen.

And then I saw my relative's Pixel 3 in action, which he got for $450.

Camera on Pixel 3 is night and day (literally with night vision). There's touch ID AND face ID. It's slim and light. Android is getting better and better. The only thing keeping me at this point is the Apple ecosystem, which is a poor excuse for reluctantly spending $1200 for a phone you don't like.

 

[Internet Enzyme]

I mean really, apple has a storied history of releasing radical new products at sky high prices and then bringing them down in subsequent years (macbook air is one example of which). Next year they need to lower the price of the 5.8 oled model to $899, have the 6.5” at $999, and the lcd one be $699. It would also be great to expand further into budget territory with a $599 4.5” lcd or something

 

[Baymowe335]

iPhone sales did peak in fiscal year 2015. In fiscal year 2015, Apple sold 231.22 million units. In fiscal year 2016, it was 211.88 million units. In fiscal year 2017, 216.76 million units. In fiscal year 2018, it was 217.72 million units.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/276306/global-apple-iphone-sales-since-fiscal-year-2007/



They're "not particularly relevant" now since iPhone unit sales are barely growing. But when unit sales were growing in the double digits year over year, Apple was more than happy to provide investors with unit sales numbers and even brag about them.



We don't know that (relative to other models) because Apple doesn't break down sales by individual model.

Apple told us the iPhone X was the best selling model in the lineup since release, so it was the best selling.

All investors know unit sales have been flattish for 3 years. The 2015 year was an outlier bc of large screen iPhones. The rising ASP has frankly been incredible and shows the strength of the iPhone, selling MORE units y/y at far higher prices. Pricing power.

They are frankly right that unit sales are no longer relevant and investors should be focused on the business rather than an arbitrary unit sales metric that tends to overshadow incredible results.

 

[Craiguyver]

How about Apple assigns fewer people to marketing and more to fixing the damn glitches and bugs!

 

[macduke]

If analysts cry wolf every time then you don’t realize when there is really a problem.

 

[tromboneaholic]

all we’ve gotten that’s magical are Airpods

Apple Watch is more innovative than AirPods, so I find that to be a strange example.

 

[haplain]

So I'm confused... I thought the iPhone XR was the best selling iPhone since the iPhone launch, according to MR.

 

[iReality85]

The XR is just in a bad spot.

For people who have the SE, it's likely too big and too expensive.

For people who have last year's X, it's the "lowly" inferior model and too small.

Apple should have just stuck with XS and XS Max, and revamped the SE as the SE 2 without Face ID. I have several friends and family members who've gotten the XR (thru upgrade/trade in pricing), and they've all turned off Face ID. So they're back to using either an unlock passcode, or no passcode, which is inferior to Touch ID. It's a complete waste to incorporate Face ID at the low end, since it really doesn't appeal to those kind of consumers.

That aside, the current constellation of iPhones is a complete mess, with phones actually lasting too long.

My 7 Plus is over 2 years old now, and I'll be heading to the Apple Store tomorrow to have the battery replaced while the $29 special is still going on. Will last me another 2 years. I love Touch ID. And I won't be getting another phone until 5G LTE is out.

 

[69Mustang]

Then, we get stories like this:

Apple's largest supplier reported 24 percent surge in revenues from OLED display, components sales

The conclusion reached in that article is seriously flawed: "The only explanation is that it continues to benefit from a solid customer with strong sales..."

Samsung got a 24% boost in revenue from OLED displays because
1. Apple went from 1 OLED sku to 3 OLED skus
2. Contracted order minimums (rumored). Lagging sales rumored to cause Apple to restart X manufacturing to meet the minimums. With minimums, Samsung was going to be up regardless of Apple's sales.

Solid customer? Yes, absolutely. Strong sales? There's no way to draw that conclusion from the circumstances of Samsung's OLED revenue. Once the contract terms are complete a better picture can be seen.

 

[WatchFromAfar]

More fake news. This is ridiculous and can't be know if it's normal business operations or otherwise.

Of course this comes from an "unnamed source" who probably is doing their own speculation.

If anyone of you work at a big company, MANY people even in the org have no idea how well the company is executing.

The story names a source (Mark Gurman) now you can shout "fake news" until the cows come home; but ask yourself this? why would someone make it up?

 

[rmoliv]

I’m loving this and I hope this has repercussions on next year’s product pricing. As to unit sales it should be important to them or else they should just stop being hyprocitical pretending they want Apple products to be accessible to more people. Looking at their pricing strategy this year they clearly DON’T.

 

[Mackinjosh]

How about Apple assigns fewer people to marketing and more to fixing the damn glitches and bugs!

Not needed. I enjoy it when my iPhone's speaker goes out completely and requires a full reboot to fix.

 

[TheFluffyDuck]

I really am starting to hate Apple. I mean I love them, but god I hate them. Lack of innovation is one thing, lack of refreshes is another, but charging us twice what we paid for 10 years ago in adjusted dollars for their mediocrity is another thing entirely.

 

[timber]

The conclusion reached in that article is seriously flawed: "The only explanation is that it continues to benefit from a solid customer with strong sales..."

Samsung got a 24% boost in revenue from OLED displays because
1. Apple went from 1 OLED sku to 3 OLED skus
2. Contracted order minimums (rumored). Lagging sales rumored to cause Apple to restart X manufacturing to meet the minimums. With minimums, Samsung was going to be up regardless of Apple's sales.

Solid customer? Yes, absolutely. Strong sales? There's no way to draw that conclusion from the circumstances of Samsung's OLED revenue. Once the contract terms are complete a better picture can be seen.

In addiction to that more data and analysis is needed to reach any conclusion.

Well it may not be obvious for people who only follow iPhones but OLED screens are pretty common in Android phones and you can find them in a lot more phones than "uber Galaxy S" types.

 

[tromboneaholic]

The story names a source (Mark Gurman) now you can shout "fake news" until the cows come home; but ask yourself this? why would someone make it up?

Some organization such as Bloomberg, pay reporters explicitly for publishing "market-moving" stories.

"A former Bloomberg News employee, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, confirmed to Business Insider that Bloomberg News does track market-moving stories reporters publish and that these types of stories do factor into reporters' bonuses."

https://www.businessinsider.com/bloomberg-reporters-compensation-2013-12

 

[Jimmy James]

I don’t think the iPhone XR is a bad product by any means - indeed it has a lot going for it, including some things* over the XS/Max. I do think it has a bit of an image problem though - Apple are trying to sell their ‘second option’ at what was flagship pricing until recently. In this way I think they might have had more success with the iPhone X at $899 than the XR at $749. At the end of the day though, what do I know, they obviously had the consumer survey data in front of them and this is obviously what it told them would be the most successful path to take...

*personal preference dependent

Agreed. I’m not comparing the XR pricing against their other phones that are reaching new pricing milestones. Rather, against the trend of past Apple phones.

Between this and the laptop reliability issues I’m hoping Apple self-corrects in the next couple of years.

 

[WatchFromAfar]

Some organization such as Bloomberg, pay reporters explicitly for publishing "market-moving" stories.

"A former Bloomberg News employee, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, confirmed to Business Insider that Bloomberg News does track market-moving stories reporters publish and that these types of stories do factor into reporters' bonuses."

https://www.businessinsider.com/bloomberg-reporters-compensation-2013-12

I'm sure some do; other times it's the truth

 

[cknibbs]

I really don’t see why the XS exists. It would have made far more sense to have the iPhone XR as the smallest of the three starting around $699USD, the XS as the middle sized one starting at $849USD and the XS max starting at the $999. The XS was DOA due to the XR.

 

[sw1tcher]

The Samsung division that makes OLED panels for smartphones saw a 24% rise in revenues Year on Year for their last quarter and you know that wasn't driven by Galaxy sales.

So maybe everyone is just buying the XS Max?

Or the Google Pixel 3 XL, Samsung Galaxy A9/S9/Note 9, etc.

 

[avanpelt]

They need some better selling points for the XS because this is some misleading marketing:

The XR has the same A12 Bionic chip and it also has Face ID -- those two things aren't unique to the XS.