Apple must be so arrogant to understand people don't want overprice gadgets.
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Apple Reportedly Reassigned Some Marketing Staff to Work on Bolstering Sales of iPhone XS and iPhone XR
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The best marketing they can do is to lower the ridiculously high prices. I think they have milked the loyal Apple customers a tad too far this time. Last years iPhone X was expensive but as it came with a new design and new features it was somewhat justifiable to splurge that sort of money on a phone. This years iPhone Xs is too similar to last years X and unless you wanted a bigger screen such as the Xs Max there is hardly any reason to upgrade. My iPhone X still runs and looks like new (after a screen replacement due to unresponsive screen), I can't justify spending another £1150 for slightly updated phone.
Hopefully Apple will realise that their pricing policy has alienated a vast number of their loyal customers and potential new ones. Other manufacturers include things such as a wireless charging pad in the box with their flagship phones. With Apple everything is an extra. If they included a wireless charge pad and Airpods in the box with an iPhone Xs you can bet your bottom dollar sales would have skyrocketed!
If they carry on with their greed then I don't think it will be long before iOS simply will not be enough to hold onto the loyal customer base. The only way I see this happening is if there is a change at the top.
Hopefully Apple will realise that their pricing policy has alienated a vast number of their loyal customers and potential new ones. Other manufacturers include things such as a wireless charging pad in the box with their flagship phones. With Apple everything is an extra. If they included a wireless charge pad and Airpods in the box with an iPhone Xs you can bet your bottom dollar sales would have skyrocketed!
If they carry on with their greed then I don't think it will be long before iOS simply will not be enough to hold onto the loyal customer base. The only way I see this happening is if there is a change at the top.
Pretty arrogant statement considering the article specifically mentions last years fiasco with the X, predicting doom and gloom. This news "story" could pan out to be nothing.
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How do you know a "vast" number of loyal customers were alienated. How is a loyal customer defined? How do you know potential new customers are alienated? How do you know including charging pads and airpods would result in skyrocketing sales?
Just asking because this is all conjecture and what-ifs.
Wow, I think that Tim should look at this video.
Apple moved some of its marketing staff off other projects to focus on bolstering sales of the latest iPhone lineup in late October, around the time the iPhone XR launched, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
The report cites an unnamed person familiar with the situation who described the move as a "fire drill" and "a possible admission that the devices may have been selling below some expectations," a concern shared by some analysts and investors. Apple's stock price has plunged nearly 17 percent since November 1.
Apple is certainly marketing the latest iPhones more aggressively than in previous years. A banner at the top of its website advertises the iPhone XR "from $449," but with an asterisk, as that price requires trading in an iPhone 7 Plus for a $300 credit as part of a limited time promotion rarely seen from Apple.
These concerns are nothing new following iPhone launch season, with the doom and gloom often fueled by weakening forecasts from iPhone suppliers.
Cirrus Logic, a supplier of audio-related components for iPhones, expects its revenue for the current holiday season quarter to be around 16 percent lower than it originally forecasted due to "recent weaknesses in the smartphone market." While not named, Apple accounts for around 80 percent of Cirrus Logic's business.
Making matters worse, The Wall Street Journal reported that Apple recently slashed production orders for the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR due in part to "lower-than-expected demand."
Apple CEO Tim Cook has dismissed those supply chain reports in the past. During an earnings call in January 2013, he noted that the company's supply chain is very complex and that conclusions shouldn't be drawn from singular data points:It certainly doesn't help that Apple recently announced that it will no longer disclose iPhone unit sales in its quarterly earnings results, leading some to believe that iPhone sales have peaked and Apple has something to hide.
Apple's financial chief Luca Maestri said unit sales are "not particularly relevant for our company at this point," as they are "not necessarily representative of the underlying strength of our business." He did note that Apple may provide qualitative commentary if the info is valuable to investors.
While there were similar concerns about the iPhone X, that device ultimately sold well, so time will tell whether these headlines are baseless again. However, analysts will now have to rely exclusively on iPhone revenue to gauge sales, so the situation will no longer be as transparent going forward.
Apple has yet to announce a date for its next quarterly earnings report, but it will likely be released at the end of January. Apple expects revenue of between $89 billion and $93 billion, which would be an all-time company record.
Article Link: Apple Reportedly Reassigned Some Marketing Staff to Work on Bolstering Sales of iPhone XS and iPhone XR
Best way to market to all the people that don't know tech is to stop saying all the tech words about processor specifics. No one outside of Apple enthusiasts care about the "A12 chip.... blah blah... that is the fastest ever" Seriously stupid to think that sales gimic still works. Its new. If its not the fastest, you will lose sales even quicker than you gained.
I wouldn't mind upgrading from my 6s but I don't want a massive phone. Even one the size of the Xr is too big for me. Would love to get the Xs with its smaller form factor but not for $1100.
**EDIT** Haha, sorry, just went to Apple site to confirm my numbers. I guess I meant "for $1,453.14". FFS, who is buying these things? I mean, besides YouTubers.
**EDIT** Haha, sorry, just went to Apple site to confirm my numbers. I guess I meant "for $1,453.14". FFS, who is buying these things? I mean, besides YouTubers.
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Well it caught up to the Galaxy S2, by providing an AMOLED screen for the first time. Welcome to 2011. It wasn't until this year that Apple finally allowed duel SIM cards into their phones, HTC Desire did that in 2012. HTC also introduced Qi wireless charging in 2012. I mean come on man just google it this information is not hard to find. I mean thats three areas (pretty big areas I must say) where Apple was 6+ years out of date. Which is funny as Steve jobs boasted the first iPhone was 5 years ahead of other phones (which it was at the time).
Between the 4S and the iPhone X, all those phones were the same, with zero innovation. A larger screen, thumb print scanner, and a skin pack for iOS is not innovation. There should be more to show after 6 years. It is the definition of "resting on your laurels".
To manipulate the stock like all these stories have done over the years?
Mark Gurman throws out all kinds of stuff covering Apple. He just wrote the story and the content is speculative and jumps to conclusions based on one unnamed source essentially saying “something.” Why does this source have credibility? he simply heard something and wrote a story that it must means struggling iPhone sales. What is the baseline marketing activity?
Even if the source is within Apple, that person likely has no clue about sales execution relative to plan.
For everyone saying the phones are overpriced - consider this....
The first iPhone (2007) came with 4Gb of storage space and sold for $499. In today's money, that's ~$600. Now, if I were to offer you that, OR for $150 more the iPhone XR with 64Gb storage (plus everything else that's improved), what would you do?
The first iPhone (2007) came with 4Gb of storage space and sold for $499. In today's money, that's ~$600. Now, if I were to offer you that, OR for $150 more the iPhone XR with 64Gb storage (plus everything else that's improved), what would you do?
I don't know if the news is true or not. Typically, Gurman is a reliable source, but he works for Bloomberg and often they are not. However, Wall Street Journal is posting similar articles.
I can only look at it from my own perspective. I have bought a new iPhone typically on a yearly or bi-yearly schedule and I am still holding onto my 7Plus.
They made a fantastic phone and it is hard to rationalize a move to the XR when it only has one lens (the 7Plus has two) and a lower resolution (the 7Plus has 1920x1080). The FaceID is a downgrade in my opinion. That leaves me with a choice of the Max phone if I want to keep the screen real estate and the cost/benefits (especially for a comparable 256GB storage option) just don't make it worthwhile. I would rather put my money into other tech that has more bang for the buck.
Whether this is a lot of the market or not, I have no idea. I do have a lot of friends that have held onto their 6 and 7 version iPhones over the past couple of years, though.
I can only look at it from my own perspective. I have bought a new iPhone typically on a yearly or bi-yearly schedule and I am still holding onto my 7Plus.
They made a fantastic phone and it is hard to rationalize a move to the XR when it only has one lens (the 7Plus has two) and a lower resolution (the 7Plus has 1920x1080). The FaceID is a downgrade in my opinion. That leaves me with a choice of the Max phone if I want to keep the screen real estate and the cost/benefits (especially for a comparable 256GB storage option) just don't make it worthwhile. I would rather put my money into other tech that has more bang for the buck.
Whether this is a lot of the market or not, I have no idea. I do have a lot of friends that have held onto their 6 and 7 version iPhones over the past couple of years, though.
How could they convince people that 825p screen is worth $800.00?
Sooooo basically Apple is saying screw the XS. All screen, longest battery life, studio style photos starting at 449. Why on earth would any average consumer even consider the XS. This is about as close as you get to an admission (along with dropping the iPhone X as a cheaper alternative) that the XS is way overpriced and not a whole lot better for all that extra money. But the market is speaking volumes and Apple seems all in on iPhone XR now.
Computer specs improve with time.
And the first iPhone should be compared with the XS as both are the best Apple can do at a given time frame.
A typical marketing 101 handbook (Kotler for example) will tell you to lower prices without lowering prices. Some examples are supermarkets coupons and stuff like Black Fridays.
Apple could create subsidies to end retailers such as telcos or offer promotions to specific end users like students or military personnel. All these are, of course, completely made up things I just now came up with.
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Perhaps the first iteration of Xiaomi Mi Mix? That phone opened my eyes to what could be done and it even had a ceramic back. iPhone looked really old school at the time.
Most people have a smartphone now so in almost every case people are upgrading from one smartphone to the next. Carrier subsidized pricing is gone. The phones have crossed the $1,000 mark and that was clearly a magic number for the market. People don't want to upgrade their phone on an annual basis to the tune of $1,000+, especially if that upgrade is incremental. It's time for Apple to start looking ahead and try to break the annual cycle somehow.
I'm sure that I am an outlier, but I am still using a 5s, and don't plan to upgrade until it breaks or sometime next year. I don't want an expensive large phone, I want a cheaper phone that fits in my pocket. I suppose if I had to replace it today, I would just get a 7, or find an SE (AT&T is still selling their remaining SE stock). Perhaps there are a lot of others who don't care about FaceID and all the latest tech that are put off by the high prices of the new iPhones and are content with what they have.
I think the vast majority of average people would conclude after seeing the way the iPhone XS is presented on Apple's website that the points listed under the iPhone XS heading are things that the iPhone XS phones can do that no other iPhone can do.
What's probably going to happen in more than a few cases is that your average Joe is going to see that on the home page, go into an Apple Store, and one of Apple's team members is going to tell that person that the XR is just as fast as the XS and also has Face ID -- and is $250 less expensive. Actually, as I think about it, perhaps they purposely presented the XS on their website for this exact scenario. The average person walks into an Apple Store thinking they're going to buy an XS, they find out from the Apple employee that they can get two big features (speed and 'advanced' security) in the XR and save $250. The customer walks out happy thinking they just got a hell of a deal because they got everything they wanted and spent $250 less than they thought they were going to spend and Apple got a sale.
So you want Apple to lower their prices and forgo their marketing? Have you ever heard of Apple?
Big screen TV’s used to command big prices and drive big profits/sales at places like Circuit City. Now you can get a good TV for a great price from Amazon. The former Circuit City near my house is now a secondhand clothing store.
Clearly this is why Apple is trying to become Netflix. And sell more services.
This is the first time that I am questioning holding the stock. They can only sell services to existing customers. And their Appleflix feels sketchy given their decision to avoid “adult” content (House of Cards and Game of Thrones anyone! Uh, not.)
Hope I’m wrong! I am a stockholder.
Clearly this is why Apple is trying to become Netflix. And sell more services.
This is the first time that I am questioning holding the stock. They can only sell services to existing customers. And their Appleflix feels sketchy given their decision to avoid “adult” content (House of Cards and Game of Thrones anyone! Uh, not.)
Hope I’m wrong! I am a stockholder.
I don’t see how that clip is relevant. There are others in that interview that are but that one isn’t. In fact, the truth may be opposite, if all those are correct who are bemoaning the effect of high prices. That is, it’s the sales & marketing people (via pricing) who are hurting growth of an otherwise good product.