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Apple has always been about money. They just didn’t have the same power then.
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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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Apple has always been about money. They just didn’t have the same power then.
Jobs was spot on here. The marketing people are the reason we now have notches in iphones.
Maybe try not pricing out half your userbase while removing features in the so-called ‘budget’ (not budget) option next time. Why the hell would I upgrade my 7 Plus? If anything next year I’ll upgrade to an 8 Plus, because I have no interest in the X. Plus it seems the 8 Plus has more features to me than the XR for less.
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Cool, then go/stay with android. Today it's about ecosystem. If you want to be in the Apple ecosystem you will ALWAYS pay a premium. It's been this way for years and isn't some revelation. Personally I'll pay the extra $100 or whatever to know that Apple isn't selling my info to the highest bidder.
Long time Apple user here (starting with a PowerPC Mac mini, 13 years ago). Purchased countless Apple products since then: laptops, iPhones, iPads, Airports, Apple TVs, you name it, plus tons of accessories (chargers, cables, dongles, etc.).
2018 is the year in which I basically gave up on Apple, unless they drastically change course. I'm still pretty much invested in the ecosystem, so I'm not leaving overnight. Still, here's a few things that happened this year:
1. Back in 2007 I purchased the very first iPhone (which wasn't even offered for sale at my country). Every single year, I upgraded to the new model since then -- that is, until this year. Upgrading to the iPhone X last year was a tough choice financially, but there were enough new features to justify the price. However, the iPhone XS is basically the same phone as the X (faster chip, and what else? I honestly can't remember), and the price is simply astronomical. To be clear, however, it's not the first time the new iPhone isn't that different from last year's iPhone, and yet I still upgraded back then. The issue, to put it simply, is price. If the iPhone XS was still selling at iPhone 7 prices, I would have upgraded without blinking. Because I'm not going to upgrade, this is going to have costs for me: when I upgrade my phone, my wife gets my previous phone, so now she has an iPhone 7 with a pretty worn battery. It's not going to last another full year, so we'll have to pay Apple's astronomical prices for battery replacement. OK, they're a bit cheaper this year, but next year I'll have to replace the battery on my iPhone X, either for my use (if I don't upgrade again) or hers -- and it's back to (slightly less) astronomical prices.
2. My old iPad was an Air 2 so it was getting a little old. Last year I bought an iPad Pro 10.5", which by itself was already getting expensive. Add to that the Smart Keyboard and Pencil, which became an integral part of my workflow -- I can't consider the price of the iPad Pro alone anymore, I have to add the costs of these two accessories. Now Apple releases the iPad Pro 11", which looks like a great product. I might be tempted to upgrade, despite the fact that my iPad upgrade cycle is not yearly (somewhere between each 2-3 years). However, the iPad itself is more expensive, and I wouldn't be able to use the old accessories with the new iPad, so I'd have to buy them again (at raised prices no less). I'm sorry, but there's no way in hell I'm spending over $1100 (plus taxes) on the cheapest 2018 iPad configuration with these accessories. I don't think I'd even consider upgrading even if I could use my old keyboard and pencil with it -- still, I consider this the bare minimum Apple could do to entice me to upgrade in the future: keep accessories compatible for at least one generation, and preferably two.
3. I had a late-2013 15" retina MBP which was feeling quite slow by now. When I bought it, I maxed out the CPU and the RAM, but couldn't afford a 1 TB hard drive at the time, and that proved to be the bottleneck -- for years I've been forced to periodically clean out my hard drive so that I didn't run out of space. I researched what it would take to replace my 500 GB SSD with a 1 TB model, and to avoid going into too much detail, I gave up as it was too expensive to get a reliable, no-compromise model. Now. I was holding out for a 32 GB option since my upgrade cycle is even longer for laptops (4 years at a minimum), and I was sure 16 GB wouldn't cut it for the next 4+ years in my line of work. Unfortunately we no longer have the option to upgrade RAM, so not only I have to buy a laptop that's compatible with 32 GB of RAM, but also I have to buy it outright -- whereas previously I could have bought less RAM and waited for the prices to drop before upgrading. Also, it's funny that computers as old as 2011 could be upgraded to 16 GB of RAM, but it took until 2018 for Apple to make a 32 GB-compatible model. So in the end I had to go with a maxed out model (i9, 32 GB RAM, 1 TB SSD) which cost me upwards of $4000 with AppleCare, which has never been more important given that Apple's QC keeps going downhill -- see e.g. the keyboard issue, for which there are already complaints regarding the upgraded 2018 model. I lost many nights of sleep arguing over whether I could afford to drop over $4000 on a new computer. I eventually went for it, but frankly, this is getting out of hand. Does anyone remember how the MBP increased in price overnight by $300 or $400 due to the addition of the touchbar?
I'm not sure which of these three examples better illustrates how Apple is making every single effort to become a boutique brand, the Rolex or Ferrari of computers/phones/tablets. I'm not saying this is necessarily bad; there are many boutique brands that survive and even do well in their respective fields. There's just one issue to consider, though: people buy computers, and phones and tablets, because of the software, and it's hard to justify writing software for a niche market. Software was a huge problem back when I got into the Apple ecosystem, and although it's very much improved, it's still a problem today in certain cases (I have to run a VM because most software in my line of work is Windows-only). Now, to use a car analogy, if Apple decides to position itself similarly to Porsche rather than Lexus, will developers keep writing software for Apple products if they project that, in a few years from now, the user base will shrink to, say, 1/3 or 1/4 of what it used to be? Market share doesn't plummet instantly because people still own older iPhones, but what's going to happen 5 years from now when iPhone 7 and 8 users, who couldn't afford upgrading after these models came out, really need to get a new phone? If Apple keeps hiking prices, at this point he'll just buy an Android phone.
Funny thing is that my income has increased exponentially ever since my first Mac mini in 2005, and yet it seems, this year especially, that it's never been more painful to buy Apple gear. As such I frankly have no idea if my next laptop is going to be a Mac or not.
2018 is the year in which I basically gave up on Apple, unless they drastically change course. I'm still pretty much invested in the ecosystem, so I'm not leaving overnight. Still, here's a few things that happened this year:
1. Back in 2007 I purchased the very first iPhone (which wasn't even offered for sale at my country). Every single year, I upgraded to the new model since then -- that is, until this year. Upgrading to the iPhone X last year was a tough choice financially, but there were enough new features to justify the price. However, the iPhone XS is basically the same phone as the X (faster chip, and what else? I honestly can't remember), and the price is simply astronomical. To be clear, however, it's not the first time the new iPhone isn't that different from last year's iPhone, and yet I still upgraded back then. The issue, to put it simply, is price. If the iPhone XS was still selling at iPhone 7 prices, I would have upgraded without blinking. Because I'm not going to upgrade, this is going to have costs for me: when I upgrade my phone, my wife gets my previous phone, so now she has an iPhone 7 with a pretty worn battery. It's not going to last another full year, so we'll have to pay Apple's astronomical prices for battery replacement. OK, they're a bit cheaper this year, but next year I'll have to replace the battery on my iPhone X, either for my use (if I don't upgrade again) or hers -- and it's back to (slightly less) astronomical prices.
2. My old iPad was an Air 2 so it was getting a little old. Last year I bought an iPad Pro 10.5", which by itself was already getting expensive. Add to that the Smart Keyboard and Pencil, which became an integral part of my workflow -- I can't consider the price of the iPad Pro alone anymore, I have to add the costs of these two accessories. Now Apple releases the iPad Pro 11", which looks like a great product. I might be tempted to upgrade, despite the fact that my iPad upgrade cycle is not yearly (somewhere between each 2-3 years). However, the iPad itself is more expensive, and I wouldn't be able to use the old accessories with the new iPad, so I'd have to buy them again (at raised prices no less). I'm sorry, but there's no way in hell I'm spending over $1100 (plus taxes) on the cheapest 2018 iPad configuration with these accessories. I don't think I'd even consider upgrading even if I could use my old keyboard and pencil with it -- still, I consider this the bare minimum Apple could do to entice me to upgrade in the future: keep accessories compatible for at least one generation, and preferably two.
3. I had a late-2013 15" retina MBP which was feeling quite slow by now. When I bought it, I maxed out the CPU and the RAM, but couldn't afford a 1 TB hard drive at the time, and that proved to be the bottleneck -- for years I've been forced to periodically clean out my hard drive so that I didn't run out of space. I researched what it would take to replace my 500 GB SSD with a 1 TB model, and to avoid going into too much detail, I gave up as it was too expensive to get a reliable, no-compromise model. Now. I was holding out for a 32 GB option since my upgrade cycle is even longer for laptops (4 years at a minimum), and I was sure 16 GB wouldn't cut it for the next 4+ years in my line of work. Unfortunately we no longer have the option to upgrade RAM, so not only I have to buy a laptop that's compatible with 32 GB of RAM, but also I have to buy it outright -- whereas previously I could have bought less RAM and waited for the prices to drop before upgrading. Also, it's funny that computers as old as 2011 could be upgraded to 16 GB of RAM, but it took until 2018 for Apple to make a 32 GB-compatible model. So in the end I had to go with a maxed out model (i9, 32 GB RAM, 1 TB SSD) which cost me upwards of $4000 with AppleCare, which has never been more important given that Apple's QC keeps going downhill -- see e.g. the keyboard issue, for which there are already complaints regarding the upgraded 2018 model. I lost many nights of sleep arguing over whether I could afford to drop over $4000 on a new computer. I eventually went for it, but frankly, this is getting out of hand. Does anyone remember how the MBP increased in price overnight by $300 or $400 due to the addition of the touchbar?
I'm not sure which of these three examples better illustrates how Apple is making every single effort to become a boutique brand, the Rolex or Ferrari of computers/phones/tablets. I'm not saying this is necessarily bad; there are many boutique brands that survive and even do well in their respective fields. There's just one issue to consider, though: people buy computers, and phones and tablets, because of the software, and it's hard to justify writing software for a niche market. Software was a huge problem back when I got into the Apple ecosystem, and although it's very much improved, it's still a problem today in certain cases (I have to run a VM because most software in my line of work is Windows-only). Now, to use a car analogy, if Apple decides to position itself similarly to Porsche rather than Lexus, will developers keep writing software for Apple products if they project that, in a few years from now, the user base will shrink to, say, 1/3 or 1/4 of what it used to be? Market share doesn't plummet instantly because people still own older iPhones, but what's going to happen 5 years from now when iPhone 7 and 8 users, who couldn't afford upgrading after these models came out, really need to get a new phone? If Apple keeps hiking prices, at this point he'll just buy an Android phone.
Funny thing is that my income has increased exponentially ever since my first Mac mini in 2005, and yet it seems, this year especially, that it's never been more painful to buy Apple gear. As such I frankly have no idea if my next laptop is going to be a Mac or not.
This is why competition is important. If the Galaxy S9 is a better phone, for you, then that should be your answer.
I like using apple products for my own reasons. Everybody's mileage will vary.
Move around marketing staff all you want.
If you don’t fix the absolutely ludicrous pricing for a phone that no longer offers that huge technological lead over its competition, or for the tablet that doesn’t even have a true desktop-class OS on it, expect to continue losing customers who won’t shell out the money for devices that are the same as last year’s with some minor improvements.
I am fortunate enough that I can continue to upgrade each year but this year I’m really not impressed in going from the iPhone X to the XS Max. It’s a little bigger and has a little better camera. That’s all. Nothing more. $1000+ for this.
If you don’t fix the absolutely ludicrous pricing for a phone that no longer offers that huge technological lead over its competition, or for the tablet that doesn’t even have a true desktop-class OS on it, expect to continue losing customers who won’t shell out the money for devices that are the same as last year’s with some minor improvements.
I am fortunate enough that I can continue to upgrade each year but this year I’m really not impressed in going from the iPhone X to the XS Max. It’s a little bigger and has a little better camera. That’s all. Nothing more. $1000+ for this.
Clearly you have't been an Apple user long enough to know Apple has always been a boutique/high end brand. That has not and will not ever change. In fact Apple laptops used to START much higher in price 20+ years ago. For example, adjusted for 2018 USD an old Powerbook G4 would cost about 5-6 THOUSAND today. So actually prices have come down in many ways.
Now, Yes they raised the prices of all iOS devices this year and that stings a bit for sure. But you have an iPhone X and iPad Pro 10.5 both from last year. Why are you so upset about that? They are amazing devices. Should Apple apologize that poor you has to struggle with hanging on to perfectly good and fast tech because you feel "priced out" of iOS? Thats just silly. Enjoy your devices and good on you for being a little more cost conscious as you mature. Losing sleep over tech purchases is a whole other issue. Relax, enjoy, and in a few years Im sure there will still be plenty of affordable options from Apple for you to upgrade to.
Don´t forget D I V E R S I T Y
Seriously, look at his twitter feed. He is like a PR terminator
- Apple offers discount for Military and Veterans
- Apple offers Extra Trade-in Credits
- Apple offers Apple Music on Echo Devices (Best Selling Smart speaker)
- Apple cut price on XR in Japan
Do not forget, Homepod can now pick up 'Hey Siri' across the room!
I'm in the same boat.
I've been using Apple ever since the Apple IIe in the back of my 1st grade classroom, and I was the first person at my high school with an iPod.
Now, as a professional computer engineer, I think the Dell XPS 15 or the Lenovo Thinkpad X1 Extreme are a far better value, especially with all the mac hardware issues coming to light.
In fact, after doing a lot of research and soul searching, I bought the X1 Extreme a month ago as my first own PC and have no doubt I made the right choice. I have little use for a macbook with a faulty T2 BridgeOS, I have no use for an overpriced mac mini with soldered SSDs. I like my watch, but I'm still waiting for the EKG software that's MIA.
So much feature slippage.
So much feature dropping.
So much weaseling, conniving and strategizing to force the consumer to do X NO MATTER WHAT, NO WAY AROUND IT!
So.... much... politics.
So much poop animoji.
So much repeating myself to siri.
So little wow.
Are we all really just staying because of 1) how aluminum feels in our hands and 2) iMessage?
[doublepost=1543947872][/doublepost]
They are NOT amazing devices.
Also, $2000(2004 USD) = $2677.45(2018 USD)
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It is this across the board will all cell phones. They have finally hit the peak where it is no longer necessary to upgrade yearly unless there is a killer "feature". I remember 4-5 years ago getting a new phone every six months because the leaps were noticeable.
I kept an iPhone SE for 2 years and dumped it for the X. I will be staying with the X at least through next year.
Dear Friend
we are on the same boat : long time apple user , I was updating my devices every 2 years, not anymore
Too expensive , less interesting stuff and more frills that could drive me to buy it and Apple is taking away ports, jacks and all my still functioning external devices wouldn't work anymore. Keeping tight my iPhone 8 plus -and iPhone 6s and iPad pro 9.7" with the old pen that I just discovered has a battery that can be changed with 29$ .Probably my iPad needs a new battery as well but for now still working . I just bought an iMac 2017 and connected my Thunderbolt display to it so I could use all the older ports. Still have a MBP 2015 and not moving from there. I bought the iMac just because my thunderbolt display is becoming old and the cable that gives power to my MBP is broken and is impossible to change (asked Apple store and has a prohibitive price to do a simple repair)and there are no displays I like enough to substitute it. I got everything I need now, nice display and I keep the Thunderbolt display black and I can use just the ports and don't wast too much energy . I still use firewire devices and I couldn't find an hub with firewire. Thunderbolt display has it
Apple is not inventive but disruptive so we need to be inventive , that's it!
Good luck to all of us waiting for the next Steve Jobs to come
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Same situation. 128GB iPhone 7+. Quite happy with it still. At the time, the iPhone 7+ was the best iPhone available. Why would I now upgrade to something that was not the top of the line iPhone? And with the recent iPad shift to USB-C, you can assume the same will happen to the iPhone in the next cycle. Ergo, I wait.
On an aside, the product fragmentation during this cycle is disheartening. The simplicity of the Apple eco-system used to make sense. Now they are selling a plethora of phones that seem to be looking for a target market. The laptop differentiation is confusing. The iPad and iPad Pros use different pencils. Fortunately, the Apple watches still use the same size bands.
Until this gets sorted out, I think I'll just stick with my iPad Air 2, Apple Watch 3, and iPhone 7+
What I hate most and what is actually making me postpone some new purchases is the pricing of storage upgrades. The new MacBook Air comes with a 128GB SSD standard. The same amount of storage as my current 2011! MacBook Air base model. Upgrading to a more sensible 512GB SSD is 500 EUR. Why?
Just because of this I'm not buying and waiting another year with my upgrade.
Just because of this I'm not buying and waiting another year with my upgrade.
