Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Apple Shipped an Estimated 36.4 Million iPhones Worldwide in Q1 2019, a 30% Year-Over-Year Decline
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I think much of it has to do with there being a plateau on what a new phone will do for you. IMO, a XR or XS won't do much (that I care about anyway) that my 6s doesn't do. Personally, the only reason I would buy a new phone now is to get additional storage (my 6s, that I inherited from my daughter, has only 16GB) or some other feature (NOT Animoji) that I had to have. Some folks just like to have the latest/greatest and that's good because I can buy their old phone for less.... 
... too some people.
The dramatic impact of this feature, which suddenly fell out of the discussion is still a question mark to many of us, it seems.
It’s like saying it’s obvious that God exists: we deal with speculation and a matter of belief. It’s opinion based, dude!
I agree, it's doubtful that the iPhone is doomed. It's still a top device among phones so it's not just going to fade into oblivion. Phones would have to not be a thing anymore for the iPhone to die.
It's still the top selling high end smartphone. Sure more cheap prepaid Android phones are sold but that's not and has never been its competition.
Yup, exactly.
[doublepost=1556724924][/doublepost]
I'd consider it. I just don't think another phone is going to jump start iPhone growth.
Until a folding tablet/phone does anything better than what we have today, it won't add any value or become a significant product category. If anyone can do it, Apple can, but I am not sure that is the direction they are headed. Plus, the tech needs to mature for a few more years before we have foldable devices without obvious compromises. Right now it's a gimmick without an obvious value proposition, we'll see if that changes in a few years.
I'm stating it will appeal to countless people. I don't feel this is irrefutable. The new opportunities available to you with a tablet sized screen in your pocket is endless.
[doublepost=1556727143][/doublepost]
A front pocket tablet experience is better than anything we have today on the market.
I've said repeatedly in this thread I don't expect a folding iPhone until 2021. By that point the tech will have matured and what Apple will offer will be a lot more polished and advanced than the current Fold and Mate X.
After what they did to the Mac line, it's only a matter of time before iOS stops being the main income and goes the same route (it's already happening seeing how convoluted the iphone & ipad line are getting). The Mac will always be the essence, income hierarchy can't change that, a great product is about productivity capacity & possibilities, not popularity. So for us, no Mac, no iOS.
It's unbelievable how a company like this sitting on a cash mountain, is unable to chase money without penny pinching part of their product line. I guess that was Steve's biggest difference, wanting to make great products first, fill stockholder's pockets after.
It's unbelievable how a company like this sitting on a cash mountain, is unable to chase money without penny pinching part of their product line. I guess that was Steve's biggest difference, wanting to make great products first, fill stockholder's pockets after.
Is it? What we have today is a foldable tablet without proper app/software support, obvious compromises like a creased screen/weird gaps, and complete device failures like we have seen with the Fold. On top of it all, the "phone" aspect is a much worse than what we we have today and is hardly pocketable. I don't see that being a better experience than a phone or tablet with an OS optimized for each and proper app support. By the time 2021 rolls around, it wouldn't surprise me if this gimmick is dead and Apple is on to bigger things.
The Fold has absolutely nothing to do with what Apple will offer in a foldable phone in two years.
The Mate X is the same thickness as the original iPhone folded and essentially the same footprint as the XS Max. And in two years I'm willing to bet Apple offers something even thinner.
There are some great things already that can be done with foldable phones. As awful as the Fold is, it's pretty slick in that you can use an app when folded and it seamlessly continues the same app experience when you unfold the device. I trust Apple would never release a folding iPhone unless the OS experience is smooth when transitioning between the folded and unfolded experience. If Samsung can already do it to an extent, surely Apple, who is far stronger at software than Samsung, can too in a superior manner.
This is not a gimmick. This is the next evolution in smartphone technology.
I think Apple would love to have more macs/iphones in all homes that can pay for their expanding services such as Apple TV. If Apple can't keep innovating with the iPhone every sales cycle then they won't be able to keep up with dominating the phone market. They will needs new ways to bring in constant income.
Well we were talking about a product that is better than what we have today. Right now, that isn't the case. You could be right of course, but people have been talking about the iPad and Mac converging for years now and Apple has always had a stance - they don't want to create a hybrid product that isn't fully optimized for the form factor. It wouldn't surprise me if they continued this stance, but we will see.
Gotta wonder how Mr. Cook is taking the news…
Dunno how Tim Apple is taking the news but Apple investors must be taking it very well because as of 13:00 on 1 May Apple shares are exploding on the market with Apple Inc. up 13.5 points or almost +6.75%.
Apple's customers/fans are a strange bunch. They are proud of the fact that Apple are making more money while selling less phones. It simply means that these customers are paying more for the same/similar products than customers of other companies are paying.
With all the sentiments of doom and gloom being expressed in this message board keep one thing in mind:
Apple Inc.'s shares are up 13.51 points as of 13:00 on 1 May. This represents an increase of almost 7.00% in market value. Their current market value is just over $1 trillion. An awful lot of buyers must not share in the doom and gloom. Obviously.
Apple Inc.'s shares are up 13.51 points as of 13:00 on 1 May. This represents an increase of almost 7.00% in market value. Their current market value is just over $1 trillion. An awful lot of buyers must not share in the doom and gloom. Obviously.
There are a hundred million active Macs and how many billion active iOS devices are there now? That is a tremendous user base for them to draw upon to sell those services.
The smartphone market in general is saturated in the "developed world". Most everyone is seeing contraction. Hence the shift to servicing (literally and figuratively) your existing customer base to generate income.
And of all the major smartphone manufacturers, Apple is the most well-placed to do so.
I won't argue that. In it's current form, Capitalism is all about "returning shareholder value" which means extracting as much cash as you can from customers.
But let us be honest - if the iPhone Xs had been released at $500 instead of $1000, would 100% of iPhone X customers have upgraded to the new model? Would 90%? 75%? 50%?
I am sure more would have then did, but I don't think it would have been a significant portion of the customer user-base because the biggest upgrade was the camera and the iPhone X's camera was already pretty decent.
Where their prices are really hurting Apple is India. Apple may have believed they could do in India what they did in China - sell expensive phones to the upper income tiers based on aspiration and/or vanity. And that has not worked as Apple just can't make a dent in the market, even with lower prices (that are still at the upper-end of the spectrum).
I don't see it that way and I have been vocal on the subject. I am not proud that they are making more money or selling less iPhone's. I have just pointed out that it is impressive that they have been able to recognize the smartphone industry as a whole is stagnant and that they have needed to pivot to new revenue sources, such as wearables and services. Both of which have been very successful. Big companies frequently need to adapt to changing industries and make sure they are on the front end of it. Apple has done just that. It honestly doesn't matter to me how many iPhone's they sell or how much money they make though, just as long as they continue to make good products.
Couldn’t disagree more. What it means is that people see value in buying Apple products. From YOUR (biased) point of view you believe customers pay more for Apple products than a similar product from another manufacturer. From an apple customer point of view (such as myself), Apple has a higher value to cost ratio than the competitors.
