Apple Shipped an Estimated 36.4 Million iPhones Worldwide in Q1 2019, a 30% Year-Over-Year Decline

[Abazigal]

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.

By that time, Apple would have long moved on to AR glasses.

That’s where I believe Apple’s next big hit lies. Not in (foldable) phones, but in wearables.

That’s why I believe Apple will not go down the folding phone route. Not because of a lack of vision, but because they are betting on an entirely different strategy.

 

[Octavius8]

Everybody felt this was going to happen due to comparatively low innovation in hardware, low integration of Siri with useful outside of USA 3rd party services (like Spotify), higher and higher prices, stupid faceId and a just good enough camera, but not for the price. We ALL knew it, Tim is a goodmanager, not an innovator.

 

[AppleScruff1]

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.

And your both biased, just in different directions.

 

[Williesleg]

I got so sick of buying crap from Tim Apple, I used the same cash and got a linux PC and a Tesla.
Best switch ever.
Best car ever.

 

[I7guy]

And your both biased, just in different directions.

That’s correct. There is no right answer except the revenue speaks for itself.

 

[OlliFlamme]

I hope you’re being facetious. Who the hell wants a woman like that hanging around anyway?

He obviously is NOT joking. You are forgetting that there is a huge market of such women: vain and self-obsessed Instagramming, materialist and superficial. These open their legs for anyone sponsoring their so amazing life. Obviously there are the fitting lads to nurture that breed of women.
You clearly haven’t been to Russia, the Baltic or Eastern Europe. There, the ‘upper class’ is a utter joke of guys with too much (questionable) money, and the gold digger females that have no personality or any appeal to the self respecting man.

To make my point sharp here: there are hoards of people that believe in such tricks as: if I have this or that, she’ll think I got the bucks. Don’t ask me what their purpose in life is, but they want to shag with a lady that is intellectually compatible, let’s say

I don’t blame them, it’s kind of cute

 

[jeremiah256]

I own a recent Huawei phone and they are well built, feature rich phones at a fraction of the price of a top of the line phone. My Space Grey Huawei phone looks like a premium iPhone and it even came with a soft clear silicon case. A super fast, dual sim phone, unlocked, includes built in FM Radio for $199. That’s tough to beat and that’s not considered one of their better phones.

I really wish FM radio was mandatory on all phones sold.

 

[smulji]

I’m puzzled as to why a 30% drop in sales of a companies major product would be a good thing.

It depends on who you believe. IDC’s unit sales estimates seem way off. If you do the math, they’re estimating average ASP of approximately $850. Doesn’t make sense when you consider the iPhone XR has been the best-selling model in most market.

Here are Strategy Analytics estimates. They estimate Apple sold around 43 million units during the quarter which is a 17% drop

https://news.strategyanalytics.com/...al-smartphone-shipments-dip-4-percent-q1-2019

Since Apple has stopped reporting unit sales numbers the problem is trying to figure out which analysts to trust
[doublepost=1556760027][/doublepost]

It’s a tablet you can carry in your pocket. I need to say no more than that. If you can’t comprehend what a game changer folding smartphones will be, then that’s on your shoulders. It’s pretty obvious to begin with. I’m done trying to explain the obvious to you. Cheers.

You haven’t made a single compelling case for a $2000+ folding smartphone. It doesn’t solve a problem that people have
[doublepost=1556761552][/doublepost]

Apple want you to keep your phone for longer because it keeps you on the ecosystem and if you stay in you’re more likely to start using and paying for their services or buying other Apple products that compliment your iPhone like AirPods or an Apple Watch.

That’s the name of the game
[doublepost=1556762329][/doublepost]

The market has clearly changed very dramatically over the past year or two and it's clear too that both Apple and Samsung have been caught out by it. It's not very obvious to many people living in the west but if you spend time in Asia you see it clearly.

Smartphones are now where TVs and microwaves are - ie consumer products that any anonymous company can churn out. Sure you can pay extra to get the latest high end TV but 99% of people would be fine with the one using last year's components for a lot less. There are countless companies now selling smartphones in China and India that aren't even sold in the west.

They are - frankly - often junk compared to Apple in terms of physical quality. They will look nice, edge to edge displays etc but the component quality is poor. However they are fully featured and very cheap. And in 12 months when cheaper chips, better lenses, brighter screens are available those companies will quickly get those components into a phone and sell them cheap. It is why Apple is doing so badly in India - I'm afraid today selling an iPhone 7 at premium prices just doesn't cut it when for half the price (indeed much less) you can get a chinese phone with two or three portrait lenses, edge to edge display, google photos (i.e. unlimited cloud photos storage for free) and access to all the latest apps too.

Quite how this will pan out I don't know. For me I am still willing to pay the premium for Apple though they are pushing their luck and it doesn't surprise me to see such a huge drop. 30% in one year is massive. It will require Apple re-thinking their approach, not just a new model. Their ability to sell older hardware at premium prices is vanishing. I don't expect they will go down the road of selling cheaper models so they are going to have to try to achieve higher profit margins or get more from services. Let's hope they don't go down the road too far and end up doing as Rolex and Leica did, moving from top end products to luxury items. I hope they can figure out a middle course - their attention to detail, design aesthetics, manufacturing quality is still the best but they have been incredibly slow to recognise the changing market. They should have given unlimited iCloud storage to photos too - get people locked in to the ecosystem instead of trying to nickel and dime customers for more than 5GB. On that front Google outsmarted them.
[doublepost=1556720614][/doublepost]

But in the growing markets it is the less expensive phones that are the biggest opportunity and there Apple has a business model that worked in 2014 in the west but won't in 2019 in Asia. Selling an iPhone 7 in 2019 at premium prices is becoming less viable every quarter.

“Sure you can pay extra to get the latest high end TV but 99% of people would be fine with the one using last year's components for a lot less.”

Because 99% of people in Asia are making on average $400 a month in wages. They can’t afford an iPhone. If they could they probably would buy an iPhone or another brand’s premium smartphone
[doublepost=1556762534][/doublepost]

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....

“I think much of it has to do with there being a plateau on what a new phone will do for you.”

Hit the nail on the head.

 

[GuruZac]

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.

Yeah I think a lot of people forget that those like myself, who enjoy Apple products, don’t look the iPhone XR vs the OnePlus and say, “man, I could save a little money and get more RAM and a higher resolution display.” I simply don’t consider non-Apple products because non-Apple products don’t carry the same value to me as the Apple ecosystem. For example, I use AirDrop on my iPhone to my Mac and my iPad all the time for school. I open up webpages on my laptop and continue them on my phone. I don’t mind paying more for similar specs or even ‘lower specs on paper’ because the value of the total package of using iOS and the Apple ecosystem is right for me. YMMV (not you in particular i7!)

 

[I7guy]

Yeah I think a lot of people forget that those like myself, who enjoy Apple products, don’t look the iPhone XR vs the OnePlus and say, “man, I could save a little money and get more RAM and a higher resolution display.” I simply don’t consider non-Apple products because non-Apple products don’t carry the same value to me as the Apple ecosystem. For example, I use AirDrop on my iPhone to my Mac and my iPad all the time for school. I open up webpages on my laptop and continue them on my phone. I don’t mind paying more for similar specs or even ‘lower specs on paper’ because the value of the total package of using iOS and the Apple ecosystem is right for me. YMMV (not you in particular i7!)

It's always understood YMMV. And I couldn't agree more about how some of the integration with apple products is not only cool, but makes my life with these electronic gizmos not only easier, but sometimes more fun as well. For example at a family event, I'm usually the designated photographer. At the end of the evening I airdrop the pictures to all those who are interested. Easy-peasy.

For those who don't want an apple product and instead opt for a competitor due to specs or reasons for ones' choosing, I say, get what works for you. OnePlus may not be my cup of tea, but to each their own.

 

[bsimpsen]

Gotta wonder how Mr. Cook is taking the news…

What news? That someone's estimate of iPhone sales numbers doesn't match his? Why would he care?

 

[ipponrg]

Apple stock is up 6% today! Looks like Apple knows what they’re doing.

Oh really? Did they also know what they were doing when it dropped from 230 down to 140?

 

[DeepIn2U]

Apple needs to get their **** together.
While for me there was a lot of incentive to upgrade from a 6S Plus to the XS Max, for folks with an 8+ or X there was a lot less incentive.
Add to that the government controlled/subsidized China market, AND the high prices of the XS line what does Apple expect?

Apple REALLY tried to force/push an incentive for users to upgrade to the XS/XS Max by killing the X which the XS too greatly resembled in aesthetics and too close to feature/performance comparison.

That’s only part of it. The other considerations would be the influx of price increases with the iPhones as they stand currently and the battery replacement program Apple introduced over the last year. When you combine all *three* of those considerations, it takes a toll on the iPhone greatly. Moving forward, it’s all about strategizing and trying to bring the customer into the store to upgrade.

VERY good thinking! Although I think Apple's last 3Qtrs were focused on KEEPING the existing customer and making them happy (recall Oprah saying at the last event "A billion devices y'all) ... it's the keep us within the ecosystem and ready to eat up services with money we have NOT spent on hardware upgrades.

Also keep in mind ... the "X" was cancelled. The first time since the 3GS, Apple did NOT offer last years top tier model at reduced price with lower storage options!

Very curious the need for creating the Xr, other than to help the XS sell. What would have been the retail cost of the "X" vs "Xr" if offered at 64/128GB options in it's second year? How many MORE users would've upgraded to the 1yr old "X" had not existing stock been dwindled vs the Xr? How much cheaper would the parts be for the XS had been since the screen, band, battery (pretty much), internal connections/cabling and production layout vs just a few parts comparably to the XS would have been vs implementing an entirely new Xr in the R&D and production? Some carriers may have still would have offered the BOGO value.

Things that make you go hmm.

PS: I wonder if Apple's internal economics team have laid out plans for production/services etc some 10yrs in advance and just letting this all play out?

(Dune: feints within feints, plans within plans)

iPhones last a lot longer than they did 10 years ago.

Thanks in heavy part to increasing processor, GPU, storage, and screen/glass performance and longevity! Right now many of us would agree that iOS is no longer challenging the chipset and rest of the hardware ... and that it IS the BIGGEST bottleneck to performance.

iOS 14 will need a huge redesign, layout, and heavy performance in order to start the appeal and need for users on older 64bit iPhones to feel performance being hampered to a crawl in order to upgrade to continue enjoying all their experiences - beyond games. Case in point ... the iPad Air 1 barely can handle 3 Safari tabs of MacRumors.com (sign-in) ... youtube video within Safari (3rd tab) to play on ATV4 is more than a 5sec delay before even the audio connects, another 2sec more for the video to show up (802.11g 2.4Ghz/5Ghz) and running iOS12.2 will no longer upgrade.

The web hasn't really changed much to affect the browser, the browser is off a few iterations, but it's not the hardware, nor the web affecting performance ... iOS is on this very old hardware. See my point?

Considering last yeah they had just released the iPhone X the biggest change to the line up in 3 years, it was going to be a battle.

That and the ‘meh’ XS and cheaper battery replacements is also likely still hurting them.

The XS at it's launch price was a 'meh' because the X existed before ... especially since visually they look exactly the same. This was the big reason Apple killed the X after 1 yr. The retail price at launch compared to the 8 in Canada was far too close to be honest but it worked at that time. I should've kept mine vs going to the 8.

Well I’m looking forward to the rumoured XE if it turns up, otherwise another XR for me next year.. not paying Apples stupid pricing for the high end now I’ve got used to an XR.

Is the XE the updated 'SE' model? If so ... then YES that'll immensely help in sales of devices both here and especially abroad: EU, Africa, S.America potentially, Canada I'm sure yet not so sure in China. If more than $600 retail and no heavy carrier subsidy (say $200US on contract and lower in India special pricing at initial launch window) then it's going to not do well there.

 

[Steve686]

Or you can take advantage of the high resell value of Apple products, sell for 70% and get yourself something reeaallll nice

I usually do resell. Thing is, the resell income against the yearly cost rise of the iphones still put you more in the red than the previous year...because you eventually have to pay one off in the end.

At this point I am just going the route of “A phone is a phone”.

And honestly, I took some pics at the Indians/Marlins game the other night and left my Nikon D750/80-200 2.8 at home thinking I could get some decent pics with the Cd Max. I was pretty disappointed. I know it is comparing a DSLR to an iPhone...but the way Apple touts the greatness of the camera is a little over the top.

 

[cuencap]

View attachment 834833
I usually do resell. Thing is, the resell income against the yearly cost rise of the iphones still put you more in the red than the previous year...because you eventually have to pay one off in the end.

At this point I am just going the route of “A phone is a phone”.

And honestly, I took some pics at the Indians/Marlins game the other night and left my Nikon D750/80-200 2.8 at home thinking I could get some decent pics with the Cd Max. I was pretty disappointed. I know it is comparing a DSLR to an iPhone...but the way Apple touts the greatness of the camera is a little over the top.

That pic is amazing. I didn't know the iPhone has a net filter! Steve Jobs would have never come up with that filter idea

I see your point about the rising costs and eventually paying one off. I think the price peak is very close. While these are mini computers, people are either going to extend their upgrade cycles or stop paying high prices altogether. I'm guessing the former. These phones will last 2-3 years easily. Maybe 3-4, but that's hard to prove out in today's 'gotta have the newest right now with free shipping' mentality.

 

[Vjosullivan]

Specific scenarios are endless. You can use an unfolded tablet as your cars navigation system.

You can already do that with any number of phones. I was doing it with a Tomtom unit twenty years ago. When you said that foldable phones would bring revolutionary changes I was hoping for something slightly more ... revolutionary.

 

[hellopupy]

I love Apple. But I didn't like spending over $1k on a new iPhone XS to replace my 6+. People are not wanting to spend that much money on a phone.

You didn't have to but you did, and that means you wanted to. You also didn't have to buy the XS, you could've went with a base XR but you wanted the best and you paid the premium for it.

So what did Apple do wrong here? They are guilty for pricing a product at a level that people find accepting? Oh boy...

 

[FFR]

incorrect. Apple sells lots of phones yet they are still expensive. The term is not related to volume.

Both business class and first class are both expensive.

Premium smart phones are by definition expensive

And?

I never said a market does not exist for the iPhone.

I also never said it was out of budget.

There are many things I consider expensive but within my budget.


Ah, researching past posts? I wouldn't waste your time.

Yes the galaxy fold is expensive. but neat none the less.

I hate that phones do not have headphone jacks. It means that if I don't have my bluetooth ones with me or my lightning ones then I cannot have audio in public. that sucks.

Expensive to “you”

It’s a very simple concept.
Market dictates price not volume or dilbert 99.


No need to research anything, you keep parroting your opinions as though they should be the industry standard, they’re not.

But there is a market for the the iPhone.

And it’s doing very well, even dare I say without a headphone jack. Judging by sales not many people care about it.

 

[I7guy]

View attachment 834833
I usually do resell. Thing is, the resell income against the yearly cost rise of the iphones still put you more in the red than the previous year...because you eventually have to pay one off in the end.

At this point I am just going the route of “A phone is a phone”.

And honestly, I took some pics at the Indians/Marlins game the other night and left my Nikon D750/80-200 2.8 at home thinking I could get some decent pics with the Cd Max. I was pretty disappointed. I know it is comparing a DSLR to an iPhone...but the way Apple touts the greatness of the camera is a little over the top.

For a smartphone the camera is excellent and there is nothing wrong with Apple touting the greatness. Your expectations were out of line with the technology as you are comparing $2,000 in specialized camera equipment with a smartphone sensor. Of course the smartphone will lose.

 

[Vjosullivan]

And it’s doing very well, even dare I say without a headphone jack. Judging by sales not many people care about it.

I've just spent the best part of an hour looking for the @$&! adapter. I care about it. (It turned out be be where I put it so that I'd know where it was. Only I'd completely forgotten that there was such a place until I found it.)

 

[FFR]

I've just spent the best part of an hour looking for the @$&! adapter. I care about it. (It turned out be be where I put it so that I'd know where it was. Only I'd completely forgotten that there was such a place until I found it.)

That’s hilarious.
I have a lightning cable for my shure se 846, doesn’t get much use though after I got airpods.

 

[russell_314]

That’s hilarious.
I have a lightning cable for my shure se 846, doesn’t get much use though after I got airpods.

My adapter is in the bottom of a plastic bin of charging cables and wires that I rarely or never use. I have AirPods and other Bluetooth headphones so I haven't used old fashioned wired headphones for a while now. Bluetooth used to be expensive so if you just wanted cheap $10-$20 earbuds you had to go wired. Now you can get Bluetooth for the same price. Of course high end Bluetooth options are available but if I'm out and about I'm not risking losing $300 plus headphones.
[doublepost=1556801465][/doublepost]

Expensive to “you”

It’s a very simple concept.
Market dictates price not volume or dilbert 99.


No need to research anything, you keep parroting your opinions as though they should be the industry standard, they’re not.

But there is a market for the the iPhone.

And it’s doing very well, even dare I say without a headphone jack. Judging by sales not many people care about it.

Obviously there's a market for the iPhone. People like to be silly and post things like it's the beginning of the end for Apple and the iPhone. Apple cut the headphone jack too early IMO but that's typical Apple. It was going to go away sooner or later and either way some people would have complained about it. I'm not good with change and I wasn't excited about Apple removing the headphone jack but now it's a non issue for me. It's the same thing when the floppy drive was removed. I was not happy about that but now looking back I can see it was becoming obsolete.

 

[GuruZac]

View attachment 834833
I usually do resell. Thing is, the resell income against the yearly cost rise of the iphones still put you more in the red than the previous year...because you eventually have to pay one off in the end.

At this point I am just going the route of “A phone is a phone”.

And honestly, I took some pics at the Indians/Marlins game the other night and left my Nikon D750/80-200 2.8 at home thinking I could get some decent pics with the Cd Max. I was pretty disappointed. I know it is comparing a DSLR to an iPhone...but the way Apple touts the greatness of the camera is a little over the top.

I think it depends on the kind of shot. I took this with my XR the other day and I was pretty happy with how it turned out. Especially for software driven bokeh effect. Smartphones really fall apart if you want to zoom in on the photo. Bur nonetheless, they are pretty amazing point and shoot cameras.

 

[blairh]

You haven’t made a single compelling case for a $2000+ folding smartphone. It doesn’t solve a problem that people have

Yes I absolutely have. Go read or re-read my last post. It's quite obvious the new possibilities of a tablet sized screen that you can carry in your front pocket. And I have no reason to believe a folding iPhone will cost $2000 if released 28 months from now.
[doublepost=1556803917][/doublepost]

You can already do that with any number of phones. I was doing it with a Tomtom unit twenty years ago. When you said that foldable phones would bring revolutionary changes I was hoping for something slightly more ... revolutionary.

You cannot get an 8" screen from any smartphone on the market today. That's a huge difference than the largest smartphones on the market currently. It's a completely different experience.

 

[dilbert99]

Expensive to “you”

It’s a very simple concept.
Market dictates price not volume or dilbert 99.

We are talking about what expensive means. Market doesn't really come in to it.
A top of the range phone is by definition expensive.