I’m puzzled as to why a 30% drop in sales of a companies major product would be a good thing.
I didn’t say it was a good thing. I am simply saying that it’s the new normal. The critics are also fixating too much on a single metric while overlooking the bigger picture.
The iphone is a mature product, and the simple truth is that people are holding to their iphones longer. Apple even acknowledged this tacitly with moves like ios 12, which focused on performance and supporting older devices.
A lot of the suggestions given here, such as lowering prices, or even chasing gimmicky trends such as folding phones, are not going to boost iphone sales in any meaningful fashion.
Not to mention that many critics here appear to have this unfathomable obsession with market share (especially profitless market share), when it’s really profit share which matters to a company (and which will determine whether a company continues to stay around in the long term). The Spotify vs Apple Music debate in another thread is a great example of how simply having a great product or idea is useless if the company is unable to monetise it in any meaningful manner (as evidenced by Spotify’s inability to turn a profit after 10 years).
And this is why I am glad that Apple does not turn to random strangers on Internet forums for business advice.
Apple isn’t perfect, but they are not run by idiots either. Apple saw this coming a mile away. That’s why they are pivoting into wearables (we already have the Apple Watch and airpods, and the apple glasses are rumoured to be released next year). That is why I say that wearables and iPads represent the future at Apple, not the Mac (replete with video evidence of the grand theory of Apple), yet the critics just don’t listen.
At the same time, a lot of iPhones are staying in circulation thanks to healthy sales of 2nd-hand units (partly to fund the purchase of newer, more expensive iphones). While Apple doesn’t earn a cent from the sale of 2nd-hand iphones, they nevertheless represent additional active users who then go on to purchase extra apps, subscribe to more services and purchase accessories such as the Apple Watch or airpods.
So there are plenty of ways Apple can continue to monetise their user base besides the iphone.
So yes, if you want to fixate on the 30% number in a vacuum, then it makes for easy clickbait. However, if you look at everything else that Apple is doing, you will realise how Apple is well-positioned to ride this out.
And thrive Apple will. You will see. They will all see.
