Apple Slashes iPhone 5 Part Orders Due to Weak Demand

[ctyrider]

They need to introduce a brand new standard-bearing kick-ass design and redefine what the concept of a phone is supposed to look like. It needs to be sexy as hell

Don't be silly. It's a PHONE for chrissakes. What exactly do you want Apple to do to the form factor? Make it pink, glow in the dark, and cover it in feathers?

There is no "revolutionary redesign" to the smartphone form factor on the horizon. Not from Apple, not from anyone else. All the innovation will be in software and services.

 

[SactoGuy18]

Here's the problem for Apple:

(Holds up my Pebble Blue Samsung Galaxy S III)

The thing is that by 2012/2013 standards, the iPhone 5 is essentially an iPhone 4S with a "taller" screen and faster internals, and in many ways doesn't compare well with Samsung Galaxy S III, HTC One X/One S, LG Optimus G, or in some ways the Nokia Lumia 920! All of the cellphones I mentioned have larger displays and a feature that the iPhone 5 lacks: NFC, which is very necessary in eastern Asia for widely-used mobile payment systems in that part of the world.

Also, the recent worries over the "fiscal cliff" ended up scaring a lot of potential buyers of the iPhone 5, and that has kind of caused sales to "flatten" in the USA.

 

[iOrbit]

I have owned every iPhone that has been released and i am now bored out of my mind with ios.

It needs a big shake up for ios7. None of this 200 new crap features same ****** thing, it needs to be a totally new fresh os that is not all locked up... For example Bluetooth and customising.

I used to be on my iPhone a lot, now i hardly use it. As said it has become stale.

I hope the next iPhone and ios are ground breaking!

i understand, i have only been using iOS for a year so i don't share your problem, so i disagree with any radical changes to its use (i mean, to the point where its not even iOS as we know it, anymore). however, im all for a refreshed aesthetic change, and definitely lots of functional improvements. i can't remember the name of one user hack change, but it was very impressive, very apple like, and sets the reminding standard of what apple should be spending their time doing.

it showed a new approach to opening and quitting apps. it also showed way more convenient approaches to changing settings for bluetooth etc.

come on Apple..

 

[ChazUK]

Exactly! In Australia Optus, Telstra and Vodafone have been pushing Shamesung Galaxy s3 like CRAZY to leverage against Apple.

I hear commercials on the radio every single day in which canadian carriers would have some cheesy dialogues about how great the S3 is.

Seems like UK carriers and cellphone re-sellers are throwing money at the British consumer to take iPhones off of them.

Not a bad time to be a British consumer looking into an iPhone what with the free phones and cashback.

 

[Renzatic]

Don't be silly. It's a PHONE for chrissakes. What exactly do you want Apple to do to the form factor? Make it pink, glow in the dark, and cover it in feathers?

There is no "revolutionary redesign" to the smartphone form factor on the horizon. Not from Apple, not from anyone else. All the innovation will be in software and services.[/QUOTE]

This. There isn't all that much you can do with a rectangle. You can make it a little more square, or maybe a slightly bit more rounded, but when all is said and done, it's still pretty much a rectangle.

These days, it's all about what's on the screen, how easy it is to use, and how well it plays together with all your other stuff.

 

[ctyrider]

I'm willing to bet that the weak demand is due to the lack of jailbreak. It sure is the reason why I never bought an iPhone 5. I would have loved the nice tall screen, but I'd rather stick with my jailbroken iPhone 4. It's just better.

I remember when they finally jailbroke the iPhone 4S, sales spiked by about 2 million units, if I recall.

Nonsense. Jailbreaking has been relegated to a niche that a very tiny fraction of potential buyers care about. Since Apple opened up the unlocking database to 3rd parties, that took away the biggest reason to jailbreak. I can absolutely promise you lack of JB has had no tangible impact on iPhone 5 sales.

 

[Masterkona]

Samsung S3 Is stolen technology and is loaded with inferior security. If you buy it, you have no conscience and hate America. Also, you aparently like poor warranty support and the idea of paying $300 to fix your phone when it magically stops working after 1 year. Will be funny if the courts decide to grant the injunction

Another fun fact about China and Android. Since all Google services are blocked in China, the only reason to own an S3 is status or being geek. Not to mention, your device will receive 0 software support and will not receive any updates. Functionality is severely diminished. Additionally, Google Play/ Google Maps / YouTube are not accessible in China.

People in China like to pirate stuff, and therefore the S3 is a great option. With an IPhone you can actually use the App Store and god forbid have to pay for apps.

Additionally, The number of jailbroken iPhones in china is kind of funny. I read somewhere that even though only about 5% of iPhones have been jail broken, almost 35% of those in China are. As China cracks down on software piracy, and as China Mobile offers the IPhone, expect sales to increase on a godly scale. 100% growth may be too conservative. Cook might not have been joking when he said he expects it to be their biggest market. They plan to triple the number of stores. Does this imply he expects demand to triple?

My bet is on Cook knowing more than the analysts claim to. I somehow don't think he's about to drive the company off a cliff. It's possible apple lost out on a few million sales due to a lack of a jailbreak. However, I have doubts it will have a long standing effect, especially since the iPhone 5 is a Global phone. I suspect many will adjust to having to pay for apps. If they refuse to buy an iPhone due to an inability to pirate software that's beyond pathetic.

 

[nfl46]

This isn't good. Slashing part orders after FOUR months.

 

[louis.b]

Any source to back up your claim?

Visit it the alternatives to iOS or AnroidCentral and I'm sure you'll find plenty are more than satisfied with their S3. Not trying to promote Android/S3 (not even a huge Samsung fan myself), just saying...



There's a video where people were shown an iPhone 4S and were told it was the new iPhone 5. Those people thought it was so much better than the iPhone 4S. Lighter, better screen, faster, etc. Same phone, but were told it was the latest and greatest...

I dont know how you can trust Android fan boys' words since they have claimed since 2010 that every version of ANdroid is lag-free and gonna be iOS killer

 

[JoEw]

With the world economy, it seems there will be periods of virtual stagnation and periods of high growth from here on out. Not stable fast growth like before 2007. Odds are the iPhone 4 and 4s are probably very popular given that people might not justify the 100 more dollars for a slightly larger screen on the 5.

 

[scottrichardson]

Apple needs to stop trying to keep up with the Jones'. They only need 1 major phone and 1 major iPad a year. Builds more anticipation and desire for the products. Let Android devices keep smashing multiple new iterations out each year for those who feel the need to update every 4 months.

I don't like that Apple is changing due to the competition - they don't need to buckle and change - they were doing fine with slower product cycles. Granted, slightly faster product cycles on Macs would be nice - maybe every 8 months rather than once a year - 18 months.

Scottie

 

[Born Again]

Long time iPhone user here - had every version since og

I'm not surprised at all.

Boring iOS and upsetting they stretched the screen offering very little gain in usability.

Apple will bounce back though

 

[DaveN]

Im the same, i love most Apple products, i have a 2011 MBA, a new 27" iMac, an Ipod video and an iPad 2. I even loved my iPhone 4 when it came out, i got it on launch night. The thing is there are better phones on the market now, the trend is going towards large screen phones with many new features that ios just does not have, the Nexus 4 for example simply blows the iPhone away imo. Apple would need to blow me away with the next iPhone for me to switch back, i really hope it happens but im doubtful.

I have a Motorola RazR and haven't made the move to a smart phone. Out of curiosity, what do you see in the Nexus 4 that is so appealing vs the iPhone 5? Screen size and what else?

I'm wondering how Apple would make the move to larger screens. Most apps have bitmapped images in their interface and if you do anything other than double the pixel dimensions, you run into serious computing issues from what I understand. How do the Android variants handle the differing screen dimensions?

 

[mdriftmeyer]

Day traders and hedge funds shorting this stock are loving all the propaganda. Any person actually holding Apple stock, and discussing its sale from a long-term position, deserves to get snookered into selling.

Apple's material orders are skyrocketing, not plummeting. Cook discusses China becoming the largest market and you folks are falling for the WSJ?

The US share is over $75 Billion in sales, annually, and growing. Cook is projecting over $100 Billion in sales, from China. How come? Simple population distribution models show that China has more well over 400 million potential new customers.

----------

This isn't good. Slashing part orders after FOUR months.

They're going to a 2 model per year release cycle. Integer/Integer-S

 

[jontech]

Stock manipulation at it's finest, once again.

Someone(s) will make billions of course when they announce they are selling like hotcakes...

 

[DaveN]

Nonsense. Jailbreaking has been relegated to a niche that a very tiny fraction of potential buyers care about. Since Apple opened up the unlocking database to 3rd parties, that took away the biggest reason to jailbreak. I can absolutely promise you lack of JB has had no tangible impact on iPhone 5 sales.

Ironically, I just jailbroke my Apple TV 2 this weekend....

 

[mrsir2009]

I dont know how you can trust Android fan boys' words since they have claimed since 2010 that every version of ANdroid is lag-free and gonna be iOS killer

An Apple Fanboy's words aren't much more trustworthy.

 

[thaifood]

Or, maybe Apple have shifted their focus to bring the 5S to market by mid year. Thus, resulting in lowering orders for the current model and leading into a faster ramp up of the new model, when compared to last year.

Perhaps Cook has learnt from previous iPhones and is streamlining his inventory more efficiently.

Either way, a quicker product life-cycle and updates will assist in keeping the phone up-to-date.

 

[JamonBull]

Ok. So I agree that iOS drastically needs some new features included such as actionable notifications and perhaps a better use of the lock screen. Customisable shortcuts would be awesome too. I for one am sick of digging through menu's to do simple things like activate personal hotspot. However, I do disagree with this notion that iOS needs a major visual makeover with widgets and what not.

Rene Ritchie hit the nail on the head in his latest edition of the iMore podcast when he suggests that widgets and the like are an old way of interacting with an OS. The beauty of iOS has always been its minimalist style. You wake it, you jump into the app you want, and its THERE that the developers deliver rich content. NOT the OS home screen. Who wants to be spending ridiculous amounts of time IN an OS anyway? For me, the future is in more reliable and interactive iCloud services. Where content comes to US no matter where we are in the OS. I want better, more innovative use of notifications that we can interact and deal with no matter where we are.

 

[louis.b]

Here's the problem for Apple:

(Holds up my Pebble Blue Samsung Galaxy S III)

The thing is that by 2012/2013 standards, the iPhone 5 is essentially an iPhone 4S with a "taller" screen and faster internals, and in many ways doesn't compare well with Samsung Galaxy S III, HTC One X/One S, LG Optimus G, or in some ways the Nokia Lumia 920! All of the cellphones I mentioned have larger displays and a feature that the iPhone 5 lacks: NFC, which is very necessary in eastern Asia for widely-used mobile payment systems in that part of the world.

Also, the recent worries over the "fiscal cliff" ended up scaring a lot of potential buyers of the iPhone 5, and that has kind of caused sales to "flatten" in the USA.

in what way does the iphone5 NOT compare with those phones? Let's see the S3 has the worst screen and second ugliest UI and design out of the bunch. HTC has the worst build quality and second worst customer service despite having the best designs. LG has the worst softwares and design and the worst customer support and also the worst battery life. Nokia Lumia has the worst app store in terms of quantity and quality. All of them have batteries that are much bigger than iphone5 yet they achieve similar or worse battery life. IN terms of bench marks iphone5 is on bar with those, lower in some tests but higher in others.

Yeah sure iPhone5 sucks.

----------

An Apple Fanboy's words aren't much more trustworthy.

 

[irDigital0l]

the S3 has the worst screen

Stopped reading.

 

[blastair]

Blah blah blah, doom and gloom.

None of us have any idea what this means, but I don't get all the naysaying. Apple still remains ridiculously profitable, with a majority of their profits being from iPhone sales. I am all in favor of innovation and increased productivity, but just because iOS is old doesn't means it needs to be completely overhauled.

I personally would love an active home screen akin to Windows Phone, and I am thinking/hoping we will see something similar soon.

 

[Renzatic]

I don't like that Apple is changing due to the competition - they don't need to buckle and change - they were doing fine with slower product cycles.

Were is the big word here. Yearly releases were fine when the iPhone was THE best smartphone money could buy, and the only other options you had were halfassed attempts at matching it.

Things have changed considerably. While Apple isn't hurting, they're not in nearly as secure a position as they were a couple years ago. Love it or hate it, it's hard to deny the Galaxy SIII isn't at least an on par alternative to the iPhone 5. Android has grown by leaps and bounds over the last 2 years, and actually surpasses iOS is some ways. Public interest in the platform and phones is the strongest it's ever been.

Apple continuing as if they're in a superior, unassailable position against a constantly growing, ever moving opponent will only eventually cost them the market. Hell, it happened to them in the 80's and 90's against MS. It could just as easily happen to them again with Google. They need to change their strategy a bit if they want to stay on top.

 

[ChazUK]

Stopped reading.

Should of stopped here:

louis.b

 

[zarathos]

65 million screens? China Mobile explanation?

The reports says the order was cut in half from 65 million screens. That's a HECK of a lot of screens. 50 million iPhone sales for this holiday quarter would be considered strong. So, why did Apple order 65 million screens for the March quarter? Could it be that Apple had hoped to have a deal with China Mobile for the March quarter, and now the deal is postponed? Just some idle speculation...