Apple's Orders for iPhone 12 Components Complicated by Unclear Consumer Demand

[JCCL]

What difference does it make, in the end even if they overproduce those devices they will still end up getting sold. Just sounds like Apple wants to produce just enough devices to create an artificial hype.

I think people are still downplaying the severity of the current situation.......as there is no vaccine then people will need to stay home and minimize contact. Even if we stay at home 30 days, as long as there are still infection then the virus will continue to propagate as long as people go out, it will still be around. Might slow down as we get closer to summer time, but might pick up in the fall.....

Vaccine / treatment is the only hope of getting back to normal......so based on that I seriously doubt people will be rushing out to buy an iterative version of an iPhone

 

[NBAasDOGG]

I'll save you from counting me. If this Covid-19 mess persists that long, count me as NOT upgrading for this year.

Yea same, can’t show off at Starbucks anymore with Covid-19....

/s

 

[thadoggfather]

I'll save you from counting me. If this Covid-19 mess persists that long, count me as NOT upgrading for this year.

What does one have to do with the other?

I think I'm actually more tempted to get a new iPhone this year, be it the 9 or the 12, because I am bored from being pent up in the house all day. Ready for shiny new thing... Assuming I keep my job for the foreseeable future and nothing catastrophic happens where I have to re-prioritize.

Having said all that, I still really enjoy my XR jailbroken on iOS 13. Its crazy its a year and a half old, and I don't have the FOMO really at all from 11 and 11 pro. It was an easy pass for me of value vs. outlay of cash. I don't think I'll have FOMO from 5G either, by itself.

 

[tcphoto1]

I think the confusion comes from Apples pricing model. A few years ago, I spent $299 for the middle model of the iPhone and then it jumped to $999. I don't know about others but I do not receive a cost of living pay raise and I don't receive a dividend from owning Apple stock. Thanks but I'll keep what I have and make it work.

 

[supergt]

More reason to hurry up and release the iPhone 9, SE2 or whatever it will be called. I really want one of these phones and will be a pleasure not have to take out a mortgage to buy a new "top end" iPhone

I wrote on one of the numerous iPhone SE/9 posts in very early March when society was still business as usual that either you release the phone NOW or after the pandemic dies does. Maybe it wasn’t ready and the supply chain failures caused unforeseen delays. But it seems a little nuts to launch a phone in the midst of a pandemic.

 

[CreatorCode]

I don't quite understand this.

It's not like if you order too much food for a party and no one shows up. Then you have to throw all that food away. It's literally wasted.

But a piece of hardware will be used eventually, right?

Take the iPhone 8, for instance. It began production in 2017... ten quarters ago. And it's still being sold today. iPhone 8 parts don't expire if they don't get used in a phone right this minute.

So if you have "extra" parts one quarter... wouldn't you just order fewer parts next quarter?

And I would think the same is true for the entire phone. Apple sells every phone they make, right?

Have there been retailers who send iPhones back to Apple because they can't sell them?

Tim is a control freak when it comes to his supply chain. He's used to being able to forecast sales, plan production, and use Apple's volume buying power to force suppliers to come to favorable terms.

He's not used to having to carry old, unsold, and depreciating inventory over on the books from quarter to quarter.

Actually, let me restate. He does have experience with that: it was a big problem in the Bad Old Days of the mid-90s for Apple. They'd make too much, sell too little, and have to discount it to get rid it. Steve and Tim put a stop to that and saved Apple billions.

The iPhone 8's Apple is selling now are still being made as needed, and more cheaply now that the design is amortized and the components are no longer hot commodities.

 

[Michael Scrip]

The iPhone 8's Apple is selling now are still being made as needed, and more cheaply now that the design is amortized and the components are no longer hot commodities.

Oh I see... thank you for explaining it!

 

[tranceking26]

I guess if it was sold online only the servers would crash after less than 5 minutes...

 

[barkomatic]

If I’m still in a decent financial position I’ll upgrade. I’m certainly not traveling in the near future and obviously I’m not going out so I may just be willing.

 

[Mr. Dee]

Outside of Jonathan Morris, MKBHD and iJustine, nobody should be really concerned with Apple not being able to complete development of the iPhone 12.

 

[Blackstick]

We could be looking at a Fall where 1 out of 2 people are out of work entirely or furloughed at reduced pay. 40% unemployment is a real possibility, at least temporarily. $1000+ cell phones are the first thing people will skip if it means that or a meal.

I don't think many can escape this economic reality unless you're already wealthy, literally working on a prospective Covid-19 vaccine, or a nurse/physician risking your life every day to treat it.
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Assuming I keep my job for the foreseeable future and nothing catastrophic happens where I have to re-prioritize

What do you do for a living? It's going to be more of "the few who kept their jobs" vs. the other way around...

 

[zorinlynx]

What do you do for a living? It's going to be more of "the few who kept their jobs" vs. the other way around...

Just because someone kept their job so far doesn't mean they won't lose it due to the economic fallout.

I suspect MOST of the people who like to upgrade every year or two years "just because" will skip this year just as a matter of reducing their risk in the face of the chaos caused by a worldwide pandemic.

Most of the demand will probably come from people who have very old phones that have developed issues or are just too slow to meet modern needs well.

 

[rattler]

Apple's new iPhones don't come out until December,

What? Did they confirm the delayed release this year?

 

[alexhardaker]

No notch is the deal for me. I have had every iPhone. Have all of the Apple ecosystem, but a notch ends that in 2020! At most, it should have a camera hole or two like the S10 did 18 months prior to the 2020 iPhone release. The Note 10+, S20, and OnePlus phones all prove there are far superior solutions.

Some people say they just stop seeing the notch or they ask what notch when I say I am sick of it. Since iPhone X, which I sold after a few months, then XS Max and now IPhone 11, I am so sick of the notch. I want OLED, and great cameras. I want fast charging and top-end specs. And I don’t care if it’s FaceID, TouchID, or it somehow senses my presence via voice or etc.

I just want the damn notch eliminated at all costs. I don’t understand how people can say the iPhone display is so beautiful. It’s a disaster. And the user interface isn’t intuitive at all. I would be happy if Scott Forstall was back in charge of software or even all of Apple like he was supposed to be before Cook forced him out. And the reason why was he was abrasive if you ask people... just like Steve Jobs, he had strong opinions to make better products that were more intuitive. Tim Cook forex him and bashed him, because Scott was supposed to be the CEO by now and Tim Cook likes his $140m in stock grants annually. It would be so appropriate if Cook got canned and the board brought back Steve Jobs two protégés - Scott Forestall and Jony Ive! Two people that design with passion and fight against each other to create something magical. Something that just works. They would be more worried about the design and functionality than their damn stock grants!!!!

(Edit: And I would prefer a notch-free display over 5G!!! In 2020!!!!!)

Rant over. Make Apple Great Again.

They didn’t get on. One had to go, apparently. They’ve both left now. Let’s see what happens.

 

[44267547]

This is a day by day situation. No one, (and I mean no one) has any projection of what consumer demand will be a month from now, it really depends on the overall state Of the economy and the progression of C/19. As of right now, the ‘tech’ market is due for a severe decline for 2020 as it stands, for the obvious reason being consumers are re-strategizing their financials and how they spend that money.

 

[Baymowe335]

Things might look a lot better in 6 months.

 

[maerz001]

I don't quite understand this.

It's not like if you order too much food for a party and no one shows up. Then you have to throw all that food away. It's literally wasted.

But a piece of hardware will be used eventually, right?

Take the iPhone 8, for instance. It began production in 2017... ten quarters ago. And it's still being sold today. iPhone 8 parts don't expire if they don't get used in a phone right this minute.

So if you have "extra" parts one quarter... wouldn't you just order fewer parts next quarter?

And I would think the same is true for the entire phone. Apple sells every phone they make, right?

Have there been retailers who send iPhones back to Apple because they can't sell them?

Because a pile of millions of iphones cost money. Its dead capital. The storage in shelfs cost extra and the logistics around.
thats why they invented just in time production in car industry.

which on the other side leads now to problems during covid. Thats why there are no masks and toilet paper

 

[lazyrighteye]

The real story here: prepare for an influx of blurry elevator spy shots.
With more engineers carrying around more prototypes than ever before, it’s just basic math. More = more.

 

[recoil80]

Demand will be lower than usual, I think we're all aware of that, but it doesn't mean Apple won't ship the new iPhone. I hope they'll delay a little bit, like October, in order to perfect it and iOS 14.
I have a Xs, even before the crisis I wasn't sure I'd upgrade this year but let's see what they come up with. I don't care about 5G but better battery life and maybe a new display with higher refresh rate (something like the iPad ProMotion) would be compelling reasons to upgrade.
Another great feature would be TouchID under the display together with FaceID. Now that I'm wearing a mask FaceID simply doesn't work, I don't expect to need masks for the rest of my life, but what if next winter we are still required to wear them at leat for a few weeks?
I think it is too late to add something like that to the iPhone unless it was already in the works, but I'd really love to have both options to unlock the phone.

 

[FlyingDutch]

In my opinion the should delay the launch by several months, at least until next Christmas.
Attentions towards a $999+ devices are very low in this period...

 

[Septembersrain]

I was okay with my 7 Plus but felt a weird nag to upgrade and go postpaid on AT&T. After a good deal, I walked away with an 11 Pro Max on January 13th. Bam! This virus.

Yeah, I'm not upgrading again. I'm not even updating my iOS version until all this settles down for a few months.

 

[FlyingDutch]

I'll save you from counting me. If this Covid-19 mess persists that long, count me as NOT upgrading for this year.

Unfortunately I think this COVID-19 mess will persists much longer than that... world won‘t be the same in the next years. For sure until a real vaccine will be ready.
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It's not just Apple. At this point, holiday shopping season is going to look very different. I highly doubt people are going to want an expensive phone this year when so many have been out of work for months on end.

For sure it’s not just Apple. I don’t think sales for the new Galaxy S20 has been remarkable , for instance.

 

[recoil80]

For sure it’s not just Apple. I don’t think sales for the new Galaxy S20 has been remarkable , for instance.

I read something about the S20 a few days ago, sales aren't good and it seems like they're making less of them based on projections.

As people are working from home tech companies are still doing fine, but people are prioritising laptops and tablets over smartphones. That's why I think launching the new Macbook Air was a good move, while I think they can wait a little bit for the iPhone 9 or SE 2, and they can take their time for the iPhone 12 this fall.

 

[Data]

Bring it already, why would people not want a good new cheaper iphone,specially now.

 

[cocky jeremy]

I'll save you some effort.. we want it. Have them ready in September.