Decline in iPhone Shipments Could Make Apple Worst-Performing Top Five Smartphone Brand of 2016

[JamesPDX]

I guess we're buying it wrong. Or something. If iPhones are as crackable as an Android device, then I the price should be cut by 1/4 or more. Wallets become thin in direct proportion to the disposability of Apple products.

Maybe they made the 6 too good.

 

[Icaras]

Apple needs to drop the price if they want to keep sales up. 650 USD for a 16GB base model is ridiculous.

I agree and I'd like to see a little bit of both. I think dropping the price down as little as $50 less to $599 and upping the current storage to 32GB would go a long way for Apple.

 

[JamesPDX]

$200, unlocked. They'll sell a billion.

 

[bobr1952]

Yeah it is interesting that the product is a a point where it is good enough that there is no need to update for a lot of people. I know for me I have no real reason to abandon my iPhone 6. And when a lot of people think that way. Sales will suffer.

 

[Michael Scrip]

Ive got a 5S at the moment, contracts up and phones paid off, I'm not going to run out and get the SE or 6S/6S+ I'm just not that impressed by them. Ok so the SE has 6S internals which is great and all but they will be out of date in September...

While the SE's A9 processor might be "out of date" in September... the A7 processor in your 5S won't be getting any newer either

 

[macfacts]

To be fair, while you CAN accurately say that Samsung's current flagship has both best in class screen & camera, it is COMPLETELY honest to say that TouchWiz sucks, the resale value isn't as high, & that Google does mine your info... what exactly was incorrect about any of op's post??

TouchWiz can be replaced with the stock Google Now Launcher in the Play Store, smart people would buy used or wait for a sale if resale value always drops, and Apple mines user info too (they know exactly how many times you turn on your iPhone https://www.macrumors.com/2016/04/18/average-iphone-unlocked-80-times-per-day/ )

 

[rp2011]

The 6 series is a very old fashioned and not very attractive design. It's merely a blown-up 4inch iPhone instead of trying to minimize its footprint, whereas everyone else moved to oled and more compact modern designs years ago.
If it wasn't for iOS, I would have bought a Note 5.
I'm good with my 5s and SE, I'm waiting out the 6&7 and looking forward to a modern iPhone in next years model

 

[Savor]

I believe Apple will still be relevant considering they care more about profit than volume sales. But whether their best days are starting to behind them is anyone's guess. Apple and the iPhone might be iconic in THIS decade. They might be quite as great or popular in the next one. Similar to music trends and the artists that defines each decade. Michael Jackson was big in the 70's and 80's, but so much in the 90's and 00's. Look at Facebook. Most of the younger crowd don't use it.

A kid who is 5-years old right now probably won't use it when he or she reach their teens. They want something NEW. Apple turned 40 this year and to a future generation, they may longer look cool and become their parents' brand. Every company will hit a wall with sales and innovation. Nintendo and Sony did. Apple isn't immune to it either no matter how popular they became (esp in the States) and how oversaturated the market is with millions of iPhones in circulation whether used or not. People aren't simply getting tired of iPhones or smartphones. We are just becoming more content far longer with what we have...

 

[GoodWheaties]

If not for my 4s still doing pretty much everything I need, I would have already upgraded to a newer iPhone. It's not that the newer models are not compelling, it's that the older models hold up for so long.

I know right? I'm always very surprised how many people, even wealthy businessmen, are still using the 4s. On a side note, I always have to chuckle when people on here say that their brand new 6s should be good for at least iOS 10. I'm like, if they support it like my 5, then it will will be good to like iOS 15!!

 

[stevemiller]

41%

I'm sure you could nitpick small details, but generally this guy accurately described each years update by around this point in the year.

At this time last year he listed all the features of the 6s:
https://www.macrumors.com/2015/05/12/kgi-iphone-6s-2015-predicitions/

At around this time in 2014 listed all significant features in iPhone 6:
https://www.macrumors.com/2014/04/09/kgi-iphone6-predictions/

Around this time in 2013 listed all significant features in the 5s (just missed the date):
https://www.macrumors.com/2013/03/0...in-junejuly-fingerprint-sensor-for-iphone-5s/

Predicting features of the 5:
https://www.macrumors.com/2012/06/0...-thinner-and-improved-front-and-rear-cameras/

Hey look he even got the 4s right (when everyone else was predicting a redesign):
https://www.macrumors.com/2011/04/1...or-september-ramp-revamped-iphone-in-1h-2012/

Shall we keep going? Sure! iPhone 4 (including Retina display):
https://www.macrumors.com/2010/05/1...splay-improvements-in-next-generation-iphone/

 

[nj-mac-user]

The Galaxy S7 Edge would definitely tempt me over an iPhone 6s Plus if I didn't already own the iPhone. Curved screen, OLED display, better camera, waterproofing etc.

That stuff will get old in a matter of weeks after the "new" and "wow factor" wears off. I fell for it at one point. Differentiator for me is and has always been iOS and platform as a whole.

 

[chabig]

You do realize that credit card charges you 20% interest right? That is pretty high interest.

Yes I do understand that. That's why I'm using Apple iPhone upgrade plan...interest free, you know?

 

[AxoNeuron]

I am soooo glad to hear this. I rarely enjoy the misfortune of others, but this is GREATLY deserved. Apple has had this coming for a long time now.

It's because of how RIDICULOUSLY stingy Apple is with specs. Seriously, 16GB of storage since 2011???? Are you joking Apple? For a $650 device that is inexcusable. Same with the RAM, Apple gimped the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus with 1GB of RAM and my 6 Plus is pathetically slow. I've owned it for just year, so I am furious.

I hope this downward trend continues for a few more quarters, I hope those moronic MBA zombies in Cupertino really feel this as a loss because they truly deserve it.

 

[62tele]

I think many are just realizing that you don't have to update your phone every two years. My iPhone 6 works just fine. There is no compelling reason to update just because a model is thinner. I want a better camera that takes better indoor pictures. I want a better screen (OLED). Apple is slow with both of those and why do we have to wait until 2017 to finally move from LCD. Just like they are slow to make 32 GB the base model. Just like they are slow with RAM enhancements.
It's not just phones. The iMac has pretty much been the same forever. Still a spinning hard drive in the base model.
I still like Apple. My next computer will be a Mac. My next phone will be an iPhone and my next tablet an iPad. However, Apple needs to up their game with updates and stop nickel and diming folks. Oh yeah, they need to scrap that bloated POS called iTunes and give folks a better experience.

 

[I7guy]

I am soooo glad to hear this. I rarely enjoy the misfortune of others, but this is GREATLY deserved. Apple has had this coming for a long time now.

It's because of how RIDICULOUSLY stingy Apple is with specs. Seriously, 16GB of storage since 2011???? Are you joking Apple? For a $650 device that is inexcusable. Same with the RAM, Apple gimped the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus with 1GB of RAM and my 6 Plus is pathetically slow. I've owned it for just year, so I am furious.

I hope this downward trend continues for a few more quarters, I hope those moronic MBA zombies in Cupertino really feel this as a loss because they truly deserve it.

While Apple is a corporation I wouldn't be posting/saying ill wishes on anyone or anything. Karma is unforgiving.

 

[8281]

Apple needs to drop the price if they want to keep sales up. 650 USD for a 16GB base model is ridiculous.

I agree. I love iOS and the whole ecosystem, but when I can get an Android phone that has most of the features of an iPhone for almost half the price it's hard to justify spending that much.

 

[ssgbryan]

I know right? I'm always very surprised how many people, even wealthy businessmen, are still using the 4s. On a side note, I always have to chuckle when people on here say that their brand new 6s should be good for at least iOS 10. I'm like, if they support it like my 5, then it will will be good to like iOS 15!!

It doesn't surprise me - some people don't buy phones as a fashion accessory. I am still on a 5, my mother is still on a 4S. Apple hasn't given me a reason to upgrade - Which is why we both are still using iPad 2 - there hasn't been a single feature that justifies replacing them.

Actually, I can say the same about my MacPro. - The iCan doesn't actually bring anything to the table. (I don't use mine for video editing or OpenCL computing, hence no reason to replace my cheese grater.)

 

[8281]

I think you'd find that you would be the one who was sadly mistaken; people will buy it in gigantic volumes, regardless of some forum opinion. Apple would (and did) survive very comfortably on Mac and iPod sales alone. They don't care if you buy a new iPhone or not - they care about releasing the most beautiful and elegantly designed, simple to use products there are, and they KNOW people adore and revere them and their products, it's not a spec race for Apple, it's about refining and iterating the experience slowly and thoughtfully.

They're artists; they make something THEY wanted to make, and if you like it you buy it, and if you don't? Oh well.

"The philosophy has always been to be the best, not the first."

Tim Cook, 2014

Yeah, except phones aren't art. You don't replace a Picasso every three years and it's not hard for an industrial designer at Samsung, LG, or HTC to produce a phone that looks and feels just like an iPhone.

 

[Razeus]

No surprise. There was a time I saw everyone with the latest iPhone in hands. Now I still see iPhone 5S's and 6's not not the latest 6s. I know people who went with the 6 over the 6s simply because it was cheaper.

 

[8281]

You must be new here.

~ Mac Mini
~ Mac Pro

I like that you say "right up there" with Sony and Microsoft - I think you meant "right DOWN there"

If you need more help, ask someone experienced.

Huh? You mean the Mac Mini with no dGPU, laptop components, and a 5400 RPM drive? All of which are either impossible or incredibly difficult to replace yourself? And why are you putting down the top two console makers in the world? The xbox has been one of MS most successful products. The Playstation is a classic.

 

[HEK]

The title is misleading when it says
Worst-Performing Smartphone Brand of 2016

Wouldn't that be Blackberry?

 

[rob.james.arias]

You were always paying full price. The "subsidy" was just an imaginary way to make people think the phones were cheap, but the full price of the phone was included in the contractual price that you had to pay over two years. You might as well just cut out the carrier middleman, charge the phone on your credit card, and pay it over the same time period.

Wrong. This is bad advice and here is why: If you paid outright for the phone as suggested, the carrier service price would not have decreased. In fact paying for the phone outright would cost you more in the long run since the phone was not "subsidized". While I agree that the cost of the phone is built into service pricing, the business model is built around the rule of the majority of persons opting for a "subsidized" phone. The outliers who would have decided to pay outright for a phone are just a bonus to the carrier.

 

[GoodWheaties]

Yea, prob is no iMessage, no Apple Eco system no iOS. I tried it for 3 weeks , Huge fail

Your post brings up a major reason why I don't understand most of the people in this thread. Android I'm sure has a great operating system and plenty of advantages, but no amount of specs and fancy things will make me give up the integration I have right now. I can do more of what I (key part) want to do with an iPhone 5 than I can with a Nexus 6P or S7 or whatever. I'm not particularly a power user, nor do I have new Macs, but I love being able to text from my computer, answer calls on my iPad, and have the peace of mind that if anything happens to my device I can completely back it up again from iCloud. The same goes for why I don't want to go back to Windows. No other manufacturer has integration like this. TBH if you don't use the integration, there is not much reason to stay with Apple, but if you do use it, there is very little to make you leave.

 

[Eduardo Forneck]

it's time for Apple to reconsider their ugly design w/ protruding stuff, the future removal of the 3.5 mm jack, the ridiculous existence of the 16 GB version (or the 650$ price for it), lack of features people really want on iOS and the obsession for making thinner a phone with little-to-no battery life improvements over the years.

 

[pbasmadj]

Clickbait much?

News: A meteor might hit the earth someday.