So... Apple needs to stop doing new things and start doing new things instead. Got it!
What is is that you want your smartphone to do that it doesn't do already?
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Decline in iPhone Shipments Could Make Apple Worst-Performing Top Five Smartphone Brand of 2016
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Galaxy S7 is definitely worth considering. Over the years Apple has squeezed money out of people because of having the edge over competitors. But now the difference is very small, Apple needs to have a change in tactic like removing 16GB option and adding more RAM with bigger batteries and lower cost. We all know it is easy but Apple would rather keep their profit.
It's almost unbelievable how people on this forum, after all these years, after the iPod, after the iPhone, after the iPad, still don't get Apple.
You're still thinking about past products (like the Mac in 2001, remember the comments here after the iPod introduction?), when Apple is clearly at work on something completely different. And likely huge.
Time and time again, same comments, no lessons learned. While many are fooled by vaporware from other companies.
The Apple Car will transform the scope and size of the company once again, and the Apple Watch itself will clearly boom in 2-3 years. If you can't see this, you have very little imagination.
You're still thinking about past products (like the Mac in 2001, remember the comments here after the iPod introduction?), when Apple is clearly at work on something completely different. And likely huge.
Time and time again, same comments, no lessons learned. While many are fooled by vaporware from other companies.
The Apple Car will transform the scope and size of the company once again, and the Apple Watch itself will clearly boom in 2-3 years. If you can't see this, you have very little imagination.
In time, mobile applications will start to reach the scale of desktop applications. I'm still on a iPhone 6 Plus with 1gb of ram, so I can't really speak for how well 2gb of ram performs, but I absolutely hate only having 1 gb of ram. Apple doesn't tell me when it's going to close my apps or browser tabs to save ram. I flip over to one app too look something up, and when I go back to my original app, I find that my phone dumped it from the ram and I lost my work. This happens on a daily basis to me. 6gb is probably overkill, but as the processing power of these phones is increasing, and screen size and resolution is getting larger, apps are going to be using more ram. I can't possibly imagine how putting too much ram is as bad as not having enough. I frequently have to borrow my wife's phone while I'm doing something on my phone to prevent myself from losing my work. I don't see that happening if I had 6gb of ram.
How many people (read: the population of 50-60 million people who purchased a 6s for example) really care about the bolded or full water-proofing? OLED didn't really boost the galaxy series sales for a few years. I don't claim to know what will sway 50 to 60 million people to upgrade, I just know for me, water-proof, vr and oled aint it.
In time ... far, far from now. 4 GB is over kill. 6 GB is i don't know. Hallucination, marketing attempt? Sign of desperation.
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Water resistance is like removable batteries.
I have been lucky enough to own a 6 Plus and then a 6s plus.
Briefly the 6s plus is way way in front of the 6 plus in performance and doesn't drop frames like the 6 plus did - underpowered gpu for the increase in screen resolution.
I use 3D Touch every day and miss it on my iPad, and Touch ID is definitely faster and seems more accurate.
In conclusion the 6s plus is the phone the 6 plus should've been, just as the 5s was the phone the 5 should be been, 4s is the phone the 4 should've been, 3GS ..... I've had then all.
Apple made a good move with the SE. Many of us do not need all the new cool stuff, prefer a smaller phone, but like the speed and features under the hood. I just upgraded to an SE because my 5 battery died. Must say very impressed with the speed and functionality with a big plus pricing. With this new option, the SE, I am sure the downturn in iPhone sales will be less if at all.
I would add, most mid-range smartphones are generally good enough and cost half as much as any iPhone.
To be honest even it you're a Mac user in the Apple ecosystem, you can get by with an Android phone.
Sure, but a counter-argument would be that if they charged lass, they'd have to sell twice as many in order to make the same $$$.
The iPhone is a premium phone that makes $$$ by pitching at the high-end market.
Like I said we will all get the new iOS 10, there is still no good reason to upgrade this year....it's next year's iphone that has the reasonable upgrades...
What are the specs and standards for a device to be somewhat waterproof?
Or people can actually see things rationally, without some bizarre mythology being applied to a tech company. The Watch was a bust, like it or not and there is zero evidence of any "Car", anytime soon.
There is only so many product categories you can be in.
Apple does not need to do all in VR, Cars, Wearables. They need to build QUALITY products.
I think Apple is spreading out their product lines and forgetting about GOOD products.
No matter what the next big thing MIGHT be, people WANT a good phone.
Not a VR headset, not a car.
If Apple stops innovating their core product, which is the iPhone, they will loose.
Again, you can not expect to sell 200 million iPhones every year forever. I'd say it's their own fault. They over saturated the market relatively quickly. They basically started the trend for every year new model, which most consumers think is getting old and they aren't has buyable has they used to be with "revolutionary feature". This won't be problem for Android as their style will live on for many decades. Take a look at Windows.
Apple's global iPhone shipments will fall short of analysts' consensus estimates of 210 to 230 million units in the 2016 fiscal year, according to a new research note issued by respected KGI Securities market analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. In a worst case scenario, iPhone shipments in 2016 are expected to reach just 190 million units, which is an 18% reduction in shipment growth and 3 million fewer iPhones than Apple sold in 2014.
Even in a best case scenario, says Kuo, Apple is expected to sell 205 million units, 5 million short of the lower end of analysts' estimate range and amounting to a 11.6% reduction in growth. Regardless of the best or worst case scenario, Kuo predicts Apple will underperform the industry and become the only global top-five smartphone brand to see shipments decline in 2016.
Mockup of iPhone 7 case.
The analyst describes slowing market demand for large-screen handset replacements and limited iPhone 7 selling points as key factors behind the decline, noting that the contribution of revised-up iPhone SE shipments in the 2016 fiscal year will remain "insignificant".
Kuo's note predicts that out of Samsung, Apple, Huawei, Oppo, and Vivo, only Apple will see shipments fall year-on-year, which suggests to KGI Securities that the decline in iPhone sales can't be solely blamed on industry structure.
"While we believe the high-end smartphone market still has room for growth, the development of a newer, more innovative user experience is a prerequisite for growth," asserted Kuo. "We believe only iPhone will see shipments fall YoY in 2016, for three reasons: (1) intensification of market competition; (2) time needed for commercialization of new user experience technologies; and (3) iPhone needs a makeover (e.g. form factor design) to keep attracting consumers."
As far as a handset makeover is concerned, rumors indicate the iPhone 7 will share a design similar to the iPhone 6s, but may be slightly thinner, perhaps through the removal of the 3.5mm headphone jack and the implementation of a thinner Lightning port. Antenna bands across the back of the device may be removed, but are expected to remain at the top, bottom, and sides of the iPhone, while the rear camera may be flush with the case.
Other rumors suggest Apple may be planning to introduce two versions of the iPhone 7 Plus - one with a single lens and a second with a dual-lens camera system that offers DSLR-like image quality with 2-3x optical zoom and improved performance in low light conditions. Whatever form the iPhone 7 takes, Apple will be hopeful of exciting consumers in ways that perhaps the iPhone SE could not, as the company strives to overcome what some commentators have called "peak iPhone".
Apple's earnings announcement for the second fiscal quarter (first calendar quarter) of 2016 takes place on Tuesday, April 26, and will provide a look at sales of the iPhone 6s, 6s Plus, and SE following Apple's record first quarter, which saw the company announce 74.8 million iPhone sales and $18.4 billion profit on $75.9 billion in revenue.
Apple has warned that iPhone sales will decline in the March quarter and has provided Q2 2016 guidance of $50 to $53 billion in revenue and gross margin between 39 and 39.5 percent. Should Apple only take in $50 to $53 billion, the company will see its first year-over-year revenue drop in 13 years.
Article Link: Decline in iPhone Shipments Could Make Apple Worst-Performing Top Five Smartphone Brand of 2016
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Why buy a Ferrari when an Elantra can perform the same function, is your argument? Ferrari, BMW, Lexus, Mercedes are all doing OK and Honda Civic hasn't put them out of business.
I'm thinking carrying it around in a zip-lock bag.
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How do you know that? seen Apple's actual sales numbers, have you? or did Tim tell you that, directly, in confidence?
I'm making an educated guess. Considering all the information we have and original iPhone sales it's not hard to extrapolate.
I have said it before that Apple have some of the best designers and innovators in the world but what they do is trickle out the new technology because so far they have been able to do that and still retain market share. But things are changing now and people want more for less. Samsung are offering a lot more in terms of functionality and Apple need to step up their game and start putting more in to their products to make people want them again. When they released the iPhone it was revolutionary and no one had seen anything like it before but it hasn't changed much since then...just a few changes each year. Its time for their massive design, technology and innovation teams to earn their crust and deliver something new
well put. that's where it gets tricky for Apple: great products lead to lower sales (good enough, why upgrade?)
I think Apple is aware of this and is planning accordingly, given people more options (screen sizes, price points, accessories). You can see it with the iPhone SE, the watch line (multiple price points), the iPhone battery case (a first after 8!!! Years), the watch bands, etc
Its a mature ecosystem and upgrade cycles will be longer...
My guess is Apple as a company will be fine but Apple stock might "suffer" a bit... But no disasters ahead. Rather a 40-yr old company going through a mid-life crisis until a new product segment can move the needle again