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Foxconn Cut 50,000 Contract Workers Months Ahead of Schedule Due to Poor iPhone Demand

bartolo5 said:
Just bought a Xiaomi A2 Lite for 200 euros all in (220ish USD) for my mother. Europe here.

It comes with Android One, which is stock android straight from Google. Software experience is phenomenal, everything is fast and fluid. Android app ecosystem in 2019 is finally great. Has dual cams that take decent pictures. It does things 95% as good as a new iPhone would for 1/4th of the price...

I would have still got her an iPhone, even at twice the price or a bit more, but with current Apple pricing and offerings it's just impossible to justify the cost when the options out there have gotten so good for a fraction of the price.
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I started buying Android phones for my mother because she needs dual SIM and refuses to spend more than 200 or 300 euros on a phone (she prefers to tour the world).
The first and second (and only ones until now) I bought her were Moto Gs (that used to be the most stock Android you could get). Nowadays that Xiaomi and Nokias 6 and 7 would be on my radar.
 
It’s not a short term problem of price but something that was always going to happen. Apple needs more innovation with iOS, services, and ecosystem. It was the experience stupid years ago and still is about that.

Services kinda suck. iOS is stale with the last version especially. And ecosystem remains largely the same with Apple hardly aggressive at all. No new airpods. Expanded homepod line, or anything new to make iOS more sticky. That people on here can claim to go get a much cheaper android phone and not miss a beat leaving iPhone should trouble Apple.

And that’s where apples strength of software/hardware integration was suppose to yield superior results. Being able to introduce products that just work well with each other. Except Apple neglects the software part and the new products part.

Should Apple just embrace google? It’s not as if apple doesn’t know it needs better Siri, maps, etc. I just doubt they’ll ever be capable of it. Along the same lines make ms office default, kindle should replace iBooks, etc.
 
yaxomoxay said:
I can provide a solution for this, Apple: CUT the prices.
The only time prices should be this high is when there's a big leap from the previous generation.
Click to expand...
Go ask BMW or Chanel to see if they cut prices just because they make less money in a quarter.
 
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It’s ironic that it may be Apple that ends up killing Chinese jobs more than the tariffs.
 
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In manufacturing, adjustments to contract workers are nothing new. Heck, go to your supermarket and they also have contract and hourly workers just to help out during busy season. This is nothing new, and any manufacturing companies and factories have this on a regular basis.

But since it's Apple, BAM, like it's news. Hilarious.
 
timber said:
I started buying Android phones for my mother because she needs dual SIM and refuses to spend more than 200 or 300 euros on a phone (she prefers to tour the world).
The first and second (and only ones until now) I bought her were Moto Gs (that used to be the most stock Android you could get). Nowadays that Xiaomi and Nokias 6 and 7 would be on my radar.
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I feel Motorola has gone down the drain. I'd avoid them.

Check any offering under the Android One program. Android One is maintained by Google and gets frequent updates. Phones are also guaranteed 2 years of OS upgrades. Has no crapware. Best kept secret in Android world.
Nokias and some Xiaomis have this version of the OS. I've been playing with it and is essentially the Pixel experience for a fraction of the cost. https://www.android.com/one/
 
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pika2000 said:
Go ask BMW or Chanel to see if they cut prices just because they make less money in a quarter.
Click to expand...

Oh these companies would never cut prices. They use another trick that never fails to work: artificial scarcity.

People always want what they cannot buy.
 
xxray said:
Let me also mention that the Galaxy Note 9 was released at $1000 and went up to $1250. The Google Pixel 3 starts at $800 and the Pixel XL starts at $900. Apple isn’t the only one that has high smartphone prices.
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Those are MSRP, nobody was paying that much (except for a few idiots), only half of it the most. You could even get a Pixel for 100% back in travel credits.
 
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cardfan said:
It’s not a short term problem of price but something that was always going to happen. Apple needs more innovation with iOS, services, and ecosystem. It was the experience stupid years ago and still is about that.

Services kinda suck. iOS is stale with the last version especially. And ecosystem remains largely the same with Apple hardly aggressive at all. No new airpods. Expanded homepod line, or anything new to make iOS more sticky. That people on here can claim to go get a much cheaper android phone and not miss a beat leaving iPhone should trouble Apple.

And that’s where apples strength of software/hardware integration was suppose to yield superior results. Being able to introduce products that just work well with each other. Except Apple neglects the software part and the new products part.

Should Apple just embrace google? It’s not as if apple doesn’t know it needs better Siri, maps, etc. I just doubt they’ll ever be capable of it. Along the same lines make ms office default, kindle should replace iBooks, etc.
Click to expand...
I agree on services. Services is the obvious improvement Apple needs to do and for Apple to keep getting revenue from existing users. iCloud and iWorks can potentially rival Office 365 if Apple put their heads together instead of chasing Netflix. I just hope we can see something more groundbreaking in iCloud. Eddie Cue needs to start working instead of just hanging out with the beats executives.
 
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bartolo5 said:
I feel Motorola has gone down the drain. I'd avoid them.

Check any offering under the Android One program. Android One is maintained by Google and gets frequent updates. Phones are also guaranteed 2 years of OS upgrades. Has no crapware. Best kept secret in Android world.
Nokias and some Xiaomis have this version of the OS. I've been playing with it and is essentially the Pixel experience for a fraction of the cost. https://www.android.com/one/
Click to expand...
Yes, now they are just another irrelevant Android OEM. But when the first Moto G showed up they had great offerings and yearly updates (Google owned them). Then they were bought by Lenovo and all started to slowly go down the drain.

Now it is much easier, like you said just select an Android One set, like the Xiaomi Mi Ax series or any Nokia phone.
pika2000 said:
I agree on services. Services is the obvious improvement Apple needs to do and for Apple to keep getting revenue from existing users. iCloud and iWorks can potentially rival Office 365 if Apple put their heads together instead of chasing Netflix. I just hope we can see something more groundbreaking in iCloud. Eddie Cue needs to start working instead of just hanging out with the beats executives.
Click to expand...
Apple should start by walking before running. First try to be compelling in relation to Google Documents and only then think about Office.
 
emulator said:
Those are MSRP, nobody was paying that much (except for a few idiots), only half of it the most. You could even get a Pixel for 100% back in travel credits.
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Same thing with Apple. Plenty of BOGO promo from carriers on iPhones, and there's also the iPhone Upgrade Program.
So why people are complaining? Under Tim Cook, Apple is more flexible in their reseller deals. Under Jobs, there would never be a BOGO iPhone from the carriers.
 
yaxomoxay said:
I can provide a solution for this, Apple: CUT the prices.
The only time prices should be this high is when there's a big leap from the previous generation.
Click to expand...

Just FYI (because this concept seems lost on most people), the objective of a business is to turn a profit, not rule the headlines with market share stats. A 100% market share means nothing if you lose money on each sale.
 
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Heineken said:
1200 Eur for a 64 GB iPhone XS is abnormal. Period.
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Add taxes and Apple Care and you can buy a low-end MacBook or a better Lenovo.
For me, the iPhone game is over. At least for the next two years.

Apple should listen to that, not because of me, but because I know many people that think in similar ways.
The main issue here is, whatever Apple will design in the next two years, will not be bought by me.

I will buy a phone when 5G has been reasonably adapted.
 
Blaze4G said:
Ahhh...BMW did cut prices when Lexus came out in 1989.
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That was a special circumstance. I’m sure Lexus was losing money to gain market share with their first LS. It was priced ridiculously low. Near S Class quality for under E class prices.
 
az431 said:
Just FYI (because this concept seems lost on most people), the objective of a business is to turn a profit, not rule the headlines with market share stats. A 100% market share means nothing if you lose money on each sale.
Click to expand...

ehm...
Apple supplier TSMC predicts sharp revenue drop as iPhone decline hits
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technol...c-predicts-sharp-revenue-drop-iphone-decline/

Apple Cuts Revenue Forecast Because of Slow iPhone Sales in China
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/02/technology/apple-revenue-decline-china.html
 
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lec0rsaire said:
Yeah when the model year is nearly over and mostly on base trims and stuff they have in stock. They don’t cut prices on the cars people actually want.
Click to expand...

Falling demand is an indication of a product that "people actually want"? I see.
 
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mdatwood said:
Apple is innovating. All the custom silicon (Ax/Tx), things like the screen, cameras, and FaceId. All of those items make the iPhones more expensive to manufacture. Apple's company margins have remained the same while raising prices. If the increase in service revenue is also factored in, along with its naturally high margin, then the iPhone margins have been shrinking with every generation.

Maybe Apple got too far out in front with innovation causing the phone price to go up too much too quickly. Simply complaining about prices is not understanding the whole situation.
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When "simply complaining" turns to customer action (stop buying), then Apple needs to change. The market speaks, a company either listens and changes or goes out of business, simple as that.
 
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timber said:
Apple should start by walking before running. First try to be compelling in relation to Google Documents and only then think about Office.
Click to expand...
Nobody can compete with Google Docs, not even Microsoft. Google is purely cloud solution, and they are way ahead to the point I don't see anybody can catch up for a purely cloud based suite. Apple did have iWorks in the cloud, but we haven't heard anything else after the beta announcement way back when.
Apple will face better chance competing with Office 365. Both rely on traditional desktop apps. Apple can leverage their consumer friendliness and Apple ecosystem integration over Microsoft.
 
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