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

[JRobinsonJr]

How are more HomePods going to change anything? Apple already lost this market to Amazon and Google. People care more about assistant functionality than sound quality especially when those products cost as little as just under 9% the price of one HomePod.

And THERE is a great example of the underlying problem. IMO, Apple sat around talking about how customers wouldn't want a smart assistant in spite of evidence to the contrary. Heck... they are STILL talking about how they don't see people really needing a smart assistant. They also tell us we don't need touch-screen laptops or full keyboard/mouse support on tablets. They tell us that media devices (e.g. TV) are primarily for one-way media consumption plus a few games, even though their customers are shouting the opposite.

It's fine for a company to push the envelope and make products people don't yet know they want. It's a totally different scenario for those same companies to tell customers they don't need what is being asked for.

 

[Ultramove69]

Everyone that needs a car has one (generally.) Auto makers aren’t going out of business. Cars age, the become worn, and new models come out with slightly more appealing features. Cars aren’t going to be discontinued. Replace Auto makers with Apple and cars with iPhone. Same stuff folks.

 

[Quicksilver867]

A mess. I hope Apple has the tact to fix it.

 

[wondunk]

whatever the price. i worked way too hard for my money to spend it on goods like this anymore. the upside is just too superficial. i dont need everything to be more comfortable and faster just to make me feel as if my investement in their products makes sense. it just doesnt anymore. the more i wake up to this understanding the stranger the iphone in my hands looks like. anyone else know what i mean?

edit: i am eye balling the new ipad pro tho. lol. it just looks soooo nice, right?

 

[Gilligan's last elephant]

Here’s a quote I just did now on a brand new 540i bmw with tonnes of options. This certainly isn’t a base spec car.

Looked at the quote. What's that line through text at the bottom? Doesn't look very good.

 

[jgdeschamps]

I saw so many commercials for the XR during the playoff games. And me with my iPhone 8, I never once thought "maybe they've convinced me to switch".

Meanwhile, Tim Cook is out lobbying for privacy and government oversight. The good ol' redirection trick that magicians use.

It's glaringly obviously that Tim has run his course, but I think they've got no one to take the lead.

Bring Scott Forstall back, not as CEO, but as a products guy. Jobs loved him for his vision and what he did with iOS...
If Apple did that, they would achieve a similar perception effect to the extent (although not as dramatic) of Steve's return to Apple in the late 90s.

I think that's why Cook, Ive and the rest wanted him out. He was as passionate about it as Jobs (and apparently had the same bad temperament as him.) But that's what got us the iPhone. We need that passion and temperament inside Apple to pull the horses back and get them in the right direction regarding devices and user experience.

I know Jobs put Tim as CEO, but I don't think he knew they'd get rid of Scott.

EDIT:
By the way, I found this Forstall interview and I'll post this tidbit:

"I never heard the term skeuomorphism even years after we built the iPhone, and the first time… I mean that’s a horrible word! Like it sounds like [inaudible] or you’re morphing something, it sounds unnatural, it just sounds terrible!

When I look at good design, when I look for good design, I look for something which is easy to use. Approachable. Friendly. You can use it without a manual. It’s fun.

If you look at the designs we did at Apple, we talked about photo illustrative designs, metaphorical designs. And those were infused into the design sense of Apple by Steve Jobs since the original Mac if not earlier. The original Mac had a desktop and folders that looked very much like the desktop on which that Mac sat.

And so we used these design philosophies. It doesn’t mean that we loved every single part of it. It doesn’t mean I loved every single part of it. There’s definitely things that I was less a fan of than others.

But we built these designs that worked. And how do we know they worked? You just had to watch people use it."


Something completely forgotten by Apple.

 

[themick4u]

The pricing model for this past year's new products was way too high and I agree that price cuts across the board (including Apple Watch series 4) are in order to help bounce back.

 

[pallymore]

Apple has been cutting iPhone XR prices in China recently and it hasn't been working well.

I think there are a couple of reasons to this:

1. Most people don't need iPhone - in China you can get so many cheap Android alternatives which cost less than 1/5 of an iPhone XR. WeChat and AliPay are huge in China - if a phone can run those most people don't really need anything else. Yea Androids do get slow and those cheap phone cameras aren't great - but many people over there are using tons of filters in their selfies anyways. (e.g. Meitu, they even have a cheap Meitu phone). The real differences are not that great between a 5000CNY phone and a 900CNY one.

2. Like many other parts of the world, nationalist views are on the rise quickly in China. State media is painting Huawei / ZTE as victims to US' hostility towards China. In response, the anti-Apple sentiment is being popularized on Chinese social media sites.

3. Recent iPhone updates lack the innovation and wow factor that drives people to upgrade. Many iPhone 6/6s users are still pretty happy with their phones after the recent snappy system update and cheap battery replacements.

 

[carltabet]

Noticed how Phil Schiller is silent in all of this? Apple bet wrong big time and their unofficial apologist John Gruber is looking for every excuse in the book.

Jonathan Morris of TLD made a sound recommendation to Apple in an interview I watched on YouTube yesterday. Apple should have taken a good will risk, absorb the cost of the iPhone XR and sell it for $599. If they did that, I don’t think Samsung or any other brand could stand a chance with 5G in 2019.

But the greed machine took ahold because of the iPhone X success going into 2018. Consumers are not blind. I bought the iPhone X knowing I will not be buying another iPhone for a while. The older models are still doing well in addition to the battery upgrade. But I think Apple just allowed cash hoarding top get the best of them and they really need to understand this is a device that will become obsolete over time. It’s not a timepiece.

The iPhone XS should have been pushed down to $799 in its second year because the company has made enough on the first generation to see the ROI for RD. Stop with this its expensive to make theory.

I wholeheartedly agree with you! If the iPhone XS was $799 it would have been in my pocket since launch day. Actually, I would upgrade every year at this price point. But no, Apple decided to make a $999 iPhone so for the moment I'm keeping my iPhone 6S. And the more affordable XR is not an option, it's too big to fit comfortably in my pocket and for one handed use.

 

[bigjnyc]

Of course prices are gonna drop in all markets, they are not sustainable. No CEO in his right mind would keep prices as they are right now.

Tim Cook: "oh yeah? Hold my beer"

 

[ideal.dreams]

Keep jacking the prices up 30% each time from the previous generation and soon the headline will be “Foxconn cut all employees as only billionaires can afford latest Apple products.”

 

[Dominicanyor]

COMPLETELY WRONG

Please watch this 2 minute explanation from Steve Jobs

wow! Tim should see this video again and again.. R.I.P. STEVE JOBS!

 

[KPandian1]

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.

This, and other scenarios to make a product that is good but not demanding year-on-year price increase instead of decrease or more functions are not for us to figure out - we know that already.

Why a new iteration of the chip every year? More use can be squeezed out of the chip in year two, maybe three!

The A9 still does a great job - could it do more in the same iPhone line next year - not just in an iPad or speaker - for e.g.!

And, so on.

These things are for Apple to figure out and implement. Not a painful yearly routine of measuring on the table contest with just the chip alone; similarly with screens, ports, thinness, ... a rat-race.

COMPLETELY WRONG
Please watch this 2 minute explanation from Steve Jobs

What he said!

 

[Cosmosent]

I remember when I decided to pull the trigger on my 7+, back in late 2016 ... thought it was slightly over-priced @ the time, but pulled the trigger on it anyway, & ended-up being a Happy iPhone customer for two years.

Pre-ordered a XR the first day it was available, & began porting my main app to it the morning of Oct 27th.

Quickly discovered it does NOT have the same High Perf that my 7+ does ... that was a shock, to say the least.

Synthetic benchmarks do NOT tell the whole story ... real world apps do.

Specifically, it doesn't Ramp Up Perf quickly.

I never considered trading in OR selling my 7+ ... paid $769 USD for it, & it's worth ALOT more to me than what I could get from others.

Paid $799 USD for my XR.

I give my 7+ a solid A- (slightly too BIG, & slightly too heavy; a 5" version would have been more ideal).

I give my XR a D- ... IMO, it's a Memory Perf-crippled iPhone that AAPL should have NEVER released to customers ! ... specifically, their fancy new Perf Controller could be broken (along with the low-level OS software that works with it) ... simply can't ramp-up Perf quickly ... & it may NOT be that, but it's definitely something along those lines ! ... my 7+ has NO such issues with ramping-up Perf quickly !

If Jobs was still running the show, he would fire the VP of Hardware ? engineering for signing off on it !

It's NOT common knowledge, but it will be at some point !

When it does hit, Foxconn will cut another 50K.

My guess is Cook knew of the problem before FCS, but went to market with it anyway, because he did NOT want the company getting another Black Eye right AFTER Batterygate.

Note, this ONLY affects "EXTREME PERF" apps ... i.e., apps that push your iPhone to it's max ... of which there are very few in the iOS App Store ... as such, Cook "may" have decided it's NOT a mainstream issue, as most iPhone Users don't even know of such apps.

A benchmark is needed that tests Perf Ramp Up.

Clearly AAPL does NOT have OR use one internally !

 

[dtmpowerm5]

My AirPods battery are dying after 2 years. The price apple quoted to replace the failing battery is the same as buying a whole new set of AirPods. I am out.

It's ridiculous really. I lost my first pair I got on launch and got a new set 13 months ago. I've never overcharged them and now the charging case is at 5% with normal use at the end of the day. This should be a cheap trade in but of course it's the cost of a completely new set. They are critical to my daily function and I can't imagine being without them. Honestly, they should lower the overall price by $40 or offer a fair battery case replacement cost.

 

[Soccertess]

Apple would rather bleed marketshare just so they can protect that 38% profit margin. It's a fairly mature market now, there aren't as many revolutionary features in today's phones. Hard to believe that people don't want to shell out $1500 for a phone.

With andriod phones hacing great to amazing hardware, and android OS surpassing iOS, not sure Timmy should be charging a premium. Completely agree with you!


I have another solution too, cut Tim and Angela’s performance pay. They get massive bonuses when sales are up, but all their bad decision making is tanking sales. Apple can cut back their compensation!

 

[yaxomoxay]

much more superior battery life,

This.

perhaps larger iCloud storage

This.

technology which finds a work around to the notch and advances so we no longer have a camera bump.

I don't really mind those.

Perhaps more focus on a competent Siri

THIS!

I'd also love - if possible - a 4x optical zoom rather than the 2x.

 

[thebeans]

O

All I want to say is I love my Product Red iPhone XR but I have not seen ONE OTHER SINGLE PERSON EVER with an XR in the wild.

I work in the tech field and I see XS’ and S9’s all day. And lately a **** ton of Pixels. I’ve actually had a few people stop and ask me why I bought a red phone instead of black...

I guess since I don’t have a black iPhone in a generic black OTTERBOX case that I stand out too much.

have a blue XR. Love it. Have had iPhones since the 4s. I’ve seen one other XR in the wild at my workplace. But like they said, the XR is the best selling iPhone this year.

 

[yaxomoxay]

My AirPods battery are dying after 2 years. The price apple quoted to replace the failing battery is the same as buying a whole new set of AirPods. I am out.

Are you serious???

 

[npmacuser5]

So Foxconn employs 1.3 million Chinese and laid off 50 thousand. The world is ending!

 

[nvmls]

It's amazing how prescient Jobs was in these videos. It's like everything he railed about Scully's term is going on right now.

Well people labeled him as a visionary for a reason, but it's also ironic he handpicked similar profiles to move forward with the company twice.

On 2018 John Sculley said (minute 4:04):

"Steves Jobs created a loyalty with users that is unparalleled in the world"

"What Tim Cook has done is built a loyalty with the shareholders"

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/03/ex-...mpares-tim-cook-to-steve-jobs-as-leaders.html

 

[joueboy]

Kind of expected to me. We've reached a point where iPhone's 6 and up are still performing very well. There just isn't a ton of motivation to buy the new iPhone every year. I don't think it's an issue or anything, as when the time comes, they will likely stay with iPhone due to that type of longevity and support. Apple's recent push into services makes a ton of sense for them. The iPhone will plateau, but that doesn't mean it's going anywhere. There really isn't any crazy innovation when it comes to phone hardware anymore, it all comes down to software. iOS is still the best when it comes to performance, privacy, security, ecosystem, apps, and support. I'm personally not really looking/caring for any major advances in a phone, just needs to work well and have the aspects I mentioned above.

Those are really good points, but the iPhone X should enough reason to upgrade for many people. But there's no way I'm paying $1000 iPhone for that phone. Currently I'm on iPhone 6S, I've been wanting to upgrade but not willing to spend $1000 on a phone and I believe a lot of us feel the same way. iOS is great but most of us will be spending on Social Media apps, Amazon for shopping, Spotify for music and browsing on Safari. Even more advancements and enhancements coming on future phones price will be still a concern until that phone completely replaces our PC's to do real work or serious gaming.

 

[Azeroth1]

Cutting 50,000. The size of their workforce is incredible.

 

[KPandian1]

COMPLETELY WRONG
Please watch this 2 minute explanation from Steve Jobs

What he said!

 

[Icaras]

All I want to say is I love my Product Red iPhone XR but I have not seen ONE OTHER SINGLE PERSON EVER with an XR in the wild.

I work in the tech field and I see XS’ and S9’s all day. And lately a **** ton of Pixels. I’ve actually had a few people stop and ask me why I bought a red phone instead of black...

I guess since I don’t have a black iPhone in a generic black OTTERBOX case that I stand out too much.

Opposite of my experience. I've seen some XRs in the wild.