Not $100 more. Not by any stretch. Remember, despite the unit sales "miss" (about 4 million units), revenue and EPS were at and above consensus, respectively. Margin was above consensus, as well. Given that 52% of Apple's profit came from iPhone, that suggests that the 5s is significantly more profitable than the 5c. The only exception would be the 32GB 5c compared to the 16GB 5s. They sell for the same, while the 5c has a lower cost of materials.
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iPhone 5s Demand Higher Than Expected, Took Time to 'Build the Mix' Customers Wanted
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Not $100 more. Not by any stretch. Remember, despite the unit sales "miss" (about 4 million units), revenue and EPS were at and above consensus, respectively. Margin was above consensus, as well. Given that 52% of Apple's profit came from iPhone, that suggests that the 5s is significantly more profitable than the 5c. The only exception would be the 32GB 5c compared to the 16GB 5s. They sell for the same, while the 5c has a lower cost of materials.
This is likely EXACTLY what Apple was likely hoping for with the 5C. The intention was never really for the consumer to buy the C, but to make the 5S seem like a waaaay better deal and hopefully make you budge and spend the extra $100, even when you weren't planning to but it makes more sense to for that little bit more.
With this in mind, Apple successfully tricked all of you, and is a brilliant business tactic that many businesses do ( Value meals, value packages, etc.).
Oh and it makes better business sense to say 'demand was higher than expected,' if Apple says they're doing bad it's a morale boost for competitors. And besides, Apple always makes everything sound great
Apple simply priced it too high and too close to the 5S. It's an old iPhone 5 with a plastic shell and they got greedy. Make the 5C $349 unlocked and they will sell like hotcakes!
But at a much smaller profit. Apple is less concerned about market share and more concerned about profits.
You do realize that the 5c sitting in the "middle slot" of the iPhone lineup was simply the same strategy as they've done for years now, at the same price point, right? The middle slot has always been "last year's top of the line phone" and the bottom slot has always been "two years ago's top of the line phone." I know it's terribly confusing because the case changed, but the 5c is actually the same as the iPhone 5, and thus fits into this pattern.
You do realize that the 5c was a complete failure, right?
Colour choice is 100% a matter of opinion though.
I'm a 28 year old straight male, and a power user. I chose the yellow 5C because I loved the look of it. Passed on the 5S due to the fact that I'll be able to upgrade to the 6 soon (I'm one of the lucky ones still on a 12 month contract) and because I just didn't need the power (I find it helps to be one generation down when developing apps to ensure good compatibility and speed). Wasn't fussed about Touch ID either as I don't use a passcode lock as is.
Says who? You do realise the article says that it sold poorly in comparison to the 5S. However looking at many of the sales reports from the industry as a whole over the last few months, the 5C has been right up there with the 5S and Samsungs offerings.
If the the 5c was a complete failure the rest of the field should just pack it in. Without knowing what the 4s numbers are, the 5s:5c 2:1 ratio still means more than 10 million 5c's were sold. If the 4s numbers are the same as the 5c, the break down would be 51 million = 25.5 million (5s) + 12.75 million (5c) + 12.75 million (4s).
No need for hyperbole.
This is why I don't have a lot of respect for Cook as CEO. His major skill set is logistics yet every major Apple fumble during his tenure from the new iMac to the iPad Mini Retina to the Mac Pro to this has been logistics based... not being able to supply customers with the product they want when they want it. I think is was also a miscue to name the 5C such. It just begs for comparison with the 5S. I wonder if it had been named iPhone mini or something if it would have been less mocked.
Also I think at Tim Cook's core he still has an HP brain. He doesn't really understand the Apple brand or its customers. It's why he can't sell it at special events anywhere close to Jobs or even Schiller. But I hope he has a hell of a year and makes amends. He needs its.
This argument, still. Even after apple have explicitly said that they werent doing a budget phone, and that the iphone 5c is not a budget phone, and is not priced like a budget phone, people still say the 5c isnt cheap enough to be a budget phone.
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I see plenty of them in my country - maybe as many or more as the 5S - and in all kinds of colors. I wish I was sitting in such a failure as the 5c.
All this says is they got the mix of product A to product B off, and adjusted their supply chain accordingly.
But thats not as dramatic and emotional as "complete failure".
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This is likely EXACTLY what Apple was likely hoping for with the 5C. The intention was never really for the consumer to buy the C, but to make the 5S seem like a waaaay better deal and hopefully make you budge and spend the extra $100, even when you weren't planning to but it makes more sense to for that little bit more.
With this in mind, Apple successfully tricked all of you, and is a brilliant business tactic that many businesses do ( Value meals, value packages, etc.).
Oh and it makes better business sense to say 'demand was higher than expected,' if Apple says they're doing bad it's a morale boost for competitors. And besides, Apple always makes everything sound great
Yes they went through all the trouble of designing, building, marketing and releasing a major product, just to prop up sales of a different product (that arguably didnt need propping up). An incredibly expensive ruse, I must say!
^ THIS. basically everything you said. you saved me from typing my own thoughts. you sir, are the man
The 5C was simply too expensive.
At $550, it's only $100 less than the substantially more advanced 5S. There's no value proposition for the 5C.
At $400, the 5C is appealing. I like the 5C design, but I could have told Tim Cook months ago that $550 was asking far too much in this competitive market segment.
At $550, it's only $100 less than the substantially more advanced 5S. There's no value proposition for the 5C.
At $400, the 5C is appealing. I like the 5C design, but I could have told Tim Cook months ago that $550 was asking far too much in this competitive market segment.
Especially when you could get a Samsung S4, LG G2 or Htc One on contract for no money down throughout the holidays. Only a fool would get a year old plastic iPhone for $100.
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Even at $400 it's too much. Today you could have gotten a Motorola X for $299 no contract. That is Motorola's current flagship. And lets not forget the superior Nexus 5 which starts at $350 everyday. The race to make the most feature packed phone at a breakthrough price is heating up and Apple wants no part in it.
The 5C wasn't a failure and it isn't too expensive. It's no different than last year's 4S price when the 5 launched. Heck we should all be glad it wasn't more expensive as it actually required new manufacturing.
Why is everyone so doom and gloom over the fact they got demand wrong for launch? They still sold 51 million iPhones, does it really matter whether those where 5S, 5C or 4S's? They are still killing every other manufacturer out there for profits and units sold so until that changes they need to do nothing but keep polishing what they like.
As for the larger screens requests It's quite obvious the demand for that isn't as high as people think. If people wanted large screens that bad they wouldn't have sold 51 million smaller screens at higher prices. Not saying there isn't a segment here but I don't think it'd really affect Apple much at all.
Tim Cook is a logistics person but you can only build so many iPhones so quickly. People that complain about shortages are at an utter lack of understanding of the monumental effort Apple goes through every single year to setup their new fabs to build these things. It was quite clear Touch ID was the sole reason of shortages due to low yield.
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The race to the bottom is a horrible stupid way to do business, while consumers may love it it eventually ends with companies going out of business because they have no money for R&D.
Every Android Manufacturer except Samsung is losing money on the devices. Apple doesn't want any play in this, they don't give a **** about Marketshare they care about creating great products that people love. Their PC lineups demonstrate that very clearly and are still profiting very well for them.
Why is everyone so doom and gloom over the fact they got demand wrong for launch? They still sold 51 million iPhones, does it really matter whether those where 5S, 5C or 4S's? They are still killing every other manufacturer out there for profits and units sold so until that changes they need to do nothing but keep polishing what they like.
As for the larger screens requests It's quite obvious the demand for that isn't as high as people think. If people wanted large screens that bad they wouldn't have sold 51 million smaller screens at higher prices. Not saying there isn't a segment here but I don't think it'd really affect Apple much at all.
Tim Cook is a logistics person but you can only build so many iPhones so quickly. People that complain about shortages are at an utter lack of understanding of the monumental effort Apple goes through every single year to setup their new fabs to build these things. It was quite clear Touch ID was the sole reason of shortages due to low yield.
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The race to the bottom is a horrible stupid way to do business, while consumers may love it it eventually ends with companies going out of business because they have no money for R&D.
Every Android Manufacturer except Samsung is losing money on the devices. Apple doesn't want any play in this, they don't give a **** about Marketshare they care about creating great products that people love. Their PC lineups demonstrate that very clearly and are still profiting very well for them.
A complete failure, because it outsold almost every other model of cellular phone on the planet? I'd take that failure.
That's how Apple should think, but Apple doen't always think like that. Look at the MBP 17, even at 7% of macbook sales it at it height (I seem to remember that statistic) I'm sure it was was produced at healthy volumes comparable to most/all Windows PC OEM.
You do realize that the 5c sitting in the "middle slot" of the iPhone lineup was simply the same strategy as they've done for years now, at the same price point, right? The middle slot has always been "last year's top of the line phone" and the bottom slot has always been "two years ago's top of the line phone." I know it's terribly confusing because the case changed, but the 5c is actually the same as the iPhone 5, and thus fits into this pattern.
It's not the same thing. The iPhone 5C is a less premium product than the iPhone 5 sitting at the same price point (if the iPhone 5 stuck around as the "budget" model and the iPhone 5C never existed).
So you're paying the same for a cheaper to produce, cheaper feeling product. Apple got us used to premium feel smartphones with the iPhone 4, then threw in this plastic iPhone 5C to improve margins and thought they could fool customers.
I'm shocked that Apple thought the 5C would sell on-par with the 5S in America. I also hate the colors Apple chose for the 5C.
I wish they could have sold an 8 GB 5C for $450 off-contract and free on-contract.
Nexus 5 and Moto X are proof that you can get a great phone off-contract for under $400.
I wish they could have sold an 8 GB 5C for $450 off-contract and free on-contract.
Nexus 5 and Moto X are proof that you can get a great phone off-contract for under $400.
I can sum up the iPhone 5c poor sales very simply...
SHINY THINGS! SHINY THINGS!
You can only say that so many times before the kitten gets bored.
People know it's the same iPhone 5 & not cheaper. They're not stupid.
Apple had better come up with an A-GAME for the iPhone 6 because they botched it this time.
SHINY THINGS! SHINY THINGS!
You can only say that so many times before the kitten gets bored.
People know it's the same iPhone 5 & not cheaper. They're not stupid.
Apple had better come up with an A-GAME for the iPhone 6 because they botched it this time.
I have to side with ZipZilla here. The iPod is a bad example for the love of colors. It is used in spare time mostly, hidden in a pocket when out and about. The iPhone - no matter if it is a personal phone or a work phone - is carried along 24/7.
Let's put a fashion analogy out there. Almost everybody has a flashy colorful shirt or sweater at home. But when they go to work they just don't wear it. Same goes for the iPod. Can be flashy - cause it is used in private life. A phone needs to be business proof. Understatement is key here. Most people I know wear blue/grey/black suits in their jobs - and not because they love the colors. I know there are creatives who don't care about things like that. But if you want to sell masses of a product it is unwise to pre-exclude a big chunk of your possible customers by insensitive color choices.
This is likely EXACTLY what Apple was likely hoping for with the 5C. The intention was never really for the consumer to buy the C, but to make the 5S seem like a waaaay better deal and hopefully make you budge and spend the extra $100, even when you weren't planning to but it makes more sense to for that little bit more.
With this in mind, Apple successfully tricked all of you, and is a brilliant business tactic that many businesses do ( Value meals, value packages, etc.).
Oh and it makes better business sense to say 'demand was higher than expected,' if Apple says they're doing bad it's a morale boost for competitors. And besides, Apple always makes everything sound great
What if they never spent the time and money to create the 5c? Don't you think sales of the 5s would have been the same?