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iPhone 8 and 8 Plus Production Will Reportedly Drop Nearly 50% When iPhone X Launches

Design Replication
Lukewarm sales should be anticipated when Apple releases phones that pretty much look like the prior two iterations. Even more confusing is the decision to keep iPhone 6, 6 plus and 7, 7 plus alongside 8, 8 plus. Essentially Apple replicated what MacDonald did in January 2017 with the Big Mac.

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iPhone X represents enough of a visual departure to stimulate sales. Stop production of iPhone 6 through 7 plus and drop price of 8s $100 for clearer distinction in product lineup.
 
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raskar said:
Let's see if the X will live to its expectations and sell well ;)
Demand may be met due to lack of orders.
Just saying..
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Hah. Lack of orders. That's rich.

I had to wait several months to get my 6+ a few years ago. Loads of demand and orders, as evidenced by record and phenomenal sales.

I see the X being no different.

Are some people really shocked about today's news?
 
OllyW said:
We do have a say if we stop buying them.
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Ding. Ding. Ding.

How quick many of us are to forget that as the consumers with the money, we have an immense power in this pricing appreciation game... the power to say "No." If enough of us would flex that power instead of just pay whatever price any seller wants- including our favorite seller- pricing would come down.

$1000 for a phone is not some magical, rigid floor price to be in place from this day forward... unless the bulk of us show a great willingness to just accept that price and pay it:
  • If we do, seller can start thinking about how readily we will accept $1200 or $1500 in a few years.
  • If we don't, a tremendous pressure starts building to lower the price back towards previously-accepted levels. Even Apple can feel that pressure if enough consumers would decide to reject this price increase instead of just roll over and pay up.
Should the bulk of us accept that price point, we are rewarding the decision-making that led to the price increase... even encouraging them to do it again not too far down the road. Extra profits are realized. Extra bonus money is paid. Etc. Apple is only asking the market to pay more for a new iPhone. That market has a choice of whether it will accept Apple's "ask" price... or reject it. Both options are completely within the consumers control. But I think so many of us just forget that there is another option in such product launch scenarios.
 
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Stella said:
But your only getting 64GB for the lower priced iPhone X. Thats quite a difference in storage, especially if you actually use than space for photos, movies and what not.
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You also get a narrower/smaller useable screen, less battery life, and no TouchID. I can totally see why people would go for the 8 Plus, it has the camera improvements and faster processor but none of the drawbacks.
 
Razeus said:
I bet.

I mean why in the hell would you buy an iPhone 8 when it's about to be outdated (in terms of design).

iPhone X is a superior design. It's new, it's fresh. I'm not sure why Apple thinks they can get away with releasing phones with the same design for 4 years in a row. Granted, there's only so much you can do with a rectangle, but still.
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Hmmm... same specifications for cheaper.... but worried about some design? Yeah I’m pretty sure having an 8 only prohibits you from having animated emojis lmao.
 
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“This has never happened before!! Apple is doomed!!”

Even though Apple has never launched multiple phones including a revolutionary X before... having nothing to compare to this fall. smh
 
Everyone I know is holding their upgrades for the I Phone X myself included dying to get my hands on a black 256GB X
 
This could be very disruptive of Apple's corporate strategy, which can be summed up as "another year, another phone."
 
Razeus said:
I bet.

I mean why in the hell would you buy an iPhone 8 when it's about to be outdated (in terms of design).

iPhone X is a superior design. It's new, it's fresh. I'm not sure why Apple thinks they can get away with releasing phones with the same design for 4 years in a row. Granted, there's only so much you can do with a rectangle, but still.
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1) they didn’t release the same phone four years in a row. 7 wasn’t the 6 design and 8 wasn’t the 7 design. It’s pretty blind to think they’re the same.
2) many people don’t care about having the most unique, newest design. If they like the design and love the internals, their phone does well.
 
sully54 said:
This may be only half of the the story. A 50% cut in iPhone 8 production could be in order to move those production lines to iPhone X production.
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If true as a rumor, this would be most likely reason I would think we shall see soon ;-)
 
riverfreak said:
FWIW, I don’t believe your pricing chart is accurate. The actual price of the iPhone varies across the US but you have just included MSRP, whereas your numbers for other countries include VAT.
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just from a Canadian Perspective:

iPhone 8 in CAD, MSRP unlocked off Apple's site
$929 CAD
with today's currency coversion thats 745 USD. So even without the conversion and taxes (we don't have VAT, our taxes aren't included in the price), we are being charge $50 more for the same product.

iPhone 8+ $1059 CAD, or 849.95 USD. another $50 price premium.

These are just for the lowest price point in each product tier.

Then you get to the X, which is $1319, which is $1058.63 USD, so another $60 price premium. This is again, without taxes.

add 13% for Ontario sales tax and you've got yourself a bare minimum of $1000 for an iPhone 8, and a whopping $1490 for the X. upgrading any of them to a higher storage tier adds a lot. And Apple care is nearly $200 on it's own.

sorry. (not sorry), that's a ridiculous price point and Apple is absolutely subsidizing their US based financials off the rest of the world.
 
DJLAXL said:
While I enjoy my 8 Plus very much, it doesn't compare to a new design and an OLED screen (finally).

So many of us waiting for the X with open arms. Pre-orders and launch day are going to be a mad house.
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Or many are taking the step to Pixel 2 or Galaxy 8 with Oled and very good specifications for cheaper
 
Assume that most people (more than half) are casual purchasers of iPhones or any smartphone in general. Assume that those people remember a time not too long ago when every two years you could buy a new phone at a subsidized price. They remember a time when you went to the Apple Store, AT&T store, Verizon store etc... and the price tag on the display in front of an iPhone read "$200" with some fine print below. Now those people who want to upgrade their device see a price tag that reads $700 or more with fine print below explaining how you can finance/lease the device. It is mostly psychological but that price tag changes things. I really believe there are a few factors in play that will cause a decline in iPhone/smartphone sales as time goes by:
  • Most people have a smartphone already
  • People who once upgraded every year will now go to a two or three year cycle
  • Lack of carrier subsidies now makes the devices appear more expensive
  • The idea of taking on a new monthly bill has a psychological effect
This is not a criticism of Apple or anyone else. I just think there may need to be a change in market strategy when it comes to these things. The trouble for Apple is they are dependent on really good sales of the iPhone every year. And if we're being honest it feels like the Apples and Samsungs of the world are running out of room for groundbreaking innovation with these devices. Until someone invents a battery that is far better than current technology there may be a ceiling that can't be broken through.
 
Stella said:
There are strong rumours that iPhone 7 is outselling iPhone 8. Now just for a moment, assume this is the case ( none of us really know ). If as, you say, the consumer cares about storage, wireless charging etc, this shouldn't be the case. The 8 should be outselling the 7 based upon these new features alone. Again, none of us can prove / disprove the rumours of 7 outselling the 8.

Whether the 8 is struggling due to the X - we shall see very shortly, won't we?
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Razeus said:
Ya, but the consumer has spoken. They clearly don't care about those things. Sure it matters to tech savvy people. But the average person doesn't care.

It's basically NO different from the iPhone 7 in their heads that warrants an additional $170. Facebooks, iMessage, Safari, and Spotify doesn't require the processing power of the A11.
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I think the whole "7 outselling the 8" story was based on a single collection of carrier store surveys. Take a look at some of the discounts carriers are offering on the iPhone 7 right now, they can be quite steep. So, we might be talking about a $400-$500 difference instead of a $100-$200 difference, in which case the iPhone 7 does indeed become a much more compelling purchase than the 8. I think it's unfair to say "the customer has spoken" already, though. We have no actual sales numbers yet, and there are a variety of factors with a multi-staged release. Similarly, the iPhone SE was an odd release, and IIRC also did not sell great at first but had tremendous staying power compared to other models, especially as it became discounted over time (in fact it's still selling quite well). The problem with the 8 is that many early adopters are waiting for the X, while many people on a 2-year upgrade cycle that may not care much about specs are choosing the 7 (same people who chose budget models in years prior) largely because of the carrier discounts. Also the 8 is likely selling better than the rumors would suggest (i.e. better than the 7) at places other than carrier stores, like from Apple directly.
 
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