iPhone XS Max It''s good to see that all 3 iphones are having slow sales

[44267547]

Samsung’s foldable phone coming out next year will cost as much as $2000... That’s a $1000 increase just to have a folding screen. That’s a pretty expensive gimmick without any real performance gains over the s10/note10.. Flagship phones aren’t going to get cheaper anytime soon

I think it makes Difficult to classify something as a ‘gimmick’ if you don’t have experience with it. We don’t know what Samsung’s alleged foldable smart phone will offer in terms of being a ‘different’ experience, it’s likely for a very niche demographic, but let’s give it the opportunity to see what it can do. Consumers like options, and given smart phones are generally the same every year, I say why not offer new tech that may change the smart phone experience.

And the reason I address the foldable smart phone, is this is the type of tech that Apples competition should release to keep Apple innovating and doing things differently. Remember, competition is equally as important, especially when you look at Apples iPhones and Samsung’s, the prices are high, but the hardware is excellent amongst the latest smart phones.

 

[AlexJoda]

I think it’s different because the 6s was, at the time, the best iPhone you could buy. I think people feel differently about paying $750 for the best iPhone available than they do about the same price for a mid-range iPhone (even if that doesn’t necessarily make logical sense). Plus, as you note, the entry level 6s was $650.

The price of entry to the “best iPhone available” is very different.

I don’t think that you can compare the 6s to the X line (without Xr). To me these phones are a kind of premium sideline parallel to the „standard“ iPhones like the 8, 8+ and now the Xr. So the Xr is the real successor to the 6s to me and in that sense you can compare the prices (and the Xr don’t look so bad. It’s even cheaper with same storage than the 6s+ which is the one to compare it to).
[doublepost=1544262619][/doublepost]

Pricing is going to be what makes or brakes Apple for me going forward. I have the max which I could keep for 2 years. However I don’t want to be paying £1,250 for a phone. Which will probably cost even more in two years. It’s not because I can’t afford it it’s because I don’t think a phone should cost that much.

It’s the same with the iPad Pro. I have the 10.5 inch iPad Pro which I’m happy to keep for a few years. However when the time comes to upgrade do I want to be paying £1,200 for a tablet and a pencil and a keyboard? No. Apple have the budget iPad but I don’t like the fact that it’s non laminated, has a lower resolution screen, only goes up to 128GB, only has 2 speakers. There are other tablets out there like the Tab S4 which are reasonably priced in between the budget iPad and iPad Pro and come with excellent hardware. The only issue I have is that it runs android and doesn’t get supported for long. However I use my iPad purely for consumption, watching videos and web browsing so I think I could managed the tab S4 because I’m not using many apps on my iPad Pro.

I’m having the same issues across the whole product line up. When my MBA needs to be replaced I don’t want to be paying £1,200 + for a new MacBook because I never use my MBA. I don’t like windows so I can’t go that route but I can get a high end chromebook which will meet my meagre computing needs.

Even if the company name is Apple with all their loyal followers the products they release should have a real corresponding counter-value to the prices they demand. I don’t see that the recent iPhones can do anything more for me than the older ones considering the normal progress. Same with new iPP and MBA which has no functional improvements at all but cost 20%-30% more than before. The MBA did not even include the normal progress because it is not faster compared to the 3 year old predecessor.

 

[MultiMan]

The XS can be fast charged, there is just no fast charger in the box but they're cheap to buy off amazon. Not that I'd recommend it, fast charging your phone every time will degrade the battery faster, partly why Apple doesn't include it. These android phones dont have the optimization that Apple does with iOS, so they have to put in very large batteries compared to iPhones to get similar levels of battery life. Fast charging is a must with these batteries, but after a year of fast charging you won't like what you see.

Which phones are you talking about? Huawei, that I use after switching from iPhone, all have very advanced fast charging (up to 70% in just 30 minutes on the Mate 20 Pro). They have larger batteries than iPhones, but also lasts longer, so no, they don't have a larger battery due to inefficacy but to last longer, which they do. The oldest one, Honor 8, still has a good battery after more than 2 years.

 

[Pez555]

I remember when the flagships were £499 (iPhone 4). It really is crazy how much the prices have increased.

 

[Otflyer]

I just recently ended up going with the Note 9. I was about to pull the plug and buy the XS Max unlocked outright, but last minute after extensive research I decided on the Note 9, because of a few important factors.

1. Intel chipset over Qualcomm, and reported LTE and Wifi issues
2. No fast charger. IMO not acceptable for a device that costs $1,100
3. Value. The Note 9 is 100 bucks cheaper, comes with fast charger and 128 gigs, instead of 64, plus the ability to add more.


Based on those alone I went with Note 9, even though I wanted iPhone due to it's better OS and ecosystem.

So your settling instead of getting what you want?

 

[Burnsey]

Which phones are you talking about? Huawei, that I use after switching from iPhone, all have very advanced fast charging (up to 70% in just 30 minutes on the Mate 20 Pro). They have larger batteries than iPhones, but also lasts longer, so no, they don't have a larger battery due to inefficacy but to last longer, which they do. The oldest one, Honor 8, still has a good battery after more than 2 years.

In this battery test the Mate 20 Pro lasts 7hrs 44 minutes compared to 6hrs 56 minutes with the XS Max, yet the battery is 1000mAh larger.

So yes when you have a battery that is 33% larger yet offers only 12% improvement in battery life, you need to advertise "supercharging" (branding copied from Tesla), which if you use every day will destroy that battery over time.

 

[ET iPhone Home]

As much as I like my Xs Max, Apple's current business model of 'raise the prices by $50-200 everytime we come out with something new' is greedy and unsustainable

I agree completely. I really hope "slow sales" sends a message to Apple. I'm still pondering on the idea of purchasing an XS after spending on an XS Max, which I gave to my parents. I took their 6 Plus as an exchange, but the thought of another $1149, plus tax, plus Belkin, plus screen protector, plusApple Silicone case - Ughhh. I may wait March 2019. I need to stomach the XS Max before I can splurge on the XS.

 

[Apple_Robert]

As much as I like my Xs Max, Apple's current business model of 'raise the prices by $50-200 everytime we come out with something new' is greedy and unsustainable

You bought one of the devices and then complain about Apple’s pricing model. Not very logical. Stop buying items you think are overpriced. Problem solved.

 

[cableguy84]

I hate the direction Apple are going with the new phones. So i bought myself a 8 plus

 

[ipodssss]

I’m pretty happy about it

The fact people don’t even want to spent £750 on a ‘budget’ iPhone is a good sign.

iPhones are fantastic things but they really should be around £600 for the base lates model

 

[44267547]

I remember when the flagships were £499 (iPhone 4). It really is crazy how much the prices have increased.

The influx is party due to technological advancements, but of course Apple has its own inserted inflation for _all_ their products, The same applies to the Apple Watch, which has increasingly becoming more expensive with the stainless model over the years. Eventually this ‘rising of tech era pricing’ has to hault somewhere, average consumers can only tolerate so much inflation.

 

[darksithpro]

I hate the direction Apple are going with the new phones. So i bought myself a 8 plus

Probably the cheapest and safest bet IMO for support and cost saving.

 

[Fthree]

the pricing is high for frequent upgraders. For people that get as much utility out of a product that they possibly can the price isn't such a problem.

 

[LovingTeddy]

um, but the question was "And how are you liking it so far? Can you integrate with the Apple eco-system at all?"

nothing in your answer says anything about missing your apple apps, how you import contacts, people who used to iMessage you, have you got a Watch that no longer talks to your phone? all the day-to-day things we take for granted.

let's face it people want better value but jumping ship from the Apple ecosystem is a big effort if you rely on it. Apple know that. They assume it is too hard for most people. And they get away with it until the price pain hurts so much people will start afresh.

more likely people will hold onto phones longer. 2 years becomes 3. I did it with my 6s+. I will do it again with my XS Max. that's why Apple have ditched reporting sales figures. they know profit isnt about selling more units now. phones do NOT need replacing every year or two. there are no massive feature gains or speed increases to be had. even 5 or 6 year old phones can upgrade to the latest OS.

Android users (and I have owned a number of these as well) are never so loyal. Partly because Android OS upgrades are a disaster. To own a year old phone that no one wants to put new features on is criminal. Or they make you wait 6 months.

We are rolling out work software to both iPhone and Android users. The suppliers dont want to use Play Store so the install is a sideload. Easy to do but harder to train users and open to security/vendor issues.

It is not hard at all. I am going all the way to avoid being locked in. When I have my iPhone, I disable iMessage. I sync all my contacts through gmail. I sync all my notes through gmail. I never subscribe to Apple Music, I buy all my movies, music, books through Google Play. I never and will never buy Apple Watch. There is really zero effort for me to switch between iPhone and Android phone. All my information, contact, password,bookmarks, music, movies etc are available on both iOS and Android.

 

[DanGoh]

We won't know if sales are bad until next we see years iPhone prices.

 

[sallenthornton]

The note 9 is the better phone and better value for money. It just doesn’t run iOS and work with the Apple ecosystem. So I have the max.

^ This. I wouldn’t mind trying a new phone. The Note 9 looks interesting, but until iMessage is available on other platforms (not happening), I’m sticking with Apple.

 

[tonybarnaby]

As much as I like my Xs Max, Apple's current business model of 'raise the prices by $50-200 everytime we come out with something new' is greedy and unsustainable

You’ll regret this if you plan to keep it more than 2 years I’m afraid. Samsung has burned me one too many times.

 

[Adelphos33]

Having spent the past week or so at conferences with financial industry people, I can tell you that tons and tons of very wealthy people seem to be holding on to iPhone 6’s and 7s. The X did fairly well but I can’t really say I’ve seen many XS Max in the wild. I’ve yet to see an XR in the wild (though obviously some people are buying them). More importantly a lot of customers simply are not rushing to upgrade those home button iPhones.

 

[44267547]

I’ve yet to see an XR in the wild.

Let’s reflect back to last year in 2017, and the exact same statement was said when the 2017 iPhone X launched, when others were saying ‘I haven’t seen that many X’s in public’, yet, The XR was released in mid October, and others are making it seem like it’s been on the market for a year already.

So my response to yours, which is completely opposite, I live in a fairly large city, and I see the XR quite regularly. Does that mean the XR is not doing well because we don’t see in public in our certain demographic? No. The reality is, we have to allow consumers to gradually upgrade over the course of time, just like the iPhone X was in the same position.

 

[Newtons Apple]

Slow sales will equal less innovation and stagnate the phone industry.

 

[Shanghaichica]

Let’s reflect back to last year in 2017, and the exact same statement was said when the 2017 iPhone X launched, when others were saying ‘I haven’t seen that many X’s in public’, yet, The XR was released in mid October, and others are making it seem like it’s been on the market for a year already.

So my response to yours, which is completely opposite, I live in a fairly large city, and I see the XR quite regularly. Does that mean the XR is not doing well because we don’t see in public in our certain demographic? No. The reality is, we have to allow consumers to gradually upgrade over the course of time, just like the iPhone X was in the same position.

It’s difficult to say if I’ve seen the Xs because unless it’s gold you can’t tell the different between the X and the Xs. I’ve seen one Xr. It was coral.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

Let’s reflect back to last year in 2017, and the exact same statement was said when the 2017 iPhone X launched, when others were saying ‘I haven’t seen that many X’s in public’, yet, The XR was released in mid October, and others are making it seem like it’s been on the market for a year already.

So my response to yours, which is completely opposite, I live in a fairly large city, and I see the XR quite regularly. Does that mean the XR is not doing well because we don’t see in public in our certain demographic? No. The reality is, we have to allow consumers to gradually upgrade over the course of time, just like the iPhone X was in the same position.

The iPhone X was very popular in North America though and was a rarer sight elsewhere. I think that is why we had so many posters on here that just weren’t seeing them out and about. I think I saw about 15-20 in an entire year and it took me 3 months before I saw the first one. As it turned out, the iPhone X was the eighth best selling iPhone in my country so it is not at all surprising.

I’ve seen two XR’s so far and they are in my workplace. None of the new iPhones from the past 2 years appear to be a regular sight to me and that’s telling how much has changed IMO.

 

[jimmy_uk]

Slow sales will equal less innovation and stagnate the phone industry.

Why? If less people are buying the new iPhones this year then Apple will have to innovate in order to entice consumers next year, because you know Android phones aren't standing still.

 

[Fthree]

I have seen a bunch of either x/ or xs as I can’t really tell the difference without asking with them being the exact same looks. I have seen a XR but as far as I know and have seen I have had the only xs Max.

 

[StellarVixen]

Not long ago, Android phones had a little bit better specs and lower price as their selling point over the Apple iPhones.

Today, they are inferior in specs, are barely cheaper, so for me, there is exactly 0 reasons to choose flagship Android today. Some will say ancient microSD cards are huge plus, but...meh, let those who want them have them, that's not my thing.

The only reason people buy Android phones today is that mid range Android phones are very good value for money. Most of the Android devices sold are mid and low end.