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iPhone X Nearly 6 months in, the iPhone X isn't that successful

A

Adelphos33

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Mar 13, 2012
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I've attended some work events with some very well-off people in recent weeks and seen a good amount of my friends. Almost all are iPhone users

1) None of my close friends own an iPhone X
2) At these work events, less than 10% of customers have an iPhone X

Many of these people would have bought the latest iPhone very quickly a few years ago. One of my best friends (a millionaire in his 30s) is still rocking a 6S.

The iPhone X is an excellent product (I'm actually considering buying a 256G version to replace my 8+); however, fewer "normal" customers are interested in it than prior phones. I don't think that is controversial at all, and all of the survey data supports this.

How can Apple fix that this year?
 
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Apple said it was their best selling iPhone and the profit numbers to sales numbers confirmed this - you can't skew those numbers. It's doing very well.

Furthermore 3 people I know, including myself, have an iPhone X. So your personal experience doesn't necessarily reflect a larger picture.
 
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Since 6S, I don’t think anyone needs to update their phones every year. Smartphones have reached their peak in terms of addition of new things. Only refinements will continue now until eventually there might be a completely new thing comes along that supersedes the current glass slab design with something completely different. This is the same in any other industry.
 
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Raist3001 said:
Can of worms opened.....this is going to be a popcorn thread :)
Click to expand...

I'm not really trying to start a flame war, an X vs 8 debate or anything. Almost all of the tech reviewers say the X is the best phone on the market by far. I just think that for a flagship launch, fewer people seemed to be interested and ultimately buying the X compared to other launches. I think there was a thread back in October saying that the "mainstream" customer wasn't really into the X, and I have to agree based on what I see and what the numbers say.

Ultimately I think Apple needs to get its "best" phones back to a $799 price or it will continue to see less unit sales growth
 
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keysofanxiety said:
Apple said it was their best selling iPhone and the profit numbers to sales numbers confirmed this - you can't skew those numbers. It's doing very well.
Click to expand...

The numbers show it hasn't beaten the iPhone 6 series.

iPhone X is a top-selling phone because with previous launches, there has been a 4.7" and 5.5" model. The iPhone X beats the sales of a single size, but not both.

iPhone X is not doing well when you take into account it's a major refresh after 10 years and the expectations of a supercycle.
 
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akash.nu said:
Since 6S, I don’t think anyone needs to update their phones every year. Smartphones have reached their peak in terms of addition of new things. Only refinements will continue now until eventually there might be a completely new thing comes along that supersedes the current glass slab design with something completely different. This is the same in any other industry.
Click to expand...

The form factor barely changes and the software is the same (until the device isn't updated any further).

The main reason people would upgrade these days is because their device feels slow... which is why it's very interesting how devices mysteriously get awfully slow at doing everything after just a short time.

I've only ever seen one iPhone X so far around here, though I'm starting to see AirPods more now.
 
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Altis said:
The form factor barely changes and the software is the same (until the device isn't updated any further).

The main reason people would upgrade these days is because their device feels slow... which is why it's very interesting how devices mysteriously get awfully slow at doing everything after just a short time.

I've only ever seen one iPhone X so far around here, though I'm starting to see AirPods more now.
Click to expand...

I think it depends on where you are. I see plenty around me but such anecdotal data points doesn’t prove anything either way.

The sales data shows that they’ve been selling well.
 
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Raist3001 said:
But that hardly equates to the X being unsuccessful. Numbers don't lie.
Click to expand...

The X is a success in terms of customer feedback and convincing enthusiast users to pay more for their phones. I just don't think it has really driven mass interest yet. The iPhone 5, 5s, 6 and 7 launches were all pretty exciting for the mass customer. The X hasn't done that so far; maybe it was never intended to be that.
 
Adelphos33 said:
The X is a success in terms of customer feedback and convincing enthusiast users to pay more for their phones. I just don't think it has really driven mass interest yet. The iPhone 5, 5s, 6 and 7 launches were all pretty exciting for the mass customer. The X hasn't done that so far; maybe it was never intended to be that.
Click to expand...
Even Apple introduced it as the future of the smartphone, at a high price point. I see plenty of them here in PDX. They probably are looking at sales dollars, not unit volume on this one. Next year, it'll be the normal model and within a few years, lots of iPhone users will have them. Apple is focusing on building out services and the ecosystem, with Apple Music and Airpods driving lots of revenue now too. I don't think they're too worried.
 
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Adelphos33 said:
The X is a success in terms of customer feedback and convincing enthusiast users to pay more for their phones.
Click to expand...
The X is successful in terms of sales numbers. Anything else is conjecture as to why the X didn't 'feel' as exciting as other launches. It certainly performed well.

I just don't think it has really driven mass interest yet. The iPhone 5, 5s, 6 and 7 launches were all pretty exciting for the mass customer. The X hasn't done that so far; maybe it was never intended to be that.
Click to expand...
Well if we are just going based on the amount of X's we see in the wild, My location must be a great indicator of success since where ever I go, I can spot a X :)
 
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Raist3001 said:
The X is successful in terms of sales numbers. Anything else is conjecture as to why the X didn't 'feel' as exciting as other launches. It certainly performed well.
Click to expand...

What do the numbers say?

Apple shipped 1 million fewer units of iPhone in Oct-Dec 2017 compared to Oct-Dec 2016. Keep in mind Apple introduced 3 new models instead of 2. The rumor mill was at an all-time high and everyone was holding off buying a new phone in anticipation of OLED iPhone.

The rise in ASP to $796 suggests more consumers are buying Plus and X. It was successful in the way that some consumers were willing to accept $999.

Most people looking closely at Apple had the expectation of a 10-year supercycle and it would beat the iPhone 6 series. It didn't meet that expectation.
 
keysofanxiety said:
Apple said it was their best selling iPhone and the profit numbers to sales numbers confirmed this - you can't skew those numbers. It's doing very well.

Furthermore 3 people I know, including myself, have an iPhone X. So your personal experience doesn't necessarily reflect a larger picture.
Click to expand...

I believe the iphone 6 is still the best selling iphone so far....I would imagine the profit is higher when the phone is 999 vs. 649, and applecare plus is about double for the X as well.
 
JPack said:
What do the numbers say?
Click to expand...
In post number 2 in this thread, it has already been pointed out what the numbers say.

Most people looking closely at Apple had the expectation of a 10-year supercycle and it would beat the iPhone 6 series. It didn't meet that expectation.
Click to expand...
Expectations may not have been met in terms of overall sales VS the 6, but again, hardly an indicator to say the X was not successful in terms of sales.
 
Up until recently, I had not seen a lot of people with the X in the wild. However, within the past month and a half I have noticed a decent amount of X's in the wild when I'm out and about. Again, I really think it depends on where you live as well.
 
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JPack said:
What do the numbers say?.
Click to expand...

You mean the 84 Million iPhones Apple sold with a 14 week run rate or the 13% increase in year over year revenue?

Regardless, we know the iPhone X is the most expensive iPhone Apple has ever offered and it’s not for every consumer out there. It doesn’t have to be. I think everybody seems to conflate that if the iPhone X doesn’t beat out another iPhone, it must be a failure. It’s not like that at all, and that’s why Apple has an expansive iPhone lineup offering a price point for everybody.
 
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I was on the fence waiting for the proverbial “.3 “ if iOS + wanting to get past the first revision hardware in hopes that 3-4 months out any improvements to be made.

Otherwise it was Galaxy S9+ for $150 less than the iPhone X.
 
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Relentless Power said:
You mean the 84 Million iPhones Apple sold with a 14 week run rate or the 13% increase in year over year revenue?

Regardless, we know the iPhone X is the most expensive iPhone Apple has ever offered and it’s not for every consumer out there. It doesn’t have to be. I think everybody seems to conflate that if the iPhone X doesn’t beat out another iPhone, it must be a failure. It’s not like that at all, and that’s why Apple has an expansive iPhone lineup offering a price point for everybody.
Click to expand...

Ultimately, it comes down the expectations everyone had for the launch. I don't think anyone thought it would tank. The question was, how much better of a quarter would Apple have compared to previous periods?

Apple launched 3 phones in 2017 resulting in a 13% increase in revenue compared to the launch of iPhone 7. The iPhone X is supposed to set the pace for the next decade.

Wall Street expectations were it would be a massive shift to the iPhone X. Are we seeing that? I'm not so sure.
 
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