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Supply Chain Indicators Point to Poor February for Apple

Just went back from an Apple retail store. Full of people. Full around the products, around the genius tables, around the cashiers. Mid-March, depressed end of winter season when shops are traditionally empty. The Microsoft kiosk, 2/3 empty. The Sony store, 3/4 empty.

The funniest thing is that people who say Apple is doomed are people using Apple products.

Seriously?
 
Peace said:
While that's probably true Apple needs to put out some new stuff in this quarter or they might see a $300 stock price and a new CEO.
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If Apple needs to worry about Wall Street's manipulations when they are making more money that they know what to do with in markets where their competitors are either losing money or making little even though they are selling more products, Apple should buy back as much of their stock as possible and remove the distraction that is the stock market. Their success comes from releasing products when they are ready not jumping from one thing to the next and seeing what sticks.
 
charlituna said:
The stock being down has nothing to do with actual sales but with analyst BS about issues, hyping up their estimates way beyond any realistic goals etc. And the blogs reposting their nonsense as if its fact.

The analysts would have us thinking that by years end we'll have super suits etc like in the show Continuum. Well until the 'supply issues' start and the whole thing is 'delayed' and we just get a dinky watch. Meanwhile they will be snatching out those $10 a share Apple stocks
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Sad thing is if Apple has a not so great quarter the stock will get hammered even though in theory this bad news should already be priced into the stock.
 
cambox said:
The Guardian newspaper (UK) had a great article this weekend explaining why Apple are in decline. There stock is down 40% in 6 months and they are not doing anything new or innovative that has the wow factor in recent years. They are not disappearing anytime soon but they are losing brand loyalty as people do want quality but also something new. If you have stock I would be tempted to ditch it! Buy it again when its at its lowest as im sure Apple will bounce back in years to come.
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Tell me, what company other than Apple has made something new in the past 5 years? (Oh I mean big changes, not trivial stuff like the surface)
 
Apple is far from doomed. They're just in the midst of finding themselves (again). If they don't reach their goals this year that may be good news. A wake up call they've been ignoring. Now following Google, Android & Samsung will give them the breathing room they need. A chance to regroup.
 
Peace said:
When was the last time Apple didn't have some kind of event in the first 3 months of the year ?
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I'd rather have them NOT have an event in Q1 and come out with some great stuff during WWDC than have an event just for the sake of having an event. Of course no guarantee WWDC will have great stuff but Apple being so quiet, and so few hardware leaks coming out makes me think they're hard at work on software which is what needs the most work.
 
Rogifan said:
Sad thing is if Apple has a not so great quarter the stock will get hammered even though in theory this bad news should already be priced into the stock.
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Depends. First sellers cannot sell twice. They are gone. Secondly, if the entire industry is slowing down, then Apple will just in the trend, but most likely better than the rest of the industry.

If the first leak of the Samsung GS4 is true, people will be disappointed. Everything is quick in that industry, and I don't see any company being more user oriented, good designer than Apple. I don't think Samsung can lead for years.
 
maxosx said:
Denial has wicked consequences...

It's not just Feb, Apples in for a rough year. Off to a rocky start, mislead because the product is still selling in relatively large numbers, it's easy to be complacent.

Yet Apples grasping at straws as we witness rumors that run the gamut, its as though Apple is fishing till they get a bite.

iWatch... gimmick bleh
iTV... too far off as they fight industry pushback bleh
iPods... adrift no longer relavent bleh
iPhone... flagship product without meaningful upgrades bleh

Apple 2013, the ugly girl in a room full of international beauties.

Fasten your seat belt Apple, you're in for a very long year.
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Oh a rocky start... By the way comments like yours was around since the iPhone. I bet you are one of the people who'll buy a iwatch when it come out.
 
The funny thing is that Apple can kill off all of this Android/Samsung lust by offering a second screen size for the iPhone in the 4.8"-5.5" range. Problem solved.

Screen size seems to be a much bigger point of differentiation over the iPhone than the ability to customize a few home screens. iOS is still more polished, stable, and secure than Android. A 4.8" iPhone 6 will sell like crazy and they can still have the 4" version for those that care about "one handed operation".

Weird how the iPhone is the only Apple product that they seem to want to keep as one-size-fits-all. 2 screen sizes are available on all Mac models and now the iPad. The iPhone should be next.
 
Do I really need to state the obvious ....

No ones going to be buying an iPhone when the Galaxy S4 is imminent and Apples only response is a vague indication of another lame S model, god knows when, with features that only just seem to better the current S3. As an iPhone 4 user out of contract, I for one wouldn't buy an iPhone 5 now, not only because its a product with little appeal, but also because the competition HAVE announced their bringing something (100% more likely) to be better!

I wouldn't also buy an iPad as I'm waiting for a mini with Retina screen (something they should have included in the first place).

I wouldn't buy an iPod of any type because .... why? (and not at those prices!)

iMac - at those prices forget it (plus the fact I'd have to pay extra because even though Apple think I don't need an optical drive, I know I do!)

So then; as an existing Apple user (and owner of iPhone, iMac and iPad), I've actually bought a Nokia 620 on Windows Mobile and I'm loving it; and I'm not buying a mini until it has retina.
 
I know it's foolish, but I'd like to try to introduce an element of rational thinking to this whole "Apple must innovate" fantasy running throughout this thread. Sure, if Apple's sales start falling, and if Apple fails to keep pace with the market and if Apple starts to introduce crumby products that don't see well and make a profit, then the company will be in trouble. But all these armchair (and professional) analysts are just guessing that all these "if"s are going to to happen based on some very dubious statistics and their own biases. The fact is, that none of these things has happened yet.

Look back at how Apple has worked historically. Before they introduce a revolutionary new product, they have spent a great deal of time refining the product and at least planning out, if not implementing, an entire support structure for the product. (iTunes, App Store, deals with record labels, deals with movie studios, etc.) They don't just rush out a new product and leave people hanging, they try to build a complete market and user experience.

All this takes time and a huge amount of manpower. Apple has thousands of employees. Do you all really think they're just been sitting around doing nothing for the last 3 or more years? Or maybe, just maybe, they're working on something revolutionary, refining it to a point where, when it's released it'll take their competitors years to catch up just to their initial release?

I don't know what will happen, but I find that scenario far more plausible than Apple has suddenly turned into a fading company that has lost all its will to innovate. People who have reached that level of accomplishment don't just give up. I suppose it's not as much fun to think about this as it is to pick on a successful company because it's not doing exactly what you want, but I wouldn't bet against Apple until it started putting out a series of lackluster products. The iPad mini and the iPhone 5 just don't fit the bill. They're selling far too well.
 
Remember that story posted a week or so back that iMac stock models were available in 24 hours but BTO added 2-3 weeks... Well just checked and it is now 5 to 7 business days! Looks like supply chain is doing better. :D
 
genovelle said:
Apple's Primary suppliers are adding 5000 new jobs in anticipation of increasing demand. If orders were down wouldn't they be cutting jobs instead?

http://appleinsider.com/articles/13/03/11/apple-suppliers-foxconn-tsmc-to-each-add-5000-job
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If you believe anything on AppleInsider than you probably think Steve is still alive and hanging with Elvis.

Has to be the worst Apple site on the web and every article is full of errors and lies that are always in Apples favor.

The average poster appears to 14 and has Steve Jobs shrines in their bedrooms.

I read it purely for the humor and sheer stupidity of the articles and those that post to it.
 
I'll wait until the quartely results... analysts are so hit and miss its probably not worth debating... what could be, or not.
 
ArtOfWarfare said:
For the past two or three years, Android has been moving rapidly and iOS has been standing still.

iOS had been sheltered by two things:
1 - They started way ahead of Android.
2 - Android devices tend to be updated more slowly (IE, Android devices tend to be running years old OS versions whereas iOS devices tend to be running OS versions within a few days of release.)

It was inevitable though, Android has blown right past iOS. Apple has the ability to move forward very quickly - if iOS 7 blows away Android 4, then Apple will be in the lead for awhile because all iOS devices will jump to iOS 7 instantly whereas even if Android 5 is much better, most devices wouldn't be running it for months, so iOS 7 need only beat Android 4 - if iOS 7 blows away Android 4, Apple can handily retake the lead and their stock will reverse course.

Doesn't Apple normally demonstrate the next OS X or iOS version to developers in Spring? We're half way through March and I still haven't seen any invitation...
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The quote I think best summarises this is that Google is getting better at hardware faster than Apple is getting better at offering services.
 
Oh FFS people..

It was 3 years between the iPhone and the iPad (but the iPad was developed first if you believe Steve)

It was 6 years between the iPod and the iPhone.

It was 17 years between the Mac and the iPod.

Apple will innovate when they're good and ready. People should remember that innovation takes time.

In the mean time Apple will not fade in relevance. They have 2 mature and stable operating systems (OS X and iOS) and some cash cows that will see them as a safe bet for many years. (iPhone, iPad, Mac and iTunes)

I suspect their stock value is a little too large and the market is realigning it. This is painful to some investors but then again the kind of stock price that was reached was unsustainable.

A bigger screen on a phone is not innovation, and personally I like a screen I can reach anywhere with the thumb of the hand I'm holding it with.

Android has settled down now and is iterating rather than innovating.

Dare I say it but the recent innovators were Microsoft.
 
maxosx said:
Denial has wicked consequences...

It's not just Feb, Apples in for a rough year. Off to a rocky start, mislead because the product is still selling in relatively large numbers, it's easy to be complacent.

Yet Apples grasping at straws as we witness rumors that run the gamut, its as though Apple is fishing till they get a bite.

iWatch... gimmick bleh
iTV... too far off as they fight industry pushback bleh
iPods... adrift no longer relavent bleh
iPhone... flagship product without meaningful upgrades bleh

Apple 2013, the ugly girl in a room full of international beauties.

Fasten your seat belt Apple, you're in for a very long year.
Click to expand...

Its comments like this that make me laugh my head off....

You lack the imagination to see the potential of such a product...yet when Samsung introduces yet another way to scroll through a webpage (since you know, flicking with your thumb is so cumbersome), you probably think its "innovation".

Newsflash, Samsung doesn't innovate. They take ideas/task that already exist and do them in a different way - most of the time, that different way isn't even more efficient...its called change for the sake of change....that's a gimmick my friend.

On the other hand, an iWatch could open up security possibilities and new tech we aren't even thinking about. Imagine wearing a watch with biometric sensors in it that, when in proximity with your phone, allow you to use it freely without any passcode or restrictions.....as soon as the phone gets out of your reach - complete lock down.

How about the same tech which will also warn you if you leave your phone somewhere, or if it is stolen?

How about a watch that tells time (duh) and the weather, without having to pull your phone out of your pocket? Or how about NFC implemented in a watch as opposed to a phone? Biometrics will make sure no one else can use the data stored on it (unless they cut off your hand above the wrist...at which point I'd ask what did you do to piss someone off)....SECURE payment just by flashing your wrist at a payment terminal.

This is just what I've read/thought of....there are many more possibilities that I haven't thought of.....that's true innovation....interrupting the current market with something no one thinks of or knows they need until they see it.

Apple is in no way in trouble. Give credit to Samsung for marketing the hell out of a good phone....but lets not lose perspective....

Apple has sold more iPhone 4S (just the one model) than Samsung had sold of its entire Galaxy S line (S1, S2 and S3) COMBINED....They have a ways to go before they're playing on Apple's level....and I'd reckon Apple has some things up their sleeve this year.....the relative quiet only gives me more excitement for what's in store.
 
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