And ad revenue growth is increasing (with the economy) while iPhone and iPad sales growth is decreasing.
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Supply Chain Indicators Point to Poor February for Apple
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And ad revenue growth is increasing (with the economy) while iPhone and iPad sales growth is decreasing.
All these people claiming apple hasn't done anything revolutionary need to ask themselves, what has the competition done that is so revolutionary? You want apple to revolutionize a new category every year? That is impossible.
And lets look at the Galaxy S3 regarded as the best Android of 2012 bar non. I don't see anything revolutionary with it. All I see is:
1.) A subpar screen (720p with 2 sub-pixels instead of 3 is the same thing as having a 480p screen with full RGB, but they put 720 just to call it HD, and senselessly use more power to do it. Plus the Samoled has horrible color reproduction, bad viewing angles, and it is dim even at max brightness).
2.) Sub-iPhone battery life (From my vast experience with trying out Android phones I have concluded that in everyday use, if you don't consciously manage battery constantly, than an Android needs 2X MAH battery to last the same amount).
3.) Cheap build quality (Just look at the attention to detail on your iPhone 5 and tell me you want to hold anything else as a phone).
4.) A non functional design (Android OEMs still have not figured out how to design phones. Capacitive buttons are prone to accidental pressing constantly. Camera lens is not suppose to bulge out, and the buttons on the side too easily pressed, so if you are running on the treadmill, you cannot watch a video on your Galaxy S3 because the volume rocker is on one side and the power button is on the other. While with the iPhone even if you place it on it's volume keys they don't accidentally get pressed since the iPhone 4)
5.) Unstable software (It is no where near as secure as an iPhone, most apps are not designed to take advantage of latest hardware and they don't scale perfectly, and the whole OS feels like Windows crammed into a phone. I mean come on, Android uses shortcuts and a start menu called an app drawer)
Well, let's see what Samsung whips out in a few days with the S4, and we will hear about all of the revolutionary things they bring out. Or maybe they will take over a new category, or better yet invent it. LOL, please... The real question is, when is the last time any electronic company made a successful revolutionary device besides Apple? Please I am dying to know.
And lets look at the Galaxy S3 regarded as the best Android of 2012 bar non. I don't see anything revolutionary with it. All I see is:
1.) A subpar screen (720p with 2 sub-pixels instead of 3 is the same thing as having a 480p screen with full RGB, but they put 720 just to call it HD, and senselessly use more power to do it. Plus the Samoled has horrible color reproduction, bad viewing angles, and it is dim even at max brightness).
2.) Sub-iPhone battery life (From my vast experience with trying out Android phones I have concluded that in everyday use, if you don't consciously manage battery constantly, than an Android needs 2X MAH battery to last the same amount).
3.) Cheap build quality (Just look at the attention to detail on your iPhone 5 and tell me you want to hold anything else as a phone).
4.) A non functional design (Android OEMs still have not figured out how to design phones. Capacitive buttons are prone to accidental pressing constantly. Camera lens is not suppose to bulge out, and the buttons on the side too easily pressed, so if you are running on the treadmill, you cannot watch a video on your Galaxy S3 because the volume rocker is on one side and the power button is on the other. While with the iPhone even if you place it on it's volume keys they don't accidentally get pressed since the iPhone 4)
5.) Unstable software (It is no where near as secure as an iPhone, most apps are not designed to take advantage of latest hardware and they don't scale perfectly, and the whole OS feels like Windows crammed into a phone. I mean come on, Android uses shortcuts and a start menu called an app drawer)
Well, let's see what Samsung whips out in a few days with the S4, and we will hear about all of the revolutionary things they bring out. Or maybe they will take over a new category, or better yet invent it. LOL, please... The real question is, when is the last time any electronic company made a successful revolutionary device besides Apple? Please I am dying to know.
Actually TSMC and Hon Hai posted the recruitment notices which Reuters had access to and that is where AppleInsider got it from. Truth is TSMC and Foxconn will be adding 5000 more staff to meet up demand for their services which largely fork to Apple. This information comes from actual numbers released by these companies unlike this article posted on Mac Rumours that came from a group of "Analysts" that think X and Y about Z,
and after substracting some percentages and adding some magical guessing it turns out that Apple is going down.
I hope you enjoy your forthcoming 5" plastic phone with the innovative Two-handed Grip (tm).
You and many others say this, but I haven't ever seen it demonstrated. Android 4.2 is certainly magnitudes better than Android 1.6 or even 2.3, but I it's certainly not blown past iOS. Even on their flagship nexus device, Android 4.2 is still laggier than iOS is very simple stuff like scrolling text messages up and down.
Further, the quality of apps in the Android ecosystem is still very poor. I don't know percentages, but it's rare that you find an app that is optimized for version 4, and carries the same design language that google is promoting. Unlike with Apple, most apps are optimized for iOS 5 at least, many are at iOS 6, and the vast majority take advantage of the iPhone 5 features.
Android is certainly catching up, but to say it has blown past is an enormous overstatement.
Your list is not objective at all, just your opinion. You completly forgot to include other important innovations like OLED screens, Bluray, Cloud (Dropbox, Gaming, etc), the growth of internet radio on demand (Pandora), Android (Like it or not, it is a game changer in the industry), Netbooks (They suck but did greatly affect the industry), Galaxy Note (First smartphone with a pressure sensitive touch screen for Stylus).
No, it's what happens when you sit on your laurels. Apple products are saturated, yes, but they are also now boring. It use to be Apple could get customers to ditch old product for new.
But these days new product isn't much different than old so why bother. It's also why the Galaxy S III has caught on and the IV is now **gasp** being "anticipated" by the tech blog crowd vs. the "yawns" Android phones previously received.
Ron Johnson has already proven that he's not the retail genius industry insiders perceived he was when he ran the Apple Stores. Now Tim Cook is looking the same way. Cook only has months more to right Apple's product line (something that would have had to have started a year ago minimum). So truth will be revealed soon. I hope for all our sake (as tech geeks) he bowls a strike.
Steve fanboys miss Steve. Everyone else knows Apple's success was down to more than Steve.
The questionable merits of the article aside - it's just link bait after all - I find interesting the number of Americans hoping for the demise of an American company (Apple) in favor of the success of a foreign company (Samsung). I imagine many of these people are the same ones who moan about Apple employing overseas workers.
I also think many of those American Samsung cheerleaders might find the opinions of most South Koreans interesting, where Samsung is viewed as a greedy, hugely corrupt bully who controls way too much of their government and their lives and treats everyone piss poorly.
I also think many of those American Samsung cheerleaders might find the opinions of most South Koreans interesting, where Samsung is viewed as a greedy, hugely corrupt bully who controls way too much of their government and their lives and treats everyone piss poorly.
And yet some people would prefer Apple go back to being a niche computer maker cranking out Mac Pros. Is that not putting all your eggs in one basket....and a potentially dying one at that?
I don't own a Samsung S3 but I can still refute your biased hate on Android/Samsung
1. The screen is indeed worse than the iPhone 5 but it is also larger which a lot of people prefer and some people actually love the color reproduction of AMOLED.
2. Both the RAZR MAX and Note II have a better battery life than the iPhone 5.
3. I rather hold any other phone (3GS, S3, One X) than the iPhone 4/4s/5, I absolutly hate sharp edges, makes it very unfortable to hold. Not only that the phone gets really cold during the harsh winters I go through in Montreal. Both phone have their strengths and weaknesses when it comes to build quality. Plastic may feel cheaper but does not bend and chip like aluminum does.
4. Camera is not supposed to bulge out? Says who? As for button placement, some people actually prefer having the power button on the side and it does not bother them. And yes you can still run on the threadmill while holding the S3.
5. What's wrong with an App drawer? I rather have a clean homescreen over having all my apps on there. Unstable? It was proven that apps crashes more often on the iPhone than on Android
Wake up, both phones are great. To say one phone is much better than the other proves how close minded you are.
1. The screen is indeed worse than the iPhone 5 but it is also larger which a lot of people prefer and some people actually love the color reproduction of AMOLED.
2. Both the RAZR MAX and Note II have a better battery life than the iPhone 5.
3. I rather hold any other phone (3GS, S3, One X) than the iPhone 4/4s/5, I absolutly hate sharp edges, makes it very unfortable to hold. Not only that the phone gets really cold during the harsh winters I go through in Montreal. Both phone have their strengths and weaknesses when it comes to build quality. Plastic may feel cheaper but does not bend and chip like aluminum does.
4. Camera is not supposed to bulge out? Says who? As for button placement, some people actually prefer having the power button on the side and it does not bother them. And yes you can still run on the threadmill while holding the S3.
5. What's wrong with an App drawer? I rather have a clean homescreen over having all my apps on there. Unstable? It was proven that apps crashes more often on the iPhone than on Android
Wake up, both phones are great. To say one phone is much better than the other proves how close minded you are.
I think they thought the Macbook Pro Retina was going to be their "new" product. The problem is that it is proprietary in almost all way and it smells very badly of old Apple. Its a laptop, make it upgradeable, at least for the very basic items like memory and drive/flash. Soldering your memory is a JOKE.
Now we have a desktop AIO 21.5" iMac that requires complete removal of a logic board to change out memory. Good grief.
So if the rumors come true and they ditch the Standard Macbook Pro line and do not tweak the Retina line to allow upgrading, it will the signs of doom for the Mac product line. Any hope of finally competing will disappear. Most companies avoid Apple computer BECAUSE OF THIS.
Proprietary = GREED.
Now we have a desktop AIO 21.5" iMac that requires complete removal of a logic board to change out memory. Good grief.
So if the rumors come true and they ditch the Standard Macbook Pro line and do not tweak the Retina line to allow upgrading, it will the signs of doom for the Mac product line. Any hope of finally competing will disappear. Most companies avoid Apple computer BECAUSE OF THIS.
Proprietary = GREED.
I agree with this. Going 6 months (or more) without any product announcements isn't a great idea. What we don't know is if this is planned or if Cook is making damn sure there isn't another maps fiasco so they're not releasing stuff until its damn good and ready, even if that means going 6+ months without a product announcement.
That product pipeline all chuck full of new stuff has got to be clogged somewhere at the end.
It was a stinker of a February for just about everyone. People spent more during the holidays and then the bills hit. I'm not expecting the overall economy to do much until after tax time.
Amen.
I have no idea what "revolutionary" or "innovative" products samsung is releasing. Do they make a good phone that many people like better than the iPhone? Perhaps. Are their phones revolutionary or innovative compared to even the original iPhone (never mind the the latest iPhone)? Um, no.
Revolutionary is when the first iMac came out. An all in one computer that a 12 year old can set up in 1/4 of the time it takes a college grad to set up the garden variety wintel beige boxes. Now look. Every manufacturer has an all in one.
Revolutionary is when the whole iPod/iTunes paradigm came into being. Now look. Does anyone buy CDs anymore?
Revolutionary is when the original iPhone came out. Back then, people were making do with Palm Treos, Nokia E62s and Moto Qs. Now look. Every "smart" phone in the market has a touch interface and has done away with keyboards that eat up half of the phone. Each smart phone can now be used to email, to view the interwebs, to listent to music, to watch movies.
Revolutionary is when the iPad came out. And by the way, I remember many of these naysayers talking about what Apple needed was a sub-$500 netbook instead of this tablet that was named after a women's hygiene product. How is that netbook market doing these days anyway?
I am curious to see what revolutionary thing Samsung has done in the past 10-15 years that has had as much impact on consumer electronics as what Apple has done.
Have you actually read the Reuters report?
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And those analysts that can predict 3 to 5 years in the future are good analysts and no the evil ones that manipulate the stick
Not even a fanboy but...
But estimates only matter if you hold stock. Sucks if you are an employee who accepted options instead of RSUs (outright stock, which will at least have some value) or a cash bonus.
I work for EMC, we are doing quite fine yet the stock has been taking a beating lately. So I'm still getting my paychecks, but those nice stock options I have aren't worth nearly as much (but at least they are above water for the moment).
The only problem I see is that the average consumer probably owns an iDevice already, and really doesn't need one just because it is thinner (don't we put them all in cases anyway?) or has more memory (I only load mine up when traveling), or has X% more pixels per inch (not explicitly needed for casual Internet/e-mail/reading). I have a launch day iPad 1, my wife an iPad 2 and they continues to serve us well.
The market just don't like that the Apple growth had to even out at some point. New markets will get them a bump, but at some point things even out (which is still growth, but not crazy growth). Not saying that is bad, just saying that is how the market reacts.
But estimates only matter if you hold stock. Sucks if you are an employee who accepted options instead of RSUs (outright stock, which will at least have some value) or a cash bonus.
I work for EMC, we are doing quite fine yet the stock has been taking a beating lately. So I'm still getting my paychecks, but those nice stock options I have aren't worth nearly as much (but at least they are above water for the moment).
The only problem I see is that the average consumer probably owns an iDevice already, and really doesn't need one just because it is thinner (don't we put them all in cases anyway?) or has more memory (I only load mine up when traveling), or has X% more pixels per inch (not explicitly needed for casual Internet/e-mail/reading). I have a launch day iPad 1, my wife an iPad 2 and they continues to serve us well.
The market just don't like that the Apple growth had to even out at some point. New markets will get them a bump, but at some point things even out (which is still growth, but not crazy growth). Not saying that is bad, just saying that is how the market reacts.
This entire "Analyst" story looks like:
"I (analyst) would like a company (Apple in this case) to make miracle products every year. Then, if they succeed, I raise my expectations, they should do it then every quarter, then every month, and eventually every day....
If they don't meet my exponentially raising and equally unrealistic expectations, they are a failure."
This is the same mechanism "analysts" used to convince us in late nineteen nineties that technology stocks can grow without a limit - then we had a bubble explosion in 2000. Next big utopia they were selling us was investment in houses. Again big market crash in 2008. How long will it take that we as investors, consumers, and companies accept that such "expected growth" is impossible and it will lead us to one more sobering experience of a market or company crash.
Smart analysts however know that what they are publicly saying is a scam to make you buy unrealistically expensive company stocks. We run to buy the stocks hoping that we will get rich overnight without doing anything. Companies will cut costs, let people die on the factory floor, desperate to meet the expectation. Smart "Analysts" will at the same time in background secretly bet against raising expectations and take the money we invested when 'the music stops' and bubble explodes. At the end, they collect the money we invested and companies saved by firing lucky employees (less lucky may die on the factory floor after working for 35 hours without a break). At that time they will show us fine print in their research papers stating that every investment is risky. Very next day, counting on our short memory, they will start convincing us to invest in the next 'big thing' like building houses on Mars which will be a growing market in the future. Just give them your life savings and ...
Introductory text that explains this mechanism in the context of housing bubble would be "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis but there are more.
Going back to Apple. Can I think of improvements in my 15" MacBook Pro with Retina Display? Sure I can!
Are Samsung and others going to produce good products similar or better than iPhone, iPad, iMac? Sure they will! That is called competition.
But let's be realistic, Apple is a company that changed lately the way we use computers, invented entirely new categories of products. And they make amazingly good products. (Microsoft did similar thing with Windows some 20 years ago, IBM with punched cards some 30 years before that etc.)
At the end, as somebody else said, don't take it seriously what "Analysts" say - that is what they want you to believe so they can sell you "smoke". If you are going to invest, follow Warren Buffet's advice and try to invest in companies that have good products and good plans. Don't expect to make more than 2 to 4% return on your investment - that is what realistic annual growth is. If you get lucky to make 30% profit once, count that you will loose at least 25% very soon at the next market crash.
NB: These statements don't mean one should be buying Apple stock right now since it is a good company. Apple stock now is most likely already terribly overpriced based on the past successes of iPads, iPhones, .. I would follow the advice of another guy on this blog, sell them now and buy back when they fall down to a real price.
you do realize it was 7 years between the iPod and iPhone, right?
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the mini is great and the smallest tablet with this much screen estate that I know of. just came out, maybe you've heard of it?
I think Apple peaked last year or roughly around that time. I don't it's realistic for any tech company to unleash a revolutionary product every 5 or 6 years. I think the market for an iWatch is a niche one. I think Apple is focusing on making the Apple TV better (and perhaps playing nicer or along with your cable provider) versus an actual panel. I can't predict the future of course but no other category really sticks out as having huge room for innovation. I think it was pretty clear in say 2004 that the phone and tablet computer could be so much better.
Apple just needs to focus on making their current product lines better every year. That means thinner and lighter iPad's with equal or better battery life. iPhone's with better battery life and hopefully different screen sizes, Macs that get more powerful and faster and thinner (with respect to the laptops). iOS certainly has a lot of room for improvement.
I think Apple will be fine in the next 5-10 years. I don't know much about stocks but perhaps it will settle in the $400 - $500 range for years to come.
Apple just needs to focus on making their current product lines better every year. That means thinner and lighter iPad's with equal or better battery life. iPhone's with better battery life and hopefully different screen sizes, Macs that get more powerful and faster and thinner (with respect to the laptops). iOS certainly has a lot of room for improvement.
I think Apple will be fine in the next 5-10 years. I don't know much about stocks but perhaps it will settle in the $400 - $500 range for years to come.
not. apple success is measured by its PROFIT, not stock price. PROFIT is the air companies breathe.
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Incorrect. apple sales are true sales, as in, to paying consumers.
Hope you're right since Apple's all in.
Walking away from the iPhone as it's primary focus will be costly.
Apple = Casio.... a scary thought...yet a Walmart shoppers dream