Tim Cook Says iPhone Activations Set New Christmas Day Records in United States and Canada

[sw1tcher]

Tim Cook Says iPhone Activations Set New Christmas Day Records in United States and Canada

There were likely tens of thousands of new activations from Metro (PCS) alone. So many people were taking advantage of their free iPhone 6s offer. People would then trade each in for $200 in Apple store credit to buy Macs, iPads, or iPhone XR, XS, XS Max

 

[MoreRumors?]

Tim, would you kindly like share year-to-year Christmas Day activiations with us here at MacRumors? Enquiring minds want to know.

 

[Zelda Chestnut]

I still don't see this being doom and gloom for Apple. In fact, other than less-than-predicted iPhone purchases, it seems that everything is trucking along just fine still. This plateau of iPhone demand was bound to happen eventually. The wow factor of these devices has subsided as they have become a part of our everyday lives, and people are also realizing that iPhones last more than just two years. In fact, they've now reached a life span of 5 years!! Apple just needs to adjust their predictions, and their business, to better suit a world where people are no longer buying new smartphones every year or two. But there will always be people ready to update their phones (which, again, are now a part of our lives), just like TVs, just like computers, etc.

 

[BigBoy2018]

Apple has made the best phone every year since 2007. Haters will deny.

The whole smartphone industry follows Apple like a lost child. Apple’s loss here isn’t anyone’s gain.

Must be weird to see the world through those apple colored lenses all day long. But I can see how that can become your 'reality'.

 

[44267547]

Must be weird to see the world through those apple colored lenses all day long. But I can see how that can become your 'reality'.

Did @Amacfa say something that wasn’t true? They said two things that have been evidently true and evident throughout the lifespan iPhone, it’s one of the most popular smart phones in the world and when Apple sets the precedent for something that’s new technology, are you denying their competitors don’t follow? (I.e The notch, Face ID, etc)

 

[ryanwarsaw]

Where is "Greater China" located? Is it next to Outer Mongolia? Weird choice of words. It makes China sound distant and unimportant. Were sales decent in the Former Soviet Bloc?

 

[xdhd350]

And you have proof of Samsung doing this?

It was widely reported a few years ago by benchmarking sites. They caught Samsung doing this. I remember this very clearly as it registered as just another unethical practice by Scamscum.
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Apple just needs to adjust their predictions, and their business, to better suit a world where people are no longer buying new smartphones every year or two. But there will always be people ready to update their phones (which, again, are now a part of our lives), just like TVs, just like computers, etc.

Yes, that’s why they’ve been building their services business to provide that alternative revenue stream as iphone product reaches market saturation. But IMHO, they have done a poor job of product marketing in their TV ads as of late. People aren’t going to pay a premium if they just think it’s due to the Apple brand name. Apple needs to run those Jony Ive videos as their product ads, THEN people might get why Apple costs more.

 

[madKIR]

Right, Tim. Just distract with your usual white noise.

 

[madKIR]

Must be weird to see the world through those apple colored lenses all day long. But I can see how that can become your 'reality'.

Couldn’t agree more! Best phone every year?! Seriously?! How many years had they been dragging with that old “iPhone 6” design until they finally released the X? That was 4! years of not exactly the best phone lol
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Did @Amacfa say something that wasn’t true? They said two things that have been evidently true and evident throughout the lifespan iPhone, it’s one of the most popular smart phones in the world and when Apple sets the precedent for something that’s new technology, are you denying their competitors don’t follow? (I.e The notch, Face ID, etc)

And 4 years of the same old design between the iPhone 6 and X haha

 

[A MacBook lover]

Couldn’t agree more! Best phone every year?! Seriously?! How many years had they been dragging with that old “iPhone 6” design until they finally released the X? That was 4! years of not exactly the best phone lol
[doublepost=1546572522][/doublepost]
And 4 years of the same old design between the iPhone 6 and X haha

Jealous much?

 

[madKIR]

Jealous much?

Jealous of what? #confused

 

[ROGmaster]

It was widely reported a few years ago by benchmarking sites. They caught Samsung doing this. I remember this very clearly as it registered as just another unethical practice by Scamscum.

Irrelevant, that happened in the Galaxy S4 days and it's a practice Samsung stopped doing since then. We are talking about current Samsung and according to their own statements they don't reduce or limit the potential of their phones SOC's through software.
So where's the proof that the performance Samsung's phones is specifically limited when not running a benchmark?
[doublepost=1546605893][/doublepost]

Did @Amacfa say something that wasn’t true? They said two things that have been evidently true and evident throughout the lifespan iPhone, it’s one of the most popular smart phones in the world and when (I.e The notch, Face ID, etc)

Well he didn't say anything that is true. He only specified his subjective opinion.
And Popular doesn't mean the best. Fast food is popular does it mean it's the best food in the world? Cola is popular, does it mean it's the best drink in the world?

Apple sets the precedent for something that’s new technology, are you denying their competitors don’t follow?

Not as often as Apple follows their competition by implementing things like: stereo speakers, dual cameras, 4k video recording, computational photography, wireless charging, fast charging, water/dust resistance, OLED displays, "edge to edge designs" and so on.

 

[BigBoy2018]

Did @Amacfa say something that wasn’t true? They said two things that have been evidently true and evident throughout the lifespan iPhone, it’s one of the most popular smart phones in the world and when Apple sets the precedent for something that’s new technology, are you denying their competitors don’t follow? (I.e The notch, Face ID, etc)

Theres obviously a few things that others have copied, but his remarks sounded more universal and absolute.

He wrote ‘apple has had the best phone every year since 2007’. Thats very much an opinion, not a fact.

He also wrote ‘the whole smartphone industry follows apple’. Thats plainly false. Just read the post above this.

Heres one of many interesting reads on the general subject:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/bgr.com/2017/01/18/apple-innovation-tim-cook-engineer/amp/

And by the way, the notch is stupid and im surprised anyone wants to copy that, and face ID, at the expense of touch ID is a half step back imo. Adding face ID along with touch ID would have been the way to go. But apple always wants to shove their latest thing down our throats whether we prefer it or not.

 

[gwaizai]

Not necessarily the right answer. Seems the US was just fine with pricing. China slowed down and it's a huge market for Apple.

This is why business is hatd, particularly on a global scale. Apple did well on many markets, but miscalculated China.

Looking at the data, Apple's businesses are strong to quite strong. They just need an iPhone strategy in struggling areas.

The struggle doesn't appear to be with the product itself, rather just with an economic slowdown.

Chinese buy tons of iPhones--they're called Xiao Mi's.
Part of Timmy's Technology Transfer Trade-off Program

 

[Celestalis]

Why should they?

The margins on iPhone are far smaller than most Android devices. Additionally, the price is the price. Don't like it don't buy it.

That's what customers did. They didn't buy.

I am an Apple customer since the Mac classic, and I admit prices are becoming steep even by Apple standards. I enjoyed past Apple fairness, when you would get a new iPhone or Macbook Pro with innovations and more storage for 100 euro more than the previous year model.

 

[Zelda Chestnut]

It was widely reported a few years ago by benchmarking sites. They caught Samsung doing this. I remember this very clearly as it registered as just another unethical practice by Scamscum.
[doublepost=1546561213][/doublepost]

Yes, that’s why they’ve been building their services business to provide that alternative revenue stream as iphone product reaches market saturation. But IMHO, they have done a poor job of product marketing in their TV ads as of late. People aren’t going to pay a premium if they just think it’s due to the Apple brand name. Apple needs to run those Jony Ive videos as their product ads, THEN people might get why Apple costs more.

Totally agree with you there, regarding the advertising. With the XS for example, why don't they actually advertise the Dual SIM, the Gigabit-LTE, or even the fact that is has more RAM? It doesn't matter how effective it is in practice, the fact that they could advertise that it "can do more at once than any other iPhone", or something like that, would catch people's eyes. All they ever advertise is that the camera is better and that it has a faster processor. The camera is great, but a faster processor is just standard and doesn't really mean anything to the typical consumer.

Edit: I changed typical consumer from anyone, as to us tech geeks the processor DOES mean something

 

[kruegdude]

"This moment gives us an opportunity to learn and to take action, to focus on our strengths and on Apple's mission — delivering the best products on earth for our customers and providing them with an unmatched level of service."

How about the bent iPad Pros, Tim?

Working just fine at my house. An excellent product.
[doublepost=1546620807][/doublepost]

That's what customers did. They didn't buy.

I am an Apple customer since the Mac classic, and I admit prices are becoming steep even by Apple standards. I enjoyed past Apple fairness, when you would get a new iPhone or Macbook Pro with innovations and more storage for 100 euro more than the previous year model.

The iPhone XR is offered at the same price as the iPhone 6s.
[doublepost=1546620960][/doublepost]

Totally agree with you there, regarding the advertising. With the XS for example, why don't they actually advertise the Dual SIM, the Gigabit-LTE, or even the fact that is has more RAM? It doesn't matter how effective it is in practice, the fact that they could advertise that it "can do more at once than any other iPhone", or something like that, would catch people's eyes. All they ever advertise is that the camera is better and that it has a faster processor. The camera is great, but a faster processor is just standard and doesn't really mean anything to the typical consumer.

Edit: I changed typical consumer from anyone, as to us tech geeks the processor DOES mean something

You could narrow that down to typical analytic minded consumer. There are consumers that would go, wow to the faster processor, even if they didn’t know what it meant.
[doublepost=1546621078][/doublepost]

Not necessarily the right answer. Seems the US was just fine with pricing. China slowed down and it's a huge market for Apple.

This is why business is hatd, particularly on a global scale. Apple did well on many markets, but miscalculated China.

Looking at the data, Apple's businesses are strong to quite strong. They just need an iPhone strategy in struggling areas.

The struggle doesn't appear to be with the product itself, rather just with an economic slowdown.

I would have said “blindsided” by China given all the nonsense coming out of DC.
[doublepost=1546621547][/doublepost]

Apple can reduce the high price of its phones. I see little value in buying a phone costing over $1k. I'll keep my SE - thanks to the cheap battery replacement I got late last year.

You can buy an iPhone 7 now for the same price as the iPhone SE then.

 

[truthertech]

“Predominantly China”

Upgrades are lower than expected in established regions also - as said by Tim himself. A record breaking single day, does not make a record breaking quarter (clearly).

Is this SE related? Probably not. Is this people not wanting to pay £1k for a new phone every 12-24 months. Yes.

You're misstating what he said, and implying that it was some broad based decline. First, he made it clear that China accounted for "vast majority of iPhone revenue decline," and "over 100 percent of our year-over-year worldwide revenue decline, occurred in Greater China across iPhone, Mac and iPad." Second, Apple's total installed base of active devices hit a new all-time high—growing by more than 100 million units."

Apple knows cell phone market is reaching saturation, and they are also building phones to last longer, so iPhone sales will not keep pace with previous years. This is why they have been building out so many other lines, such as services, and it is why they had record setting revenues in so many countries, despite slow down in sales in China.
[doublepost=1546624775][/doublepost]

No, people are not missing the point at all.. seems like you haven't been paying attention (1) to what Tim stated and (2) to what people have been replying to your post.

Yes, they are missing Tim's central point that, despite challenges elsewhere, vast majority of impact was from China. Let's look at overall picture outside of China.

"Our installed base of active devices hit a new all-time high—growing by more than 100 million units in 12 months."

"We also expect to set all-time revenue records in several developed countries."

"Lower than anticipated iPhone revenue, primarily in Greater China, accounts for all of our revenue shortfall to our guidance."

"Over 100 percent of our year-over-year worldwide revenue decline, occurred in Greater China across iPhone, Mac and iPad."
[doublepost=1546624960][/doublepost][]

If that was the case why did Cook provide a whole list of reasons for their revised guidance? It wasn't just China that was cited.


Because there are other impacts, such as strength of the dollar, ending of subsidies, etc., but he also expects people to pay attention when he repeatedly makes clear that those factors pale in impact compared to China. See above quotes from Tim.

 

[Skeptical.me]

kim k lol. kim jung oon is cray cray

How's that iPlane coming along?