You're being a bit short-sighted. While Apple may have Verizon "by the balls" this time, what happens to Apple the next time they want a carrier to make a significant purchase commitment? The carriers were already trying to push for lower subsidies etc and this event adds fuel to the fire. Apple will get push back and will likely have to settle for a lower figure...unless they come out with something truly "amazing" or "magical" in which case they'll have the upper hand again.
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Verizon Could Face Up to $14 Billion in Unsold iPhone Purchase Commitments for 2013
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You're being a bit short-sighted. While Apple may have Verizon "by the balls" this time, what happens to Apple the next time they want a carrier to make a significant purchase commitment? The carriers were already trying to push for lower subsidies etc and this event adds fuel to the fire. Apple will get push back and will likely have to settle for a lower figure...unless they come out with something truly "amazing" or "magical" in which case they'll have the upper hand again.
The only person in this thread that has made a realistic post. Thanks. I thought I was taking crazy pills reading this thread.
I love arguments like this on the internet. Both sides seem very compelling. One side (you) seems to have the straight scoop straight from the horse's mouth. The other side seems to confirm the various anecdotal stories about sales folks pushing non-iPhones.
By the way, I'm sure your friend isn't lying to you. But perhaps stores in other locations or which are owned in different manners have different incentives.
But it is equally unlikely that Verizon would commit to huge iPhone sales and set up reverse incentives for its sales agents. Maybe the sales agents just really don't like iPhones. Lots of techy guys are board with iOS. So they may be just doing what they think is best for the customer and giving their honest opinion.
Well, he said "if someone TRULY WANTED an iPhone". Most people don't go into a shop and TRULY WANT something. I go to the grocery store wanting to buy strawberries, but if cherries are cheap and look nice, I'll buy cherries instead, because I don't TRULY WANT strawberries.
But it seems that Verizon will have to convince their sales people to push in the opposite direction, or it might become very expensive.
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There's no question that Verizon can sell more iPhones. They just have to tell their sales people that instead of convincing people who come to the store and want an iPhone to buy Android, they actually should _sell_ them the iPhone, and do the same for people who come to the store and don't know what they want, or who want an Android phone.
Suddenly everybody has friends that were duped to buy Android phones
On my family plan the upgrades are staggered that I can upgrade 1 phone every year.... since 2007 every upgrade was an iPhone. This is the first year this will not happen. My wife upgraded to a Samsung Galaxy S4 Active....
It's a great phone (water resistant) and she's happy.
Just saying
P.S. She was NOT duped
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And nobody hops on the Samsung bandwagon? Or the HTC One just because tech reviewers got a hard on from the unibody aluminum casing?
Idk I really don't think that's true. I must say I was shocked at the sheer volume of iphone 4ses i was seeing everywhere. It was like an appleopalysc I could sit in a train car and count the number of non-4ses better than the number of 4ses. In a seminar of 15 people, I found at least 12 with an iphone including the professor lol. And to this day I can't put my finger on it. No other iphone was ever that successful. Was the 4s really that much better than its competition?
In several areas, specially in south Florida, users have not being too happy with Verizon's service. I wonder if this is one reason why they are not selling enough iPhones (which should also include other phone brands? Not sure if this is really happening to them; one thing for sure, I would never get my services from Sprint or Verizon).
Not only that - Verizon uses the CDMA system (Sprint as well?). North America is the only region that uses that specific wireless technology, so Apple pretty much had to redesign the RF parts in the Verizon iPhone just for Verizon - hence the purchase commitment. The GSM standard phones are much easier to sell around the world, apart from some regional LTE variations.
Could this steep requirement be because Apple must produce CDMA phones for Verizon and a handful other carriers such as Sprint?
3G CDMA is the worst network experience for any type of iPhone user given the poor performance and the inability to use voice and data simultaneously without being connected to WiFi. Just ask any iPhone 4/4S Sprint or Verizon customer.
Verizon probably has the best Internet backbone in the US and the best LTE coverage. They can certainly leap to the front of the pack with VoLTE, but who knows how far away that is from reality with a future iPhone model.
I think it is a much better strategy to be compatible with devices that works with other carrier networks worldwide and just focus on network performance customer service. Then again, my strategy in the 2000's would not have been to retain customers using incompatible technology.
3G CDMA is the worst network experience for any type of iPhone user given the poor performance and the inability to use voice and data simultaneously without being connected to WiFi. Just ask any iPhone 4/4S Sprint or Verizon customer.
Verizon probably has the best Internet backbone in the US and the best LTE coverage. They can certainly leap to the front of the pack with VoLTE, but who knows how far away that is from reality with a future iPhone model.
I think it is a much better strategy to be compatible with devices that works with other carrier networks worldwide and just focus on network performance customer service. Then again, my strategy in the 2000's would not have been to retain customers using incompatible technology.
Even worse, they'll pull BS moves on you. I got a message from AT&T stating that I was at 99% data usage for the month, and it would reset the next day (since it was the next month). Next day at midnight (0:00)? I guess. I disabled my data. Next day in the afternoon, I turned the data on and used it to check my emails... and BAM, message from AT&T saying that I've gone over my limit. What the **** is the deal here? Did they mean it would reset at 23:59?
I'm not too worried about them charging high rates for plans. Nobody is forced to buy it. It's just a ripoff when they mess with you with over-use charges totally unexpectedly.
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I'm trying to figure out which genius at Verizon actually predicted they could sell 38 million iPhones in a single year. That's near impossible.
They only sell 4 million iPhones a quarter. And the iPhone is already 50% of Verizon's smartphone sales.
Maybe if Verizon stopped selling Android phones... and flip-phones... they could reach that crazy sales target.
Otherwise... whoever committed to selling that many iPhones should be fired.
No one is coming out of the woodwork. It has been discussed several times before in the forums.
And Verizon probably knows at a corporate level. However, they most likely DO NOT know about this contract at the store level. And store managers probably set their commission levels and sales plans to maximize that individual store's profit in order to hit certain levels and bonuses. So, no, I doubt this contract and the Android-focused sales plan come from the same level.
Around me, I've seen a lot more 4->4S upgrades than 4/4S->5 upgrades. Not sure why people would pay to upgrade from 4 to 4S but not 4S to 5.
The modem in the iphone is made by qualcomm and that modem supports all the bands.you can go into Verizon and unlock your iphone5 to work as a world phone on any gsm network.
the funny part is verizon was the only carrier to sell unlocked iphone 5s and people were selling them like mad for crazy inflated prices over seas on ebay
Even if they did, doubling the iPhone sales seems impossible. They should at least quit shoving the Droid Razr MAXX HD at customers. That thing sucks.
Not really since the deal is they get their money no matter what. Rather like play or pay deals we often have with Studios that have to pay our company for our contract even if the production is cancelled. Same with actors kept off other jobs to be avail to a TV show etc. lots of similar examples in other industries.
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Then they won't get the iPhone.
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I'm seeing a buy one, get five free promotion.
Nope, Apple would never allow it. Or any other deep discounts. And you can bet the contract requires Apple's permission for such things.
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Again not true. They will get their money. And it is likely that some of what Verizon is down is due to folks jumping to other carriers for a better deal. Possibly also with an iPhone. Which means Apple is making even more money off that carrier.
The incentive may not be regular commission from Verizon. It could be a fixed unit fee, or it could be from Samsung with Verizon's blessing (which would mean Verizon also gets a kickback together with the staff).
This wasn't the case until the iPhone 5 however. The 4 and 4S required Apple to design a phone with a completely different cell chip and antennae. That's extra design costs, then add the costs for different components.
BTW, the Verizon iPhone 5 doesn't have to be unlocked to be used as a world phone. It comes stock as an unlocked GSM phone. Just stick a SIM card in it, and you're good to go.
That has nothing to do with this. Particularly since it means they would be going to the carrier and buying from them, thus reducing this unsold count.
Everyone already knows CDM technology is old tech. Verizon and Sprint aren't able to use talk and data at the same time. That is why Europe adopted GSM (AT&T, T-Mobile) as the standard over 20 years ago. Because it allows for Talk and Data at the same time, as well as other more efficient measures of use.