Will iOS 7 look dampen sales?

[portishead]

If you are part of a younger generation, or someone in or just out of school, you may have a distorted sense of the skill of most smartphone users. Those of us in 9-5 jobs, where the average iPhone user is 40-50 years old, see how clueless most users are about their phones. The average iPhone user doesn't even know how to organize their home screen.

Those of us who are more keen to public observation can clearly see the average person can still get to know features of their phone.

The folks using flip phones and the like are the customers that Apple must appeal to to increase its iPhone sales. Virtually all of the "advanced users" already have smart phones, and in the USA, the vast majority of those users have iPhones. There aren't that many existing smartphone users to convert in the USA, where Apple dominates the market.

I don't know why you think you know what Apple "must" do. You have no idea.

 

[j4zb4]

I'd be shocked if they managed to sell even a single unit...!

 

[gadget123]

From surveys carried out amongst the general public, more like the new look than dislike it. So I doubt it will dampen sales at all. Plus, if Apple do release a low cost iPhone this fall, that will open up all new markets so I'd expect another record breaking product launch for Apple.

And the majority have yet to see the public release yet.

I'd wait until the 5S is out to see how it performs.

 

[rasputin1969]

I believe sales will take a dive. Of the six people I've shown it to all have reacted negatively.

 

[rtomyj]

In all fairness, comparing stats of a macbook pro against a chromebook isn't really representative. A chromebook likened to a macbook is comparitive to a pinto limkened to a porsche.
Still, I understand what you're saying and agree. Apple is sucking in the "hipster" stereotypes rather well. The only factor I think that limits them with that demographic is purchasing power. My 18 year old asked me for a new computer last summer for college. I spent $700 on a really nice Toshiba. If she'd asked me for a Macbook, I'd have said no just because I wouldn't want to spend the $$. She certainly couldn't afford to buy herself one.

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True that! They've been missing out on a huge market there. I think the reason they haven't tapped it up till now is, quite honestly, snobbery. Apple profiteers on the smugness of their "exclusive" user base. By only making "high end" products, they've kept their base happy. Now that they have enough market saturation, they can afford to rile some of the elitists a bit by making "mid grade" devices. The snobs aren't going to abandon Apple for it, even if it does piss them off.

You sound very out of place in this forum. I'll let you know why I get Apple products.

My first ever smartphone and phone that I paid by myself was an HTC Droid incredible. Laggy, no support no apps Android. Still on contract I bought an iPhone for $900 because I wanted something that looked great, and works better. $900 for a college student is very high. I never regretted it.

My first laptop I bought myself was a Samsung Ultra 5 (or something like that). Windows man... It's good but not great. I see Apple laptops of my friends and they are gorgeous and again work very well. I will be buying a $2000 laptop by the end of the summer just because of what I deem superior.

Now we have a more competent Android (own a Nexus 7) but it still tries too hard and fails at it big time. Just throwing specs and features isn't the way to go. The way Apple looks at detail is amazing. I kid you not, when I use an Apple product I lose myself in it. While any other I would be put down by it.

You see hipsters, and there are don't get me wrong. But the way a product can make someone feel something is unique and something Apple makes standard.

 

[falconeight]

I think there will be massive protests and the launch of the iPhone 5s will look like World War Z.

 

[ajt1995]

I disagree. Those flip phone users aren't rushing into the stores to embrace new technology; they'll switch to touch displays when what they are used to stop being made. They don't have Macs in their homes, and after seeing the price tags they wouldn't go for it anyway. From a marketing standpoint, this demographic is done. They're stuck in Windows XP land with whatever email address the ISP gave them.

What is not done, is the next generation of smart phone users. People in their teens now. Apple doesn't want to just sell them another phone; they want to sell them on the idea of an ecosystem. Once you have your files in their cloud, once you have spent hundreds of dollars in platform-specific apps, once your iCloud email address is tied into every online service you use, you are much less likely to be swayed by the competitor's camp simple based on wallpapers, icons, or half an inch more screen real estate. Brand loyalty - you've got to reel them in early.

And Apple has a huge advantage right now. Just recently, I have been seeing a huge influx of Instagram pics of young graduates posting ecstatically about a new MacBook Pro they got from their parents. I have my doubts as to whether many of those kids really have any real reason for wanting one beyond brand-related bragging rights. On Instagram alone, 355 thousand hits for #macbookpro alone; less than 5 thousand for #chromebook.

This. I'm 17, and I got a macbookPro with my own hard-earned money.

I love how my iPhone 5 (and 4, for that matter) outperformed every android device I've ever used. (A LOT) even my nexus 7 acted like crap in comparison. All of my family members (whom I haven't converted yet) have problems out of their android phones. And they (supposedly) have "worse specs".

Apple is VERY good at software/hardware integration, the MacBook Pro handles itself very well... My sister is very jealous.

 

[HCO]

no to me anyway it will boost them where i am everyone who has seen my phone they all talk about how great the iOS looks now. they love the stuff they have added. i have added 7 co-workers on my dev. account so they can play with it and report back to me about the bugs they find. i think no matter what kind of phone design they offer the iOS will boost the sales of the iPhone. it looks great to me.

 

[thaifood]

No, I don't think sales will at all be inhibited by the new iOS design.