That's your problem. The only error Apple can make is to listen to analysts. In this instance, they did not. Therefore they will succeed. Hooray.
That is true. Apple never did announce what their exact intention or pricing was going to be.
However, I still question why the phone was made, since it is the first time that Apple has released two new models, and they're both similarly priced.
Well, I guess it will be a big hit with people who like colors and people who like plastic and people who do not want all of the latest and greatest features found on the 5s.
Really. What's wrong or out of touch about the iPhone 5s? Looks like a really fine phone to me and I think it will do really well, especially with users who are still using a 4s or earlier model. As I posted earlier, this was never meant to be anything more than an iterative update and I think this phone far exceeded that. If it was meant to be more, it would have been called the iPhone6.
I think technology advances have spoiled people. My first electronic calculator cost about $200 (about $1000 in 2013 dollars) - the same price as a subsidized iPhone 5s.
There is noting wrong with it. It is a perfectly fine phone for older people.
Young people all over the world prefer Asian brands (and fashion, food, entertainment, ...), though.
I like Jon Fortt point that the cheap iphone could be the watch. The same way people wanted Apple to make netbooks but instead came out with the ipad.
That being said, I wish they could offer a bigger screen model. I have no choice to renew my 4s for a Nexus 4 which better fits my needs. at $250, its not a big risk and its going to be paid in 6 months on the money I save on the plan alone.
... I love how people pull out this old chestnut as if it means something. Like AAPL would never have reached $700 under Steve. All I see is a stock that is running out of steam... and, in my opinion, Steve's steam. If the analysts are right this time then expect a drubbing on AAPL in the new year...
The general sentiment, however, is that these analysts are always wrong. In fact, quite a few investors are currently salivating over AAPL's low value, so they don't seem to give a rat's ass about what these analysts claim...
This pricing seems very shortsighted. They seem to want to maintain their extremely high profit margins at the cost of losing market share and customers.
This just isn't an issue of Apple making up prices all on its own. They have business deals with carriers all over the world, the unlocked price is to encourage customers into carrier contracts. This should be pretty obvious.
I didn't agree with some idiot analysts that suggested it should sell around $300 but I do think they could have still made a very hefty profit at $459 unlocked.
That is a certainty but it would also make negotiations with the various carriers more difficult.
There is a big middle ground between $300 and $549. That is not cheap by any means but would at least have been more attainable to tens of millions more consumers than the $549 here in the U.S. or the $733 price it will be sold at unlocked in China.
You are way too focused on off contract pricing which is of limited interest to most customers.
They made absolutely no concession in pricing and just repeated the previous pricing model and stuck last years phone in a plastic shell. As a stockholder I really hope I am proven wrong and it sells beyond the wildest expectations in BRIC type countries and in the 1st world as well but I just don't see that many Chinese paying $733 for this iPhone.
I think Apples goal here is something that sells like hotcakes in the good ole USA.
The ones on China Mobile that desperately want an iPhone will now likely just pay a little more to get the 5S instead. People worried that the 5C would cannibalize sales. The reality id it appears the 5S will cannibalize sales from the 5C since they are priced so close.
If anybody out there desperately wants an iPhone they have mental problems. Seriously dude, desperate people are not the people you want as customers.
But like 2 previous posters said I think this pricing might have been necessary because this is a transition year. next year they will be able to offer the 5C for $449 along with a full sized iPhone model addition. A larger iPhone along with a cheaper one that also offers LTE will allow Apple to grow. The question is whether they waited too late and now so many people are locked into the Android ecosystem if these people can be pulled in or not. Switching ecosystems is not an easy process especially for many games which will not transfer progress for example.
Android doesn't have an ecosystem, at least not one that means anything in comparison to Apples. Further games are throw aways on these platforms.
Too many people think that because they wouldn't a 5C instead of 5S because of a mere $100 difference, simply do not understand the market.
Lots of people will opt for the 5C over the 5S. For many, it will be an easy decision...especially in a month or two when we start seeing the occasional discount down to $49 from some retailers.
I expect to see 35% of iPhone sales to be 5S over the next year, while 65% will be 5C & 4S.
Munster was expecting Apple to sell 50 million $300 iPhones in 2014, growing to 100 million in 2015, with 15 percent gross margin.
Oh its so rich! Instead, Apple will:
Sell 40 million $550 iPhones, growing to 90 million in 2015, with a 40% percent gross margin.
AKA, Apple makes a crap load more money than the idiot's prediction, and sells almost as many phones.
Bull. Munster understands mobile demand. You don't. He's basically saying that Apple is leaving both money and market share on the table. The baboonery in here doesn't matter - it's full of dolts who don't understand the market. The analysts and the market - the owners of the company - are selling.
What is with you dolts? Is there anything that apple would do that you would criticise?
This decision was wrong and they will probably reverse course and lower prices in the new year, possibly halting sales of the 4S.
If I could have a half hour of Tim Cook's time I'd ask him why apple let the cheap iPhone rumors/analysis go on without correcting it through back channels, anonymous sources etc. Apple could easily have leaked something to WSJ or Bloomberg indicating the phone wouldn't be as cheap as people were expecting. Why they allowed the iPhone 5C is for cheap rumors to stand is beyond me.
Too many people think that because they wouldn't a 5C instead of 5S because of a mere $100 difference, simply do not understand the market.
Lots of people will opt for the 5C over the 5S. For many, it will be an easy decision...especially in a month or two when we start seeing the occasional discount down to $49 from some retailers.
I expect to see 35% of iPhone sales to be 5S over the next year, while 65% will be 5C & 4S.
More idiocy. The iPhone 5C costs 559 euros. That's the price. Not $49. ON A CONTRACT.
Bull. Munster understands mobile demand. You don't. He's basically saying that Apple is leaving both money and market share on the table. The baboonery in here doesn't matter - it's full of dolts who don't understand the market. The analysts and the market - the owners of the company - are selling.
What is with you dolts? Is there anything that apple would do that you would criticise?
This decision was wrong and they will probably reverse course and lower prices in the new year, possibly halting sales of the 4S.
If I could have a half hour of Tim Cook's time I'd ask him why apple let the cheap iPhone rumors/analysis go on without correcting it through back channels, anonymous sources etc. Apple could easily have leaked something to WSJ or Bloomberg indicating the phone wouldn't be as cheap as people were expecting. Why they allowed the iPhone 5C is for cheap rumors to stand is beyond me.
I bet they didn't know what they were going to do with the price until the bean counters started to worry about margins. They probably started this project with the aim of replacing the 4s with the 5C - otherwise why bother - and they now have to maintain, accessory wise, for 2 years. That has to cost.
Apple will never ever be anything that resembles a full range smartphone manufacturer. Analysts have to get this in their stubborn heads. BMW doesn't sell to middle income third worlders. Rolex doesn't sell to middle income third worlders. Why do they demand that Apple sell to middle income third worlders? Apple is an aspirational brand, that's how they make their money and they will never do anything that imperils their aspirational status. Any growth for Apple will not come from reaching down to the lower end of markets, it will come from coming up with new aspirational products. And only an idiot doesn't know that they are coming.
BMW also never made the kind of money that Microsoft made in it heyday or that Apple makes now. I think what analyst want is for Apple to not just be very profitable, but profitable even beyond what it is now. The undiscovered country for Apple is the segment in the middle and that's where analysts want Apple to attack. No one is expecting Apple to make a $200 phone. But at the same time, they're hoping Apple plays in more than just the top tier. It's all about potential.
If they could surprise people on cost with the iPad, why not the iPhone?
Just to nitpick, there are a few more differences between the 5c and the 5. It has a new facetime camera I believe, it has a slightly larger battery and it also has more LTE bands.
And yes, I agree with you that the 5s looks great. I like the space grey one myself, though all colors look nice. I also think that the Touch ID is going to be huge. Yeah, other devices have had something similar before, but they've all been crap, until Apple comes along and does it right of course.
That's the beauty of these 5C phones. They can easily drop the price $50 if they need to. They could never do that with the difficult manufacturing costs of the 5. In fact I'm almost 100% sure that Apple will drop the price of the 5C in China/India after the initial sales push. Or they will sell the phones cheaper to carriers like China Mobile and have them subsidize the phones. In the USA there is no reason to drop the price below $99 subsidize.
It's not the subsidized price that is the issue. It's the contract free phone that many people look to purchase. At $549 that is very expensive.
Comments
That's your problem. The only error Apple can make is to listen to analysts. In this instance, they did not. Therefore they will succeed. Hooray.
That is true. Apple never did announce what their exact intention or pricing was going to be.
However, I still question why the phone was made, since it is the first time that Apple has released two new models, and they're both similarly priced.
Well, I guess it will be a big hit with people who like colors and people who like plastic and people who do not want all of the latest and greatest features found on the 5s.
Really. What's wrong or out of touch about the iPhone 5s? Looks like a really fine phone to me and I think it will do really well, especially with users who are still using a 4s or earlier model. As I posted earlier, this was never meant to be anything more than an iterative update and I think this phone far exceeded that. If it was meant to be more, it would have been called the iPhone6.
I think technology advances have spoiled people. My first electronic calculator cost about $200 (about $1000 in 2013 dollars) - the same price as a subsidized iPhone 5s.
There is noting wrong with it. It is a perfectly fine phone for older people.
Young people all over the world prefer Asian brands (and fashion, food, entertainment, ...), though.
I like Jon Fortt point that the cheap iphone could be the watch. The same way people wanted Apple to make netbooks but instead came out with the ipad.
That being said, I wish they could offer a bigger screen model. I have no choice to renew my 4s for a Nexus 4 which better fits my needs. at $250, its not a big risk and its going to be paid in 6 months on the money I save on the plan alone.
…they're both similarly priced.
They're priced the same as the top two models Apple released for the past four years.
The general sentiment, however, is that these analysts are always wrong. In fact, quite a few investors are currently salivating over AAPL's low value, so they don't seem to give a rat's ass about what these analysts claim...
They're priced the same as the top two models Apple released for the past four years.
Yes, that's true. Though this year is the first time that Apple actually made a brand new phone to replace the number two phone.
Android doesn't have an ecosystem, at least not one that means anything in comparison to Apples. Further games are throw aways on these platforms.
Too many people think that because they wouldn't a 5C instead of 5S because of a mere $100 difference, simply do not understand the market.
Lots of people will opt for the 5C over the 5S. For many, it will be an easy decision...especially in a month or two when we start seeing the occasional discount down to $49 from some retailers.
I expect to see 35% of iPhone sales to be 5S over the next year, while 65% will be 5C & 4S.
You are way too focused on off contract pricing which is of limited interest to most customers.
If you're talking about the US, then you are correct, but worldwide, it is a different story.
It's only a brand new outer shell.
Off topic: that gold iPhone is beautiful.
Bull. Munster understands mobile demand. You don't. He's basically saying that Apple is leaving both money and market share on the table. The baboonery in here doesn't matter - it's full of dolts who don't understand the market. The analysts and the market - the owners of the company - are selling.
What is with you dolts? Is there anything that apple would do that you would criticise?
This decision was wrong and they will probably reverse course and lower prices in the new year, possibly halting sales of the 4S.
More idiocy. The iPhone 5C costs 559 euros. That's the price. Not $49. ON A CONTRACT.
Apple needs a policy for outside the US.
I bet they didn't know what they were going to do with the price until the bean counters started to worry about margins. They probably started this project with the aim of replacing the 4s with the 5C - otherwise why bother - and they now have to maintain, accessory wise, for 2 years. That has to cost.
And I suspect Cook is head bean counter.
Apple will never ever be anything that resembles a full range smartphone manufacturer. Analysts have to get this in their stubborn heads. BMW doesn't sell to middle income third worlders. Rolex doesn't sell to middle income third worlders. Why do they demand that Apple sell to middle income third worlders? Apple is an aspirational brand, that's how they make their money and they will never do anything that imperils their aspirational status. Any growth for Apple will not come from reaching down to the lower end of markets, it will come from coming up with new aspirational products. And only an idiot doesn't know that they are coming.
BMW also never made the kind of money that Microsoft made in it heyday or that Apple makes now. I think what analyst want is for Apple to not just be very profitable, but profitable even beyond what it is now. The undiscovered country for Apple is the segment in the middle and that's where analysts want Apple to attack. No one is expecting Apple to make a $200 phone. But at the same time, they're hoping Apple plays in more than just the top tier. It's all about potential.
If they could surprise people on cost with the iPad, why not the iPhone?
It's only a brand new outer shell.
Off topic: that gold iPhone is beautiful.
Just to nitpick, there are a few more differences between the 5c and the 5. It has a new facetime camera I believe, it has a slightly larger battery and it also has more LTE bands.
And yes, I agree with you that the 5s looks great. I like the space grey one myself, though all colors look nice. I also think that the Touch ID is going to be huge. Yeah, other devices have had something similar before, but they've all been crap, until Apple comes along and does it right of course.
I thought there was a rumor to that effect a couple weeks back, with the 4S only surviving till the end of the year or something like that.
It's not the subsidized price that is the issue. It's the contract free phone that many people look to purchase. At $549 that is very expensive.
If you're talking about the US, then you are correct, but worldwide, it is a different story.
There is still a massive market worldwide at $550.
This is a brand new 16 GB iPhone 5C. That's actually a $100 cheaper than the most comparable offering yesterday, worldwide.