People I know are finding little reason to upgrade from their 6 or 7 to the iPhone 8, no matter how much better the camera, speed, and the new taptic feedback are. I personally don't find the iPhone X to be super expensive, and I think it's a stronger upgrade argument than the 8
Agreed. I have a 7+ and really really really wanted the X to be something better. But after looking at the specs and functionality of 8 and X, there's no compelling reason to upgrade. I do find the cost of the X rather high for what you get. For the first time in years, I feel zero upgrade lust.
Ah yes, specs, the best way to evaluate Apple products. not.
however if you already have a 7 and are not a super phone nerd, i dunno why you’d be upgrading.
I would like sales to fall flat, proving that Apple his hit a price point where a lot of existing customers just say, “nope, I think I won’t bother upgrading”.
That said, I will pick up an X to try out the new features but I’m not sure about keeping it as it’s the same narrow display at the non plus models.
There has been a lot of confusion about the display on the X and how it stacks up to the LCD displays. I'm pretty sure it's wider than the non-plus models. The 8 non-plus models are 67.3mm wide, the iPhoneX is 70.9mm, and the 8 plus model is 78.1mm. That's 3.6mm wider than the non-plus and 7.2mm narrower than the plus model. That is device width and not screen width, so you have to take into account side bezel. I doubt the bezels on the X are thicker than than the 8 (the 8 series already has 0.2mm thicker bezels than 6/7 series), so assuming the side bezel is the same, the screen width is roughly 1/3rd of the way between the two 8 series. While it has the same number of points in width (content), it has 1.5x the number of pixels (resolution), and actual width of the screen is probably higher. The overall effect will be the same amount of content (number of icons or buttons in width), but slightly larger, and much sharper. With the added resolution/sharpness, you could decide to make text smaller and actually fit more information width-wise than the plus version's screen, if your eyes are sharp enough.
This doesn't take into account Apple's "safe areas" software conventions, which confuse the comparison more. This is software though, so it will likely evolve over time as Apple figures out the optimum solution. Currently, the safe areas cut down on usable space more in the vertical direction when the phone is held in portrait and the horizontal direction when the phone is held in landscape. This largely protects the smaller dimension of the screen from being cut down too much by safe areas, but there is definitely appreciable loss when the phone is in landscape mode due to the swipe bar that substitutes the home button. It is now virtual and therefore stays oriented to the bottom of the screen, no matter the orientation, instead of being fixed to a location on the device.
So, people opt for 128GB iPhone 7 over 64GB iPhone 8, because of the $50 price difference. This is part Apple's fault for not starting both iPhone 8 and iPhone X at 128GB. You have to make an odd choice between 7 and 8. I think it's worth it for me to pay $50 extra for 64 iPhone 8, and have the extra battery life it comes with over the 7, rather than get the iPhone 7 128GB. I think Apple could have done a better job with these storage options they went for. iPhone 8 will pick up steadily, especially when people realize they won't be getting iPhone Xes anytime soon, or they're too expensive, and when they hear about the improved battery life of the 8 over the 7.
People I know are finding little reason to upgrade from their 6 or 7 to the iPhone 8, no matter how much better the camera, speed, and the new taptic feedback are. I personally don't find the iPhone X to be super expensive, and I think it's a stronger upgrade argument than the 8.
Depends on the type of people you are asking, really. For most tech lovers, it's a no brainer to jump over 8 to X. But for most non tech savvy people, who care less about technology but just want a good working phone with cheaper price point, they bought 8 (and in some cases 8 plus). Unfortunately the later kind of people are also not the kind that line up or pre-order early for a phone. They would definitely try to avoid that if possible.
So the initial sales of 8 does indicate an anaemic interest as suggested in this article but by no means the sales are less than previous years. It is most likely a case of 'slow and steady' demand over the year as oppose to a big bang in the beginning.
I think the X is killing the 8. Not necessarily because of demand for the X. The X starts at $1319 in Canada, which will serve to depress demand. But the X is the flagship for this year so those that look to buy flagships won't be looking at the 8. They might avoid the X because of the price, but the fact that it exists might be enough to reduce demand for the 8 by turning it into the SE for this year at flagship pricing of last year (higher actually).
I'm feel similarly, just sold my iPod Touch 6 gen and iPhone 4s, and flipped them both into a single 64gb SE in mint condition for a total cost of $50. Looking at getting a s/c X probably generation 2 in about 3 or 4 years.
Just tried getting a couple of iPhone 8 Plus models through our Corporate Bell plan today. Was told by our rep that they are supply constrained because they're having trouble keeping them in stock. They're saying it'll take about 2 weeks to get them in. This was for 256GB iPhone 8 Plus (any color).
I would like sales to fall flat, proving that Apple his hit a price point where a lot of existing customers just say, “nope, I think I won’t bother upgrading”.
That said, I will pick up an X to try out the new features but I’m not sure about keeping it as it’s the same narrow display at the non plus models.
Why would you "like sales to fall flat"?
If this point hasn't been made abundantly clear over the long life of Apple, their products aren't made for the price sensitive. They are aspirational and appeal to people because of their style, sense of design and (hopefully) well-thought out user experience.
The phones are not 2017 "flagship" caliber. Yet they went up $50 on their base model. They have horrifically large bezels that I was complaining about last year. It's really uncomfortable on the Plus models. They've been rumored to go to OLED for years now, and yet couldn't get their supply chain ready in time, so we're back to LCD. There's just too many OLED phones on the market and most of them are incredible displays with super thin bezels. Their stupid obnoxious tween marketing for things like animojis and studio mode are not going to get people rushing in line for these things.
Apple still has the best OS on the market, the best CPU under the hood, and a lot of nifty hardware advantages like Taptic, 3D Touch. They've made some ridiculous hardware decisions over the past two years that have been costly to their customers, and maybe this is the year it will bite them in the ass.
I would like sales to fall flat, proving that Apple his hit a price point where a lot of existing customers just say, “nope, I think I won’t bother upgrading”.
That said, I will pick up an X to try out the new features but I’m not sure about keeping it as it’s the same narrow display at the non plus models.
Why would you "like sales to fall flat"?
If this point hasn't been made abundantly clear over the long life of Apple, their products aren't made for the price sensitive. They are aspirational and appeal to people because of their style, sense of design and (hopefully) well-thought out user experience.
They have tried in the past (LC, Performas, eMac, Mini) and and eventually reduced the prices of some software jewels too (including the OS). Now we have prices of iPhones covering a large spread. It may still be too early to know for sure but the reason for the change in iPhone pricing policy would seem to indicate a nod to the price sensitive.
I'm still as happy with my iPhone 6 Plus 128 GB as I was the day I bought it. It's fast, takes great pictures, awesome battery life, beautiful display, great hand feel, and tons of free storage since iOS 11 was installed and I upgraded to unlimited data. The 8 and X are obviously much snazzier kit and techno bling worthy but I have no compelling reason or desire to upgrade. It does everything I ask of it and serves me well. It's just an incredible tool. The fact that I feel this way after 3+ years of ownership is awesome. Having some extra cash in my pocket to buy other cool gadgets is icing on the cake. When it eventually dies I'll buy whatever the best current model is, with maxed out specs.
I think this guy just shot himself in the foot, Apple does not like other companies commenting I their sales. If the market punishes Apple because of his public statements this could backfire on him, he may not get supply of the 10 and his competitors will or Apple will just sell direct to his customers.
Comments
Ah yes, specs, the best way to evaluate Apple products. not.
however if you already have a 7 and are not a super phone nerd, i dunno why you’d be upgrading.
So the initial sales of 8 does indicate an anaemic interest as suggested in this article but by no means the sales are less than previous years. It is most likely a case of 'slow and steady' demand over the year as oppose to a big bang in the beginning.
I'm feel similarly, just sold my iPod Touch 6 gen and iPhone 4s, and flipped them both into a single 64gb SE in mint condition for a total cost of $50. Looking at getting a s/c X probably generation 2 in about 3 or 4 years.
Why would you "like sales to fall flat"?
If this point hasn't been made abundantly clear over the long life of Apple, their products aren't made for the price sensitive. They are aspirational and appeal to people because of their style, sense of design and (hopefully) well-thought out user experience.
Apple still has the best OS on the market, the best CPU under the hood, and a lot of nifty hardware advantages like Taptic, 3D Touch. They've made some ridiculous hardware decisions over the past two years that have been costly to their customers, and maybe this is the year it will bite them in the ass.
Just curious: if you've had, say, a 5 SE, or a 6, 7 (plus or not) level iPhone for a few years . . .
What is the killer motivation to spend a thousand dollars on an 8 or an X? It's just a phone after all, so what is the justification for trading up?
Thoughts?
Hey, if it ain't broke ...
No one I know.
And that's all there is to see here.
Pent up demand for what the 10 brings isn't going to be satisfied by the 8. So people are waiting.