November iPhone sales may be down 20 percent year-on-year, with iPhone XR as the top selle...

Comments

• Reply 1 of 18

  johnnybtrue Posts: 26member

  January 8, 2019 2:56PM

  Yes, December information might be interesting.  Facts are nice.

  
• Reply 2 of 18

  wood1208 Posts: 2,937member

  January 8, 2019 3:10PM

  I understand more consumers choosing to buy default 64GB iPhone XR model but I thought for extra $50, 128GB XR would have been best selling. 
  
• Reply 3 of 18

  avon b7 Posts: 8,030member

  January 8, 2019 3:19PM

  wood1208 said:

  I understand more consumers choosing to buy default 64GB iPhone XR model but I thought for extra $50, 128GB XR would have been best selling. 
  

  It depends on the market. In Spain the difference between 64GB and 128GB is 60€.
  
  The problem is that the 64GB model is already out of reach (859€) for many. Opting for 128GB means rising to 919€ which will mostly get a flat out 'no sale' for almost everyone I know (for the hardware on offer).

  edited January 2019
• Reply 4 of 18

  ElCapitan Posts: 372member

  January 8, 2019 3:51PM

  avon b7 said:

  wood1208 said:

  I understand more consumers choosing to buy default 64GB iPhone XR model but I thought for extra $50, 128GB XR would have been best selling. 
  

  It depends on the market. In Spain the difference between 64GB and 128GB is 60€.
  
  The problem is that the 64GB model is already out if reach (859€) for many. Opting for 128GB means rising to 919€ which will mostly get a flat out no sale for almost everyone I know (for the hardware on offer).

  You are right; they have largely priced themselves out of many international markets. 

  
• Reply 5 of 18

  78Bandit Posts: 238member

  January 8, 2019 4:08PM

  wood1208 said:

  I understand more consumers choosing to buy default 64GB iPhone XR model but I thought for extra $50, 128GB XR would have been best selling. 
  

  My wife and I both got an XR in November.  Strangely enough there were very limited options in-stock for the 128GB model.  Our carrier had every color with 64GB but only Black & White in 128GB.  If you wanted a colored model the choice was either 64GB or wait for them to order what you wanted and ship it to your house.  I had wanted Product Red but wound up with black just for the memory.
  
• Reply 6 of 18

  eriamjh Posts: 1,764member

  January 8, 2019 4:15PM

  I think Apple overshot the market tolerance for the maximum price of each model type by $150-250 US.  Most people probably would have accepted a $5-12/ month price increase, but not $20-30.  
  

  
• Reply 7 of 18

  exceptionhandler Posts: 377member

  January 8, 2019 4:30PM

  I have usually recommended to friends and family to get the current model, but for the X and XS there’s no way I could justify the price tag.  Last year I told them to get a 7 or an 8, because the extra price is for not must haves.  I wanted to upgrade from my 7 this year, but opted for the battery replacement instead (before dec 31).  I also want a smaller phone, which is currently not offered.  Something like a 4.5-4.7” phone.  These 3 things are what have kept me from buying a new phone (price, size, cheap battery replacement).

  
• Reply 8 of 18

  hentaiboy Posts: 1,252member

  January 8, 2019 5:18PM

  Counterpoint says that sales in China were “steady” after Cook stated publicly that they tanked. WTF?
• Reply 9 of 18

  gatorguy Posts: 24,651member

  January 8, 2019 5:22PM

  hentaiboy said:

  Counterpoint says that sales in China were “steady” after Cook stated publicly that they tanked. WTF?

  Shipped is sold as far as that's concerned, so it's certainly possible that retailers/resellers did not order the additional iPhone stock for the holidays as they would have been expected to.  If consumer sales of existing iPhones already on hand were faltering a bit leading up to Black Friday then no need to purchase yet more shelf stock as they typically would in past years. 
  
  IMO it's absolutely conceivable that the slide in sales was not recognized until the past 6 weeks. 

  edited January 2019
• Reply 10 of 18

  k2kw Posts: 2,080member

  January 8, 2019 6:28PM

  eriamjh said:

  I think Apple overshot the market tolerance for the maximum price of each model type by $150-250 US.  Most people probably would have accepted a $5-12/ month price increase, but not $20-30.  
  

  The people who aren’t price sensitive will probably get an X,XS or XSMax.  If you are budget concerned you will probably look at XR iPhone and down.

  
• Reply 11 of 18

  chasm Posts: 3,610member

  January 8, 2019 6:40PM

  Once again, from Cook's letter: "More than 100 percent of the shortfall is due to the Chinese economy contracting."
  
  So no, the price of the iPhone (which is comparable to the premium offerings from Samsung) is not a factor. Consumer spending in China has contracted 70 percent in the last six months, according to Bloomberg. While there are probably other factors at play to blame for that, the trade war is definitely causing consumers and businesses in China to pull back on spending. Astute readers will have noticed that a wave of "bad earnings reports" have started coming in from all the tech businesses that depend heavily on the China market (like Samsung).
  
  While we don't have data from most of the Chinese makers like Xiaomi yet, you can bet they'll seeing dramatic drops in sales as well.
  
  Bottom line: Apple is firing on all cylinders and growing in every area -- except China sales. This is a relatively short-term problem (wait for trade war to end) rather than as some of you are suggesting, a long term problem (phone pricing). The proof can be found in sales everywhere outside of China. This is exactly why Apple abandoned the 90-day reporting cycle.

  
• Reply 12 of 18

  k2kw Posts: 2,080member

  January 8, 2019 6:40PM

  ElCapitan said:

  avon b7 said:

  wood1208 said:

  I understand more consumers choosing to buy default 64GB iPhone XR model but I thought for extra $50, 128GB XR would have been best selling. 
  

  It depends on the market. In Spain the difference between 64GB and 128GB is 60€.
  
  The problem is that the 64GB model is already out if reach (859€) for many. Opting for 128GB means rising to 919€ which will mostly get a flat out no sale for almost everyone I know (for the hardware on offer).

  You are right; they have largely priced themselves out of many international markets. 

  They definitely need to create a budget phone under $400.  Base it off of the 6S but with A9 chip manufactured in 10 nm.   If the lose someone to android they probably won’t get them back.
  
  
  
• Reply 13 of 18

  avon b7 Posts: 8,030member

  January 8, 2019 7:09PM

  chasm said:

  Once again, from Cook's letter: "More than 100 percent of the shortfall is due to the Chinese economy contracting."
  
  So no, the price of the iPhone (which is comparable to the premium offerings from Samsung) is not a factor. Consumer spending in China has contracted 70 percent in the last six months, according to Bloomberg. While there are probably other factors at play to blame for that, the trade war is definitely causing consumers and businesses in China to pull back on spending. Astute readers will have noticed that a wave of "bad earnings reports" have started coming in from all the tech businesses that depend heavily on the China market (like Samsung).
  
  While we don't have data from most of the Chinese makers like Xiaomi yet, you can bet they'll seeing dramatic drops in sales as well.
  
  Bottom line: Apple is firing on all cylinders and growing in every area -- except China sales. This is a relatively short-term problem (wait for trade war to end) rather than as some of you are suggesting, a long term problem (phone pricing). The proof can be found in sales everywhere outside of China. This is exactly why Apple abandoned the 90-day reporting cycle.

  When consumers pull back on spending, price is definitely an important factor.
  
  Apple's decision to raise prices (from refresh to refresh) has taken many people up to their price ceilings. With low consumer confidence, a lack of compelling innovation and with fierce competition all around (except for the US where Apple is largely immune to the competitive forces it faces elsewhere) things have taken a wobble.
  
  As for Chinese companies, Huawei has stated it broke revenue records for 2018 as well as shipping over 200 million handset units. Awaiting fully audited results, it looks like they ended the year as strongly as they started.
  
  https://www.phonearena.com/news/Huawei-smartphone-shipments-2018_id106773
  
  

  https://www.engadget.com/2018/12/24/huawei-ships-record-200-million-phones/
  
  

  https://www.fircroft.com/blogs/huawei-made-a-record-1085-billion-in-2018-93310473137
  
  https://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS44188018
  

  edited January 2019
• Reply 14 of 18

  schafdog Posts: 8member

  January 8, 2019 7:29PM

  I still can't understand why Apple is ignoring the smaller PREMIUM (not cheap) phone segment. I want a one-hand device, that I can pocket. I don't want a phablet. Nobody is doing smaller preminum. It may not the biggest segment, but I still believe could 10% of the market. I have a iPhone SE but I would preferred a more expensive full featured. Perhaps the next should have same display size as an iPhone 8 but in X style.

  
• Reply 15 of 18

  n2itivguy Posts: 103member

  January 8, 2019 8:07PM

  schafdog said:

  Perhaps the next should have same display size as an iPhone 8 but in X style.

  A slightly smaller XR wouldn’t be bad, though I like the current version matching the size of my previous 7+. 
• Reply 16 of 18

  yojimbo007 Posts: 1,165member

  January 8, 2019 8:48PM

  johnnybtrue said:

  Yes, December information might be interesting.  Facts are nice.

  Which facts? These are estimates(guesstimates) by a research company, not facts !
• Reply 17 of 18

  beowulfschmidt Posts: 2,354member

  January 9, 2019 1:39PM

  k2kw said:

  eriamjh said:

  I think Apple overshot the market tolerance for the maximum price of each model type by $150-250 US.  Most people probably would have accepted a $5-12/ month price increase, but not $20-30.  
  

  The people who aren’t price sensitive will probably get an X,XS or XSMax.  If you are budget concerned you will probably look at XR iPhone and down.

  I can only speak for myself, but Apple certainly priced me out of the market for their new phones.  All of them, even the XR.  There is simply no feature so compelling to me (Not even FaceID, which I'd not be using for unlocking my phone anyway) that I feel the need to upgrade.  My 7 works, and works well.  Should it stop working, I'll consider my options at that time, but It seems likely that I'd simply opt for a new 7, or maybe an 8 or X, depending on how long my current one lasts.  Since the 4 was my immediate predecessor to my 7, I think I have some time.
• Reply 18 of 18

  gatorguy Posts: 24,651member

  January 9, 2019 2:24PM

  I expect to see a plethora of articles, reviews, promotions, stories of how lives were saved and lives were changed, how new technology and new features are ready to make our lives more enjoyable and free-up more time for ourselves, better sex and a slimmer body, because "a new smartphone!"
  
  There's so many players whose ongoing business benefits from we consumers continuing to overspend on being connected, (carriers, component makers, retailers, tech blogs, accessory lines to name a few) that we'll be fed a very heavy diet of "Whoa, that Camera!" and "Wow you need that screen!" and especially "5G... 5G...5G".  Everywhere.

  edited January 2019