iPhone SE already seeing strong sales, Android switchers

Posted:
in iPhone edited July 2020
Despite the extraordinary circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic, Apple has reported strong sales of its newly launched iPhone SE. But the company isn't seeing customers scaling down buying decisions to save money, as pundits have predicted.


iPhone SE "well received"

Apple's chief executive Tim Cook included the new iPhone SE in a list of new product releases, "all of which have been very well received by reviewers and consumers alike." That list also included the new iPad Pro, its Magic Keyboard, and a revamped MacBook Air that debuted shortly before iPhone SE was announced.

Despite not being relevant to Apple's second fiscal quarter, the iPhone SE was repeatedly mentioned in Apple's quarterly earnings call on April 30, with the company's chief financial officer Luca Maestri similarly listing it among the recent releases that "have all received outstanding customer response, even during these extreme circumstances."

It was widely expected that the new iphone, driven by Apple's A13 Bionic chip that's faster than much more expensive Androids, would be popular. But, pundits also expected that buyers would significantly scale down their purchasing decisions to save money, due to financial impacts.

Coming over from Android


Jeriel Ong, an analyst with Deutsche Bank, specifically asked "about the overall purchasing decisions that consumers are making" during the earnings call, raising the question, "have you seen an increased perhaps downtick across your product line? So for example, somebody might have shifted maybe toward the lower end of the storage mix of certain products. And do you expect that going forward, as unemployment upticks and macro impacts kind of layer on through the rest of 2020?"

"I haven't seen what you're asking. No," Cook answered. "I have seen a strong customer response to iPhone SE, which is our most affordable iPhone. But it appears that those customers are primarily coming from wanting a smaller form factor with the latest technology, or coming over for it from Android. So, those are the two principal kinds of segments versus somebody buying down, as you're talking about it."

Rather than seeing a shift away from premium products, Cook noted continued strong sales of higher-end products in parallel.

"We've also seen, we launched the iPad Pro in the midst of all of this and the reception there has also been incredibly good. And that's obviously our top of the line iPad," Cook added. "And so, I'm not seeing what you're alluding to, at least at this point."
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 23
    avon b7avon b7 Posts: 7,624member
    The best til last. "At least at this point". 

    That is Tim 'Punter' Cook speaking. 

    It is literally way too soon to draw conclusions and, given the unpredictability of the situation, why Tim 'CEO' Cook chose to give no guidance for the next quarter. 


    muthuk_vanalingamsuperkloton
  • Reply 2 of 23
    FatmanFatman Posts: 513member
    avon b7 said:
    The best til last. "At least at this point". 

    That is Tim 'Punter' Cook speaking. 

    It is literally way too soon to draw conclusions and, given the unpredictability of the situation, why Tim 'CEO' Cook chose to give no guidance for the next quarter. 


    He has to hedge, that’s part of the requirement when CEOs speak, otherwise he would be sued for misleading comments. Read any annual report and it is full of disclaimers. I interpret his comments as positive, even miraculous, considering we are living in a global economic collapse at the moment. Apple is still selling lots of product even with their retail channel shuttered and half the world out of work.
    mwhitelolliversuperklotonwatto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 23
    avon b7avon b7 Posts: 7,624member
    Fatman said:
    avon b7 said:
    The best til last. "At least at this point". 

    That is Tim 'Punter' Cook speaking. 

    It is literally way too soon to draw conclusions and, given the unpredictability of the situation, why Tim 'CEO' Cook chose to give no guidance for the next quarter. 


    He has to hedge, that’s part of the requirement when CEOs speak, otherwise he would be sued for misleading comments. Read any annual report and it is full of disclaimers. I interpret his comments as positive, even miraculous, considering we are living in a global economic collapse at the moment. Apple is still selling lots of product even with their retail channel shuttered and half the world out of work.
    Yes. Of course. 

    I was referring to the 'punters' getting it all wrong while Tim Cook was himself wearing his punter hat. 


    edited May 2020 FatmanBeatsmuthuk_vanalingam
  • Reply 4 of 23
    JinTechJinTech Posts: 1,020member
    But but but but.... /s
    BeatsStrangeDayswatto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 23
    fred1fred1 Posts: 1,112member
    Very interesting, but how can he know this?: “ But it appears that those customers are primarily coming from wanting a smaller form factor with the latest technology, or coming over for it from Android.”
  • Reply 6 of 23
    ApplePoorApplePoor Posts: 286member
    The top priced 13" Mac Book Pro is priced at $3,599. My 2013 13" top model was over $3,000. So allowing for inflation, the new price for the top model is actually the same or lower in purchasing power than my earlier version that I gave to a step-daughter recently.

    In late December 2019, we decided to jump to a 16" Mac Book Pro fully loaded for myself and a similar model for my wife but with only 4TB of storage. We both still had the  last year of the 17" model tricked out with max memory that we retrofitted and SSD drives we retrofitted as we could make these improvements over time. Our 16" models are all soldered in place so acquiring a fully loaded model was to future proof as much as is possible.

    My IIFx Mac cost over $6,000 at the time and then we needed a color monitor, video card, more memory and hard drive that pushed the price way over $10,000 in 1990s dollars. Those numbers make the new Mac Pro numbers almost seem reasonable.


    StrangeDayslolliverwatto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 23
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    fred1 said:
    Very interesting, but how can he know this?: “ But it appears that those customers are primarily coming from wanting a smaller form factor with the latest technology, or coming over for it from Android.”
    Yes, I can see how they'd know if you're an existing customer, but how do they tell a new phone customer from one who's coming from Android?

    They could be using the Move to IOS app I suppose.
    edited May 2020 jony0muthuk_vanalingamwatto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 23
    goodbyeranchgoodbyeranch Posts: 244member
    For less than $10 per month you better believe its a huge hit. Combine with pre-paid MVNO service for $25 per month and its never been a better time to be a mobile customer. Cant believe I used to pay over $1000+ for a phone and $80+ for service.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 23
    cincyteecincytee Posts: 403member
    avon b7 said:
    The best til last. "At least at this point". 

    That is Tim 'Punter' Cook speaking. 

    It is literally way too soon to draw conclusions and, given the unpredictability of the situation, why Tim 'CEO' Cook chose to give no guidance for the next quarter.
    If your implication is that he's expecting this to happen in the next quarter and just not saying so, that's tinfoil hat talk. There's no guidance because the state of the economy worldwide is too much in flux. Maybe a recovery will begin; maybe all sales will fall; maybe people will invest in high-end iPhones instead of computers; and maybe people will buy more less expensive phones. The Magic 8 Ball just doesn't know.
    jony0StrangeDayslolliverwatto_cobra
  • Reply 10 of 23
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    cincytee said:
    avon b7 said:
    The best til last. "At least at this point". 

    That is Tim 'Punter' Cook speaking. 

    It is literally way too soon to draw conclusions and, given the unpredictability of the situation, why Tim 'CEO' Cook chose to give no guidance for the next quarter.
    If your implication is that he's expecting this to happen in the next quarter and just not saying so, that's tinfoil hat talk. There's no guidance because the state of the economy worldwide is too much in flux. Maybe a recovery will begin; maybe all sales will fall; maybe people will invest in high-end iPhones instead of computers; and maybe people will buy more less expensive phones. The Magic 8 Ball just doesn't know.
     He wasn't really implying anything. He read feverishly through the post until he found something he found a tenuous hook where he could hang his 'APPLE WILL FAIL' fantasy.  It's what he does.

    jony0StrangeDayslolliverwatto_cobra
  • Reply 11 of 23
    BeatsBeats Posts: 3,073member
    Why, oh WHY do we have to explain common sense to people?

    I told people that cheaper iPhones would see Android switchers. People don't like Android, they can't afford iPhone. Why would anyone in their right mind prefer the knockoff? They don't.



    Funny story:

    My friend just switched from a new Sansung iWannabe to an iPhone 5C!!
    lollivercornchipwatto_cobra
  • Reply 12 of 23
    BeatsBeats Posts: 3,073member
    avon b7 said:
    The best til last. "At least at this point". 

    That is Tim 'Punter' Cook speaking. 

    It is literally way too soon to draw conclusions and, given the unpredictability of the situation, why Tim 'CEO' Cook chose to give no guidance for the next quarter. 


    JinTech said:
    But but but but.... /s

  • Reply 13 of 23
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    Beats said:
    Why, oh WHY do we have to explain common sense to people?

    I told people that cheaper iPhones would see Android switchers. People don't like Android, they can't afford iPhone. Why would anyone in their right mind prefer the knockoff? They don't.


    AvonGatorBait
    BeatstmayStrangeDayslollivercornchipwatto_cobra
  • Reply 14 of 23
    KITAKITA Posts: 392member
    I'm curious about other non-US markets where the iPhone SE is much more expensive. For example, in India, the iPhone SE costs more than the new OnePlus 8.
  • Reply 15 of 23
    avon b7avon b7 Posts: 7,624member
    cincytee said:
    avon b7 said:
    The best til last. "At least at this point". 

    That is Tim 'Punter' Cook speaking. 

    It is literally way too soon to draw conclusions and, given the unpredictability of the situation, why Tim 'CEO' Cook chose to give no guidance for the next quarter.
    If your implication is that he's expecting this to happen in the next quarter and just not saying so, that's tinfoil hat talk. There's no guidance because the state of the economy worldwide is too much in flux. Maybe a recovery will begin; maybe all sales will fall; maybe people will invest in high-end iPhones instead of computers; and maybe people will buy more less expensive phones. The Magic 8 Ball just doesn't know.
    No. That's not the implication.

    I'm saying the derogative 'punter' reference is worthless as we are all punters to some degree and that includes Tim Cook. 

    In the real world punters (including Apple big wigs) sometimes get things right and sometimes get things wrong. That's what guessing games are all about. And yes, 'punters' have very much got things right too. 

    It's easier to place your bet the longer into a process you are, but right now not even Tim Cook can know how things will play out. It's simply too early. It's hard in a normal quarter let alone this one. He is a punter like everyone else. He has been from the start. The only difference is as things progress he has the advantage of real data to go on. That isn't the case now. This could literally go in any direction over the next few months.

    People switch from Android every day. They switch to Android too. Apple's cheapest and 'newest' phone is selling well (just like many new Android handsets) . Stating the obvious in the title and nothing more, given the micro snapshot that is being used to base the claim on. When has a new iPhone not sold well immediately after release? 
    muthuk_vanalingam
  • Reply 16 of 23
    tmaytmay Posts: 6,311member
    Rayz2016 said:
    Beats said:
    Why, oh WHY do we have to explain common sense to people?

    I told people that cheaper iPhones would see Android switchers. People don't like Android, they can't afford iPhone. Why would anyone in their right mind prefer the knockoff? They don't.


    AvonGatorBait
    Avon took bait, same as it ever was, now with more "punters".
    BeatsStrangeDaysmuthuk_vanalingamwatto_cobra
  • Reply 17 of 23
    avon b7avon b7 Posts: 7,624member
    KITA said:
    I'm curious about other non-US markets where the iPhone SE is much more expensive. For example, in India, the iPhone SE costs more than the new OnePlus 8.
    Here in Spain I could pick up a OnePlus 8 for 567€ which is more expensive than the 489€ SE.

    Currency and sales tax make the SE a far harder sell here but clearly not as striking as that difference in India. 

    I think the SE will perform well for a variety of reasons (not least that price fatigue among iPhone users was taking root) but very much doubt Android users will see the same value proposition with pricing touching 500€. 
  • Reply 18 of 23
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,844member
    avon b7 said:
    The best til last. "At least at this point". 

    That is Tim 'Punter' Cook speaking. 

    It is literally way too soon to draw conclusions and, given the unpredictability of the situation, why Tim 'CEO' Cook chose to give no guidance for the next quarter. 
    What are you on about now? His answer was honest and fair -- he hasn't seen a decline in the premium market...yet, at least. How on earth could one nitpick this answer? Get real.
    cincytee said:
    avon b7 said:
    The best til last. "At least at this point". 

    That is Tim 'Punter' Cook speaking. 

    It is literally way too soon to draw conclusions and, given the unpredictability of the situation, why Tim 'CEO' Cook chose to give no guidance for the next quarter.
    If your implication is that he's expecting this to happen in the next quarter and just not saying so, that's tinfoil hat talk. There's no guidance because the state of the economy worldwide is too much in flux. Maybe a recovery will begin; maybe all sales will fall; maybe people will invest in high-end iPhones instead of computers; and maybe people will buy more less expensive phones. The Magic 8 Ball just doesn't know.
    Exactly.
    Rayz2016 said:
    cincytee said:
    avon b7 said:
    The best til last. "At least at this point". 

    That is Tim 'Punter' Cook speaking. 

    It is literally way too soon to draw conclusions and, given the unpredictability of the situation, why Tim 'CEO' Cook chose to give no guidance for the next quarter.
    If your implication is that he's expecting this to happen in the next quarter and just not saying so, that's tinfoil hat talk. There's no guidance because the state of the economy worldwide is too much in flux. Maybe a recovery will begin; maybe all sales will fall; maybe people will invest in high-end iPhones instead of computers; and maybe people will buy more less expensive phones. The Magic 8 Ball just doesn't know.
     He wasn't really implying anything. He read feverishly through the post until he found something he found a tenuous hook where he could hang his 'APPLE WILL FAIL' fantasy.  It's what he does.

    Bingo.
    edited May 2020 lolliverwatto_cobra
  • Reply 19 of 23
    fred1fred1 Posts: 1,112member
    Rayz2016 said:
    fred1 said:
    Very interesting, but how can he know this?: “ But it appears that those customers are primarily coming from wanting a smaller form factor with the latest technology, or coming over for it from Android.”
    Yes, I can see how they'd know if you're an existing customer, but how do they tell a new phone customer from one who's coming from Android?

    They could be using the Move to IOS app I suppose.
    Good point about the Move app, but would that show that people are moving to the SE specifically? I can see that Apple Store staff might know who is switching from an Android phone, but all the stores have been closed since the SE was released. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 20 of 23
    avon b7avon b7 Posts: 7,624member
    avon b7 said:
    The best til last. "At least at this point". 

    That is Tim 'Punter' Cook speaking. 

    It is literally way too soon to draw conclusions and, given the unpredictability of the situation, why Tim 'CEO' Cook chose to give no guidance for the next quarter. 
    What are you on about now? His answer was honest and fair -- he hasn't seen a decline in the premium market...yet, at least. How on earth could one nitpick this answer? Get real.
    cincytee said:
    avon b7 said:
    The best til last. "At least at this point". 

    That is Tim 'Punter' Cook speaking. 

    It is literally way too soon to draw conclusions and, given the unpredictability of the situation, why Tim 'CEO' Cook chose to give no guidance for the next quarter.
    If your implication is that he's expecting this to happen in the next quarter and just not saying so, that's tinfoil hat talk. There's no guidance because the state of the economy worldwide is too much in flux. Maybe a recovery will begin; maybe all sales will fall; maybe people will invest in high-end iPhones instead of computers; and maybe people will buy more less expensive phones. The Magic 8 Ball just doesn't know.
    Exactly.
    Rayz2016 said:
    cincytee said:
    avon b7 said:
    The best til last. "At least at this point". 

    That is Tim 'Punter' Cook speaking. 

    It is literally way too soon to draw conclusions and, given the unpredictability of the situation, why Tim 'CEO' Cook chose to give no guidance for the next quarter.
    If your implication is that he's expecting this to happen in the next quarter and just not saying so, that's tinfoil hat talk. There's no guidance because the state of the economy worldwide is too much in flux. Maybe a recovery will begin; maybe all sales will fall; maybe people will invest in high-end iPhones instead of computers; and maybe people will buy more less expensive phones. The Magic 8 Ball just doesn't know.
     He wasn't really implying anything. He read feverishly through the post until he found something he found a tenuous hook where he could hang his 'APPLE WILL FAIL' fantasy.  It's what he does.

    Bingo.
    Re-read the posts. 

    It has nothing to do with what Tim said. That is irrelevant. It was to do with the perspective he was saying it from.

    Punter vs CEO. I even made it crystal clear. Twice! 


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