charlesn

Pema said:

charlesn said:

Pema said:

Beating a dead donkey this is what this is. Another iPhone (yawn): iPhone 16e (aka the Dud) and now the iPhone Fold (another dud). And in another four years: the iPhone Anniversary Edition - 20th Phone. What does it do? Makes phone call, text messages and oh yes the entire back is covered with cameras. Other than that, nada. Other than over-complicating an iOS with myriad functionality that everyone keeps turning off because it is getting in the way of working and eats up gobs of memory. 

And, oh yes, let's not forget Apple Intelligence. Which Microsoft shuttered last week is starting to look a lot like the dot.com boom of the Y2K. 

Talk about eating the same meal that Steve Jobs cooked all those years ago. Must be surely getting stale by now. 

And the new vision: the Vision Pro aka the dead horse. 

Apple needs new blood rather than stirring the same pot ad infinitum. 

And meanwhile, in the real world: Apple's booming sales keep fueling record-setting revenues and profits, it's the world's most valuable company, its stock price sits near its all-time highs and it just won its 18th straight World's Most Admired Company award. But The Cult of Dead Steve just can't abide a level of consistent, record-setting success that exceeds what Apple achieved under Jobs. 

On that basis, the drug cartels are the sure epitome. They are the highest grossing, best managed businesses the world over, despite not having any board members on the election committees and dealing with adversarial forces on every front. I am just taking your measure of success: $$$$. 

I was talking about innovation. You obviously buried your head in the pot full of cash and forgot about that. 
 

Can't waste my time. You continue barking at the moon on message boards. I'll continue making money on Apple innovation. 14 years with Cook as CEO and the growth has never stopped. It is a far better and exponentially more successful company now than when Jobs died--but by all means, you keep worshipping at your altar of Dead Steve. 

Pema said:

Beating a dead donkey this is what this is. Another iPhone (yawn): iPhone 16e (aka the Dud) and now the iPhone Fold (another dud). And in another four years: the iPhone Anniversary Edition - 20th Phone. What does it do? Makes phone call, text messages and oh yes the entire back is covered with cameras. Other than that, nada. Other than over-complicating an iOS with myriad functionality that everyone keeps turning off because it is getting in the way of working and eats up gobs of memory. 

And, oh yes, let's not forget Apple Intelligence. Which Microsoft shuttered last week is starting to look a lot like the dot.com boom of the Y2K. 

Talk about eating the same meal that Steve Jobs cooked all those years ago. Must be surely getting stale by now. 

And the new vision: the Vision Pro aka the dead horse. 

Apple needs new blood rather than stirring the same pot ad infinitum. 

And meanwhile, in the real world: Apple's booming sales keep fueling record-setting revenues and profits, it's the world's most valuable company, its stock price sits near its all-time highs and it just won its 18th straight World's Most Admired Company award. But The Cult of Dead Steve just can't abide a level of consistent, record-setting success that exceeds what Apple achieved under Jobs. 

"But they will notice the price — the iPhone 16e will stand or fall on that, mainly." 

Well, yes and no. Let's remember that the SE--which was a terrific choice at a fantastic price for users who wanted a solid phone that covered the basics well--was Apple's worst selling model. Clearly, even at $429, the feature set didn't resonate enough to make the SE as much of a success as it needed to be to stay in the lineup. The iPhone 16 is far from cheap in the world of smartphones, but it's the world's best selling model. Apple's next best seller after that is its most expensive iPhone, the Pro Max. People are willing to spend money on iPhones when they think the feature set is right for them, And I think the feature set of the 16e, as much as the price and maybe more so, will determine whether it stands or falls. 

avon b7 said:

charlesn said:

It would have been dumb for Apple to name this the 16e if it didn't intend on annual updating. It's one thing to sell a phone with a "timeless" SE name at $429 and only update it every few years. You can't do that when you're charging $599 and the phone's name is a literal indication of how old it is. Apple's marketing magic trick with this phone is that it's essentially selling an iPhone 14 marketed as a member of the 16 family by virtue of it having the latest 16 chip. We'll see how that works. As I've posted previously, I think the plan is to continue Sept launches in their current form, with the regular iPhone, the Pro models and maybe the Slim gets added this year. They get a six month window of exclusivity on the latest chip. Then in Feb or March, Apple drops the 17e with the chip bump and maybe a new feature -- I have to think that MagSafe will be included next year. My guess is that the iPhone 15 stays in the lineup until the 17e drops, and then it gets replaced by the iPhone 16. I think dropping the new "e" model phone in late winter or early spring gives iPhone some needed press attention again at a time when current model coverage has normally dried up in favor of speculating about what's coming in September. 

My only doubt now is the product itself as it seems to be in a no-man's-land of sorts, sitting outside the SE price bracket and closer to regular iPhones but without some key features. 

I'm not sure if it will appeal at its initial price-point. 

Maybe, maybe not. Admittedly, it's all tea-leaf reading at this point, but it would seem--at least from Apple's specific "Compare to" callouts of iPhone 11, 12 and SE models on the 16e pages--that a key part of Apple's strategy with the 16e is to convince owners of iPhones that are almost 5 and 6 generations old that it's time to upgrade. That's probably a huge pool of people. Between the $599 list price and the trade-in values that Apple is offering, it likely makes the financial leap to a brand new iPhone capable of Apple Intelligence a lot more attractive. (Say what you will about the value of Apple Intelligence thus far, but Apple marketing has done a great job selling it as a must have for the present and for future-proofing your iPhone. Perception is everthing.) And hey, if you start out intending to get a 16e but end up selling yourself on a 15 or regular iPhone 16 as the better value for you, Apple is good with that, too! At the very least, the 16e is a conversation starter for people--even if it's just with themselves--about whether it's time to upgrade their iPhones, and there's considerable value in that, too. 

It would have been dumb for Apple to name this the 16e if it didn't intend on annual updating. It's one thing to sell a phone with a "timeless" SE name at $429 and only update it every few years. You can't do that when you're charging $599 and the phone's name is a literal indication of how old it is. Apple's marketing magic trick with this phone is that it's essentially selling an iPhone 14 marketed as a member of the 16 family by virtue of it having the latest 16 chip. We'll see how that works. As I've posted previously, I think the plan is to continue Sept launches in their current form, with the regular iPhone, the Pro models and maybe the Slim gets added this year. They get a six month window of exclusivity on the latest chip. Then in Feb or March, Apple drops the 17e with the chip bump and maybe a new feature -- I have to think that MagSafe will be included next year. My guess is that the iPhone 15 stays in the lineup until the 17e drops, and then it gets replaced by the iPhone 16. I think dropping the new "e" model phone in late winter or early spring gives iPhone some needed press attention again at a time when current model coverage has normally dried up in favor of speculating about what's coming in September.