robbyx

radarthekat said:

k2kw said:

ericthehalfbee said:

That is a brilliant ad, and a great play on the Vegas slogan. No doubt this is going to piss off a lot of people.

No most people will shrug it off.   Apple has been sounding like they are running around saying “The sky is falling.   The sky is falling” when it’s only the price of Apple Stock falling.

And all the while Apple is acting as my agent to buy out any of my partners (co-owners of Apple) who don’t have the confidence in the company’s future I have and Apple management has.  Thank you Apple.  I’m happy owning a larger and larger share of the company’s future earnings.  Every quarter my percentage ownership goes up.  And while the stock price falls on fear, uncertainty and doubt, Apple has just told us that, even with a year-over-year drop in revenues, the company will report its highest ever earnings per share this quarter.  And that reduced share count will yield similar results long into the future; it’s not merely a one-time effect.  

hexclock said:

sfolax said:

ericthehalfbee said:

That is a brilliant ad, and a great play on the Vegas slogan. No doubt this is going to piss off a lot of people.

No, it's quite wrong actually.

There are many people that take photos while doing naughty things, only to have it pop up on the Apple TV screen saver at home a few seconds later.

Care to back that assertion up with some evidence? No, I thought not. 

rogifan_new said:

bennettvista said:

Apple needs to come up with the "next thing" - it's been over 7 years since Jobs died and the only "new" thing was a watch.  Tim should bring a tech visionary into the company if there isn't one there already.  

Right because the “tech visionary” is just going to waive his or her magic wand and create the next big thing. Good grief.

fastasleep said:

rogifan_new said:

robbyx said:

rogifan_new said:

This tweet too is spot on:

Rene Ritchie (@reneritchie) 1/2/19, 5:24 PM IMHO, complaints about pricing, price points, home buttons, headphone jacks, batteries, upgrade cycles, etc. are all valid but are also all besides the point, which remains:  Can Apple transition iPhone from growth driver to platform that enables more growth drivers?  That’s it.

This is pretty spot on.  Apple has hundreds of millions of iPhone customers.  How do you get those people to buy more things?  And what are those things?  Clearly they aren't Macs.  They are AirPods, however.  And Apple Music subscriptions.  Video is the logical next step.

As someone who has bought Apple products (and stock) for almost 40 years, I remember many long years where Apple sold 1 device for every 1000 the other guys sold.  They struck silver with the iPod and then gold with the iPhone.  The iPod appealed to all sorts of people.  You didn't have to be a techie.  Apple built a better mousetrap and the public responded.  And then came the iPhone.  Everyone needs a phone.  Apple built a better phone and, again, the public responded.  So what else has incredibly broad appeal and needs a better use experience?  And is Apple even the company to deliver these days?  I personally wish they'd focus more on home automation and deliver some killer first party products in that area.  I also think they should get serious about audio, maybe buy Sonos.  HomePod was a huge miss.  I would have bought at least 6 for my house if it wasn't such a gimped product.

Agree 100%. And with a new video service coming maybe Apple should get into the TV business. I know TVs are a low margin business but it wouldn’t be about the TV so much as about tvOS and Apple’s video service. Every time I go into Best Buy the busiest part of the store is their TV section. I have a 4K TCL TV with Roku. I hardly ever fire up my Apple TV box. But if Apple sold a smart TV with tvOS and all the benefits of the Apple ecosystem I’d seriously think about getting one. And it wouldnt have to be outrageously priced because it would be all about getting Apple video service subs.

That makes zero sense. Whats's the difference between your TV plus an AppleTV versus an Apple-built TV with a built-in AppleTV? Nothing.

rogifan_new said:

robbyx said:

rogifan_new said:

AppleExposed said:

rogifan_new said:

AppleExposed said:

rogifan_new said:

robbyx said:

rogifan_new said:

robbyx said:

avon b7 said:

magman1979 said:

And right on cue, the salivating trolls come marching onto EVERY Apple site in existence by the truckload!

Forget trolls. What is your opinion on what is happening on iPhone? 

The rest of the business seems to be doing ok. They have a lot of cash reserves to pull on. That won't save them from a roller coaster ride, short term, but iPhone is suffering. Do you agree with TCs line or do you think he is airbrushing bits? Are prices too high? Is competition playing a part? Are iPhones underperforming on features? Etc.

The smartphone market is mature. I can easily afford the top of the line iPhone model, but I see no reason to upgrade from my 7 Plus. I think a lot of people feel this way.  Even if Apple dropped prices tomorrow, I still wouldn’t upgrade.  My 7 Plus is great. I’d like FaceID, but that’s not enough of a reason to upgrade. 

I dont think prices are the issue. There are iPhone models under $500.  Top of the line is very pricey, but Apple has nice offerings at several price points. The market is saturated and mature and this was bound to happen. 

If price wasn’t an issue why did Tim keep mentioning subsidies going away? Why did he mention not marketing the trade-in program enough? Both of those things scream price issues. Which was obvious when the front page of apple.com was displaying this:

I know many people with older phones and none of them WANT to upgrade. They don’t care about pricing. They are satisfied with their current devices. I was just helping a friend with her Mac today. It’s 8 years old and works fine.  She sees no reason to upgrade. The same thing is happening with phones.

As I said, Apple has phone models at a variety of price points. Stop focusing on the top of the line.  Phones are mature. The tech is mature. There aren’t a lot of new features. Faster, better screen, better camera...yawn. My phone is fast enough and the camera is fine. The days of annual upgrades are over.

Price is a factor, but it’s not the issue. 

I don’t think higher prices is the only factor but it is A factor. It’s not like upgrade cycles just started lengthening this year. It’s possible too that the XR just introduced confusion to the lineup. People weren’t sure what to buy so they didn’t buy anything.

DEAD ON with the XR confusion. A lot of people went into the Apple store prepared to drop $1000+ on a XS and left with a cheaper XR with a larger screen....

Or went into the store and left with nothing. If the XR was doing well why would Apple be marketing it $300 cheaper (with trade-in) on the front page of their website? Why would carriers like Sprint and T-Mobile be offering it for free with new activations?

Oh of course. People went in with $1000+ and left with nothing. DOOMED!

The stock will open down about 7%. That’s after being down almost 30% over the last quarter. But keep covering your eyes and ears if it makes you feel better.

Buying opportunity.

Unfortunately the market overall doesn’t seem to be in buying mode.