sirozha

wisey said:

The recent 20% decline in Apple stock price is not based on any credible data.  Some claim that it is because Apple changed its policy of divulging unit sales and average sales prices of IPhones, IPads, and Macs.  Others attribute the drop to unit sales not increasing.  Neither of these can be true because no other cell phone company divulges unit sales and average sales prices and it is wrong to penalize Apple for deciding against this practice.  They will continue to report revenues and earnings.  The fact that unit sales did not increase should not be bothering anybody.  In case nobody noticed, Apple had a 27% increase in iPhone revenues last quarter, despite the lack of increase in unit sales.  Apple had a choice, sell few units and make more money or sell more units and make less money.  They chose the former and I don’t think that any shareholder should fault them for making that decision.  

It is likely that the decline of Apple share represent two factors occurring simultaneously.  

First, many articles have reported that suppliers have cut back on the parts they are delivering.  As pointed out by Tim Cook and others, these are not reliable indicators of iPhone sales for many reasons.  First, there will always be cutbacks.  After all, companies order parts for manifacturing and companies reduce those orders when their planned manufacturing run has been fulfilled.  Nobody knows, least of all stock analysts, whether these cutbacks mean a reduction in the number of units that are being sold.  People should also remember that many manufacturers are using some of these component manufacturers and cutbacks could also represent the general decline in smartphone sales.  

Second, the entire stock market is falling.  Previously high flying stocks such as Amazon and Facebook have lost 25% or more of their value.  Stock fund managers are rushing to take their profits before the market drips further.   In my opinion, falls of Amazon and Facebook are warranted because Amazon is extremely overvalued and Facebook is having serious problems with protecting their user data.  On the other hand, no bad news has emerged since its spectacular Q4’18 earnings report.  In fact, Apple news has been very positive. Apple’s China business is looking up, the first cooperative agreement between China and the U.S. was announced suggest s beginning to the end of the trade war.  Reviews of the iPhone XR, iPad Pros, and MacBook Air have been glowingly positive.  

Analysts appear to be ignoring to striking new developments:  Apple has opened up its own online store refurbished Apple products and many large retailers (Walmart, Bestbuy, Target, Costco) are selling iPhone 6, 6s, 7, X, and 8 for very low prices.  The fact that Apple has started selling its own refurbished products tells you that this market has grown large enough for Apple to try to take a cut.  Older models of Apple iPhones will be taking market share away from cheaper Androids.  Which one would you rather have, an iPhone X or any Samsung or Huawei smartphone for the same price?  Apple has found a way to grab market share from Android makers.  By leapfrogging all the other smartphone makers in terms of technology, Apple now can offer year old or even two year old technology for the same or lower price as their competitors.  I think that Q1’19 sales will pleasantly surprise many people, even diehard Apple fans. Goldman Sachs will be kicking itself for giving its customers bad advice.

macplusplus said:

ascii said:

cornchip said:

sirozha said:

tht said:

sirozha said:

The way that Apple can make some serious cash is by making 5K monitors with speakers, microphone, camera, and Thunderbolt 3 ports. Basically, reuse the iMac body or maybe make it slimmer in the back, price the 27” version at $999 and sell millions of them. I can’t believe Apple leaves so much cash on the table but yet raises the pricing on everything else. Apple has all the tech ready for such a monitor already. It’s just about leveraging what’s already out there and creating a new stream of revenue without any significant R&D costs or time. 

Why let LG grab this 5K monitor market? Doesn’t make any sense. This is just pure and simple lack of understanding of what the Apple ecosystem should be like and the laziness to make extra money. Just absolutely horrible “leadership” by Tim Cook. 

Yes. Abandoning making branded displays since 2013 is one of those gigantic mistakes that someone hopefully writes a book about. The time period between 2012 to 2016 had some rather serious management issues regarding Apple’s PC hardware. There was bound to be some chaos after Jobs passed away and Cook reorganized the management structure, but it bled on for 4 years in certain parts of the company (Macs, iPads, Siri, other distractions). There definitely needs to be a book.

But you should tone it down regarding Cook. He’s the best CEO in Silicon Valley, if not the world. Really, I can’t think of anyone else who has his mixture of ethics and success. He should be lauded for that, continuously. There are issues - the car project likely being more of a distraction than it should have - but those are normal for all large organizations.

I shouldn’t tone it down because I
mean it. I see a train wreck at the end of the tunnel if Cook continues to be the CEO. 

Dude. They’re coming out with a display next year. Cool yer jets.

I have been wondering about the coming Apple monitor. Will it be a mainstream (but good) monitor, e.g. the iMac 5K screen but in a separate enclosure, or will it be an all-out Pro monitor, wide gamut US$2000 type thing? Because Apple have been making the Mac more of a pro tool and also putting up prices in general.

You already answered your question. 5K, wide gamut, all types of HDR and alike. Those looking for cheap monitor can go 4K over USB 3.1. The trend is towards highest integration and higher prices, not towards "downsizing" and cheaper, at least with Apple.

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wozwoz said:

My Macbook Air Retina arrived today. It is very elegant and beautifully designed, more compact, and noticeably faster than my previous 2014 Macbook Air. That is the upside. On the downside, I mention 3 down factors compared to the older Macbook Air:

1. The new Retina model no longer has an illuminated Apple logo on the lid - I miss that.

2. No more MagSafe connector: that is a minus:  MagSafe is wonderful, easy to connect, and I liked the the little green or orange light that showed you when it was charging or full. That is all gone.

3. Crappy adaptors or no adaptors:  
For the old Macbook Air, Apple sold an excellent Thunderbolt to Ethernet adaptor. That no longer works with the new Macbook Air, because the new MacBook Air does not accept Thunderbolt (unless you double dongle) ... and Apple does NOT make a Thunderbolt 3 to Ethernet adaptor (which is ridiculous). So, instead, I purchased from the Apple store the Belkin USB-C (not Thunderbolt 3) to Ethernet adaptor ... even though it gets an appalling rating on the Apple store (most users give it 1 out of 5 stars). I have measured the performance with the Belkin adaptor, and in every test, the Belkin USB-C adaptor has been slower on the new Mac than using Apple's old Thunderbolt to ethernet adaptor on the old Mac - an appalling outcome. That is going backwards ... not going forwards. 

Apple needs to wake up and start making a Thunderbolt 3 to Ethernet adaptor (and a Thunderbolt 3 to HDMI adaptor). In the meantime, I will have to now go buy a Thunderbolt 3 dock.

Rayz2016 said:

Fatman said:

Yes, I agree, redesign to make better - not change for change sake ... they've had YEARS to work it out. Ive also made an awful AppleTV remote (which side is up? Lets add a white circle) - complete fail. A poor first Apple pencil, maybe they got it right on take 2? An iphone with a notch, and rounded screens to cut off content. An iphone case with a hump. An Apple mouse with the lighting port on the bottom. Do I need to go on. Get rid of this guy, his time is up. How about balancing ergonomics with his pretty designs - that's where real genius comes in. One more thing  ... the bad tables at the Apple stores - try sitting at a corner. For those that know my posts - I am extremely invested in Apple, and own an 'irresponsible' number of shares in the company, but bad decisions need to be challenged.

The Apple TV remote. Right, you're the second person on this forum who seems to be foxed by this, so here's a quick cheatsheet.

If you can feel the smooth bit at the top, you have it the right way up. 
If you feel the glossy bit at top, you haven't
If you can't feel the buttons at all, then you have it face down.
If you can't feel the remote at all, then you've dropped it.
If the remote feels bent, then you're holding a banana.

Hope that helps.

The first Apple Pencil was good. The second one was better. That's how product development works.

The iPhone has a notch because Apple knew that the only people who'd be bothered by it are fake design expert wannabes.

The iPhone case had a hump because no one has come up with a battery with Tardis functionality

The Apple Mouse has the lightning port on the bottom because a mouse with a hole you can see would look like crap (the inconsistency in your thinking is beyond astonishing).

Oh, and as for the tables at the Apple Store? Don't try sitting at the corner; try sitting at one of the flat sides where you're supposed to sit.

Christ on a bicycle …