theothergeoff

netrox said:

Why is that they say it is difficult to disrupt the automotive industry? I mean, no one imagined that Apple would become the biggest phone maker, right? Never underestimate what Apple can do. And now with Apple Watch taking a huge chunk of watch market, don't be surprised if we see Apple cars like we are now seeing with Apple watches.

I don't see it as disrupting the auto industry (well the sales model might), but you're definitely disrupting the fuel industry.
 
You don't See BP or ExxonMobil going out of it's way to put out electrical charging stations, and partnering with Telsa/Apple/Faraday.
The roads aren't the infrastructure (as long as EMVs use rubber wheels... think about it if they required narrow gauge rails)... fuel distribution is.

Even with phones, Apple had to get one carrier to let it on the net, and front the cost of the phone to sell data packages.   GM wouldn't do that (CMAC may... GM dealers won't)... BP won't do that.

if 2GB, then not surprising at all. although the rumor mongers will hypothesize low sales of the 6s and 6s+ as the reason for using the current SOC, rather than the A8 (which would be cheaper, you would think). OTOH, it will pique interest in the spring quarter when sales nosedive, and satisfy the hard cores who see a need for a phone with full iOS capabilities and not a small tablet that can make phone calls.

rogifan_old said:

stevie said:

These guys are manipulating Apple's stock price.  Wall Street does not understand Apple, and so they hate Apple.

What this clown says makes no sense. He cites "pent up consumer demand" but then slashes his estimates for March and June quarters. So what is the pent up demand for then?

The stock is up almost a buck today, go figure.

pent up demand is for the future new form factor.
People with 6's wanting a 7. (why get a 6s... it looks the same... no real bling value, unless you got a BroseGold version, like me (replacing my 4s!)

This is an developing pattern since we hit 'peak iPad'
1) April, July, 10Qs are non-news cycles.  Apple hitting their estimates, and missing Analysts Pump/Dump estimates
2) the January release is the pinnacle of Pump/Dump.   
2) non-S years are always BIG release years.   Phones have a 2 year half life, with the major peak the Holiday quarter the NonS device is release.  Every release of a phone is 50% larger than the phone it replaces (the 2 year old phone). So to maintain credibility Analyst 'predicts' a blow out 2017.
3) But, It's time to pump gloom now (to churn the market), so the market can tank for 4 weeks, so they can buy low now... and sell on the spike of good news in January.
4) Then push the gloom until August (using WWDC at first as 'nothing to see here' and then 6 weeks later, sell the sizzle of 'it may have X'.  Buy again (or go long in the futures market) after the July 10q, at the bottom
5) In September, start the pump cycle to sell/cover in November, when people see holidays sales numbers.

I'm hoping the possibility of a March annoucement (which to me is the time corporations 'commit' to their annual 'desktop/laptop/mobile' purchase) will blow up this cycle.  If the corporate purchasing geeks see a 'cheaper' iPhone 6c  in March, to replace the 5c's, and iPad updates, and Macbook updates, that then drives the 'low cycle of purchasing through the April-Aug time frames).

jungmark said:

This proves the 5S was a failure. /s

It'd be bigger news of the 6S was slashed. 

Can we assume you play captain obvious on TV?

This is big news as it gets the primary hooks into a major market where Apple hasn't played well to date, due to the byzantine phone franchise model.  There are no '99 Rupee' iPhone deals in India.  The fact that the 5s is 1/2 of current sales says that Apple can sell a lot more if they drop the price.  And since Apple rarely discounts it's top end device, to compete with the Android 'high end' in India, the market has set the price.

India is probably the biggest untapped market (in terms of tech savvy, relatively high income people*)
The keys for Apple to win in any market  is to  exploit two critical things:
1) the stickiness of the apple ecosystem
2) Metcalfe's Law (The value of your (first) iPhone increase's proportional to the square of the number of people you interact with who have an iPhone)

emoeller said:

I would be surprised if Apple introduced a second generation watch after only a year.   Every two the three years might be a reasonable refresh rate.   What they might do is introduce a first generation watch with a different form factor (round face?).  I am also a fan of introducing smart bands, and those could be introduced annually.  

your smart band theory would likely require a 2.0 release to come to fruition.

My guess is that the crowdsourced data they are getting now is driving a fast follow 2nd generation that will have a different form factor and a new set of internals.   The form factor will be fashion driven, and the new internals will drive both new functionality (my guess better accuracy in motion detection and/or gathering health telemetry), a smaller form factor (either rounder or more thinner or both), and most importantly, a better power envelope.

Like quality watches, these will likely have a high resale value (higher than 2008 era phones, with crappy batteries and the wear and tear of non-crystal glass), therefore, my guess a resale/refurbished marketplace will likely support a quick product cycle (I can sell my watch for $300 and buy a new one for $399).