flaneur

k2kw said:

bdkennedy1002 said:

You can accept marketing words for $1000, or you can not be stupid and return it until you can get one that isn’t bent and doesn’t pop out of the extra $50 to $200 case you want to put it in. Would you accept a bent car they are supposedly developing? That’s not trustworthy to me. 

Better to either wait till the next model or buy the 2017 iPP.    Plastic = cheap POS.   If this is bad now what sort of screen problems could these bends cause in two years.  Is Apple smart enough to drop everything to re-engineer it now, probably not.    Cook probably sees this as a way to sell more AppleCare.

You really belong with the slimers at MacRumors, not here.

rogifan_new said:

flaneur said:

Mike Wuerthele said:

canukstorm said:

anantksundaram said:

designr said:

rogifan_new said:

Here’s a good article that rationally discusses Apple’s current issues: https://500ish.com/apples-precarious-and-pivotal-2019-f4f8cea3993a

From that article:

Second, and more likely, the battery replacement issue suggests that many people are no longer upgrading iPhones because they’re now “good enough” and everyone is more than happy to just pay a bit more for a better battery.

This is what I've been saying for a while. This combined with higher prices simply aggravates the problem.

This article — rare for the WSJ, when it comes to the topic of Apple — is on point: https://www.wsj.com/articles/apples-troubles-extend-beyond-china-11546565062?mod=article_inline

People keep talking about high prices but this Tweet thread sums Apple's pricing situation better than any article I've read:

1.  

https://twitter.com/cremnob/status/1080635425268645888

2. 

https://twitter.com/cremnob/status/1080700390713278464

3. 

https://twitter.com/cremnob/status/1080704254992621569

Yeah, we hit this in November.

https://appleinsider.com/articles/18/11/12/tim-cook-is-only-robbing-you-if-you-thought-steve-jobs-was-too

Time to hit it again, this time with a shorter, simpler, and more focused (less chatty)  story. The gross margin has not changed significantly since the iPhone/iPad-based Big Apple appeared. Prices go up because the components and technology increase in cost. Period.

Repeat the story until people here stop slavishly repeating that Apple is getting greedier in its pricing. Also repeat the Dilger-ish angle that Apple earns that 38% margin legitimately by investing massively in new silicon, hardware and software; it deserves the high 38% margin (but too high) by producing the finest mass consumer devices ever produced anywhere by any company. Period again.

Edit: And they need to hold on the the hard-earned cash they amass for times like this, and to move into new monster markets like wearable 3D displays, AI, AR, and the biggest market of all, intelligence-augmented mobility, e.g., self-driving cars. 

If component costs are going up and thus increasing the price of the product that’s an issue is it not? The fact that Apple was pushing the trade-in program hard is all the proof we need that they weren’t seeing the upgrades they expected. Tim Cook even admitted this in his letter:

While Greater China and other emerging markets accounted for the vast majority of the year-over-year iPhone revenue decline, in some developed markets, iPhone upgrades also were not as strong as we thought they would be. While macroeconomic challenges in some markets were a key contributor to this trend, we believe there are other factors broadly impacting our iPhone performance, including consumers adapting to a world with fewer carrier subsidies, US dollar strength-related price increases, and some customers taking advantage of significantly reduced pricing for iPhone battery replacements.

That sentence can be boiled down to some people are balking at the price of new iPhones.  What Apple’s gross margins are doesn’t matter if the end price is too high for some consumers and they end up not upgrading.

I’m only addressing the “Apple is greedy for raising prices” meme. Their margins remain about the same year after year, and they seem to be locked in to the need for that margin. I don’t see the greed.

Whether people will buy or be able to buy the better technology for a higher price is a separate issue. Apple may decide to make more more-affordable devices in the future to adjust to a new damaged economy, if that’s what we have. But probably at similar margins.

aaploutsider said:

ericthehalfbee said:

More stupidity.

If there's one thing Tim Cook is famous for it's not giving away any information about what Apple is doing. Whether that be about future products or how the company is doing financially. He's notoriously vague.

How a realist looks at this statement:

"Our business in China was very strong last quarter (does he mean Apple's initiatives to grow in China on top of the 16th percent?). We grew 16 percent (in what? selling iPhone X? selling services? expanding factories? ramping up production? what exactly?), which we're very happy with. iPhone in particular was very strong, very strong double-digit growth there. (in what? selling services? because it definitely isn't in total iPhone unit sales in China per year)"

How a normal forum Apple fanatic/heretic looks at this statement:

"Our business in China was very strong last quarter (yeah! See Tim Cook said it was strong and he can't lie!). We grew 16 percent (yeah! See! This is growth here. He can't lie about this!), which we're very happy with. iPhone in particular was very strong, very strong double-digit growth there. (clearly Tim Cook said that the iPhone was strong there, and Apple can't lie about it! This is a fact!)"

And then a certain rogue president starts a trade war . . .

Xaviercross1971 said:

<…>

The days of disrupting a new market is over for Apple.  The competition is too smart, too big, and too well funded.  Apple and Cook have to adjust to the times.  Otherwise they will continue to fall behind.

So you know what Apple is working on? Methinks you are going to be embarrassed that you ever said that a couple of years, just like legions of bozos who’ve sold them short for decades now.

Mike Wuerthele said:

canukstorm said:

anantksundaram said:

designr said:

rogifan_new said:

Here’s a good article that rationally discusses Apple’s current issues: https://500ish.com/apples-precarious-and-pivotal-2019-f4f8cea3993a

From that article:

Second, and more likely, the battery replacement issue suggests that many people are no longer upgrading iPhones because they’re now “good enough” and everyone is more than happy to just pay a bit more for a better battery.

This is what I've been saying for a while. This combined with higher prices simply aggravates the problem.

This article — rare for the WSJ, when it comes to the topic of Apple — is on point: https://www.wsj.com/articles/apples-troubles-extend-beyond-china-11546565062?mod=article_inline

People keep talking about high prices but this Tweet thread sums Apple's pricing situation better than any article I've read:

1.  

https://twitter.com/cremnob/status/1080635425268645888

2. 

https://twitter.com/cremnob/status/1080700390713278464

3. 

https://twitter.com/cremnob/status/1080704254992621569

Yeah, we hit this in November.

https://appleinsider.com/articles/18/11/12/tim-cook-is-only-robbing-you-if-you-thought-steve-jobs-was-too

Time to hit it again, this time with a shorter, simpler, and more focused (less chatty)  story. The gross margin has not changed significantly since the iPhone/iPad-based Big Apple appeared. Prices go up because the components and technology increase in cost. Period.

Repeat the story until people here stop slavishly repeating that Apple is getting greedier in its pricing. Also repeat the Dilger-ish angle that Apple earns that 38% margin legitimately by investing massively in new silicon, hardware and software; it deserves the high 38% margin (but too high) by producing the finest mass consumer devices ever produced anywhere by any company. Period again.

Edit: And they need to hold on the the hard-earned cash they amass for times like this, and to move into new monster markets like wearable 3D displays, AI, AR, and the biggest market of all, intelligence-augmented mobility, e.g., self-driving cars.