clarker99

payeco said:

rogifan_new said:

Apple putting Apple Music on Amazon devices makes no sense to me. It does nothing to enhance Apple’s ecosystem. All it does is allow you to stream music Apple doesn’t own using another voice platform. The amount of extra services revenue they’ll get is a rounding error on their financials. And who at Apple thinks it’s a good idea for the company to be promoting Alexa? WTF? I feel bad for the HomePod team. Apparently employees who work on that product didn’t know anything about this Apple Music deal with Amazon and are not happy about it.

How is this really that different than Apple Music on Android or iTunes on Windows?

The Echo has an overwhelmingly commanding lead in this market. The reality is there are many households that are all in on Apple but also have quite a few Amazon Echos around the house. Myself included. I want one of these devices in pretty much every room and that is simply not practical, not just from a cost perspective but also from a size perspective. They are simply to large for some of the places I have Echo Dots.

The way I look at it, the HomePod is the equivalent of the iPod classic. It’s big, expensive, and more than most people want or need. The iPod really took off when the iPod mini was released. The HomePod is still waiting for it’s iPod mini equivalent.

canukstorm said:

rogifan_new said:

clarker99 said:

rogifan_new said:

yojimbo007 said:

rogifan_new said:

jdgaz said:

Until Tim Cook says something other than what he said on the earnings call I do not believe any of this baloney.

I normally wouldn’t either but the fact that Apple is aggressively pushing their trade-in program and even increased trade-in values by $100 makes me think there might be something to these rumors. Nothing like this was on the front page of Apple’s website last year or any year before that.

Maybe they’re all getting the supply chain completely wrong. Wouldn’t be the firs time. Or maybe consumers are balking at the higher prices. A couple years ago the flagship iPhone started at $649. Now it’s $999. That’s not nothing. 

Lets look at facts not rhetoric.
Apple’s gross margins have been more or less the same since Steve’s time untill now.
 That says it all, period. ( public record… go check it )
All this talk about ‘Apple is greedy this, greedy that, is just BS talk from the unreasonably disgruntled individuals.. and competition’s negative propaganda....and shorts....Thats all.
 Apple has been a higher priced brand and still is…. nothing has changed.

 Plus...Old commoditized electronics or in general products becomes cheaper in time.
But Not New Cutting Edge Tehnology! The massive R&D expenses both in product and production equipment …and ramp up cost dont just evaporate in thin air.
 So lets stop this Apple bashing fad. Apple has phones from 449$ to 1500$.
 Pick the one that offers the proper value proposition for you.
 
PS..
 iPhone 7 128, when it was first released sold for 749$ 2 years or so later it is selling for 449$..
 As you can see in black and white ..the old got cheaper .. by 40 %.

Fact though is prices on flagship phones have gone up. Is price a consideration at all when Apple is designing new products. I think it should be a factor. I wish Apple would have found a way to get the new MacBook Air at a $999 starting price. Also the competition isn’t garbage anymore. Certainly not the hardware. So Apple has to work harder to justify the price premium.

The gross margin % hasnt moved! The prices are not ‘jacked up’ or ‘raised’. Why pedal this nonsense? 

So if the end consumer is paying more out of pocket that’s not a price increase? 

@clarker99 and you are both right.  Gross margins haven't gone up (for the most part) in a few year & prices have gone up on the premium end.  That tells me that the cost of doing business has gone up.  The same thing has happened on the premium end of the Android smartphone segment. A lot of that is a result of the economic and political environment. If Apple maintained premium prices based on the numbers you've given, they would take a serious hit to their gross margins. Having said that, depending on how sales go over the next year, that may be a strategy that they're willing to explore.

lewchenko said:

They are still delusional to think it will be back at 236 within a year I think. 

and I would disagree that the post above that the  markets are usually down this time of year. Quieter and flatter perhaps , but not down as much as they are. That’s due to exceptional circumstances this year and in apples case a series of bad news to go on top. 

I got lucky and sold everything I had at 227 (main reason for selling was the sky high prices they were now charging.. smelled fishy)

Key question is whether to get back in yet.  Gut says it’s gonna go lower (150 easily) before it slowly recovers back to 200 by mid next year. 

But it I do agree with the analysts that apple has a problem. And cranking up the prices is not going to work in the long run of unit sales keep falling (which they will at the prices they are now charging) . All stocks are priced for future profit, hence why it’s falling. Hiding the unit sales after years of showing them also says you have something to hide.