iPhone X Apple is losing its mainstream, non-fan core with the X

[The-Real-Deal82]

I think Apple are losing out as much as any other manufacturer at the moment.

Our largest mobile retailer suggests smartphone sales in general are in decline.

Dixons Carphone profits fall on weak demand for mobileshttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-42336179

 

[FFR]

I think Apple are losing out as much as any other manufacturer at the moment.

Our largest mobile retailer suggests smartphone sales in general are in decline.

Dixons Carphone profits fall on weak demand for mobileshttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-42336179

I wouldn’t say smartphone sales are in decline.
I would say sales at Dixon’s car phone ware house are in the decline.

No one really shops there anymore.
If you want an iPhone you get it from apple, either outright or financed or a carrier.

 

[Vanilla35]

You’re joking about IoT, right? It’s only driving just about everything in computing these days with embedded sensors everywhere generating massive amounts of data and new ML workflows for processing and analyzing.

Yeah IoT is the real deal, but I can see someone not knowing what it is unless they deal with it on a day to day basis, or are from the west coast (more savvy people there in general - specifically SD, SF, or Seattle). I bought into an IoT ETF a couple years ago and it's up like 110%% lol.

 

[jdclifford]

The last thing I think about is whether or not my iPhone model is popular with the masses. I'm sure that Apple will be in business for the next few years to sell me more iPhones. I can afford to buy them and don't care if my coworkers or grocery store clerks have iPhones or not.

I'm one of the very few people who own an Apple Watch. I'm special.

I have an AW too but almost NEVER wear it.

 

[2ndtry]

I believe you are correct OP. I’m leaning towards the pixel XL 2 or the galaxy S9/Note 9 next year. Apple is disappointing me year after year now with hardware and of course software. Apple can do so much better but for some dumb reason they won’t. I like a little customization and I like a little bit better hardware that with apples war chess can afford it but Will not.

 

[Lowhangers]

I don't see what the big deal is here. Apple also offers the 8 and 8 Plus and other non-X models. So people who don't like X can get something else. That's what I did, I bought an 8 Plus and I love it as I use landscape mode all the time. So Apple offers plenty for non-x type users.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

I wouldn’t say smartphone sales are in decline.
I would say sales at Dixon’s car phone ware house are in the decline.

No one really shops there anymore.
If you want an iPhone you get it from apple, either outright or financed or a carrier.

Carphone Warehouse are the biggest independent mobile retailer in the UK. If consumers don’t upgrade or go with carriers directly, CW are the next port of call and sell more iPhones than Apple. I don’t know anybody personally who buys their iPhone direct from Apple as the deals are rarely competitive.

When Phones4U collapsed in 2014 CW experienced a massive boom and often have up to 10 outlets in most cities and a presence in most High Streets nationwide.

They are a pretty good metric for the state of the market right now. CW also aren’t the only outlet suggesting new smartphone sales are shrinking either.

 

[CharlesShaw]

I have an AW too but almost NEVER wear it.

And because you don’t it wear yours, mine feels more special.

 

[d123]

Ive always been an iPhone fan (and still am) but reality set in with the ridiculous prices Apple is asking for the X.

I’ve bought every iPhone since the original 2G, going full price handset only as soon as Apple offered it. I’ve even camped overnight outside my local AppleStore to buy an iPhone.

I also bought into iPads (bought every model from the original to the Air 2), Apple Watch and AirPods when they’ve launched. I currently have 3 iPads.

This year I’ve bought a Galaxy s8 Plus...

Just over £600 vs £999 for the same capacity (plus the advantage of microSD with the S8 Plus), 6.2” vs 5.8”, both OLED and bezel-less, it was a complete no brainer.

I’ve kept my old iPhone 7 to link with the Watch, but even though I do prefer iOS I’m not really being held back by Android (in fact I’m finding lots of new opportunities and features to use).

If anyone had said I’d have an Android phone 6 months ago I’d have laughed at them, but even though I can afford £1000 for a phone I just find the idea totally and utterly mental when similar handsets are 50%-70% of the price, Apple is going to lose long standing and previously loyal customers with the exorbitant pricing...

 

[The Game 161]

I think Apple are losing out as much as any other manufacturer at the moment.

Our largest mobile retailer suggests smartphone sales in general are in decline.

Dixons Carphone profits fall on weak demand for mobileshttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-42336179

Thats more on the store than apple or phones in general. I think price is why. As going through carriers is normally a better option than CPW. There's more options buying sim free now from other areas where CPW were the one people went to. Not sure thats the main case at the moment

 

[d123]

Thats more on the store than apple or phones in general. I think price is why. As going through carriers is normally a better option than CPW.

You might want to go have a look, CPW handset contracts are almost always better value than direct from the networks (3UK excepted, as CPW don’t sell their contracts).

 

[The Game 161]

You might want to go have a look, CPW handset contracts are almost always better value than direct from the networks (3UK excepted, as CPW don’t sell their contracts).

They are for tablets but I haven't found them to be much different. That said many who have a contract up just carry on dealing with carriers. I think in general though the amount who upgrade every year is getting slim

 

[tonybarnaby]

The iPhone X is what drove me to get my Wife one to replace her s8. So for us, that’s what it took to have us switch to the dark side. Amoled screen was a must for my Wife.

 

[d123]

They are for tablets but I haven't found them to be much different. That said many who have a contract up just carry on dealing with carriers. I think in general though the amount who upgrade every year is getting slim

I’d say they are actually far more competitive for handsets, go and compare £ for £ what’s included, and also their data allowances offered are usually bigger as well.

The only time networks could beat them is if you get a decent deal via the network’s retentions department.

 

[RecentlyConverted]

Well, I haven’t seen one in the wild yet. Also you get an idea of people’s interest when you watch them in stores. My local Apple retailer when Apple released a new product, there would be lots of interest. Lately, little interest and often I see the X untouched. There is no wow factor. The same as I witnessed when 3D TV came out, I saw no one try it and go wow.

 

[d123]

Well, I haven’t seen one in the wild yet. Also you get an idea of people’s interest when you watch them in stores. My local Apple retailer when Apple released a new product, there would be lots of interest. Lately, little interest and often I see the X untouched. There is no wow factor. The same as I witnessed when 3D TV came out, I saw no one try it and go wow.

The only X I’ve seen was in my local Apple Store when I went to have a look at it. No one I know has actually upgraded to it or bought one.

 

[riverfreak]

Well, I haven’t seen one in the wild yet. Also you get an idea of people’s interest when you watch them in stores. My local Apple retailer when Apple released a new product, there would be lots of interest. Lately, little interest and often I see the X untouched. There is no wow factor. The same as I witnessed when 3D TV came out, I saw no one try it and go wow.

The innovation curve for all mobile manufacturers is plateauing. I see no reason to upgrade now until battery life degrades.

Right now my working stack of phones is a 6+, a 6s+, and a 7+. I can barely remember what the features were that distinguished one generation from the next. The most prominent one is the switch to a haptic button on the 7+ — it makes the physical button on the previous models feel squishy when going back and forth. But that’s about it.

About the only things that would get me to upgrade now at this point are 1) tax reasons; 2) a dead battery or cracked screen: 3) a new version of iOS that does away with the annoying and tiresome app grid but that won’t run on older generation phones.

 

[macher]

The X seems to be appealing to the core fan base, but so many people I know are either sticking with their current iPhone or going to another phone vendor. In our office not a single person out of 30 is remotely interested in the X. Of these, about 3/4 are iPhone users. Five of those (including me) have switched to an S8 or Note 8. In past years, there was a palpable excitement about the new phones. This round has fallen very flat. Where does Apple go from here? Yes, the X is selling well overall, but Apple is losing its mojo and edge as they slowly run out of ideas. Are the exciting days gone? Is the iPhone just another phone to most people outside of the fan base?

I’ve upgraded every release since the original iPhone. I would consider myself a fanboy. I was really excited about the X cause from the specs didn’t was almost the same size naked as my iPhone 7 with a Magpul case. I quickly found out that I didn’t factor in the size of the X with a similar case as the Magpul and how a similar case made the X feel like a brick and changed navigation.

Another thing was I quickly found out was that hardware isn’t the only thing to focus on. The X is one sexy looking device but when I open up the screen it’s just another iPhone and was somewhat disappointing. Yea the edge to edge screen is nice and Face ID is awesome but...

An even bigger issue for me was the X very hard to use with 1 hand with an Otterbox Symmetry case and it makes the X feel like a brick. IMO the X isn’t made for those types of cases but cases like the Apple cases or similar slim cases with the complete cut out on the bottom. I need medium protection.

The footprint of the X isn’t good for me. Believe it or not the bezels on the 6/7/8 make the footprint much easier for me to use my device especially 1 handed.

Returned the X in 2 weeks. Would have kept my 7 if it wasn’t for my wife wanted a smaller phone that her 6S Plus. Got an 8 on her line, swapped sims and gave her my 7 and I took the 8. Couldn’t be happier.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

Thats more on the store than apple or phones in general. I think price is why. As going through carriers is normally a better option than CPW. There's more options buying sim free now from other areas where CPW were the one people went to. Not sure thats the main case at the moment

It’s not just carphone warehouse who are saying this though is it? We’ve had reports stretching back as far as January 2016 that suggest less people are on one and two year upgrades as opposed to a couple of years ago.

Sim only is a growing trend because people are switching to this at the end of their contracts instead of upgrading to a new phone. With sim contracts offered by Three and Giffgaff beating carriers and CW on new phones deals it’s no wonder the market is shrinking.

We are in an era now where the thirst to get a new phone every one or two years is a thing of the past for a significant part of the market in Europe. Apple and Samsung are hoping to hype up new releases like the X and S8 but are more expensive phones the answer in a saturated market? I think we are going to see further claims of shrinkage in the coming months.

I am yet to physically see an iPhone X both professionally and socially. I honestly can’t remember a time before where a new iPhone is so illusive.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

You might want to go have a look, CPW handset contracts are almost always better value than direct from the networks (3UK excepted, as CPW don’t sell their contracts).

Indeed. My last upgrade was with CPW as O2 couldn’t beat plans offered even on their own network!

 

[44267547]

The only X I’ve seen was in my local Apple Store when I went to have a look at it. No one I know has actually upgraded to it or bought one.

I think others are under the notion that everyone is adopting the iPhone X or upgrading, but it's only been available for a just over a month and it's still relatively an expensive iPhone. When you factor those two things together, it will slowly grow in population over time.

 

[Archer1440]

Perhaps the average person misunderstands the purpose of the iPhone X. It’s not for the masses. People who like iOS and the Apple ecosystem have many more affordable choices, from an 8 to a practically free used 5 and everything in between.

And for the great unwashed...There’s always a cheap android to be found.

For those who appreciate premium items, Apple has something for us too.

 

[Applejuiced]

Perhaps the average person misunderstands the purpose of the iPhone X. It’s not for the masses. People who like iOS and the Apple ecosystem have many more affordable choices, from an 8 to a practically free used 5 and everything in between.

And for the great unwashed...There’s always a cheap android to be found.

For those who appreciate premium items, Apple has something for us too.

Except many dont see this as a "premium" item.
For many various reasons so if you like it then go buy it, if I dont like it I will not buy it.
It has nothing to do about it being a premium item or being able to afford the price tag or not.

 

[UnifiedMelody]

apple still making huge ass profits... the fact they are more diverse with their choices available is a plus for me nd everyone else where we r not forced to buy the top end but have choices now to pick base on use and needs....

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

Perhaps the average person misunderstands the purpose of the iPhone X. It’s not for the masses. People who like iOS and the Apple ecosystem have many more affordable choices, from an 8 to a practically free used 5 and everything in between.

And for the great unwashed...There’s always a cheap android to be found.

For those who appreciate premium items, Apple has something for us too.

The average person like me is a bit confused as to why Apple has stopped focusing on the mainstream and is now only really delivering semi exciting products to the more wealthy consumer though. It’s a bit of an odd turnaround considering a couple of years ago the latest iPhone was the best they could offer and reached a much larger market.

Those with the X can sure look on the bright side of this while the iPhone 8 is mocked as some 4 year evolution of rather boring proportions. In a market that is so saturated with capable smartphones I think their strategy is risky. It’s already proving to have slowed down demand for new handsets where I live and other parts of Europe as people no longer have to pay big money to get a top smartphone. It’s frustrating for iPhone users that want Apples best though, but I think the whole niche focus will be short lived.

When an iPhone 7 is outselling the latest offerings you have to wonder why this is?