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

[Michael Scrip]

Yes, off course they want to sell as much as possible and maximize profit but also keep the demand high and the statue quo and image of a product that is high in demand and the feeling of privilege to have one while others have to wait or chase stock around.
Trust me they know what they're doing with supply, marketing and sales and the amount of stock they release and at what time intervals.
They are really good at what they do and how they do it. That's why they are the most valuable company in the world. Nothing they do is random.

I just think the whole concept of "lines to create buzz" is overblown... especially with the online pre-order situation. There were no news crews filming people pre-ordering iPhones in their underwear.

The "people standing in lines" story is a one-day story. It hits... then it's forgotten. Is that worth more than the $18 billion they could have gotten if they had more units available?

I'm still baffled by the idea that Apple could have produced 30 million iPhones at launch... but they made the conscious decision to only make 10 million at launch.

Like I said... they would have had no problem unloading those 30 million units... and still had lines in 500 Apple Stores and thousands of carrier stores in 55 countries.

That's why I lean more towards the idea of production simply being maxed out... instead of a purposeful slowdown in production.

But hey... I trust you, Juice. If you say Apple doesn't make enough iPhones because they want people to squirm... I'll believe you.

Just remind me next year when this topic comes up again... I'll have likely forgotten.

 

[nfl46]

I don't think its Apple, its smartphones in general. We're at a point where they basically all do the same thing. Even Samsung devices, they just don't have that WOW factor anymore. Everything just seems stale. Or maybe because I'm getting old and don't have time to customized my phone all day. I'm okay with not having the latest iPhone. That definitely wasn't the case years ago, though. On top of that, budget/midrange phones are getting GOOD for half the price of flagships.

 

[Applejuiced]

I just think the whole concept of "lines to create buzz" is overblown... especially with the online pre-order situation. There were no news crews filming people pre-ordering iPhones in their underwear.

The "people standing in lines" story is a one-day story. It hits... then it's forgotten. Is that worth more than the $18 billion they could have gotten if they had more units available?

I'm still baffled by the idea that Apple could have produced 30 million iPhones at launch... but they made the conscious decision to only make 10 million at launch.

Like I said... they would have had no problem unloading those 30 million units... and still had lines in 500 Apple Stores and thousands of carrier stores in 55 countries.

That's why I lean more towards the idea of production simply being maxed out... instead of a purposeful slowdown in production.

But hey... I trust you, Juice. If you say Apple doesn't make enough iPhones because they want people to squirm... I'll believe you.

Just remind me next year when this topic comes up again... I'll have likely forgotten.

I'm not saying they don't make enough iPhones just to get people to squirm
They just know very well what to do with the stock that they have and the retail order chain in order to maximize profit and keep demand, the iPhone craze and sales high.

 

[dk001]

I'm not saying they don't make enough iPhones just to get people to squirm
They just know very well what to do with the stock that they have and the retail order chain in order to maximize profit and keep demand, the iPhone craze and sales high.

That said they seem to continually have issues with the launch sale process. Makes me think it's the same ol' same ol' process....

 

[naturalstar]

Outside the bubble of tech enthusiasts with money to burn, this has been happening for a while now. It started happening as soon as the subsidies went away and it was replaced with either pay full price or join the perpetual phone payment on top of your monthly cell phone bill in order to upgrade. Coincidentally, cell phone bills started increasing as new plans were introduced and some carriers forced changes when customers wanted to upgrade. A perfect storm for people to start thinking about the necessity of changing their phones at every new release.

It used to be a lot more commonplace to read all phones on a plan were getting upgraded at the same time. Now I see more and more of people buying one phone and passing the older phone to someone else. Or if upgrades are really necessary, only one person may get the latest and greatest and others will get new, but older models. Or people will get whatever happens to be the best deal at the time.

It’s not just financial, it’s also psychological. Apple crossing the $1K barrier made many pause, even the keynote was quiet at the price announcement, lol. My husband makes more money than me. He saw that $1K price tag and he instantly went, “HA HA! Hell no”. He still has his iPhone 6 and is just fine. He’ll probably get it eventually - on a good discounted price. This is the same with many I know who are very sound financially, friends and co-workers.

I haven’t taken any office polls or looked at every phone, but I know of 4 co-workers and 2 friends with the X. Reviews are mixed as far as enthusiasm goes. While they all generally like it, the driving factor for all of them except one was that it was time to upgrade. Only one wanted the latest and greatest on Day 1.

I know others who say they are going to get the X eventually or in the next couple of months. They just aren’t in any big rush. And some of those may just be talking or making posts for Facebook.

And absolutely none of the current Android owners I know are making the switch to the iPhone. When I came from Android to the 6 Plus, there were many who came along with me, both online and off. We could not wait! I’ve read very few posters by comparison on making that switch this year. That’s more telling to me.

In general, it’s simple. The mainstream of smartphone customers is made up of many individuals with varying priorities and needs. All Apple can do is compete to get what they can of that market share. I think they are very aware of who they are ultimately going after within the smartphone user group because they continue to do very well in sales.

 

[Archer1440]

You're right. I used my X on the scanner to check in at Seattle airport Sunday night and the young TSA agent asked if it was an X. When I said yes, she smiled and asked me about it for a second, said it was the first one she'd seen.

Did she say "Ten" or "ecks"?
[doublepost=1512687486][/doublepost]

I goto to a large university (25k+ students) and I have not seen 1 iPhone X yet. My anecdotal experience is iPhone X is not that popular. I have no clue how to rationalize that with the sales figures. There must be an explanation besides muh sample size.

Ha. When I was in university I could barely afford laundry, much less $120/month and $1400 for a phone. I bet things haven't changed THAT much for people that age in that circumstance.

 

[MarkB786]

If they weren't trying to do that (creating constraint) then they would have filled the pre-orders, rather than allocating stock to the stores. It's all about buzz.

Apple (and its shareholders) MUST have the buzz. Once there is an iPhone without buzz, the stock plummets. I'm afraid Apple has gotten themselves stuck in a corner when it comes to needing lines and buzz.

 

[boltjames]

I don't think its Apple, its smartphones in general. We're at a point where they basically all do the same thing. Even Samsung devices, they just don't have that WOW factor anymore. Everything just seems stale.

It's as simple as that. Smartphones are just another commodity now, they're nothing special, they're no different than a gallon of milk. You need one, they're all the same, pick the one with the nicest story on the packaging, done.

Back when the umbrella was first invented, people went nuts, couldn't get enough of them, used them even when it wasn't raining out, there were entire forums dedicated to discussing them. A few centuries later, you buy one for $5 when you come out of the subway and throw them out on the way home.

 

[44267547]

I don't think its Apple, its smartphones in general. We're at a point where they basically all do the same thing. Even Samsung devices, they just don't have that WOW factor anymore. Everything just seems stale. Or maybe because I'm getting old and don't have time to customized my phone all day. I'm okay with not having the latest iPhone. That definitely wasn't the case years ago, though. On top of that, budget/midrange phones are getting GOOD for half the price of flagships.

I would agree with this. I think smart phones aren't necessarily plateaued, they just don't advance dramatically every single year upon their release. And given all the features and capabilities that a smart phone can do, most consumers don't utilize half of the potential Smart phone capabilities. Therefore, they don't appreciate the different capabilities and features that might be introduced into a smart phone that are 'New', because they never use them.

 

[Adelphos33]

I have spent the past few days at a business conference. Hundreds of pretty wealthy people, most tech saavy enough but not in the tech industry...

Frankly, there is not a real organic push from the regular consumer for new iPhones. Either 8 or X. Most people seemed super content on phones ranging from SE to 7+. These people will obviously upgrade to one phone or another when the time comes, but I kind of agree with the OP and feel like the normal consumer was more excited about iPhones a few years ago.

 

[kevink2]

my department is comprised of 11 people, 9 of which have iPhones, and 4 have already upgraded to the X....

your statistics are heavily flawed

I haven't seen an X where I work, other than mine which I've been using for nearly 10 days.

The smart choice would have been to keep using my 7+ for another year at least. I just got tired of the large size, and breaking belt clips.

 

[LA_LEE]

I'm not saying they don't make enough iPhones just to get people to squirm
They just know very well what to do with the stock that they have and the retail order chain in order to maximize profit and keep demand, the iPhone craze and sales high.

I could not agree more with you there. It is artificially manipulating the perceived demand with these rumors of shortages at launch and then all of the sudden when they have milked all the hype from the lines and shortages they mysterious have enough for everyone! Oh what a surprise...Not!

 

[rui no onna]

I have spent the past few days at a business conference. Hundreds of pretty wealthy people, most tech saavy enough but not in the tech industry...

Frankly, there is not a real organic push from the regular consumer for new iPhones. Either 8 or X. Most people seemed super content on phones ranging from SE to 7+. These people will obviously upgrade to one phone or another when the time comes, but I kind of agree with the OP and feel like the normal consumer was more excited about iPhones a few years ago.

The thing is a lot of people were just switching from flip phones. Besides, even $150-200 budget smartphones nowadays are way faster and more advanced than flagship models prior to the iPhone 5s/6. For iPhones, I reckon the 5s was a turning point in terms of longevity.

 

[Archer1440]

The thing is a lot of people were just switching from flip phones. Besides, even $150-200 budget smartphones nowadays are way faster and more advanced than flagship models prior to the iPhone 5s/6. For iPhones, I reckon the 5s was a turning point in terms of longevity.

I suppose that depends on where you are. In major cities, I almost never see flip phones. If you want a good cross-section just spend some time on the Tokyo subway. iPhones are 60-70% of the phones, androids are the rest. I don't remember the last time I saw a flip phone there.

 

[TheLocNar]

Most people don't like "drastic" change. But you know. A few days of using the X with no home button and realized I will never go back to a button.

 

[DankIllini]

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?

My wife and I were both excited and both upgraded to the iPhone X. That's 100% of my sample size.

 

[rui no onna]

I suppose that depends on where you are. In major cities, I almost never see flip phones. If you want a good cross-section just spend some time on the Tokyo subway. iPhones are 60-70% of the phones, androids are the rest. I don't remember the last time I saw a flip phone there.

I meant to say that 5+ years ago, a lot of people were just switching from flip phones hence, the smartphone was a novelty. Nowadays, pretty much everyone has a smartphone already and the platforms/operating systems are fairly mature.

 

[Archer1440]

I meant to say that 5+ years ago, a lot of people were just switching from flip phones hence, the smartphone was a novelty. Nowadays, pretty much everyone has a smartphone already and the platforms/operating systems are fairly mature.

Ah, understood now.

 

[Martyimac]

i don't know where I fall in this scenario. I had an SE and a 6S. Went to the SE for a while but opted for an 8. I looked at an X but at $300 more than an 8, for what I use my iPhone for which is admittedly mostly as a phone, I couldn't see spending the $300, and yes I can afford it but why spend money for something which, to me, has become an appliance, or a commodity if you prefer. Not only that, but experience has told me to be wary of first generation designs and the X is truly a new design generation.
YMMV

 

[MarkB786]

My wife and I were both excited and both upgraded to the iPhone X. That's 100% of my sample size.

Cool. Enjoy the phone!

 

[aKansasKid]

I suppose that depends on where you are. In major cities, I almost never see flip phones. If you want a good cross-section just spend some time on the Tokyo subway. iPhones are 60-70% of the phones, androids are the rest. I don't remember the last time I saw a flip phone there.

Drop in a US McDs mid-morning when the retired crowd hangs out. Tons of flip phones!

 

[dk001]

Drop in a US McDs mid-morning when the retired crowd hangs out. Tons of flip phones!

Jitterbug

 

[KingslayerG5]

Apple still has streaming services, Apple Care, and ecosystems within an ecosystem called third-party accessories and app development. Apple could sell only 50M iPhone Tens but they know how to extract more money from those users already in their ecosystem.

 

[thesaint024]

Apple still has streaming services, Apple Care, and ecosystems within an ecosystem called third-party accessories and app development. Apple could sell only 50M iPhone Tens but they know how to extract more money from those users already in their ecosystem.

I have an equally random comment. I remember a different user about a year ago that I accused of being a bot for making totally random yet subtly incendiary comments. I wonder where that guy went?

 

[Archer1440]

Drop in a US McDs mid-morning when the retired crowd hangs out. Tons of flip phones!

I'm reasonably sure that's not a core market these days...