Other Apple's revenue miss--tacit admission of shady iPhone business practices?

[boltjames]

Basically hwat i'm reading on here is that

A) Prices are too darn high

B) Older iPhones are running just fine (people aren't seeing a slow down if they change the battery or whatever)

Maybe its a combination affect

Prices were breakthrough-high last year, eclipsing the $1000 pricepoint, and Apple had record earnings and the iPhone X became the best selling smartphone in history. There are two lessons there:

A) The true iPhone userbase wants a premium phone that's different than everyone else's and is willing to pay a premium price to get it.

B) 2017/18 was a perfect storm where there were pent-up consumers still in their iPhone 7's who waited 3 years for something truly new and you had all those "S" people who were ready after 2 years as well. Without question the biggest ready-for-a-new-iPhone audience in history.

Flash forward to today and the true iPhone userbase has it's X's already, the XS is nothing new, and we're going to wait another 2-3 years for Apple to come out with something really breakthru again. Apple pays the price in 2019 for the perfect storm of success in 2018 and it's not their fault- the days of new-every-two are over.

Where Apple can get itself into real trouble is if people who paid $1000 for an X a year ago thinking they were buying a top-of-the-line luxury smartphone see that there is something almost the same with that recognizable Notch that can be had for $499. It de-values what they've purchased.

Apple should have kept the X and eventual XS and the Notch up at the $1000-plus range and kept making the iPhone 7/8 look with a home button for the moderate and budget customer. Apple messed up with the Xr. They should have known better. They've always made luxury electronics and knocking themselves off and upsetting the luxury consumer was beneath them and sold us out.

 

[Hieveryone]

Prices were breakthrough-high last year, eclipsing the $1000 pricepoint, and Apple had record earnings and the iPhone X became the best selling smartphone in history. There are two lessons there:

A) The true iPhone userbase wants a premium phone that's different than everyone else's and is willing to pay a premium price to get it.

B) 2017/18 was a perfect storm where there were pent-up consumers still in their iPhone 7's who waited 3 years for something truly new and you had all those "S" people who were ready after 2 years as well. Without question the biggest ready-for-a-new-iPhone audience in history.

Flash forward to today and the true iPhone userbase has it's X's already, the XS is nothing new, and we're going to wait another 2-3 years for Apple to come out with something really breakthru again. Apple pays the price in 2019 for the perfect storm of success in 2018 and it's not their fault- the days of new-every-two are over.

Where Apple can get itself into real trouble is if people who paid $1000 for an X a year ago thinking they were buying a top-of-the-line luxury smartphone see that there is something almost the same with that recognizable Notch that can be had for $499. It de-values what they've purchased.

Apple should have kept the X and eventual XS and the Notch up at the $1000-plus range and kept making the iPhone 7/8 look with a home button for the moderate and budget customer. Apple messed up with the Xr. They should have known better. They've always made luxury electronics and knocking themselves off and upsetting the luxury consumer was beneath them and sold us out.

But don’t you think it’s that traffic light lens that gives the impression of luxury to most?

Aren’t most people seeing the back anyway??

And then if you know dudes got the notch but it’s throw up orange then dude got the “budget” model
[doublepost=1546491574][/doublepost]

Prices were breakthrough-high last year, eclipsing the $1000 pricepoint, and Apple had record earnings and the iPhone X became the best selling smartphone in history. There are two lessons there:

A) The true iPhone userbase wants a premium phone that's different than everyone else's and is willing to pay a premium price to get it.

B) 2017/18 was a perfect storm where there were pent-up consumers still in their iPhone 7's who waited 3 years for something truly new and you had all those "S" people who were ready after 2 years as well. Without question the biggest ready-for-a-new-iPhone audience in history.

Flash forward to today and the true iPhone userbase has it's X's already, the XS is nothing new, and we're going to wait another 2-3 years for Apple to come out with something really breakthru again. Apple pays the price in 2019 for the perfect storm of success in 2018 and it's not their fault- the days of new-every-two are over.

Where Apple can get itself into real trouble is if people who paid $1000 for an X a year ago thinking they were buying a top-of-the-line luxury smartphone see that there is something almost the same with that recognizable Notch that can be had for $499. It de-values what they've purchased.

Apple should have kept the X and eventual XS and the Notch up at the $1000-plus range and kept making the iPhone 7/8 look with a home button for the moderate and budget customer. Apple messed up with the Xr. They should have known better. They've always made luxury electronics and knocking themselves off and upsetting the luxury consumer was beneath them and sold us out.

But don’t you think it’s that traffic light lens that gives the impression of luxury to most?

Aren’t most people seeing the back anyway??

And then if you know dudes got the notch but it’s throw up orange then dude got the “budget” model

 

[zero-balance]

I got caught by this too. My 6S battery would not last the day, yet it tested fine. Although I offered to pay the full $79, I was not able to get a new battery through Apple so I bought a new iPhone 8. Just past the return window, Apple changed the policy on battery replacements. I'd still be using that 6S today if Apple had been honest about the battery situation. I'm pretty pleased to see them suffer the consequences of this, frankly.

This happened to me, too.

I took my 6S into the Apple store in the mall in 2017. I said, "I'd like to get my battery replaced."

The Apple girl hooked it up to some device and then said, "it's testing fine."

I said, "I don't care how it's testing. I know it's not running well. I know that a new battery will fix it. I have $79. Please replace the battery."

She said, "I'm sorry, we can't replace the battery."

"You can't replace the battery or you won't replace the battery?"

"I'm sorry," she said.

WTF!!!! I'm still pissed about that. I'm the customer. I have money. I want a service that only Apple offers. They won't do it!!!!??!!!

I hope this company gets sued into oblivion.

 

[jeremiah256]

If they are guilty of anything, it's over-estimating the attractiveness of the new iPhone X line on potential customers in the current economical and political environment, and also under-estimating the market segment that is tired of large phones. They didn't think those with the iPhone SE/5S/6S/7 would elect to keep their phones when the iPhone XR was available. And anecdotally, my wife doesn't want a big phone. Nor does she feel she needs a $1000 phone based on her use case. So, battery upgrade it is.

 

[Phone Junky]

Definitely. I kept my iPhone 7 straight until I bought my X because in that 3 year gap there was nothing new to get me excited enough to upgrade.

But the X knocked it out of the park. Great innovation, great battery life, and great reliability.

When Apple pulls the old “S” trick there is a huge thud. They need to come to grips with a 3 year release cycle and stop the nonsense in between.

Prices were breakthrough-high last year, eclipsing the $1000 pricepoint, and Apple had record earnings and the iPhone X became the best selling smartphone in history. There are two lessons there:

A) The true iPhone userbase wants a premium phone that's different than everyone else's and is willing to pay a premium price to get it.

B) 2017/18 was a perfect storm where there were pent-up consumers still in their iPhone 7's who waited 3 years for something truly new and you had all those "S" people who were ready after 2 years as well. Without question the biggest ready-for-a-new-iPhone audience in history.

Flash forward to today and the true iPhone userbase has it's X's already, the XS is nothing new, and we're going to wait another 2-3 years for Apple to come out with something really breakthru again. Apple pays the price in 2019 for the perfect storm of success in 2018 and it's not their fault- the days of new-every-two are over.

Where Apple can get itself into real trouble is if people who paid $1000 for an X a year ago thinking they were buying a top-of-the-line luxury smartphone see that there is something almost the same with that recognizable Notch that can be had for $499. It de-values what they've purchased.

Apple should have kept the X and eventual XS and the Notch up at the $1000-plus range and kept making the iPhone 7/8 look with a home button for the moderate and budget customer. Apple messed up with the Xr. They should have known better. They've always made luxury electronics and knocking themselves off and upsetting the luxury consumer was beneath them and sold us out.

There was only 14 months between your iPhone 7 and iPhone X, not 3 years.
iPhone 7 release date: September 16 2016.
iPhone X release date: November 3 2017

 

[jeffreymabq]

If they are guilty of anything, it's over-estimating the attractiveness of the new iPhone X line on potential customers.... They didn't think those with the iPhone SE/5S/6S/7 would elect to keep their phones when the iPhone XR was available. And anecdotally, my wife doesn't want a big phone. Nor does she feel she needs a $1000 phone based on her use case. So, battery upgrade it is.

Exactly this. Just replaced my wife's battery last month. My wife is a technology teacher, so we upgrade toys all the time. Her current iPhone is over three years old (which is ancient in our house). She sees no reason to upgrade. Of course, she runs a Mac lab, so she is not switching anything, but the rest of the family is kind of worn out on Apple.

Me? Apple is annoying me with a lot of little things so they can maintain control over me. Easiest example is when it automatically fills in a million character password, so I have to stay anchored to iCloud passwords, or when I have to generate an "app specific password" to access my iCloud contacts on Outlook for Windows. I switched from an iPhone to a Note this summer. My parents (both in their 70s) are trying to hold onto their iPhone 6s because they don't want to figure out how to deal with FaceID and no home button.

I don't hate Apple, I am not bashing Apple, but they are not the same company they were 5 - 10 years ago. Their product line has matured, they don't have the "one more thing" to justify the premium and they seem to make some changes just for change's sake.

 

[I7guy]

I’m answer to the forum thread in one word: No.
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...I hope this company gets sued into oblivion.

Don’t hold your breath. I wish I had the problem of reporting “only” 84B.

 

[boltjames]

There was only 14 months between your iPhone 7 and iPhone X, not 3 years.
iPhone 7 release date: September 16 2016.
iPhone X release date: November 3 2017

I typed the wrong number.

iPhone 6 release date September 19, 2014
iPhone X release date: November 3 2017

As someone who has owned every iPhone in the new-every-two cycle since the beginning I stayed with the iPhone 6 for three years as the 7 didn't offer me anything and took away the headphone jack which I viewed as a negative (now as a positive).