iPhone XR iPhone XR at Apple only $449

[thadoggfather]

This isn’t one of those threads. Although it seems like you can’t have a discussion of the XR on macrumors without it going one or another way.

This is a “how will Apples future plans with iPhones go and was this indeed a reason they are stopping reporting numbers at quarterly reports”.

Apple is offering an -official- promotion after Black Friday in the holiday season for a smartphone they just released. This is rare, and a big deviation from the past. It really doesn’t matter you can get more on Ebay or swappa or a dark alley, it matters it’s an official company promotion on an essentially brand new product, that isn’t apples style.

But it’s mostly marketing

7+ traded for 285 up until a few days after Xr then dropped to 250

Now it’s 300

So it’s really a $15 trade in bonus from launch, and $50 bump from the price they reduced $35 recently

I’m surprised apple didn’t say “Xr for $250”

With an asterisk iPhone X $500 trade in, which was $525 not long ago and got bumped down too

 

[Newtons Apple]

I imagine Apple will be just fine too, it’s just a strange move from a company like them, if you don’t feel like acknowledging it that’s completely fine.

There’s been rumors Apple will slash the price, this is probably as close to that as will officially happen I imagine.

I am quite comfortable, are you?

I would not call their promotion "slashing prices" but for those who need to make the headlines . . . .

I am done here.

 

[acorntoy]

But it’s mostly marketing

7+ traded for 285 up until a few days after Xr then dropped to 250

Now it’s 300

So it’s really a $15 trade in bonus from launch, and $50 bump from the price they reduced $35 recently

I’m surprised apple didn’t say “Xr for $250”

With an asterisk iPhone X $500 trade in, which was $525 not long ago and got bumped down too

Like I said, it seems like a play to get older iPhone users to upgrade (Pre iPhone 8/X who probably upgraded immediately). They have never advertised a deal or promotion for their new phones in the past, so are they struggling more this year to upgrade older users or is it just a continuation of a trend? We know people have been holding on to their phones for longer, so it could simply be a new ploy to try to upgrade people.
[doublepost=1543856949][/doublepost]

I am quite comfortable, are you?

I would not call their promotion "slashing prices" but for those who need to make the headlines . . . .

I am done here.

I never said it counted as “slashing price” I said this is the closest that will happen to to the rumor that that would happen. This is a small deal, I never believed Apple would “slash the price” but I also never believed that Apple would even offer a front page promotion on their new product either. Have a good day.

 

[thadoggfather]

Like I said, it seems like a play to get older iPhone users to upgrade (Pre iPhone 8/X who probably upgraded immediately). They have never advertised a deal or promotion for their new phones in the past, so are they struggling more this year to upgrade older users or is it just a continuation of a trend? We know people have been holding on to their phones for longer, so it could simply be a new ploy to try to upgrade people.

Probably that and just raising awareness they have a trade in program period.

But they aren’t really dropping their pants on pricing, Just creating the illusion they are and in case of Japan with XR, dropping it for carrier subsidies but likely more than making up for it on backend.

 

[ftaok]

Like I said, it seems like a play to get older iPhone users to upgrade (Pre iPhone 8/X who probably upgraded immediately). They have never advertised a deal or promotion for their new phones in the past, so are they struggling more this year to upgrade older users or is it just a continuation of a trend? We know people have been holding on to their phones for longer, so it could simply be a new ploy to try to upgrade people.
[doublepost=1543856949][/doublepost]

I never said it counted as “slashing price” I said this is the closest that will happen to to the rumor that that would happen. This is a small deal, I never believed Apple would “slash the price” but I also never believed that Apple would even offer a front page promotion on their new product either. Have a good day.

We all know that the high-end smartphone market has flattened. And in the US, the competition among the carriers is fiercer than ever.

The way that I interpret this move is that Apple would like to sell more iPhones via the Apple Store instead of through carrier stores. Apple doesn't compete in a vacuum. There are other outlets to get iPhones. If AT&T is offering $700 off of an iPhone (with a new line activation), Apple has to compete against that. On the surface, an iPhone sold by AT&T is equal in unit sales to an iPhone sold by Apple. However, if Apple sells the iPhone, they get the opportunity to upsell the customer into an AppleCare purchase, an increase in iCloud storage, and/or maybe some accessories.

With the carriers being more agressive this year than I can remember, Apple has to play ball too. The extra $100 or so in the form of a gift card really costs Apple very little and gives them an opportunity for the upsell.

I wouldn't read too much into this as implying lousy sales for this quarter. Luckily, we'll know all around mid-February.

 

[JPack]

1. Device costs have gone up and replacement cycles are longer at 33 months compared to 23 months in 2014.

2. The world is buying more refurbished smartphones. About 10% of the smartphones sold are refurbished. Apple wants to increase their presence in that market.

3. Apple wants your old iPhone to kill two birds with one stone. It allows them to reduce the inventory in the secondary market for iPhone.

 

[doboy]

Like I said, it seems like a play to get older iPhone users to upgrade (Pre iPhone 8/X who probably upgraded immediately). They have never advertised a deal or promotion for their new phones in the past, so are they struggling more this year to upgrade older users or is it just a continuation of a trend? We know people have been holding on to their phones for longer, so it could simply be a new ploy to try to upgrade people.

I agree with this sentiment. The price hike and iOS 12 working well for the older devices don't bode well for Apple.

 

[44267547]

Eh what? Trade in required, seems to me like Apple is struggling to get users of older iPhones to upgrade to it.

I agree. Apple trade-ins are very aggressive this year, and they really want to see those upgrade to the XR, because offering lucrative trade-in offers for previous iPhones, the consumer naturally will upgrade to the new form factor offering Face ID, and even most of the marketing right now is geared towards the XR versus the XS.

 

[thadoggfather]

I agree. Apple trade-ins are very aggressive this year, and they really want to see those upgrade to the XR, because offering lucrative trade-in offers for previous iPhones, the consumer naturally will upgrade to the new form factor offering Face ID, and even most of the marketing right now is geared towards the XR versus the XS.

I feel like the kinda user that’s wants the additions of xs or xs max is either aware it’s out or bundles it in as x twrritroy and 999 starting price last year and they wouldn’t be wrong

So not much marketing needed for same phone visually as last year and a bigger version

Tbh the trade in 7+ sealed it for me personally rationalizing wise so I made it happen

 

[cub4bearin]

best deal this season was Walmart one... XS or XS Max with $300 Walmart gift card. And if You got 8 they were giving $400 gift card. One would think what to do with the gift card if You don't shop there... there are online places like cardpool to sell it with small cut... OR what I am doing, buying gas for my cars at Murphy Gas station.

 

[doboy]

best deal this season was Walmart one... XS or XS Max with $300 Walmart gift card. And if You got 8 they were giving $400 gift card. One would think what to do with the gift card if You don't shop there... there are online places like cardpool to sell it with small cut... OR what I am doing, buying gas for my cars at Murphy Gas station.

Not if you have to pay inflated postpaid plan prices.

 

[cub4bearin]

Not if you have to pay inflated postpaid plan prices.

how so inflated? price of the phone divided by 24 months. Buying the phone outright would cost me exactly the same but in one large payment. I got free $300 back to use as I pleased.

 

[Newtons Apple]

Need to fix the thread title as it is very misleading.

 

[C DM]

Need to fix the thread title as it is very misleading.

Strangely enough even reporting that to request modification the report was dismissed.

 

[appleoverload]

how so inflated? price of the phone divided by 24 months. Buying the phone outright would cost me exactly the same but in one large payment. I got free $300 back to use as I pleased.

compare what your postpaid plan costs per month to what prepaid plans are out there and that $300 back certainly isn't 'free'

 

[acorntoy]

https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...ing-sales-of-iphone-xs-and-iphone-xr.2158600/

Looks like im not crazy

 

[ftaok]

https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...ing-sales-of-iphone-xs-and-iphone-xr.2158600/

Looks like im not crazy

What's your point?

So Apple wants to sell more iPhones and they are putting out more promotions and advertising. What does that tell you?

Are you implying that iPhone unit sales are going to be bad this quarter ... don't answer, I know what you're gonna say.

Let's all relax. Wait until mid-Feb. Then digest the numbers that Apple releases.

Unless you're an investor and you care about the day-to-day ups and downs of the stock price. Then carry on.

 

[Renho]

The promo is the they're giving an extra 70-100 dollars per trade-in. If you're not trading in an iPhone, you get nothing. As promotions go, it's a pretty terrible one. It's aimed only at people they're trying to get to jump from a 6 or 7 to the XR or XS.

When have you ever seen a promo like this from them? After launch at that, not before.

I’m glad the XR isn’t doing well. I hope as a whole it’s not going well. Time to rethink!
[doublepost=1543943161][/doublepost]

What's your point?

So Apple wants to sell more iPhones and they are putting out more promotions and advertising. What does that tell you?

Are you implying that iPhone unit sales are going to be bad this quarter ... don't answer, I know what you're gonna say.

Let's all relax. Wait until mid-Feb. Then digest the numbers that Apple releases.

Unless you're an investor and you care about the day-to-day ups and downs of the stock price. Then carry on.

We don’t have to be an investor to care. This matters to all who buys them. We may very well see a pricing shift for our next purchases. So it does matter to all. And I’m sorry but production cuts, promos that have “never” been done. Yes it is not going as planned!

 

[acorntoy]

What's your point?

So Apple wants to sell more iPhones and they are putting out more promotions and advertising. What does that tell you?

Are you implying that iPhone unit sales are going to be bad this quarter ... don't answer, I know what you're gonna say.

Let's all relax. Wait until mid-Feb. Then digest the numbers that Apple releases.

Unless you're an investor and you care about the day-to-day ups and downs of the stock price. Then carry on.

I actually just wanted a productive discussion on wether on not Apples strategy is working or not, if the vision they have for the "standard" phone is correct or not. If they might be straying off course by making the cheapest phone so big.. Instead I got a couple people calling me crazy and the deal isnt worth mentioning and others assuming that I was saying Apple is doomed (looks like including you too!), so when the deal popped up on the front page it was a bit nice to see that others noticed a weird Apple decision as well.

Also I am an investor.

Honestly has this website degraded to just people complaining constantly about Apple and people refusing to do anything but try to praise them? It seems like discussion is seriously lacking.

 

[ftaok]

I actually just wanted a productive discussion on wether on not Apples strategy is working or not, if the vision they have for the "standard" phone is correct or not. If they might be straying off course by making the cheapest phone so big.. Instead I got a couple people calling me crazy and the deal isnt worth mentioning and others assuming that I was saying Apple is doomed (looks like including you too!), so when the deal popped up on the front page it was a bit nice to see that others noticed a weird Apple decision as well.

Also I am an investor.

You've stated your opinion and/or interpretation of the trade-in promotion as a sign that unit sales are not good (see posts #1 and #15). That's fine, it could very well be the case. Or it could be other factors, like the interpretation that I posted in post #30.

Apple has telegraphed their intentions. They want to guide Wall Street into focusing on their Services numbers. I think we can all agree that this is the case.

So, as I stated in Post #30, this holiday season has seen some great carrier deals, better than I've seen in a long time. Apple doesn't sell iPhones in a vacuum. They compete with the big box retailers as well as the carriers.

Selling iPhones at the Apple Store (vs. big box retailers and/or carriers) allows Apple to upsell the customer into AppleCare and potentially iCloud and Apple Music. All of these things are rolled into the Service number, which is the sector that Apple wants to highlight. Plus Apple isn't against selling more iPhones either, especially if it retains an iPhone users, or better yet, grabs an Android switcher.

The increased trade-in promotion is a small price to pay to bring/retain a user into the iOS ecosystem.

 

[Givmeabrek]

I hope that Apple does not go Bankrupt, I have gift cards to use!

Better hurry, they are down to their last trillion...

 

[ftaok]

When have you ever seen a promo like this from them? After launch at that, not before.

I’m glad the XR isn’t doing well. I hope as a whole it’s not going well. Time to rethink!
[doublepost=1543943161][/doublepost]

We don’t have to be an investor to care. This matters to all who buys them. We may very well see a pricing shift for our next purchases. So it does matter to all. And I’m sorry but production cuts, promos that have “never” been done. Yes it is not going as planned!

OK, so you're happy that the new iPhones are not selling well because ... why? So that Apple will bring back the things that matter to you? Are you ....

1. disappointed that the 4" form factor is no longer in play?
2. disappointed that TouchID is not included in the flagship anymore?
3. disappointed that the pricing of the flagship model has been increasing (a lot) year by year since 2014?
4. hoping that lower sales will force Apple to bring back a $650 flagship with all of the cutting edge tech.
5. something else?

My point is that we'll know everything come mid-Feb. The only people that should care, right now, are investors looking to track Wall Street sentiment so that they can make a good decision regarding their AAPL shares. Everyone else should just relax because nothing's going to change between now and then.

 

[Ebok]

Let's all relax. Wait until mid-Feb. Then digest the numbers that Apple releases.

apple said they aren't releasing numbers..

how much more evidence do you need. jesus

 

[ftaok]

apple said they aren't releasing numbers..

how much more evidence do you need. jesus

Unit sales aren't the only number. Apple will release the numbers they see fit, which in this case will be iPhone revenues. At some point in February, IDC and Gartner will release their estimates for iPhone estimated shipments.

We will all be able to do some arithmetic to see if IDC/Gartner's numbers make sense by diving Apple's revenue number by their estimated unit sales. This will give an estimated ASP for iPhone.

We can all make our comparisons at that point to determine if the IDC/Garnter numbers make sense. I would suspect that both the IDC and Gartner estimates will be close to each other and be close to the real number (which we'll never know, unless Apple changes their mind).

 

[doboy]

how so inflated? price of the phone divided by 24 months. Buying the phone outright would cost me exactly the same but in one large payment. I got free $300 back to use as I pleased.

I meant the post-paid plan itself is inflated, not the phone price