iPhone X Nearly 6 months in, the iPhone X isn't that successful

[Martyimac]

"Bugs"? The iPhone X has no bugs, in fact, it's the most stable and speedy iPhone I've ever owned and I've owned them all, not to mention it's primarily an iteration of a set of technologies that's over 10 years old, and you think it's a beta device?

"Marketing tool"? The iPhone X is the best selling iPhone every week since its launch in November, but you think it's some test like some new flavor of Jello?

The level of comedy is reaching epic heights.

How about this folks: The iPhone X is the perfect smartphone, in only a few months it has become the best selling product of the world's largest smartphone company, and just because you think it's too expensive doesn't mean it is. It just means you don't understand who Apple is as the largest luxury electronics brand in the world because you got a bunch of free iPhone's from your mobile carrier for awhile and think it should always be that way.

I highlighted some of your comments that struck me as odd or interesting.
The level of comedy springs from both sides of this debate. Unless you have data from Apple that hasn't been released to the general public, data like only an important senior executive like yourself would have access and are willing to release, then your statements like so many others in these iPhone X threads is nothing more than hyperbole. Outside this enclave called MacRumors, the stories are growing about iPhone sales slumping, that includes the X. The magical boundary it would seem is the $1000 price tag experiment. And if you are as senior as you claim, you should know this with your access to information us mere mortals don't have.
OBTW, Apple as never released ANYTHING that was perfect. Perfection is a goal, very few products, if any, reach that and none that come to mind. The X sure wasn't perfect in my opinion.

 

[I7guy]

"Bugs"? The iPhone X has no bugs, in fact, it's the most stable and speedy iPhone I've ever owned and I've owned them all, not to mention it's primarily an iteration of a set of technologies that's over 10 years old, and you think it's a beta device?

"Marketing tool"? The iPhone X is the best selling iPhone every week since its launch in November, but you think it's some test like some new flavor of Jello?

The level of comedy is reaching epic heights.

How about this folks: The iPhone X is the perfect smartphone, in only a few months it has become the best selling product of the world's largest smartphone company, and just because you think it's too expensive doesn't mean it is. It just means you don't understand who Apple is as the largest luxury electronics brand in the world because you got a bunch of free iPhone's from your mobile carrier for awhile and think it should always be that way.

Let’s be honest. All software has bugs. And two people could have the same bug but totally different reactions to it. A screen glitch to some is just that, for example, the same screen glitch to others is the sign that Apple is doomed because software quality is going down hill.

 

[kiranmk2]

Simple marketing sells you that not revealing numbers, but saying things like "most popular iPhone each week'

How is it known the iPhone X hasn’t lived up to expectations? And whose expectations? Yours or apples?

I think it has and was an “experiment “ by Apple for the future.

Apple's. The language used in the last earnings call is clear that they didn't want to give numbers, but they have to give numbers in the paperwork. Have a look at the year on year changes for Q4 iPhone over the years (freely available on the Apple web site)

Q4 2014 (iPhone 6) - 46% unit increase YoY (57% revenue increase)
Q4 2015 (iPhone 6s) - 0% increase YoY (1% revenue increase)
Q4 2016 (iPhone 7) - 5% increase YoY (5% revenue increase)
Q4 2017 (iPhone 8/X) - 1% decrease YoY (13% revenue increase)

As you can see, the iPhone 6 gave a real super cycle but the 8/X didn't give any boost to the sales (granted that the X was only on sale for 6 weeks in Q4) but did give a boost to revenue. This means that Apple is making more money but likely through higher ASP. I don't know whether Apple was expecting iPhone 6 levels of unit increase or something more realistic, but it hasn't happened. It could suddenly happen in the next quarter, but I don't see why.

 

[I7guy]

Simple marketing sells you that not revealing numbers, but saying things like "most popular iPhone each week'


Apple's. The language used in the last earnings call is clear that they didn't want to give numbers, but they have to give numbers in the paperwork. Have a look at the year on year changes for Q4 iPhone over the years (freely available on the Apple web site)

Q4 2014 (iPhone 6) - 46% unit increase YoY (57% revenue increase)
Q4 2015 (iPhone 6s) - 0% increase YoY (1% revenue increase)
Q4 2016 (iPhone 7) - 5% increase YoY (5% revenue increase)
Q4 2017 (iPhone 8/X) - 1% decrease YoY (13% revenue increase)

As you can see, the iPhone 6 gave a real super cycle but the 8/X didn't give any boost to the sales (granted that the X was only on sale for 6 weeks in Q4) but did give a boost to revenue. This means that Apple is making more money but likely through higher ASP. I don't know whether Apple was expecting iPhone levels of unit increase or something more realistic, but it hasn't happened. It could suddenly happen in the next quarter, but I don't see why.

I appreciate that but how do we know what apple’s expectations were to begin with is my point. People are making assumptions “the x didn’t meet expectations” and I’m asking what the expectations were?

 

[craigio85]

I have 2 teen sons for who, as their wealthy father, I purchased iPhone X's for at Christmas. Not the same thing. Offspring are an anomaly. Count how many recent college graduates and new parents have iPhone X's. Not many.

Still banging this drum?

Anybody would think the price tag on an iPhone X was similar to that of a family hatchback the way you talk. We’re talking a price difference of less than £200 against the marginally (and debatably!) ‘inferior’ iPhone 8 Plus - which I assume you wouldn’t be seen dead with.

Ps. Assume you bought the first version of the Apple Watch Edition when it was retailing at Rolex prices? Just because you could afford to and it meant you felt and looked better than everybody else.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

I appreciate that but how do we know what apple’s expectations were to begin with is my point. People are making assumptions “the x didn’t meet expectations” and I’m asking what the expectations were?

True. It fell short of what analysts predicted and the demand was nowhere near the hype we saw being suggested prelaunch. I think the price tag was the true experiment though to see if it could become the new mainstream. I don’t think matched previous years based on that buy Apple seem very happy with its reception.

It’s clear the market demand now is multiple iPhones at different pricing tiers, not like the old days of one device per year. The market is mature and you no longer have to pay big money to get a top of the line phone. This means the market for the X is always going to be niche in the grand scheme of things.

 

[Harthag]

It is iOS 11 that had / has bugs, nothing to do with the iPhone X...or 8 or 7 for that matter. I love how most threads concerning iPhone X turn into World vs. BJ arguments, LOL.

My iPhone X once updated to 11.0.1 or shortly after, caused CarPlay to completely stop working with my car and always disconnect. 2018 Audi, not an old car. Spent time at the dealership with the head service engineer and we tested 4 different iPhones. The culprit was always iOS updates. I submitted beta reports as did others who participate in the beta programs and it has been addressed, finally. Not taking full credit, but you're all welcome. But to say that the iPhone itself has bugs isn't accurate. Defects sure, but not bugs. Non-responsive screens on some Samsung S9 phones, that's a big bug if not a defect.

If the iPhone X was as successful as its defenders proclaim, Apple would not have scaled back production and also will not in the future lower the price of yet to be released iPhones, which is rumored. If this comes to fruition, smells like a giant success to me! /s

It is / was a beta test, to see how much people will spend on an iPhone. It can't survive with a base price point of $1000.

 

[smetvid]

I've attended some work events with some very well-off people in recent weeks and seen a good amount of my friends. Almost all are iPhone users

1) None of my close friends own an iPhone X
2) At these work events, less than 10% of customers have an iPhone X

Many of these people would have bought the latest iPhone very quickly a few years ago. One of my best friends (a millionaire in his 30s) is still rocking a 6S.

The iPhone X is an excellent product (I'm actually considering buying a 256G version to replace my 8+); however, fewer "normal" customers are interested in it than prior phones. I don't think that is controversial at all, and all of the survey data supports this.

How can Apple fix that this year?

The 6, 7 and 8 share the same basic look and have been out for years. Same with the plus models. The X is new and those who already have working phones are not going to just rush out and get the X for $#!&$ and giggles. The X is also a concurrent model with the 8 and 8+ which means it was never going to beat the sales of either of those other phones because of market segmentation.

Honestly the only reason I don't have a X is because I prefer the width of the 8+ and I'm waiting for the iPhone X+. I'm all over that thing when it finally comes out. Some of us used to the wider + model devices don't really want to go back to a narrow phone again. The X is basically a taller upgrade to the 8 and not the 8+. I refuse to buy the 8+ knowing an x+ is coming out soon. Simple as that.

Give the X 3-4 years like the 6,7,8 and + models have been out and the sales will increase. Add the X+ and the sales will increase. Get rid of the 8 and 8+ and without a doubt people will move to the x and x+ when they need new phones.

We have also reached a point much like the tablets where the performance and features have hit a plateau and there isn't a huge driving need to upgrade phones to every new model. The 6S still performs extremely well with most everyday operations and until that changes and web browsing and apps no longer function well on the phones people will likely not upgrade. Its the reality of the processing world and eventually like computers we get to the point where they are good enough and only upgrade when they break.

 

[Persian-apple]

"Bugs"? The iPhone X has no bugs, in fact, it's the most stable and speedy iPhone I've ever owned and I've owned them all, not to mention it's primarily an iteration of a set of technologies that's over 10 years old, and you think it's a beta device?

"Marketing tool"? The iPhone X is the best selling iPhone every week since its launch in November, but you think it's some test like some new flavor of Jello?

The level of comedy is reaching epic heights.

How about this folks: The iPhone X is the perfect smartphone, in only a few months it has become the best selling product of the world's largest smartphone company, and just because you think it's too expensive doesn't mean it is. It just means you don't understand who Apple is as the largest luxury electronics brand in the world because you got a bunch of free iPhone's from your mobile carrier for awhile and think it should always be that way.

I live in a country where we should pay in full for buying iphones
and i have the X 256gb had the 5 /5S / SE /7 / 8 (i've bought The 5 and 5S and 6S+ And X for myself my family members have 7 SE and 6) and Ive tried 8 ,Borrowed it from My classmates To try it out For a short time

I dont know why i feel strange about every 2017 apple product i know It's rediculous but i feel Like these products Are Like the Iphone 6 the next model is Gonna look similar but internally its Gonna be Much more refined and stable,

I feel like every iphone was worse than the Previous after the 6S plus ,and Honestly i feel like the aspect rationis a bit wierd

I mean, these Are Just my opinion but generally speaking, They really Sacrificed Lots of Stuff to remove the home button ...

And honestly Touch id is Much faster than Face id and For me(again it's just some personal experience) the touch id on 6S plus was faster and had much less Misreadings(i mean failing to detect the fingerprint occured much less than the face ID)

I know The X is Great but i feel like it will Face Lots of bugs After 1-2years , i feel like they packed too much new technology into this , Lots of advancements in just one year and thats a bit scary to me

Again i'm just saying how I feel about these Most of what i said is Probably personal taste But i can't really understand why apple did some sacrifices like the headphone jack...

I'm a producer and As far as I know there's a delay In bluetooth headphones so basically You can never replace wired headphones With bluetooth ones, I know the delay doesn't matter much but I just dont Understand it

And for me iphone 5(2012) and 6S series have been themost stable...

But since the x is sitll new I think it's too soon to call it stable

Sorry for being too long and
Hope this helps!❤️

 

[Bojan]

"Bugs"? The iPhone X has no bugs, in fact, it's the most stable and speedy iPhone I've ever owned and I've owned them all, not to mention it's primarily an iteration of a set of technologies that's over 10 years old, and you think it's a beta device?

"Marketing tool"? The iPhone X is the best selling iPhone every week since its launch in November, but you think it's some test like some new flavor of Jello?

The level of comedy is reaching epic heights.

How about this folks: The iPhone X is the perfect smartphone, in only a few months it has become the best selling product of the world's largest smartphone company, and just because you think it's too expensive doesn't mean it is. It just means you don't understand who Apple is as the largest luxury electronics brand in the world because you got a bunch of free iPhone's from your mobile carrier for awhile and think it should always be that way.

Buggiest iPhone I owned, and owned everything since iPhone 4

 

[akash.nu]

Again i'm just saying how I feel about these Most of what i said is Probably personal taste But i can't really understand why apple did some sacrifices like the headphone jack...

I'm a producer and As far as I know there's a delay In bluetooth headphones so basically You can never replace wired headphones With bluetooth ones, I know the delay doesn't matter much but I just dont Understand it

As much as you’ve mentioned it’s your personal opinion, I couldn’t help but comment on this specific bit you brought up. Bluetooth technology has improved drastically over the years and the delay you’re talking about is negligible in most cases when you use higher end headphones.

 

[Phone Junky]

Buggiest iPhone I owned, and owned everything since iPhone 4

Ive had most since the original. What are these bugs you speak of? My X is one slick running iPhone.

 

[boltjames]

I appreciate that but how do we know what apple’s expectations were to begin with is my point. People are making assumptions “the x didn’t meet expectations” and I’m asking what the expectations were?

Exactly right. We don't know what Apple's forecast was so we don't know if the X exceeded them or not.

And the supposed 'facts' that suppliers had some raw materials like screens and chips cancelled, well, that's how big business works folks. Retailers place big orders expecting sales to exceed expectations, they force the suppliers to extend their credit and their effort on having a lot of backstock, and when actual sales come in the retailers cancel quantities that aren't needed. This happens all the time whether a smartphone or a bar of soap. Factories in China are used to this. They halt production, and that which is already made sits in storage for a few months until the retailers re-order.

I would believe that Apple's expectations for the iPhone X were to take the price up 40%, sell 20% less units, and in the end come out way ahead in revenue. And that's exactly what happened. Businesses don't count units. They count sales dollars.
[doublepost=1522276137][/doublepost]

Still banging this drum?

Anybody would think the price tag on an iPhone X was similar to that of a family hatchback the way you talk. We’re talking a price difference of less than £200 against the marginally (and debatably!) ‘inferior’ iPhone 8 Plus - which I assume you wouldn’t be seen dead with.

Ps. Assume you bought the first version of the Apple Watch Edition when it was retailing at Rolex prices? Just because you could afford to and it meant you felt and looked better than everybody else.

...and the best cup of coffee on the planet costs $50 and anyone can afford $50.

So how many $50 cups of coffee have you purchased?
[doublepost=1522276263][/doublepost]

Buggiest iPhone I owned, and owned everything since iPhone 4

List them. Go into detail.

 

[44267547]

I appreciate that but how do we know what apple’s expectations were to begin with is my point. People are making assumptions “the x didn’t meet expectations” and I’m asking what the expectations were?

My Thoughts are that most average consumers don’t have expectations of an iPhone in terms of what they expect, only what they want. If your geared to reading more what’s others expectations are on a tech site , it’s much more intricate and some of the expectations are outlandish. The biggest expectation I think others had with Apple and the iPhone X was where was the price point going to be. We all know the iPhone X lives up to the standards in what it delivers and what Apple released, but everybody has their own anecdotal expectations, but there is no definitive answer.

 

[Persian-apple]

As much as you’ve mentioned it’s your personal opinion, I couldn’t help but comment on this specific bit you brought up. Bluetooth technology has improved drastically over the years and the delay you’re talking about is negligible in most cases when you use higher end headphones.

It's not Just the Headphone Jack the Face ID Is an advanced tech but Its Honestly no better than Touch id 2nd gen

And Nope I used Airpods with logic X and Definitly You cant Record via A midi controller with airpods there's too much delay and i'm using a high-end 2017 5K imac with i7 cpu(i dont remember the ghz but it was faster than 4ghz on turbo boost i guess)

I'm saying it will probably never Be fully better than a Regular headphone not anytime soon at least
I maybe wrong but In my opinion other than being faster Iphones just became worse after 6S series ,
Appreciate the response though!❤️❤️❤️

 

[akash.nu]

It's not Just the Headphone Jack the Face ID Is an advanced tech but Its Honestly no better than Touch id 2nd gen

And Nope I used Airpods with logic X and Definitly You cant Record via A midi controller with airpods there's too much delay and i'm using a high-end 2017 5K imac with i7 cpu(i dont remember the ghz but it was faster than 4ghz on turbo boost i guess)

I'm saying it will probably never Be fully better than a Regular headphone not anytime soon at least
I maybe wrong but In my opinion other than being faster Iphones just became worse after 6S series ,
Appreciate the response though!️️️

Completely understand if you’ve given it a go already and still didn’t work for you.

 

[bushman4]

Apple said it was their best selling iPhone and the profit numbers to sales numbers confirmed this - you can't skew those numbers. It's doing very well.

Furthermore 3 people I know, including myself, have an iPhone X. So your personal experience doesn't necessarily reflect a larger picture.

Plenty of iPhone X users out there. iPhone X plus will draw a even bigger crowd

 

[kiranmk2]

I appreciate that but how do we know what apple’s expectations were to begin with is my point. People are making assumptions “the x didn’t meet expectations” and I’m asking what the expectations were?

I agree - in some ways the X was supposed to be a statement of where Apple is going in the next few years - OLED screens, FaceID, edge-to-edge screens. Now comes the risk for Apple - I think they know they aren't going to sell so many of these phones due to the higher price (caused by higher price components) but there comes the risk: if they put out a statement phone (the X) and it sells really poorly because of the high price and unavailability of bulk components it's going to look really bad and the press would have a field day and the stock price would fall.

The answer seems to have been to increase the price of the X even further and release a 'conventional' model alongside it. This way people who couldn't afford the X could go with the 8/8+ and those who could afford it would go with the X. Apple would hopefully maintain unit numbers, increase revenue and get some insight into the willingness of people to pay more.

The plan has almost worked - revenues are up, but unit sales have edged down which will start to unnerve investors. I'm certain that Apple would have liked to have been able to give a strong number for X sales (even if it was sales per week as it wasn't available for a whole quarter), but they've had to stick with the 'best selling model every week' line which, of course doesn't account for the initial burst of 8/8+ sales in September. I'm also certain that the plan was to sell more phones that last year to avoid the 1% sales dip which seemingly confirms that we've gone through 'peak iPhone'. I'm sure Apple knows this is true, but they need to convince the investors this isn't the case until they can come up with something else to replace the iPhone in term of sales.

 

[BenTrovato]

A lot of discussion around data that clearly shows the X is not a hit. Not that it's not a great device, it's just not selling in the way they had hoped. End it there. All this other commentary about bugs, and personal thoughts on price are a bit irrelevant to the data.

 

[boltjames]

A lot of discussion around data that clearly shows the X is not a hit. Not that it's not a great device, it's just not selling in the way they had hoped. End it there.

What data shows that the iPhone X is not a hit? Nothing. Zero. The last guidance on the subject was Tim Cook's earnings call where he stated very clearly that the iPhone X is the best selling iPhone each week since it's release. That's all the "data" we have. And since it's scrubbed by scores of lawyers and the SEC, you can take it as fact.

And if you want to know what iPhone is NOT a hit, try the iPhone 8 on for size. They're giving them away for FREE at AT&T. I mean, if the iPhone 8 was such a strong performer, no need to give 'em away, right? I can walk into a grocery store and buy a potato that costs more than an iPhone 8.

 

[BenTrovato]

What data shows that the iPhone X is not a hit? Nothing. Zero. The last guidance on the subject was Tim Cook's earnings call where he stated very clearly that the iPhone X is the best selling iPhone each week since it's release. That's all the "data" we have. And since it's scrubbed by scores of lawyers and the SEC, you can take it as fact.

And if you want to know what iPhone is NOT a hit, try the iPhone 8 on for size. They're giving them away for FREE at AT&T. I mean, if the iPhone 8 was such a strong performer, no need to give 'em away, right? I can walk into a grocery store and buy a potato that costs more than an iPhone 8.

Data is there. It's even posted in this thread. Scroll back. I never said the 8 was a hit either. Feel free to describe what other products I didn't say were not hits that you also think are not hits. Weird

Even weirder.. I can't even buy one potato for $0 down and $24/month for the next 48 months. Why would you say that?

 

[Harthag]

What data shows that the iPhone X is not a hit? Nothing. Zero. The last guidance on the subject was Tim Cook's earnings call where he stated very clearly that the iPhone X is the best selling iPhone each week since it's release. That's all the "data" we have. And since it's scrubbed by scores of lawyers and the SEC, you can take it as fact.

And if you want to know what iPhone is NOT a hit, try the iPhone 8 on for size. They're giving them away for FREE at AT&T. I mean, if the iPhone 8 was such a strong performer, no need to give 'em away, right? I can walk into a grocery store and buy a potato that costs more than an iPhone 8.

Uh...AT&T previously had a BOGO offer for the iPhone X as well. Even though it is no longer advertised on the website, you can click on the offer when viewing the iPhone 8 and a bit further down in the terms the iPhone X is also listed. It was short lived, but it happened.

https://9to5toys.com/2018/02/12/att-iphone-x-next-deal/

Also T-Mobile currently is offering $700 off the iPhone X in their BOGO promotion....

https://www.t-mobile.com/cell-phone/apple-iphone-x

 

[I7guy]

Data is there. It's even posted in this thread. Scroll back. I never said the 8 was a hit either. Feel free to describe what other products I didn't say were not hits that you also think are not hits. Weird

Even weirder.. I can't even buy one potato for $0 down and $24/month for the next 48 months. Why would you say that?

There is no data from Apple. Only some inferences. Maybe you can help with the definition of “successful”.

Uh...AT&T previously had a BOGO offer for the iPhone X as well. Even though it is no longer advertised on the website, you can click on the offer when viewing the iPhone 8 and a bit further down in the terms the iPhone X is also listed. It was short lived, but it happened.

https://9to5toys.com/2018/02/12/att-iphone-x-next-deal/

Also T-Mobile currently is offering $700 off the iPhone X in their BOGO promotion....

https://www.t-mobile.com/cell-phone/apple-iphone-x

Right and you have to purchase a line. It’s not like walking into the Apple store and find out there is a two for one sale on iPhone X. Every iPhone as I remember has had some type of “sale” during its first year.

 

[newellj]

I appreciate that but how do we know what apple’s expectations were to begin with is my point. People are making assumptions “the x didn’t meet expectations” and I’m asking what the expectations were?

This is actually an incredibly important point. We don't know what Apple's expectations were. Bloggers and pundits (and people who post in enthusiast forums) can talk about their own expectations or hypothesize about Apple's expectations, but without knowing either what Apple's expectations were or the actual sales data, it's just a lot of hot air.

 

[nospleen]

This is actually an incredibly important point. We don't know what Apple's expectations were. Bloggers and pundits (and people who post in enthusiast forums) can talk about their own expectations or hypothesize about Apple's expectations, but without knowing either what Apple's expectations were or the actual sales data, it's just a lot of hot air.

I'm assuming that if suppliers scaled back, that projections have to be off. I would think they would probably run some internal projections, but mainly rely on Apple when ramping up production.