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Ploki

macrumors 601
Jan 21, 2008
4,325
1,560
Might be, but they are selling like hotcakes. Actually, I'd be surprised if there were 20 million hotcakes sold in the same period.
people forget there's a stupidly large market of people with too much disposable income in china

https://dazeinfo.com/2018/11/09/apple-iphone-xs-max-sales-china-us/


oh yeah, apple is going bankrupt
https://www.statista.com/statistics/276306/global-apple-iphone-sales-since-fiscal-year-2007/

there's only so many people on the planet, you cannot exponentially grow your customer base.
 
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FoxD

macrumors 6502a
Apr 28, 2010
504
247
True enough. I upgraded because I wanted the size of the Xs Max. I wouldn’t have though if the X was already this size.

The names also suck this year and everyone I know is confused between the three models. Not good.
 

Ploki

macrumors 601
Jan 21, 2008
4,325
1,560
True enough. I upgraded because I wanted the size of the Xs Max. I wouldn’t have though if the X was already this size.

The names also suck this year and everyone I know is confused between the three models. Not good.
yeah names are terrible.
XS
XS Plus
XC

would be pretty self explanatory and consistent.
[doublepost=1544570308][/doublepost]

Video?

It's not like this is a professional camera
 

44267547

Cancelled
Jul 12, 2016
37,642
42,494
I don’t agree with the OP’s thread title at all, and there’s no evidence that the latest iPhones are ‘failing’, even though the prices are high for these phones, that’s making an insinuation that the OP has no support. Now, I don’t necessarily agree with the prices of the iPhones today, but I would consider ‘failing’ where they weren’t selling to a point where Apple discontinued production, etc.
 
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QCassidy352

macrumors G5
Mar 20, 2003
12,066
6,107
Bay Area
Not compared to a $1,000 ($1,700 2018) 1994 StarTAC, it’s an absolute BARGAIN. If you don’t believe me, send me a $999 XS and I’ll send you the $1,700 StarTAC (if I can find it).

I won’t expect a XS in the mail.....
I’m not sure what else was available when that StarTAC launched, but I think the issue with the Xs/max pricing is that they don’t actually do very much more than prior iPhones. Faster, better camera, better screen, etc but fundamentally, it’s performing the same functions using the same software as devices far older and cheaper.

If the iPhone Xs were the first iPhone (first touchscreen smartphone) ever, I’d pay $1000 in a heartbeat. I’d pay $2000! Because compared to having NO smartphone, it’s beyond amazing.

But compared to my existing, paid-off, blemish-free, fully-functional iPhone 7 (with a brand new $29 battery)? It gives me... what? A better camera? More speed (which I won’t use)? A different biometric authentication method and a different screen technology?

I’m hard pressed to see why anyone who has a functioning smartphone from the last few years would see value in these new devices at those prices. Even an A9 runs iOS 12 and modern apps flawlessly.

So the comparison to the StarTAC is only a good one if the prior generation of cell phone had been very nearly the same thing, which I don’t think it was.
 

kargurin

macrumors 6502a
Apr 24, 2015
555
403
Restating the OP. I am a die hard Apple customer who had heart set on the flagship but can’t afford it. And do not wish consider the bazillion and one options out there. This isn’t failure. It’s the marketplace. And the Max isn’t the only phone Apple sells.

Btw I love my Max!

Btw2. Just got a new pet and named him Max. Mighty Max. Think it was just a coincidence it shares the name of my phone. Or maybe not.
 

TheAppleFairy

Suspended
Mar 28, 2013
2,588
2,223
The Clinton Archipelago unfortunately
Failing? They've simply chosen to sell less at a higher price, thus making it seem more "premium" and still bringing in the same revenue/profits.

I see that is being a legit point of view for many goods sold, but in the case of smartphones (especially Apple's) the money is in the apps and services that comes with the devices. Getting devices in hands opens up iTunes and App store sales exponentially.
 

tl01

macrumors 68020
Jun 20, 2010
2,350
649
$1,535.94

That's approximately how much you'll fork over for the high-capacity XS Max, a phone that doesn't perform much better than your current model.

The bottom line is that the price is too high.

Then don’t buy one. I like my Max....and am glad I bought it. Mic drop.
 

golftime

macrumors member
Feb 9, 2013
78
100
Northeast
It has been widely reported that Apple has told its suppliers it is cutting orders due to less than expected new iPhone sales. At the same time Apple stated it would no longer release individual product sales. So it is pretty obvious iPhone sales are less than Apple expected, most likely because of the price as well as the fact that the technology is no longer growing in leaps in bounds.

And as the final piece of evidence, Apple stock which was considered the poster child of Wall Street has been in a free fall since that news came out. You can argue that the stock market in general has dropped significantly but Apple has dropped something close to 20% since October which says volumes.
 

C DM

macrumors Sandy Bridge
Oct 17, 2011
51,392
19,461
It has been widely reported that Apple has told its suppliers it is cutting orders due to less than expected new iPhone sales. At the same time Apple stated it would no longer release individual product sales. So it is pretty obvious iPhone sales are less than Apple expected, most likely because of the price as well as the fact that the technology is no longer growing in leaps in bounds.

And as the final piece of evidence, Apple stock which was considered the poster child of Wall Street has been in a free fall since that news came out. You can argue that the stock market in general has dropped significantly but Apple has dropped something close to 20% since October which says volumes.
Seems like quite a few other factors and possibilities (some of which you have brought up) in play making it kind of hard to isolate any particular one to "blame" even most of it on.
 

BorderingOn

macrumors 6502
Jun 12, 2016
497
475
BaseCamp Pro
Of course the price is the reason. The "budget" flagship phone is nearly $822 (Edit: not $850) when you factor in California sales tax. I quoted the lowest price for a flagship phone, happy?

It's ridiculous when the incremental upgrades are getting smaller and smaller and market saturation is getting more and more. It's a huge price to pay for not more than you already have assuming your phone is less than a couple years old. All this is doing is causing the upgrade cycle to lengthen.

Just because the apple store is packed doesn't mean everyone is buying. I bet many people in the apple store are in there to pass time while whoever they came to the mall with is shopping for something else. I do that.

I hope that apple realizes that they have priced all their phones too highly and knocks $100 off each of them. I'm not so sure they will, but we will find out.

Now we’re including sales tax? Why not just say you’re unhappy with the $750 price tag?

One could argue the price was never really as low as it seemed over the past few years with the silly amount of storage at the low end.

My personal opinion is the Xs is too expensive but I feel no need to pad the price for shock value or whatever is behind such behavior.
 

Shanghaichica

macrumors G5
Apr 8, 2013
14,725
13,245
UK
I don’t agree with the OP’s thread title at all, and there’s no evidence that the latest iPhones are ‘failing’, even though the prices are high for these phones, that’s making an insinuation that the OP has no support. Now, I don’t necessarily agree with the prices of the iPhones today, but I would consider ‘failing’ where they weren’t selling to a point where Apple discontinued production, etc.
Whilst I do think the phones are expensive I don’t think that’s the reason, if these reports are even true. It will be more to do with the market in general.
 
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Totally

macrumors 6502a
Feb 22, 2012
744
261
West Coast = Best Coast
Now we’re including sales tax? Why not just say you’re unhappy with the $750 price tag?

One could argue the price was never really as low as it seemed over the past few years with the silly amount of storage at the low end.

My personal opinion is the Xs is too expensive but I feel no need to pad the price for shock value or whatever is behind such behavior.

Well as a Californian, I have to pay California tax, so that is the true price for me. Nice that you don't have to.
 

The-Real-Deal82

macrumors P6
Jan 17, 2013
17,321
25,479
Wales, United Kingdom
I drove by the Apple store and it was packed. Apple may sell less but the profit margin is great! Looked like a lot of very happy customers to me.

My Apple store stays packed too, and I’m not exactly in a tech-forward area. But they’re all packed pretty much.

So if you believe Apple’s having problems, yes, go to an Apple store. Your eyes will tell you a different story.
Packed Apple stores don’t mean high sales though. My local Apple store was busy on Saturday but a lot of the people in there are teenagers playing with the displays and men killing time while their wives shop. Just observing those in there you can see who is buying and who is not, they just attract people due to the wide range of products on display.

I’ve been in an Apple store hundreds of times in my life and am yet to ever actually buy anything directly from Apple. Have I contributed to a false impression I wonder?
 

unagimiyagi

macrumors 6502a
Jun 9, 2009
905
229
the thinking is that apple is raising their prices to absurd levels. True and guilty. But what if you were fed more information that other companies have been doing the same thing. ...meaning the price differential between apple and other "less premium" brands is still as large/small (depending on your perspective) as it has ever been.
What if you were also told that apple is the only company that protects your privacy, but at the expense of say an extra $250 per phone?

I think that the vast majority of the public does not understand how invasive google is.
 
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akash.nu

macrumors G4
May 26, 2016
10,870
16,998
I see that is being a legit point of view for many goods sold, but in the case of smartphones (especially Apple's) the money is in the apps and services that comes with the devices. Getting devices in hands opens up iTunes and App store sales exponentially.

Although generally your statement is very true but apple is the only company that still predominantly manages to make astonishing profits from just hardware sells.

In the recent years they’ve started pushing for software and services but still 70% of apple profit comes just from iPhone sells.
 

44267547

Cancelled
Jul 12, 2016
37,642
42,494
Whilst I do think the phones are expensive I don’t think that’s the reason, if these reports are even true. It will be more to do with the market in general.

My point is, there is no evidence behind the OP’s thread title stating “This is why the new iPhones are failing”, that’s an insinuation without evidence proving that they are in fact failing. I think we all know these types of threads can be exaggerative in nature and never really prove anything, especially when Apple is generally very successful with iPhone sales.
 
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The-Real-Deal82

macrumors P6
Jan 17, 2013
17,321
25,479
Wales, United Kingdom
I think even if Apple make a decent profit again this year, they will still be looking into why less people are upgrading as regularly across the entire market. If Apple have decided the only way they are happy to recoup on this is to keep pushing prices up, I think we’ll continue to see a continuous decline.

Personally I don’t need global profits to tell me interest is fine when I can see with my own eyes that current iPhones are not as popular as new releases used to be. There’s more choice nowadays and people are generally keeping smartphones longer than 2 years. The craze to upgrade after a contract runs out is less popular now due to the outlay cost for new handsets. It doesn’t carry the incentive it used to when you can generally do the same required tasks with an iPhone 7. Aesthetics aren’t the major pull they used to be IMO.
 

Newtons Apple

Suspended
Mar 12, 2014
22,757
15,254
Jacksonville, Florida
Packed Apple stores don’t mean high sales though. My local Apple store was busy on Saturday but a lot of the people in there are teenagers playing with the displays and men killing time while their wives shop. Just observing those in there you can see who is buying and who is not, they just attract people due to the wide range of products on display.

I’ve been in an Apple store hundreds of times in my life and am yet to ever actually buy anything directly from Apple. Have I contributed to a false impression I wonder?

Oh my mistake that the store was packed and no one was buying anything! LOL!

It must have been free bag day as a lot of shopping bags with a big Apple on them we’re leaving the store.
 
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