Current Events > Apple stock takes hit after report on weak iPhone X demand

(+) Yeah! (+)

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-12-25/analysts-cut-iphone-x-shipment-forecasts-citing-lukewarm-demand

Apple Inc. looks like its having a not-so Merry Christmas.

Analysts have lowered iPhone X shipment projections for the first quarter of next year, citing signs of lackluster demand at the end of the holiday shopping season.

Sinolink Securities Co. analyst Zhang Bin said in a report Monday that handset shipments in the period may be as low as 35 million, or 10 million less than he previously estimated. "After the first wave of demand has been fulfilled, the market now worries that the high price of the iPhone X may weaken demand in the first quarter," Zhang wrote.

JL Warren Capital LLC said shipments will drop to 25 million units in the first quarter of 2018 from 30 million units in the fourth quarter, citing reduced orders at some Apple suppliers. The drop reflects weak demand because of the iPhone Xs high price point and a lack of interesting innovations, the New York-based research firm said in note to clients Friday.

"Bad news here is that highly publicized and promoted X did not boost the global demand for iPhone X," according to the note.

Kind of glad to see some push back to $1000 phone that's only good for a couple of years. Maybe we've finally fit the upper end of what consumers are willing to pay for generally stagnant hardware.
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my boss got the phone for his wife on release and they both hate it
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Was shopping phones last month and eliminated the iPhone X quickly from consideration (ultimately went for the Galaxy S8 Plus).

Elimination of Touch ID and the inclusion of the notch were major factors. The iPhone 8 Plus was far more appealing, however its problem is that it has the same 4 year old design.
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I think it was a mistake to release the iPhone 8 and then announce the iPhone X as a "soon-after" release.
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The smartphone industry in general is about due for a serious slowdown since the global market is pretty saturated and phone innovation has nearly stopped. A slightly better camera and another couple GB of RAM aren't getting people to shell out an extra $600-$1,000 for an upgrade every year at this point.
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I'll be glad if people actually vote with their wallets finally instead of endlessly bitching about Apple and iPhones in general.
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Super Saiyan 3 Goku posted...

The iPhone 8 Plus was far more appealing, however its problem is that it has the same 4 year old design.

I don't know how they got away with that. It's so... ew.
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Android always wins, baby!
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TomNook20 posted...

Super Saiyan 3 Goku posted...

The iPhone 8 Plus was far more appealing, however its problem is that it has the same 4 year old design.

I don't know how they got away with that. It's so... ew.

Huge forehead and chin. My S8 Plus is a supermodel next to it.
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i can't remember the last time that apple introduced anything innovating
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The Admiral posted...

The smartphone industry in general is about due for a serious slowdown since the global market is pretty saturated and phone innovation has nearly stopped. A slightly better camera and another couple GB of RAM aren't getting people to shell out an extra $600-$1,000 for an upgrade every year at this point.

I agree. The issue is a lot of features are hardware locked.

TBH with both NFC and Bluetooth there is no reason we can't have a more modular PAN built around our phones.

Like, lets say you want a better camera? How about you just buy the camera itself, PAN it to your phone. The camera itself has no digital storage. It takes the picture and immediately saves it to your phone.

Using only the technology we have now, there is no reason you cannot upgrade the hardware of your PAN by buying the hardware as a modular PAN ecosystem and use BT / NFC to transfer the necessary data to get it to work.

What we're doing with phones now is like buying a totally new computer because you want a better mouse.
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ChromaticAngel posted...

The Admiral posted...

The smartphone industry in general is about due for a serious slowdown since the global market is pretty saturated and phone innovation has nearly stopped. A slightly better camera and another couple GB of RAM aren't getting people to shell out an extra $600-$1,000 for an upgrade every year at this point.

I agree. The issue is a lot of features are hardware locked.

TBH with both NFC and Bluetooth there is no reason we can't have a more modular PAN built around our phones.

Like, lets say you want a better camera? How about you just buy the camera itself, PAN it to your phone. The camera itself has no digital storage. It takes the picture and immediately saves it to your phone.

Using only the technology we have now, there is no reason you cannot upgrade the hardware of your PAN by buying the hardware as a modular PAN ecosystem and use BT / NFC to transfer the necessary data to get it to work.

What we're doing with phones now is like buying a totally new computer because you want a better mouse.

Agreed, and I'm sure this is a deliberate design decision.

For example, how many people do you think end up replacing their entire phone just because the battery has started to fail? The design decision has turned what should be a $30-40 expense into a $600 one.
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FightingGames posted...

i can't remember the last time that apple introduced anything innovating

remember when they made a mouse with a charger on the bottom

https://www.geek.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/magic_mouse_2_charging.jpg
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The Admiral posted...

The smartphone industry in general is about due for a serious slowdown since the global market is pretty saturated and phone innovation has nearly stopped. A slightly better camera and another couple GB of RAM aren't getting people to shell out an extra $600-$1,000 for an upgrade every year at this point.

Agreed. I'd still have a Note 7 if it weren't for the recalls.
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The Admiral posted...

The smartphone industry in general is about due for a serious slowdown since the global market is pretty saturated and phone innovation has nearly stopped. A slightly better camera and another couple GB of RAM aren't getting people to shell out an extra $600-$1,000 for an upgrade every year at this point.

Pretty spot on.
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Ouch. My dad got my mom an X for Christmas, but I can see why a lot of other people aren't interested considering the price.
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Samsung needs to go back to the Galaxy S5 design of having an easily replaceable battery.
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I used the iPhone X in a store a few days ago and it felt like crap. The gestures have always been the shittiest part of iPhones and for some reason they doubled down on that and face unlock gimmicks, as if pressing a button was a really big problem for people. And whats the benefit? A slightly larger screen?

If Apple makes the next iPhone similar to this I think I will never buy another iPhone again
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Butterfiles posted...

FightingGames posted...

i can't remember the last time that apple introduced anything innovating

remember when they made a mouse with a charger on the bottom

https://www.geek.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/magic_mouse_2_charging.jpg

And when they started this asinine trend of removing the headphone jack
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Returning_CEmen posted...

Samsung needs to go back to the Galaxy S5 design of having an easily replaceable battery.

I still have this phone and I never want to give it up. It works just fine.
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The quest for thinner and lighter has absolutely ruined the smartphone market imo.
Once people get past the trendy idiocy and I can get a 10k mAh battery (replaceable), 16 gigs of memory, 1TB of storage, and run a real, full OS, it'll be able to replace a basic workstation/laptop. Which is the next step in their evolution.
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spanky1 posted...

Returning_CEmen posted...

Samsung needs to go back to the Galaxy S5 design of having an easily replaceable battery.

I still have this phone and I never want to give it up. It works just fine.

Me too. The storage space on it sucks tho.
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Anarchy_Juiblex posted...

The quest for thinner and lighter has absolutely ruined the smartphone market imo.
Once people get past the trendy idiocy and I can get a 10k mAh battery (replaceable), 16 gigs of memory, 1TB of storage, and run a real, full OS, it'll be able to replace a basic workstation/laptop. Which is the next step in their evolution.

Definitely would not mind if the Note 8 was thicker and had a bigger battery.
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Anarchy_Juiblex posted...

The quest for thinner and lighter has absolutely ruined the smartphone market imo.
Once people get past the trendy idiocy and I can get a 10k mAh battery (replaceable), 16 gigs of memory, 1TB of storage, and run a real, full OS, it'll be able to replace a basic workstation/laptop. Which is the next step in their evolution.

At this point, you could just replace laptops and some desktops with docking stations. Connect your phone to a station and use it as a PC with a standard monitor/keyboard/mouse.
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Returning_CEmen posted...

spanky1 posted...

Returning_CEmen posted...

Samsung needs to go back to the Galaxy S5 design of having an easily replaceable battery.

I still have this phone and I never want to give it up. It works just fine.

Me too. The storage space on it sucks tho.

No kidding. It's all full and I need to transfer some pics and videos off of it.

But my PC is almost full. <_>
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Vamp_Aubrey posted...

my boss got the phone for his wife on release and they both hate it

Whys that?
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I've never cared for Apple.

I'll take an android based phone any day of the week.
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So, I buy now?
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The Admiral posted...

The smartphone industry in general is about due for a serious slowdown since the global market is pretty saturated and phone innovation has nearly stopped. A slightly better camera and another couple GB of RAM aren't getting people to shell out an extra $600-$1,000 for an upgrade every year at this point.

the key is to hardcode your OS to make old $600 phones unusable over time in order to "protect" a $5 component

also apple is up ~60% for the year

The Admiral posted...

Agreed, and I'm sure this is a deliberate design decision.

For example, how many people do you think end up replacing their entire phone just because the battery has started to fail? The design decision has turned what should be a $30-40 expense into a $600 one.

it's the basis of hundreds of billions of dollars in profit

ps there's a workaround: erase your phone and manually re-install apps/phone numbers

i do this annually and my 4s works great
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The Admiral posted...

The smartphone industry in general is about due for a serious slowdown since the global market is pretty saturated and phone innovation has nearly stopped. A slightly better camera and another couple GB of RAM aren't getting people to shell out an extra $600-$1,000 for an upgrade every year at this point.

why do people who make these claims pretend more than a tiny percentage of people are buying phones straight up?

the difference in cost between an iphone X and any other phone is basically just $5/month on a phone plan
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TheGoldenEel posted...

why do people who make these claims pretend more than a tiny percentage of people are buying phones straight up?

the difference in cost between an iphone X and any other phone is basically just $5/month on a phone plan

you do realize that the 5/month is designed to run for long enough to pay for the phone in full right

it's just a no-interest financing arrangement

often it's actually more expensive than buying the phone upfront
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iPhones still have best cameras and most secure configs but the iPhone X is just full of odd mistakes. And this started with the 7, when the headphone jack was removed for reasons.

I do think youre being contrarian if you dont consider the 8 though if youre currently in the market. Hopefully Apple will just pick up from that model.

But in general, the smartphone market just seems to be turning into a Madden or COD annual event, yup. Some changes seem to be enacted just for the fuck of it.
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Even though it's incredibly nice, I just don't need to upgrade my 7+.

Its seems like releasing the Iphone X a few months after the iphone 8 was a bad idea.
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PinkiePie462 posted...

Even though it's incredibly nice, I just don't need to upgrade my 7+.

They will just make your 7+ so shit through updates that you're forced to upgrade.
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I have an iPhone X and I love it, sucks that the price is keeping people away.
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TheGoldenEel posted...

The Admiral posted...

The smartphone industry in general is about due for a serious slowdown since the global market is pretty saturated and phone innovation has nearly stopped. A slightly better camera and another couple GB of RAM aren't getting people to shell out an extra $600-$1,000 for an upgrade every year at this point.

why do people who make these claims pretend more than a tiny percentage of people are buying phones straight up?

the difference in cost between an iphone X and any other phone is basically just $5/month on a phone plan

I personally don't believe in those installment plans. All my phones are bought outright for reasons already stated.

Had there been no notch, Touch ID included, a bigger body/screen, and more OS customizability, I might've gotten the X. This coming from a guy who had nothing but iPhones since 2009.
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Super Saiyan 3 Goku posted...

I personally don't believe in those installment plans. All my phones are bought outright for reasons already stated.

There is nothing wrong with the installment plans. The only "problem" if you even consider it that, is that you're locked into a 2 year contract. If you're satisfied with your current mobile provider, AND your phone is available through the installments, then there is typically no reason not to get it through the installments.

Unfortunately for me, the phones that I like are not generally available through subsidized financing contracts with my provider, so I almost always end up paying full retail upfront, but that's never true in the case of iPhones. every fucking provider will give you a discount on them. The 2-year planned obsolescence is constructed in such a way to keep you perpetually with a single provider when you upgrade your phone.
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I blame that shitty dancing commercial that plays for 60 seconds during every ad break
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I've been happy with mid-range phones for a long time. I've currently use a Moto G5 Plus. An iPhone X is 3 times more expensive to buy. I don't see anything that would justify that price difference.
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