Apple Lowered Its Q1 Revenue Guidance Due to Slow iPhone Sales in China

cageymaru

Fully [H]
Joined
Apr 10, 2003
Messages
22,060
Apple has lowered its Q1 revenue guidance in a letter to investors. CEO Tim Cook also conducted an interview with CNBC in which he discusses factors such as rising trade tensions, the strong U.S. dollar and its effect on sales of iPhone products in China. He noted other factors such as users in other countries disregarding the new iPhone during this upgrade cycle. Tim Cook said that he would guide the company to "focus really deeply on the things we can control." This news cast a dark cloud over the tech sector and tech stocks got hammered in after hours trading.

Most importantly, we are confident and excited about our pipeline of future products and services. Apple innovates like no other company on earth, and we are not taking our foot off the gas. Expectations are high for Apple because they should be. We are committed to exceeding those expectations every day. That has always been the Apple way, and it always will be. Tim
 
Their incremental upgrades and extortionate prices are finally coming home to roost; this is from someone who has multiple Apple devices and enjoy the eco system, but enough is enough.
 
Lower price a bit could increase the revenue (guidance) ... price elasticity ... didn’t we learned that in macro-economics 101 ?
 
I don't understand how apple thinks they can sell iphones in basically poor countries, especially india, sure a few can afford it but the majority can't.
 
I hate you Tim Cook. I hate you


recession in 2019, book it.
 
Apple innovates like no other company on earth......you got to be shitting me.....they put shiny on shit and call it innovate??? wtf????
 
There's no good deals this time around. I really wanted to upgrade from my 7 to an Xs, but that's insanely expensive. The trade-in gets half chewed up by tax. This would be my first smartphone purchase that wasn't heavily subsidized by some sort of deal or contract. Heck, when I went from the 6s to the 7 it was *free* though I paid the extra $100 for the next RAM size up. So yeah, I can see why they aren't flying off the shelves.
 
Why buy a $1,000 plus phone when you can get a gerbil and a cardboard tube for $20 and change?

 
Last edited:
Apple has done a fantastic job of pushing people to Android with their current pricing (including myself) and they should be applauded for it. Well done.
 
They also mentioned being affected by people repairing their phones. ( Lost the link )
 
This would be my first smartphone purchase that wasn't heavily subsidized by some sort of deal or contract. Heck, when I went from the 6s to the 7 it was *free* though I paid the extra $100 for the next RAM size up. So yeah, I can see why they aren't flying off the shelves.

And that's a large part of the problem.
When the price was hidden in the cost of a 2 year contract, people didn't pay attention, all they look at was the monthly cost.
Now that you have to pay up front, or add an additional $30+ to their monthly cell bill, people are finally realizing how much having the latest iPhone really costs, and are deciding accordingly.
 
And that's a large part of the problem.
When the price was hidden in the cost of a 2 year contract, people didn't pay attention, all they look at was the monthly cost.
Now that you have to pay up front, or add an additional $30+ to their monthly cell bill, people are finally realizing how much having the latest iPhone really costs, and are deciding accordingly.

The price asked of the highest end phones also doubled during the changes you describe or at least since the beginning of smartphones
 
There's no good deals this time around. I really wanted to upgrade from my 7 to an Xs, but that's insanely expensive. The trade-in gets half chewed up by tax. This would be my first smartphone purchase that wasn't heavily subsidized by some sort of deal or contract. Heck, when I went from the 6s to the 7 it was *free* though I paid the extra $100 for the next RAM size up. So yeah, I can see why they aren't flying off the shelves.
just wait a few months and look on swappa. They're still pretty pricey, but they almost always come down by march or so. I can afford the phone, but I think they would have been wise to make an XR Max. Not having a lower priced large phone means anyone with the plus model has no upgrade path other than the XS Max. It's a nice phone, but it's beyond what most can afford.
 
The price asked of the highest end phones also doubled during the changes you describe or at least since the beginning of smartphones
Yes and no. The Max is almost 2x what the regular iphone use to cost, but it's not double what a 6s+ with 128 GB of storage cost. And for an apples to apples comparison, I believe the Plus models with 64GB were around 850, while the XS Max with 64gb is 1099, so about 30% more.

But as I said above, I think they should have had a XR Max model.
 
In China the iPhone is going from status symbol to traitor symbol.. not a good place to be if it keeps going.
But hey, I thought the Chinese don't buy a thing from USA or anywhere else, so how is Apple affected in any way is beyond me./s
 
Yes and no. The Max is almost 2x what the regular iphone use to cost, but it's not double what a 6s+ with 128 GB of storage cost. And for an apples to apples comparison, I believe the Plus models with 64GB were around 850, while the XS Max with 64gb is 1099, so about 30% more.

But as I said above, I think they should have had a XR Max model.

I'm not discussing hardware merit or where the device falls in the product line or what it does. Just the limits of what has been pried from the consumer and been educated into being submissive to those price hikes up until now apparently.
 
What really strikes me as crazy about the increasing price of flagships is how capable sub-$300 phones are these days. I picked up a Moto X4 for $200 a few months ago for my wife, and it works wonderfully. It is hard for me to see what improvements spending hundreds of dollars more gets you, and compared to the iPhone or Pixel 3s, the Moto X4 has some clear hardware advantages, like the microSD card slot & headphone jack. Just a very strange market to me, where the high-end stuff lacks features you get in the lower end. With pretty much every other product I can think of, the high stuff has all the features of the low end models, and then some.
 
Apple has done a fantastic job of pushing people to Android with their current pricing (including myself) and they should be applauded for it. Well done.
Except that most of Android's competing flagships are just as overpriced as Apple's. So if you ended up getting a cheaper Android phone then you didn't really switch from iPhone - you just downgraded from getting popular flagship phones.
 
what they mean is less profit

but profit is still Huge !!!!! and that's one quarter. That's 30B or something ?

Apple should had been slapped with a windfall tax since a decade ago
 
Except that most of Android's competing flagships are just as overpriced as Apple's. So if you ended up getting a cheaper Android phone then you didn't really switch from iPhone - you just downgraded from getting popular flagship phones.

Sure, but they're still a lot less, and the specs of the XR are handily trounced by 300 dollar Android mobiles, so less than half...
 
Wow, a lot of ignorance of market forces in this thread. Apple slowness in China probably has more to do with their societal trend of boycotting companies/products from outsiders during times of political strife with said outsiders. Compounded with speculated slow down in their economy (which can only really be observed through their oil import demand)

This has nothing to do with Apples performance, more the relationship between Washington and Beijing
 
  • Like
Reactions: PeaKr
like this
Sure, but they're still a lot less, and the specs of the XR are handily trounced by 300 dollar Android mobiles, so less than half...
Show me a $300 Android phone that 'handily trounces' an iPhone XR. The A12 chip and the new camera in the XR will spank any budget $300 Android phone. The only downside of the iPhone XR is the lower PPI LCD screen which has been reported numerous times to be a non-issue by the majority of tech reviewers.

That's not saying the iPhone XR isn't overpriced; it should've been $600-650 max for the base model. But saying a $300 Android phone will "handily trounce" it must be hyperbole - at least I hope.
 
What can an iPhone X really do better then say an iPhone 7?

I upgraded to an X when they first came out and it wasn't earthshattering different then my 7 I had. Looking at the phone to unlock it isn't all that.

I'm planning paying off the X next month and hanging on to it till 2020-21..I'll wait for 5G to get rolled out before worring about upgrading and I'll swap the battery out maybe-since that will be the only thing wrong with it in that time.
 
Really, so the Chinese economy has been slowing down for the last six years and Apple was caught off guard?

I mean, their slow down actually slowed down last year. Last year was better in China than China expected. Yet Apple was surprised?

Somebody is either sleeping at the switch or just hallucinating.
 
Really, so the Chinese economy has been slowing down for the last six years and Apple was caught off guard?

I mean, their slow down actually slowed down last year. Last year was better in China than China expected. Yet Apple was surprised?

Somebody is either sleeping at the switch or just hallucinating.

We know that the Chinese economy slowed more than expected in the last quarter. It's hard to get accurate reports, but the recent report about manufacturing shrinking suggests that.

Also, as Uvaman2 pointed out above, the Chinese government is on an "anti-corruption" (read- enforced loyalty) kick right now. A few years ago, iPhones were status symbols. Now the elites are ditching them, because they're seen as a symbol of disloyalty to the state.
 
It's just temporary. Next year, they'll invent a universal coaxial audio connector to add to their phones, which will change everything. Soon after, other manufactures will steal this design for themselves.
 
Except that most of Android's competing flagships are just as overpriced as Apple's. So if you ended up getting a cheaper Android phone then you didn't really switch from iPhone - you just downgraded from getting popular flagship phones.
There are lots of flagships that are cheaper than the iPhone. So I have no idea what you’re talking about. And the flagship phones often have extremely good deals on them that the iPhone never has, such as the Samsung Galaxy line. Their S9 and S9+ were nearly half off during Black Friday. You’re living in a bubble or something.
 
There are lots of flagships that are cheaper than the iPhone. So I have no idea what you’re talking about. And the flagship phones often have extremely good deals on them that the iPhone never has, such as the Samsung Galaxy line. Their S9 and S9+ were nearly half off during Black Friday. You’re living in a bubble or something.

Ok, what newly released flagships are significantly cheaper than the iPhones and/or would not be considered overpriced?

I'd hope the S9 and S9+ were nearly half off by Black Friday since they've been out for what...9 months by then? The new iPhones were 1-2 months old by the time Black Friday rolled by. And many of those same "deals" you find for Androids through carriers are often the same as those you can find for iPhones. Apple just doesn't offer incentives directly through their store.

Long story short, flagships are overpriced on both sides. I don't live in a bubble; I'm just not on the Apple hate train because it's the "in" thing to do. I recognize that both sides are being anti-consumer lately.
 
Last edited:
Show me a $300 Android phone that 'handily trounces' an iPhone XR. The A12 chip and the new camera in the XR will spank any budget $300 Android phone. The only downside of the iPhone XR is the lower PPI LCD screen which has been reported numerous times to be a non-issue by the majority of tech reviewers.

That's not saying the iPhone XR isn't overpriced; it should've been $600-650 max for the base model. But saying a $300 Android phone will "handily trounce" it must be hyperbole - at least I hope.

The camera and IC are strong points for the XR, granted, but the screen? It's tight-arsedness by Apple and utterly unacceptable for a phone in that price class. The camera's portrait mode is apparently also a very weak point... it's pretty damn good for a single-lens setup, but again, for that price - talk about the bloody Apple Tax (tm).

If you can get a phone with an OLED screen, 128GB, Snapdragon 845-class CPU and good camera (which, granted, might not be as good on paper as the XR, but still bloody good) for less than half what the XR costs, then my point still stands. The Xiaomi Mi 8 comes in a whopping TWO points under the XR (gasp!) on DXOmark, has a 6.2" 2248x1080 Pixel AMOLED screen, 128GB of RAM, dual rear cameras (with a 99 score on DXOMark), Snapdragon 845 etc. etc. etc... the 128GB version here in Europe costs around 350 Euro. The 128GB of the XR costs 909 Euro. And at that price, it has a 1792x828 LCD screen?? Please feel free to continue defending it all you want.

You've also claimed that other flagships are as overpriced as Apple's, which simply isn't true...
 
Ok, what newly released flagships are significantly cheaper than the iPhones and/or would not be considered overpriced?

I'd hope the S9 and S9+ were nearly half off by Black Friday since they've been out for what...9 months by then? The new iPhones were 1-2 months old by the time Black Friday rolled by. And many of those same "deals" you find for Androids through carriers are often the same as those you can find for iPhones. Apple just doesn't offer incentives directly through their store.

Long story short, flagships are overpriced on both sides. I don't live in a bubble; I'm just not on the Apple hate train because it's the "in" thing to do. I recognize that both sides are being anti-consumer lately.

Agree that all flagships are overpriced, but...

Note 9 512GB in Europe - around 950-1000 Euro (plus good deals on contracts)
iPhone XS 512GB in Europe - around 1650 Euro (and... deals on contracts? Hahahahah... yeah right).

So, yes, other flagships are cheaper, given that I have just listed what is considered to be the most expensive flagship competitor, and it's minimum 650 Euro less.

Edit: Found the XS 512GB for 1530 Euro on a site in Germany, so let's say the competitors are 500 Euro less at a minimum to be generous.
 
Ok, what newly released flagships are significantly cheaper than the iPhones and/or would not be considered overpriced?

I'd hope the S9 and S9+ were nearly half off by Black Friday since they've been out for what...9 months by then? The new iPhones were 1-2 months old by the time Black Friday rolled by. And many of those same "deals" you find for Androids through carriers are often the same as those you can find for iPhones. Apple just doesn't offer incentives directly through their store.

Long story short, flagships are overpriced on both sides. I don't live in a bubble; I'm just not on the Apple hate train because it's the "in" thing to do. I recognize that both sides are being anti-consumer lately.
Not sure what you’re defending. It’s easy to get deals on flagship Android phones. It isn’t for iPhones. This is a fact. Even if an iPhone has been out for 9 months, it stays the same exact price and it will stay the same price until Apple releases their next phone. I’m not on the Apple hate train either. Been using their products for well over a decade. I’m just looking at things the way they are.
 
Back
Top