News - Weak Apple iPhone demand precipitates share price drop

[HEXUS]

Apple shares now valued at $500, were worth over $700 in September.

Read more.

[3dcandy]

Apple will shoot themselves in the foot if they release a successor early. What with increasing size against their previous plans and bringing out an iPad mini they appear to be losing their core customers. I know of a fair amount of people who are fed up of their iPhones and the majority jumped ship to Galaxy S 3's!

[Biscuit]

Thats a pretty steep drop, also quite surprising. I know a lot of people with 4 and 4s who dont see the point in upgrading but more and more people have seem to started buying the 5. Reality is that it doesnt really offer users anything new i guess whereas android, with its greater choice of handset, is starting to look more appealing. Windows 8 is probably stealing a bit of the market share aswell.

[the54thvoid]

If Apple adopt the more frequent renewal cycle for hardware then it is only natural that they will sell fewer of each iteration of their device. But the cut in orders is a clear sign of reduced sales as it is based on a projection of sales. If the sales were as hoped, they would not stop production. It's akin to PC tech companies not releasing new generations while inventories of old tech are depleted (because they still sell).
That they feel the need to release again so soon means they are 'feeling' they are at risk of losing the momentum in new device prestige.

[3dcandy]

Still goes against their principles though doesn't it. It's things like this that are putting people off Apple. The change in dock connector was a big deal breaker for a lot of people I know, and as everybody else has settled near enough on micro-usb that has become appealing

[MercutioUK]

If they perhaps stopped the whole "walled garden" approach with peripherals and apps being forced to go through expensive approval processes (less so the apps but still...) and competed on a level playing field I think they might find they have more business.

When the rest of the world is going open source and they are running screaming in the other direction though I think they can expect to push themselves further into a rather unwelcome niche.

At least with the laptops they offer VERY good build quality and you can slap windows on there if/when the gravy train stops.

[Biscuit]

Still goes against their principles though doesn't it. It's things like this that are putting people off Apple. The change in dock connector was a big deal breaker for a lot of people I know, and as everybody else has settled near enough on micro-usb that has become appealing

They had to shrink it at some point though really, stupid that they didnt just go with Micro USB2.0. Whats even more stupid is that its still based on USB 2 and not thunderbolt or USB 3. I have to say im not a huge fan of the new Micro USB3 connector though



Main advantage is its backwards compatibility but it just doesn't strike me as robust.

At least with the laptops they offer VERY good build quality and you can slap windows on there if/when the gravy train stops.

Build quality on macbooks is certainly not 'VERY good'

They are very much form over function, just the same as everything in their inventory.

[wasabi]

If people didn't buy in the first month they're not likely to. A lot of people (not all) buy them as an ostentatious wealth / fashion statement so being first matters. Four months later, the ship will have sailed on that.

[kingpotnoodle]

Given that Apple give users of the last 2 generations the latest OS upgrade on launch day there is limited impetus to upgrade, new hardware is somewhat faster (but the 4S was hardly slow), a few grams lighter, slightly modified style and slightly bigger screen - whoop-de-do, that's not enough to stimulate demand from users within a 24 month contract, people will wait for the "free" upgrades.

Android manufacturers might piss off a nerd hardcore with their slow OS updates but it provides more of an impetus to upgrade and there are more new features coming in on the Android side (perhaps this will plateau now Android has caught up though), more choice of devices and an increasing app/store parity with iTunes. Oh and the best Android hardware is better than iPhone 5 on several metrics, depending on your idea of better (i.e. I like a 4.5-5" screen).

Apple need some new ideas , they risk "doing a Nokia" otherwise.

[crossy]

Apple will shoot themselves in the foot if they release a successor early. What with increasing size against their previous plans and bringing out an iPad mini they appear to be losing their core customers. I know of a fair amount of people who are fed up of their iPhones and the majority jumped ship to Galaxy S 3's!

I thought at the time, and still think, that the iPad Mini was a major mistake. It's just too expensive for what it is - a Nexus7 can be had for nearly £100 cheaper and it's not noticeably worse. Heck, I got a Note 10.1 for £10 more and that's a lot more capable device.
Similarly on the phones, the "gloss" of the iPhone seems to be tarnishing - I'm seeing folks who would have normally been iPhone owners who "defected" to Galaxy S3 and HTC One's. Speaking to my eldest kid and she's saying that friends who got iPhones for Christmas are less than impressed and a lot want to migrate back to "lesser" Android devices.

If they perhaps stopped the whole "walled garden" approach with peripherals and apps being forced to go through expensive approval processes (less so the apps but still...) and competed on a level playing field I think they might find they have more business.

Agreed. I've wondered for a long time why Apple don't license iOS to other companies. E.g. license to HTC (for example) and let them do a low cost iOS phone - which'd be a great way surely to expand the market without much risk to Apple themselves.

At least with the laptops they offer VERY good build quality and you can slap windows on there if/when the gravy train stops.

I've got a problem with that in that other manufacturers are - I'm going to argue - are shipping kit with just as good build quality AND a smaller price tag. For example, a family member got an HP Envy dv7 for Christmas - 17" screen, very stylish and very robust feeling. Likewise there's some spectacular kit from Dell, Lenovo, etc.

Getting back to the article, haven't we all been saying that Apple shares were overpriced for months? If so, an "adjustment" is long overdue. As to the hints of reduced market share for Apple, I'd argue that - especially in the tablet market - this is a good thing, since it provides opportunities for others, whether that be other Android makers or Windows devices (the latter being my preference).

As I see it the problem with the iPhone is that it's pushed as a "fashion" device. Unfortunately fashions change and there's Android (and now Windows) phones which are just as technically capable and easy to use, whilst also being as pleasing to the eye. That said, I suspect that this is just a blip in Apple's fortunes rather than being a herald of a slump like Nokia suffered.

[TheAnimus]

Apple Maps.

It really gave them a kicking, many fanboys I've known who talk about "the ecosystem" and such were suddenly having to explain why they couldn't find the bar we were meeting at. Everytime. A friend who had a pre-ordered iPhone 5 gave up on apple maps after it failed to get him to the right place for the 10th time (he counted). Sometimes it was just out by a few streets in Soho, when it should be China Town. This constant annoyance lead him to an S3.

Mostly Apple users have a habbit of saying "OMFG look what has been invented and never done before in the history of ever", whilst the rest of us have been enjoying it for a while, it was never markted in such a package before.

This time they saw something take a massive step back, whilst the other platforms were marching forward. It makes it very hard for them to think its ok.

However fanboys have delt with a lack of mouse buttons, the insainity of how cmd+tab works. Some will keep it up, a lot wont.

[Gordy]

Those printing these figures have already altered and removed details from the articles. The numbers quoted simply didn't add up. It looks like a nice case of stock manipulation.

Apple are legally prohibited from responding to the claims as well which means its great little time to do it.
http://www.loopinsight.com/2013/01/1...-it-wanted-to/

Tie the dubious nature of these claims, the lack of real facts and this announcement of strong iPhone sales at Verizon
http://www.forbes.com/sites/ericsavi...vations-in-q4/ I think when it comes to apple announcing it's sales next week or so they will put this to rest.

However fanboys have delt with a lack of mouse buttons.

Seriously?? You went for the old one mouse button thing??? Would you like to roll out any more cliche's?

[3dcandy]

I think you will find Gordy that it is in other markets than the good old US that Apple is struggling, and that fact coupled with over ordering for the 5 that has meant a fair reduction. 5S rumours are also rife as people seem to think the 5 wasn't as great a product in terms of features and performance as previous iterations (Apple has pretty much hit the nail on the head previously, with perhaps only the 4S being thought of as an underperformer). Add in that everybody else has much shorter product cycles these days and Apple pretty much has to respond, and it is this fact alone that I feel will alienate them from their users as those on a 24-month contract will be increasingly alarmed to find that they have to find a fair amount of cash to keep up with the curve in the fashion stakes, something Apple has been very keen to promote themselves....or perhaps we will see a big reduction in profits that they extract from future iPhone models? (something I really really doubt)

[watercooled]

Mostly Apple users have a habbit of saying "OMFG look what has been invented and never done before in the history of ever", whilst the rest of us have been enjoying it for a while, it was never markted in such a package before.

What? Facetime is soo innovative and new and everyone uses it as a generic trademark and, oh, wait...

Not like my mate had a phone with video calling in something like 2002-4 on 3...

I definitely agree about Apple stuff being seen by many as a fashion/wealth icon, as I've been saying even before the iPhone days.

Interesting thought about releasing iOS to other manufacturers, but I suspect it would be a very risky move for Apple, they could potentially get some extra income at the cost of the fixed hardware platform they+fanboys like to beat their chests about, and if a better/cheaper phone with iOS was made by another company, it could eat into iPhone sales badly.

[3dcandy]

I really can't see Apple ever licensing stuff again, they tried it before and got burned big time, somebody like Samsung would come along and wipe the floor with Apple because they could produce most of the device in house from screens to SoC's and ram. An iPhone beater at a cheaper price? Who'd buy Apple at all if they did that...

[crossy]

Interesting thought about releasing iOS to other manufacturers, but I suspect it would be a very risky move for Apple, they could potentially get some extra income at the cost of the fixed hardware platform they+fanboys like to beat their chests about, and if a better/cheaper phone with iOS was made by another company, it could eat into iPhone sales badly.

I really can't see Apple ever licensing stuff again, they tried it before and got burned big time, somebody like Samsung would come along and wipe the floor with Apple because they could produce most of the device in house from screens to SoC's and ram. An iPhone beater at a cheaper price? Who'd buy Apple at all if they did that...

So you be clever with your licensing terms - effectively giving the low to mid end market (such as it would be) to the licensee's and Apple retains the high-end (and high profit margin) one that they like. What I wouldn't do though is have a free-for-all like has happened with Android, so any iOS license would also have to specify a "platform" and would only be available to a select few. What just occurred to me is that (at the risk of some lost hardware sales) this'd be a great way to get into the BRIC markets - pick a local licensee in each of these markets and get them to do a locally relevant device. Remember that Apple makes a percentage on iTunes sales so anything that moves more "product" there is also good for their bottom line.