News - Apple’s shares suffer biggest single day fall in four years

[HEXUS]

Over six per cent fall on Wednesday "due to fears of intensifying mobile competition."

Read more.

[kopite]

Better get thoese Lawyers Out sueing the competition more then.

[shaithis]

Haha, I've been waiting for this.....and I personally think it will keep on falling.

Some of the most laughably over-priced stock I've ever seen....and probably driven by the image apple had.

Now that the Apple love-fest is over and most people have removed their blinkers and will take a look at (considerably cheaper) Android and WinMo alternatives, the landscape is suddenly vastly different.

Fun times ahead

[Roobubba]

I'd like to think their aggressively anticompetitive legal team (on whom they spend more than their R&D operations...!) has at least partly contributed to this decline. Whether or not the stock market is really wising up to the outrageous behaviour of Apple as a company or not, I really don't know.

There doesn't look to be a whole lot of interest in China, according to that picture!

[bobfoc]

The mobile market in China is going to be an interesting one for Apple.

With the greater proportion of people on low incomes and struggling to put food on the table, it definitely won't be like in the West where 5 year olds have i-products.

Still, with such a large population even if Apple only snag a few of the better off sheep.... that's still a ton of sales.

[bridges009]

They've done well to keep up the brand image considering a casual glance around any public place will show you that Apple is anything but a brand for the cool and discerning.

[Willzzz]

Their smoke and mirrors approach was never going to work for long.

[kingpotnoodle]

Apple don't really innovate, they just take what other people thought of, slap a bit of a shine/design on it and market it - although their technique is a bit smug and marmite. Special welding in iMacs - technique bought in, super-thin screens in iPhone - bought in and made by someone else, all the apps on iTunes - written by someone else. They should take some of that huge pile of cash they sit on like hoarding dragons and use it for R&D, actually out-invent rather than sue people. That suing the world+dog for vague patents hasn't exactly been positive for the image, it feeds the perception some people push of Apple=ForTwats. They've picked the right nascent ideas to run with but they need a new one, iPod was great for music, iPhone captured the public's likes for a while and iPad changed clunky tablets into something that Joe Average's mind wants but nothing new since.

IMHO real problem they have is that the rest of the market caught up with consumer demands, Android is now arguably functionally better, more customisable and available in all shapes and sizes to suit everyone, it's marketed much better than it was and enjoys the support of several heavyweights, Google and Samsung are major companies with very large R&D budgets who are playing to win.

Apple meanwhile have a so-so OS with an un-evolving basic tile menu interface (essentially the same as Symbian used years ago) on a take-it-or-leave-it mono-design strategy, a few versions of basically the same small phone is not enough. iPad mini is still comparatively expensive next to the competition and the iPad maxi is looking increasingly limited and expensive compared to Windows 8 tablets, cheaper Android tablets and tablets with actual unique features like the Galaxy Note series digitiser pens.

In short Apple got lazy, rested in their laurels and allowed other companies to catch up and capture consumer interest. Tougher to regain a lost lead than it is to hang on to one, hence the share falls. They need to pick up something else that's "nearly here" and make it big, watch phones, augmented reality goggles, wearable computing... I dunno I'm not imaginative, something that makes a big splash that people want.

[AlexKitch]

I left Apple primarily because I needed an upgrade, but secondarily because of their general behaviour towards competition over the last few years. I found myself ashamed to own Apple products, at some points.

[watercooled]

I doubt the stock market really cares about ruthless/unethical tactics as long as it means more $$$ for them, unless said tactics are actually starting to impact sales or whatever.

I wonder if that Chinese company who ripped off the iPhone 5 and said they will sue Apple if they release the real one, will carry out their threat?

[3dcandy]

Apple V Samsung battle is due up later today, and from my information so far it appears that for once Samsung may win this round. Let's see what that does to the share prices!

[Harkin]

An analyst quoted on Computerworld said he expected the more accessibly-priced iPad mini to sell “like wildfire” in China.

I just don't see that at all. Ofcourse it will 'sell' but with all the extremely healthy competition around and growing they aren't going to sell like any type of 'fire'.

We're talking about China and the people have grown up with competitive cheap electronic stuff, why the heck are they going to pay over the odds for something that does nothing special. Apple's only chance is making it big in America, when they start loosing the American crowd then Apple is doomed.

[keithwalton]

I suspect todays drop was due to them going back into court with samsung and faced a defeat if the judge even had the slightest bit of sense.
1) Original jury forum has admitted he could of been wrong
2) same guy admitted without him the outcome would of probably been different
3) same guy filed for bankruptcy shortly before the trial due to a matter involving samsung
4) apple have admitted the two patents at the crux of the case essentially patented the same thing and have merged it to one patent.

[3dcandy]

It is also noticeable that the fanboi's are getting less and less these days. I guess the iPhone just isn't the best smartphone anymore, I have noticed that the Galaxy S 3 seems to be more common now for example

[Geraldzgg]

they need to revive Jobs I guess XD XD XD

[crossy]

It is also noticeable that the fanboi's are getting less and less these days. I guess the iPhone just isn't the best smartphone anymore, I have noticed that the Galaxy S 3 seems to be more common now for example

My experience too and - judging on the airport lounge I was last in - it appears to be popular with business women who'd I'd normally have assumed would have gone with an iPhone.

Getting back the story, I'm really not surprised that Apple's shares have fallen - I've read reports for months saying that Wall St says that the current level was unsustainable. It'd also be nice to think that they're being "rewarded" for their litigious nature and also the distinct lack of innovation - but that'd be unworthy of me.

What I will agree with though is that Apple's days of ruling the roost are probably over. Far better* Windows and Android phones seem to really be giving the iPhone a hard time. And similarly, WindowsRT and JB-running Android tablets are making life difficult for the iPad. And while this is bad news for Apple, and heresy to the iFans, for the rest of us consumers it's got to be good news - competition drives costs down and innovation up.

EDIT: by "Far better" I meant that the quality of the Win and 'droid phones has increased, so they're now easily able to compete with the iPhone in looks, ease of use, etc.