tech

Triumph of the iPhone

15 Comments
By MICHAEL LIEDTKE

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Laguna

As the PC industry has shown, product price increases have a definite ceiling before consumers rebel; also, such high profit margins always draw in nimble competitors who nibble away at the margins - or directly threaten.

Sure, if you are in the commodities sector of the business. Most Android manufacturers are in this business. However, people will still pay for high end and quality. Look at gamer's PCs or the iMac Pro. People will pay more if they get more.

The market seems to think consumers will pay $1,000 for a cell phone in the not-distant future. Will they? Considering, as the article states, 2/3 of Apple's revenue comes from phones, they'd better hope consumers will.

Actually they are - the iPhone X is currently Apple's most expensive and best selling phone.

JeffLee

Apple doesn't invent much.

Agree.

The PC sector tends to be quite a bit more "groundbreaking."

Disagree. Apple didn't invent the mp3 player nor the smartphone. But they introduced the most groundbreaking products in those categories. Every single smartphone looked like the iPhone after it was introduced. They redefined what a smartphone is.

idir13013

Honestly, I mean take a good look at things and how many great phones they are outthere. How can anybody be convinced that paying at least 300 dollars more than any competition is worth when the flagships from the competition are as good as they are now ?

But the reality is that they are paying more for iPhones and there is no sign of this abating. So your not understanding it is irrelevant. They are supplying what the market wants.

The whole world agreed to simplfy people's life, but more importantly to stop wasting ressources by producing so many chargers that could not be used within the same family, and chargers that needed to be thrown every time one got a new device. That was so bad, yet nobody took a stand about this.

No chargers have had to be thrown out because Apple switched to Lightning cables and certainly not every time someone got a new device. Apple simply decommissioned its 30 pin connector cable for a superior cable. The chargers remain the same.

ShinCebu

what makes the iPhone successful is the brain washing of the people. why would someone choose iphone without SD cards slot, no dualsims. closed system etc over a cheaper phone that has all the accessibility and user access to all its system? apple user here LOL

It may surprise you that many people prefer a closed system and not to have SD card slots. They prefer simplicity, ease of use and reliability. They don't need an SD card because they bought a phone with enough memory in the first place. They don't want an insecure open system; instead they want peace of mind. No brainwashing required.

I would agree that dual sims would be useful, but it seems only for a limited number of people.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

what makes the iPhone successful is the brain washing of the people. why would someone choose iphone without SD cards slot, no dualsims. closed system etc over a cheaper phone that has all the accessibility and user access to all its system? apple user here LOL

0 ( +1 / -1 )

@netgrump

> "... the groundbreaking done by Apple and how much is copied by PC and other phone makers"

In the late 90s, I bought a "digital music player" to use at the gym, which stored and played my mp3 music files, sort them as albums, playlists or shuffle and connect to my PC. Fantastic device! The more expensive models at the time were made in Japan and had colour screens. Then later came the China-made "ipod" with b/w screen that cost double the price -- which many people believed had just been "invented." Hello, brainwashing.

Same things happened with Blackberries, before Apple "invented" the smartphone, and PC netbooks, before Krapple "invented" a laptop you could carry to work in a small bag.

Apple doesn't invent much. The PC sector tends to be quite a bit more "groundbreaking."

1 ( +2 / -1 )

I am always impressed by how some people with Apple products are totally convinced that Apple is the best and knows better, without even knowing what other products can do. Just to give a few pointers regarding the comments above :

I can type this comment on my 10 year old Windows computer, thank you very much. A computer I paid around 250 Euros at the time, probably 4 times less than a Apple one, and a computer that, despite quite many issues, is still doing fine with what I want it to do.

Regarding how Jobs would be so proud now, don't you remember Jobs refused going above 3.5" for screens, and that Apple took the big leap towards 5" screen well after his death, and well after Samsung and others had already proven bigger was better ? So much for a visonary.

Talking about innovative products : have you taken a good look at iOS12 ? It is copying so many Android features it is almost ridiculous now.

No, Apple has not revolutionized mobiles phones by inventing smartphones. There were quite a few before, including the N95 from Nokia which was THE smartphone Apple took as a benchmark for sure. They added the great "simple touchscreen" interface, on a little bigger screen, and have been surfing on that wave ever since. It was a tsunami for sure when the iPhone launched, but there is no wave anymore , yet people behave as if there is one now even greater than before.

Honestly, I mean take a good look at things and how many great phones they are outthere. How can anybody be convinced that paying at least 300 dollars more than any competition is worth when the flagships from the competition are as good as they are now ?

And one thing I can' believed Apple dig. While the whole world agreed US would be the norms for phones, Apple included, they simply backtracked and had their own Ligthning connector. The whole world agreed to simplfy people's life, but more importantly to stop wasting ressources by producing so many chargers that could not be used within the same family, and chargers that needed to be thrown every time one got a new device. That was so bad, yet nobody took a stand about this.
2 ( +3 / -1 )

The market seems to think consumers will pay $1,000 for a cell phone in the not-distant future. Will they?

It's already happening.

https://www.cnet.com/news/apples-iphone-x-keeps-selling-as-q3-earnings-services-revenue-soars/

1 ( +1 / -0 )

As far as I am concerned, Microsoft peaked with Windows XP. Every Windows OS since has been a poor attempt at copying the interface of OS X. Remember Windows 8? Nobody else does either. We won't mention Vista coz it was just garbage. Then, there was the Microsoft Zune, plugged as the iPod killer. Bwahahaha!

The key to Apple's success has not only been the innovative products. It has also come from getting the support of many other software and media companies, specifically music and movie production companies. Even the Beatles got on onto iTunes, eventually. The endless and ever-growing list of available apps by far superior. Yeah, Google has tried to jump on the Apple wagon with its own representation of the Apple App Store, but the Android iOS is still very 'clunky' compared to Apple's iOS.

I'm actually typing this through my 2010 Mac Mini connected to my 60" TV. Try to do that with any other Microsoft computer from 8 years ago. You can't, I know. This is the success of Apple. There stuff may be expensive, but it works and works well!

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

I do admire both Apple and Steve Jobs - my father (a lifetime Intel employee) lives walking distance from Jobs' elegant Palo Alto house, where I once ran into his son - so my comment above was based entirely on forecast, not envy. For example:

In its most recent quarter, Apple fetched an average price of $724 per iPhone — a nearly 20 percent increase from an average of $606 per iPhone at the same time last year.

As the PC industry has shown, product price increases have a definite ceiling before consumers rebel; also, such high profit margins always draw in nimble competitors who nibble away at the margins - or directly threaten. The market seems to think consumers will pay $1,000 for a cell phone in the not-distant future. Will they? Considering, as the article states, 2/3 of Apple's revenue comes from phones, they'd better hope consumers will.

All that money coming back to the U.S. also spurred Apple to raise its dividend by 16 percent and commit to buy back $100 billion of its own stock as part of an effort to drive its stock price even higher.

The overseas profits are back, and the one-time $100 billion stock buyback has been completed. These are two events that will not be completed.

I certainly wish I'd included Apple stock in my portfolio a decade or two ago (too much Intel, it turns out), but I wouldn't buy it now. Perhaps I'm too conservative.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Faddish consumers are Apple's best friend - those, and a bubble.

Any premium brand has sheep who go for the gadget but many are aware about the groundbreaking done by Apple and how much is copied by PC and other phone makers.

Once the largesse Trump has shown to these corporations becomes the new norm and the offshored profits are exhausted on stock buybacks, major stockholders (the wealthy) will sell to shelter their assets.

Reread this nonsense, enlighten yourself how the industry and markets work and give it another try :)

How Apple will deal with a downturn when most of its revenues are derived from overpriced iPhones that can be easily replaced with far cheaper products remains to be seen.

Just admit that you can't afford one :)

0 ( +3 / -3 )

I wish Steve Jobs was here to see this day.

An epic example of how great design can lead to great things.

5 ( +6 / -1 )

Appuru have made so many groundbreaking products it amazes that people still find reason to carp at their success.

1 ( +4 / -3 )

Well-deserved for a company which has changed the world and continue to put out great products!

1 ( +5 / -4 )

Faddish consumers are Apple's best friend - those, and a bubble. Once the largesse Trump has shown to these corporations becomes the new norm and the offshored profits are exhausted on stock buybacks, major stockholders (the wealthy) will sell to shelter their assets.

How Apple will deal with a downturn when most of its revenues are derived from overpriced iPhones that can be easily replaced with far cheaper products remains to be seen.

-2 ( +4 / -6 )

Trump is Apple's best friend.

-3 ( +3 / -6 )

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