Apple sales set to slump in 2016 with no new products, analysts warn

News Corp Australia Network ^ | 12/27/2015 | Rod Chester

[Scutter]

AFTER a year of big Apple releases, analysts are predicting a flat 2016 where the world's biggest tech company refines product lines rather than produces the next big thing.

Apple's share price has taken a battering in the past six months, with more than $220 billion slashed from the company's value as analysts look towards an era of smartphone saturation.

Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty recently predicted that 2016 would be first time that iPhone sales would shrink, dropping by up to three per cent.

[Swordmaker]

Now I am off to the local not genius center to gat a customer’s iphone working again. The latest IOS9 “upgrade” bricked it for what we use it for. 30 mile trip one way and then I have to deal with some snot nose kid that wasn’t even born when I worked in Silicon Valley. Apple can kma.

A lot you know about Genius Bar employees at Apple Stores. The last Genius Bar employee who helped me was a retired IT specialist from Sacramento State University, age 66, who was working at Apple for the enjoyment of it. He was just slightly younger than I am. There were several other Geniuses there of the same vintage. ". . . snot nose kid. . . ", not by a long shot, Mad_as_He$$.

"Bricked it for what we use it for." What pray tell is that? That implies it still works for other purposes. Save yourself a 60 mile round trip and restore the iPhone back to factory status, re-synch the customer's data and settings, and you should be good to go. Most people who had a problem with the last upgrade merely had to cold start iOS and everything was good to go.

Why do I again think you are making up one of your stories about how bad Apple is? Mostly because they just don't hold water like a leaky sieve. They just don't agree with my experiences and my knowledge of every other persons' experience with Apple.

[tacticalogic]

I was a Windows/NT server admin before retiring a long time ago.

I meet a lot of those. Never seem to meet any Apple server admins.

[Swordmaker]

Yes, and one time they had to be bailed out by Microsoft to stay in business.

Sigh. No, Apple was NOT bailed out by Microsoft. For the six hundredth and third time. Microsoft paid Apple to settle a LAWSUIT which Microsoft was losing big time. Apple won this round big time. At the time Microsoft bought $150,000,000 in non-voting preferred FIVE YEAR RESTRICTED stock in Apple Computer, Apple had over $2 Billion in cash and other liquid assets. Apple had already booked three quarters of profits after having only two quarters of losses, and had just BOUGHT NeXT from Steve Jobs for $450 Billion and were still able to show a profitable quarter. In addition to buying the stock, Microsoft also assigned to Apple the right to use ALL of Microsoft's intellectual property at no licensing cost or royalties for the lifetime of the copyrights and patents, agreed to re-activate the Microsoft Office for Mac program and continue development, sales, and support for the five years of the settlement agreement, and agreed to license from Apple the in-suit patents and copyrights for a period of five years for undisclosed license fees and royalties with future royalties and fees after the five year period of the agreement to be negotiated after the close of the agreement.

For Apple's side of the agreement, Apple would issue the stock, agreeing to drop all past disputes with Microsoft, including the patent and copyright infringement in-suit, licensing to Microsoft said in-suit patents and copyrights for a period of five years for an undisclosed licensing and royalty fees, agree to include Microsoft Internet Explorer with all Macintosh Computers and MacOS shipments for a period of five years. All agreements hinged on the purchase by Microsoft of the RESTRICTED non-voting preferred stock. . . for which Microsoft got no control of what Apple did with the money.

Had this been a "bail-out," Microsoft would have gotten voting shares AND at least one or two seats on Apple's Board of Directors, none of which happened. But, as outlined above, it was not a bail-out, but rather a settlement of a long-running patent infringement lawsuit which the trying judge had told Microsoft they were most likely going to lose given the smoking gun evidence of an Apple engineer's Social Security Number and Mother's Maiden Name along with other hidden markers being imbedded inside Microsoft's supposed "Microsoft Windows Media Player" software that was accused of infringing Apple's QuickTime software code. . . which it did indeed contain un-modified and did indeed infringe.

Forensic accounting auditors estimate that over the life of the five year agreement, Microsoft paid out over $2 Billion to Apple to settle this lawsuit.

It was not a bail-out by any stretch of anyone's imagination. These are the facts. The three interlocking agreements outlining this settlement were unsealed by the court ten years after they were signed and approved by the court of record and are available on Lexus-Nexus for any subscriber to read. They outline exactly what I summarized above. . . but none of it would occur until Microsoft delivered the certified check to purchase the preferred stock. That was a bone Steve Jobs tossed to Microsoft to make the deal palatable. . . it cost Apple nothing to issue a piece of paper and did not even dilute the common stock shares, being preferred stock. It was restricted for five years so Microsoft could not even sell the shares until the end of the agreement to assure their compliance with the rest of the agreements. It was a cheap deal for Microsoft. . . as the judge indicated the economic damages of an award judgement against MS should the case go to trial could reach as high as $5-6 BILLION. Microsoft deemed settlement the best way to go, especially with the US Department of Justice investigating just such infringement shenanigans as part of its Anti-Trust investigation at the time. They wanted the whole thing to just go away. Steve Jobs offered them a way for this lawsuit to do just that for the benefit of both companies.

These are the facts, not the false bail-out myth.

[Oceander]

That’s pretty interesting. Thanks for putting it up in both detail and understandable terms.

[Swordmaker]

That’s pretty interesting. Thanks for putting it up in both detail and understandable terms.

Oops.. . one error. Apple bought NeXt for $427 Million, not $450 Billion. Typos. when I make and error. I make it a thousand times larger than necessary.

[Scutter]

Not really true. Most major releases of iOS will fix any slownesses by a couple of fix releases within weeks. Not a single iOS release has made earlier devices "unusable." If the device cannot use the update, it simply will not install. Your 3Gs was an aberration that was fixed in a later release. For your Safari issues, have you tried restoring to factory and then re-synching your data?

Swordmaker, all you really do with posts like this is prove you're an unrepentant Apple fanboy. I SAW the behavior I described with my iPhone. I have friends that saw it, and that experienced the exact same thing with their iPhones. The iPad Air I own *still* has all these issues, all of which started with an iOS release quite some time ago. I have even posted a video of one of the major issues in Safari - one which it still does to this day.

Not sure what your attachment is to Apple - financial, work, or just some bizarre religion - but you've completely blown any and all credibility with this post.

[dhs12345]

So they don’t charge for replacing the battery? And there is zero taxes charged for the service? Wow. /sarc

And do they replace the unit if they damage it while trying to replace the battery. In a device that is not designed to be taken apart.

My friend took her phone into one of those places multiple times for repair paid the fee and ended up tossing the phone in the trash. They damaged a flex circuit connector and it couldn’t be repaired.

Something as simple as replacing a battery shouldn’t require brain surgery.

No, replacing the battery in an apple device not at all feasible because their engineers designed that way. They designed in obsolescence.

It is simpler and probably cheaper to buy a new one. But that is what Apple is hoping for.

[Swordmaker]

Swordmaker, all you really do with posts like this is prove you're an unrepentant Apple fanboy. I SAW the behavior I described with my iPhone. I have friends that saw it, and that experienced the exact same thing with their iPhones. The iPad Air I own *still* has all these issues, all of which started with an iOS release quite some time ago. I have even posted a video of one of the major issues in Safari - one which it still does to this day.

I do not know what your problem is with YOUR iPad Air. I know I did not have such a problem and i know that others do not have such problems. Have you upgraded your iPad Air beyond the version of iOS that gave you problems. I seem to recall you saying you would not accept any more updates because they caused problems. If that is so, you are the problem, not Apple, because Apple does fix problems.

I provided you several possible fixes for your problem and you merely attack me. I tried before when you brought up these same issues. You don't describe what these problems are you complain about, just complain. I do not have "problems" with these devices and I work with such devices day in, and day out, in my work. Why YOU do, I do not know. Perhaps you have a defective device. Anecdotes do not make data. They are a single data point in data.

Perhaps if you were to more fully describe WHAT your Safari is doing on your iPad instead of just complaining about "all these issues" you *still* have, the Apple users on here could tell you exactly what is happening and perhaps help you fix them. . . but just telling us you SAW something doesn't help you or us understand what you are saying.

[Oceander]

Fair enough!

[packrat35]

You were the one posting a extreme price $470 from one article and I showed you there are cheaper ones. It took me 17 seconds to find the one I posted to you.

Apple lovers need to admit they are part of the problem with the Apple vs Microsoft flame wars. I could care less. I only read these threads to see how much more Sword can get up Apple’s butt. His non-stop lovefest is a source of amusement to some of us who could care less one way or the other.

I buy whichever suits my needs and am non beholden to either of them.

[Swordmaker]

So they don't charge for replacing the battery? And there is zero taxes charged for the service? Wow. /sarc

What part of "business" do you not understand. Wow. You don't do straw men arguments very well, dhs. What part of "inexpensive" do you also fail to grasp? Don't you expect to get paid for your work? No family to feed? No rent to pay? Are you one of the Liberal Obama voters? /sarc

And do they replace the unit if they damage it while trying to replace the battery. In a device that is not designed to be taken apart.

Of course they will. If they are a legitimate business, they stand behind their work. If they don't they won't stay in business long.

My friend took her phone into one of those places multiple times for repair paid the fee and ended up tossing the phone in the trash. They damaged a flex circuit connector and it couldn’t be repaired.

If it was an iPhone, the parts are available. There is no reason for them not to have repaired what they damaged. They should have replacement connectors in stock. they are fairly inexpensive. Everything like that can be repaired with a replacement. Cost for most is under $5.

No, replacing the battery in an apple device not at all feasible because their engineers designed that way. They designed in obsolescence.

No, you do not know at all what you are talking about. Too many people have their batteries replaced easily. Quit blowing smoke about something you know nothing about.

It really isn't that difficult to replace an iPhone battery, even Forbes has published a step-by-step tutorial on how to do it:

How To Replace The iPhone 5's Battery

Usually, when you buy an iPhone battery, they include the tools you need. Some battery replacement kits, including the battery sell for under $10. If you don't want to attempt it, you can pay an expert to do it.

Service Cost at Batteries Plus but they also offer a $10 off coupon if you
schedule your appointment on-line which would make it only $59.99.

[roadcat]

I buy whichever suits my needs and am non beholden to either of them.

For someone non beholden, your panties get in a bunch defending Microsoft, while attacking Apple on an Apple thread. The Apple haters are more of a problem, as they are like moths attracted to a flame... else why jump on an Apple thread rather than ignore it? As for Swordmaker, why are you out to insult him if you could care less? You sound unhinged.

[dhs12345]

Not at all strawman.

The battery in an apple device cannot reliably be replaced. No if ands or buts.

Let me repeat: it is not designed to be replaced!

BTW does Apple replace the battery and if not, why? And does it void any warranty if the unit is opened by someone other than Apple?

People just replace the unit. And Apple likes it that way. Not me. I don’t have hundreds of dollars to waste playing the Apple game.

Btw the business refused to replace my friends phone but they did give a couple more attempts and ordered two more flex circuits before they realized that the main board connector that the flex plugged into was damaged rendering the unit nonrepairable. A real pain!

[Swordmaker]

The battery in an apple device cannot reliably be replaced. No if ands or buts.

Let me repeat so you understand:

YOU DON'T HAVE A CLUE ABOUT WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT!

Can I make it any clearer?

Batteries in Apple devices can be easily and reliably replaced. . . guaranteed, no ifs, ands, and no buts, contrary to your erroneous claims. It has been done millions of times, dhs.

BTW does Apple replace the battery and if not, why? And does it void any warranty if the unit is opened by someone other than Apple?

The warranty on iPhones, iPods, etc. is for only 1 year. The batteries are designed to last for FIVE years. So it is hardly likely it would void any warranty to void the warranty to replace the battery. If the battery fails before the warranty expires, it will be replaced under warranty. GOT IT?

People just replace the unit. And Apple likes it that way. Not me. I don't have hundreds of dollars to waste playing the Apple game. . . BTW does Apple replace the battery and if not, why?

See, I told you, you don't know what you are talking about, and you are just lying, now. If it is not designed to be replaced, why does Apple offer a battery replacement service, dhs?

iPhone Repair - Battery & Power -- Find out how to get repair service for your iPhone.

Apple Help Page Image Captured today

Why should anyone pay hundreds of dollars to replace an iPhone when a battery replacement can fairly easily be done by yourself for under $20 or by an expert at Apple for $79 or by a third party for under $60. Quit lying and pulling nonsense out of your butt.

Btw the business refused to replace my friends phone but they did give a couple more attempts and ordered two more flex circuits before they realized that the main board connector that the flex plugged into was damaged rendering the unit nonrepairable. A real pain!

Adding more "details" to a false story doesn't make it more believable, dhs. It makes it more unbelievable. It makes you look like you're trying to justify your lie, adding verisimilitude, when the story was false enough to begin with, adding more false details just digs your hole deeper.

On the very slim chance the story is true, here's some advice: It they damaged a working unit, she should take the repair shop to small claims court for her damages. Destroying her phone is their liability. They should pay for repairs to return it to her in like condition in which she turned it over to them, with the working battery she paid for. If they damaged it beyond use, then they owe her the fair market value of the item when she brought it in, plus any money she paid them for attempted repairs. That is the Uniform Commercial Code applicable in all jurisdictions except Louisiana which is under Napoleonic code. . . which is even stricter.

[Scutter]

Type all the upper case words you want, you’re just continuing to demonstrate your lack of impartiality.

The vast majority of people consider “replaceable battery” to mean a battery that is designed to be removed, at will, by the end user. If this were not the case, there would be no point at all in drawing this distinction. Virtually every device out there has a “replaceable battery” using that definition.

In fact, you are the first person that I’ve ever heard claim that the type of invasive surgery required to replace the battery on these sealed devices qualifies. Of course the manufacturer can replace it. They have lots of experience doing it, and if they break something they can just replace the part or the whole unit if necessary. It’s just an absurd claim that this is the same thing people refer to when they say a device has a replaceable battery.

Regarding the 1 year warranty period, most people expect to use their devices well beyond the 1 year period. If the battery craps out on month 13, most people would be a lot happier (ignorant fanboys excepted, it seems) if they could just pop out the old one and drop in a new one. The MacBook Pros used to work this way. I went through 3 batteries before this thing was EOL.

Now that said, if the $79 fee covers the cost of the battery, that’s a reasonable price on a $750 iPhone. Of course, my wife’s Lumia 640 only cost me $29, but it has a truly replaceable battery; I had to install the battery when I got the thing.

And I am not claiming Apple designs non-(user)-replaceable batteries for planned obsolescence reasons. They do it the same reason other device makers do; because it allows you to create a sleeker, slimmer device.

[Swordmaker]

Type all the upper case words you want, you’re just continuing to demonstrate your lack of impartiality.

I've never claimed I'm impartial. Who claimed I am? I've had too many years of working on Windows and other devices to BE impartial, scutter.

People desire the thinness and lightweight of Apple devices far more than they want the klunkiness of doors and replaceable batteries those doors enable. Apple went for the engineering design of building a device efficient enough to last all day so the user did not have to replace the battery with a backup before he got to a place where he could conveniently recharge his device. Thus, a user did not need to carry extra batteries, worry about charging the extras, etc. For Apple, it is all about user experience, not inconvenience.

The discussion I included you in involved the declaration by a person who claimed that Apple devices could NOT have the batteries replaced at all and were deliberately designed to prevent it. He even questioned whether Apple even offered battery replacement. He continued to assert this twaddle, and then claimed such battery replacements if done were "unreliable."

My point was that it is a common and normal, reliable procedure that even normally skillful users can do themselves should they choose to, just as I chose to replace the digitizer screen on my daughter's iPad 3 yesterday. Doing so saved me around $130. The screen and tool kit cost me $14.95 on Amazon.

He still chose to deny it. . .

[mad_as_he$$]

No retired IT guys at my local notgenius bar it is one small notch above Best Buy. I am not rolling the phone back on my own. Like I said it is customer property used for on call support.

I don’t give a $hit what you think about my complaints about Apple. This is a customer support situation and it pisses me off that Apple killed an app that came from the App store. Period end of story.

[dhs12345]

Come back to me when Apple have fixed their >>design flaw<< of the battery not being removable.

Apple's competitors do it (battery compartment and removable battery). Why not Apple? Answer: because they are Apple and they don't have to.

To continue....

YOU DO VOID THE WARRANTY if you take the unit apart. Clearly, it is not recommended and even discouraged! Gee, I wonder why. Answer: maybe because it is risky and the phone might get damaged.

Very clearly: The phone, Ipod, Ipad are not designed to be taken apart!

And to have Batteries Plus do it is not recommended either. My own experience proves that. That was YOUR recommendation and you claim to be the expert.

******

RE: Apple replacing the battery.

So it costs me $79 plus shipping to have the battery replaced. This simply reinforces my point — why spend another $79 on an old unit. Most people won't hassle with it. Especially grandma who is technologically challenged or your average customer who can't tolerate not having their cell phone for several weeks!!!!

Let me repeat! — Several weeks without their phone while Apple replaces the battery! Also, I wonder if they actually replace the battery or maybe they just swap the unit with another like unit. There are so many reason why this is a bad idea. I can go into detail if you like.

So, why not apply the $79 towards a brand new unit. And, of course, Apple would be very happy to sell me one. My point is made!

Apples competitors offer removable batteries. The advantages (to repeat)....

1. The store can do it in 15 minutes. Don't have to wait weeks for the unit to be returned. Weeks without a cell phone.
2. The customer doesn't have to ship their unit back to the factory or have some third party do the repairs. A logistical hassle.
3. Risk of damaging the phone if it is taken apart.
4. The additional cost of the labor to replace the battery. The cell phone store will do it for free if the battery is replaceable. Heck, the customer can do it themselves.

[Swordmaker]

Come back to me when Apple have fixed their >>design flaw<< of the battery not being removable.

Show me the removable batteries in the Samsung Galaxy Edge, S6, S5, etc. How about in the Google Nexus line. Sorry, you won't find them there either. It is an engineering design decision for good and considered reasons. Ergo, dhs, there is no design flaw, but a fairly industry standard in high end cellular phones.

YOU DO VOID THE WARRANTY if you take the unit apart. Clearly, it is not recommended and even discouraged! Gee, I wonder why. Answer: maybe because it is risky and the phone might get damaged.

You cannot void a warranty that is no longer in effect, dhs. When it is in effect, Apple will do any internal repairs or replace a failed or defective battery for free. Ergo, if one opens the case before the warranty is expired, one runs the risk of voiding the warranty. USE YOUR BRAIN, dhs. After the warranty expires, there is no risk of voiding a non-existent warranty, and Apple does not care what you do with it as they no longer have an obligation to repair it.

Very clearly: The phone, iPod, iPad are not designed to be taken apart!

On the contrary, the iPhone, iPod, and iPad are designed to be taken apart, as the various components are connected by pluggable modules with clamps that are designed to unclamp the ribbon cables so they can be easily removed and re-inserted to gain access to every component. If they were not designed to be taken apart, they would not be modular with parts designed to be easily replaced. I know for a fact that is the case, because I took apart my daughter's iPad 3 just yesterday to replace the cracked digitizer screen. It took the removal of the original digitizer screen and four screws. You do not use screws unless you are designing something with the intent for something to be taken apart in the future.

So it costs me $79 plus shipping to have the battery replaced. This simply reinforces my point -- why spend another $79 on an old unit. Most people won't hassle with it. Especially grandma who is technologically challenged or your average customer who can't tolerate not having their cell phone for several weeks!!!!

You are making stuff up again. "Weeks?" Again, you do not know what you are talking about.

Apple's turn around time on a mailed in repair service for is 3 to 5 business days from the time it is sent by the user.

How long will it take?

Service arranged by phone or online takes three to five business days from the day your iPhone is shipped to Apple. When you bring your iPhone to an appointment at an Apple Retail Store or Authorized Service Provider, we might be able to fix the issue the same day. Or it could take up to one week if we need to send your iPhone to an Apple Repair Center.

Apple also offers Express Replacement Service to minimize your time without an iPhone.

Express Replacement Service allows an Apple users with AppleCare to simply notify Apple they have a problem with their battery. Apple will send them a new phone within 3 days and they return their old one in exchange. Total cost is $29. Done.

If you go to an Apple Store for your battery replacement, they will take care of it while you are there. If they find a problem that will take longer than you can wait, Apple will provide you a loaner iPhone until your iPhone is returned. Try that with any other repair system.

However, if you can step up a bit for just $99 and get a new iPhone (albeit last year's model) with a lot of new features your old one doesn't have, you are better off trading it in for a hundred dollars (which will PAY the downpayment on the new iPhone) and moving on.

Why spend $79 on an old unit? We are most likely talking about a device that is now several years old that has given good service for those years and a minor fee can assure it giving several years more good service. Why not pay $79 to restore it to like new condition?

And to have Batteries Plus do it is not recommended either. My own experience proves that. That was YOUR recommendation and you claim to be the expert.

Please show where Apple makes such a negative recommendation. There are literally thousands of locations where one can have Apple iOS devices repaired and/or have the batteries replaced. As I told you earlier, there are at least four within a few miles of my location and, I checked, they warranty their work with full replacement if they damage the device.

How interesting. Your "friend's experience" now becomes "your experience." Q.E.D. you are making the whole story up out of whole cloth. You never had that experience nor did your "friend." As I said earlier, adding detail to add verisimilitude outed you and showed you were lying about it.

[discostu]

Don’t knock early adopters, somebody needs to work out the bugs for the rest of us.