Posted on 01/05/2016 4:37:24 PM PST by Up Yours Marxists
While the latest smartphones from Apple might have picked up critical acclaim after their launch in September, Apple is ready to cut the production on the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus lines by thirty percent, reports Nikkei.
Nikkei suggests that the drop in production follows slower sales in Q4 2015. Apple's production for the iPhone 6S family matched the production numbers for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6S Plus. The lower sales of the newer handsets have led to more stock in the supply chain than Apple is apparently comfortable with, so the production will be slowed down for the next three months to reduce the backlog.
(Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...
Duh, of course. Excellent!
iphone 3GS still going strong after 6+ years
A thirty percent decline in sales will spook anybody, even he company in question. And, the investors and consumers.
Being dismissive of such a huge drop in sales, is not how one goes about acknowledging that, it could be the beginning of the end for the perception of perfect that came with the Apple logo.
iPod = 2nd Greatest Product Ever
iPad = 3rd Greatest Product Ever
MacBook Pro = 5th Greatest Product Ever
Microsoft's Vista and Win8 teams are glad to hear that. :-)
The iPhone is a "disaster"? On what planet?
Oh, btw, both Vista and Win8 had more sales than any version of iPhone. Windows still continues to outsell (number of copies) iPhones.
Not wanting to precipitate a pie-fight, but how does the drop in iPhone sales this far into the product lifecycle compare to the drop in sales of other Apple products over the past decade and a half? Don't they ALL do something like that, and Apple comes up with some Radical New Thing, or major twist on some existing thing, that gets the cycle started again?
(I imagine Swordmaker, keeper of all things Apple, can comment on the typical sales lifecycle of Apple's various products post-2000.)
In my observation, Apple has never stuck around after a product line starts to decline. That's for the folks who enjoy the Race To The Bottom. Apples stays ahead of that game, because they own the high end, not the low end.
Or at least, they have in the past. I personally believe they are at (or even a bit beyond) the point where they need to trot out the Next Big Thing, and it's gotta do well. Their record over the years is excellent, but past performance is not an indicator of future returns, as they say.
I look forward to Apple knocking everybody over this Spring or thereabouts.
Just like I look forward to Microsoft turning Windows 10 into a great OS product of a whole new type. It has that potential, and it's only at the beginning of its lifecycle.
I won't trouble you to explain that fascinating observation in detail, but could you shoot me a link to where that's from, so I can evaluate how it was computed? I have no reason to think it true, false, or merely a mixed comparison, and I want to give it (and you) the benefit of the doubt.
Thanks in advance.
Somebody at Apple apparently did the same thing, and miscalculated. Reports from other sources seem to indicate they were anticipating a lot better sales figures from China than they've gotten.
One big shift is that Apple is becoming predictable with their changes, to the point that (sweeping generalization) everyone who is going to buy or upgrade to the latest will do so immediately on availability, leaving a huge stampede on inventory followed by a precipitous decline as everyone who is going to get one got one.
There are only so many people on the planet. There’s a hard limit to market saturation.
> Somebody at Apple apparently did the same thing, and miscalculated. Reports from other sources seem to indicate they were anticipating a lot better sales figures from China than they've gotten.
The tech writers whores don't get fired when they belch forth flawed prognostications.
Apple's sales forecasters are supposed to be better than that, else if they fail often enough, they should get canned.
Are you referring to iPhone sales forecasts made in investor calls, that turned out badly, or what? I don't follow Apple (or anyone -- no stock in any of them) so I'm kinda iggerant. Links to your "other sources" would help me get eggumacated. Thanks!
What you say makes sense.
Nevermind, it only took me a couple minutes to confirm your assertion.
Thanks!
Run a quick web search on iPhone 6s sales in China, and see what comes up.
So what you asserted is true but incomplete. Some people are disappointed with the numbers, but others are happy with the same numbers.
I don't know enough to call only the happy ones fools, as you appear to be doing.
Crunching some numbers here, if we assume the 30% drop continues throughout the year, that means that, roughly:
$235B X .62 x .30 = $42B PROFIT LOSS
Is this a fair assumption, considering the iPhone is its most profitable product?
Like I said, I'm just speculating and I'd be open to any other explanation that makes more sense.
Ok my math is not right. That’s total lost revenue. Enough revenue to wipe out a company like Delta Airlines.
I do recall that in the past, Apple has been caught by unexpected large demand at a new product release, and their customers got disgruntled about it. Ramping production UP is harder and takes more time than cutting it DOWN. Finding component sources and assembly facilities takes months; slowing build rates can be done in days.
So perhaps -- perhaps -- Apple decided to get ahead of the bulge and have production high enough that they could, for once, cut back and relax rather than have to scramble and hustle with hair on fire. One wouldn't want to lose the opportunity to deliver product to a China-size market if it's there. If it doesn't materialize, one can back off with relatively little pain (by comparison).
But of course, that slowdown action is interpreted as The Sky Is Falling by those who make money when Apple sneezes.
Who knows what's really going down... not I.
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