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Apple To Cut iPhone Production By 10%: Nikkei (nikkei.com)
A new report from Nikkei Asian Review says that Apple will cut iPhone production by around 10% in the first quarter of 2017. From the report: This comes after the company slashed output in January-March 2016 due to accumulated inventory of the iPhone 6s line at the end of 2015. That experience led Apple to curb production of the iPhone 7, introduced in September, by around 20%. But the phones still have sold more sluggishly than expected. Information on production of the latest models and global sales suggests cuts in both the 7 and 7 Plus lines in the coming quarter. The larger iPhone 7 Plus, which features two cameras on its back face, remains popular. But a shortage of camera sensors has curbed Apple's ability to meet demand for the phones. U.S. research company IDC forecasts global smartphone shipments in 2016 on par with the 2015 level. Even Apple has had difficulty creating appealing new features, stifling demand from customers who otherwise would look to upgrade to the latest device.
It's not just that, it's that they didn't add anything. Well, not nothing, they only added something to the iPhone 7 Plus with the dual-camera thingy. But that isn't very compelling since most people who take pictures with their cell phone take selfies with the front-facing camera, which means they upgraded the wrong camera.
Ignoring things they removed, the iPhone 7 is just an iPhone 6s. Then when you realize that the differences are all in things they removed (the obvious removal of the headphone jack, the less-obvious needless redesign on the camera bump designed solely to ensure iPhone 6/6s cases doesn't fit on the 7 since the camera is otherwise identical, the less obvious change from a physical home button to a software one that doesn't work with gloves, or randomly just at all), yeah, it becomes obvious.
The problem isn't (just) that they removed a useful feature, it's that there's nothing new to make up for that lost feature. The AirPods work with existing iPhones: they're just bluetooth earbuds. The dual camera is nothing special, and the camera on the Pixel and enough other Android phones is better that when Consumer Reports did their smart phone camera round-up, they didn't include the iPhone because it was too bad to be worth testing. In fact the iPhone takes some of the worst pictures of any "flagship" smart phone!
And it's not just the iPhone, Apple has managed to enter a period where the Mac fan recommendation on every product is "wait." The Mac Pro and Mac Mini are obvious because they haven't been updated in years. iPhone 7 is obvious. The Apple TV is waiting for a 4K upgrade. The iMac needs an upgrade. The Apple Watch is a disaster that Apple should have abandoned immediately. They killed their home router line. There's literally no Apple product worth buying right now.
Even Apple has had difficulty creating appealing new features, stifling demand from customers who otherwise would look to upgrade to the latest device
While I agree that Apple hasn't really been able to introduce new features, some folks around me have ditched the iPhone for its expense. I guess they are finally "coming to their senses."
I always wondered why one would pay over US$900 for something that has functionality of other devices at half the cost; and would be "obsolete" in a year.
And yet in any test that compares Android phones to the iPhone, Android phones still blow it completely out of the water.
Want the fastest phone, with the best specs, and the best camera? You're looking for an Android.
Want the best value for money? Guess what, you want an Android!
Want a phone you can listen to music on without having to shell out $170 for new headphones? Also Android!
There's an Android phone that meets everyone's needs. The iPhone, on the other hand, is stuck trying to appeal to some baseline of what Cupertino thinks people want in a cell phone, and therefore ends up basically meeting no one's needs.
Most of that the average consumer doesn't give a shit about, however their music and ability to plug in their expensive headphones and charge the phone matters. The average person would look at your list and say well their are no upgrades there for me at all. The 6s is more than fast enough for most people, graphics are fine and while water resistence is nice it is hardly a killer feature. Improved dual cameras is really the only step up for the selfie obsessed average user. It is not enough to simply incrementally improve a device when you want someone to spend the best part of a Grand year to year on upgrades.
So not sure why this is a big deal, the holiday season is over, the phone has been out a while, and demand is dropping, and really phones are also no longer special anymore.
The simple reality is both Apple and Android phones originally were able to make huge improvements each cycle, simply because phone technology hadn't moved for so long. The problem is now phones have somewhat caught up to as far as technology can go. You can get a slightly better processor, a bit more ram, a better camera, and better screen but for the most part, perhaps a slightly larger battery, but there is nothing new and nothing that people need in a phone. Phones are now to the point where, they do everything and more that most people want, so the demand for newer and better isn't really as high. While we will certainly see some improvements in the next few years, unless something unexpected comes along that can make manufactures have to swing for the fences again, phones, like PCs before them, have become more boring in their lifecycle, which is just the cyclical nature of products, and anyone thinking the Samsung 8, or the iPhone 8 will bring something new and exciting will probably be rather disappointed.
Accessories and software will probably see the biggest changes, things like the AirPods will become more available at a large number of prices ranges, as well as we should continue to see improvements in software, but those things don't require a new phone for the most part unless, something changes such as where there is a new chipset say going faster than LTE, and even that will have a harder time getting traction than the 3g to LTE shift since most people are quite happy with the LTE performance.
AND CHARGE THEIR PHONE AT THE SAME TIME.
Do I have to spell it out for you?
OK, see, here's this amazingly common use case. I go to work, and decide I want to listen to music I've got on my phone. But I work in a building with shitty cell reception due to the fact that it's a giant metal box and the closest tower is miles away. This means I want to plug in my phone, while having my headphones plugged in, AT THE SAME TIME.
Get it?
Charge AND listen to music.
At the same time.
Like literally every other phone except the iPhone 7 is capable of.
It's a pretty common use case.
Apple Pay
Yawn.
Watch
Double yawn. Niche gimmick, that even the apple faithful are trying to find uses for.
Don't get me wrong there are some uses -- cyclists and a few other places where a wrist device is especially convenient for notifications... and my sister in law loves hers -- her officeplace has a no smartphones while working policy to keep employees from texting etc while they are supposed to be working. The apple watch is one step of ahead of company policy... her phone is neatly put away out of sight, and she can still get messages from friends etc on the watch.
TV
Overpriced and not as good as the more open alternatives. Airplay is nice though, but requires you to be fully enmeshed into the apple ecosystem, which im not. We have a mix of devices and platforms in our home.
several versions of Mac
Sure. If you want a lightweight ultraportable they have lots to choose from. If you want anything else.. an inexpensive durable laptop for students... nope. A powerhouse laptop with lots of ram and connectivity for pros... nope. But a luxury ultraportable with great screen, great battery life (aside from the pro's issues), and no connectivity... they've got 3 lines to choose from.
On the desktop... unmitigated garbage. Overpriced laptops crammed into all-one-screens defeating every possible advantage of desktops... well pro units made to look like garbage cans.
better displays,
They stopped making desktop monitors. The laptop displays from dell etc are just as good... and you can get touchscreens if you want them.
faster SSDs
They aren't that much faster than *other* decent SSDs And they are expensive and soldered in so you can't upgrade them. I'll take a slightly slower one that I can easily replace with a 2TB model in 3 years any time thanks.
free upgrades of iOS and OSX/macOS
And no option to downgrade afterwards if you aren't happen. Even Microsoft, who has gotten so much wrong lately, at least got that right.
No one gives a shit about the next Apple phone that is bigger, smaller or thinner.
It's still just a phone.
Learn some new tricks. The old ones are getting worn out and Apple has lack of innovation.
Similar to HP milking the ink business for decades.
Disruptive technology is sorely-needed by Apple again.