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Tim Cook to Investors: People Bought Fewer New iPhones Because They Repaired Their Old Ones (vice.com)
On Wednesday, Apple CEO Tim Cook issued a dire warning to his investors. Apple, the world's first trillion dollar company, lowered its revenue forecast for the first time since 2002, thanks primarily to China, he said. But there was at least one more issue at play.
Motherboard: The lengthy letter cites, specifically, that people are buying fewer iPhones because they are repairing their old ones. Apple has long fought efforts that would make iPhones easier to repair: It has lobbied against right to repair efforts in several states, doesn't sell iPhone replacement parts, sued an independent repair professional in Norway, worked with Amazon to get iPhone and MacBook refurbishers kicked off Amazon Marketplace, and has deals with electronics recyclers that require them to shred iPhones and MacBooks (as opposed to allowing them to be refurbished.) The Department of Homeland Security, meanwhile, has seized iPhone replacement parts from prominent right to repair activists in the United States.
[...] Apple has never clearly articulated why it doesn't want people to fix their own iPhones or to have independent experts repair them. It has previously said that iPhones are "too complex" for users to repair them, even though replacing a battery is pretty easy and is done by average users all the time. But the fact that repair hurts Apple's bottom line came out in Cook's official communication with shareholders, who he is legally obligated to tell the truth to.
Motherboard: The lengthy letter cites, specifically, that people are buying fewer iPhones because they are repairing their old ones. Apple has long fought efforts that would make iPhones easier to repair: It has lobbied against right to repair efforts in several states, doesn't sell iPhone replacement parts, sued an independent repair professional in Norway, worked with Amazon to get iPhone and MacBook refurbishers kicked off Amazon Marketplace, and has deals with electronics recyclers that require them to shred iPhones and MacBooks (as opposed to allowing them to be refurbished.) The Department of Homeland Security, meanwhile, has seized iPhone replacement parts from prominent right to repair activists in the United States.
[...] Apple has never clearly articulated why it doesn't want people to fix their own iPhones or to have independent experts repair them. It has previously said that iPhones are "too complex" for users to repair them, even though replacing a battery is pretty easy and is done by average users all the time. But the fact that repair hurts Apple's bottom line came out in Cook's official communication with shareholders, who he is legally obligated to tell the truth to.
Tough shit, Apple. I'm content with my iPhone 6 and see no need to upgrade to something beyond a 6S as I don't want to lose my headphone jack. Plus, I may upgrade to a 5S as I like the smaller form factor. YOU. ARE. NOT. MAKING. A. NEW. PHONE. THAT. I. WANT. Fix that and include a headphone jack and I may consider buying a new phone.
Further proof that Apple has been taken over and is being ruled by MBAs rather than innovators.
When you sympathize with stupidity, you start thinking like an idiot.
It's not possible that even one converted to Android? No way he'd admit that.
He'll do anything but admit that they fucked up when they priced it at over $/£/€1000. People aren't buying them because they're too fucking expensive.
I only please one person per day. Today is not your day. Tomorrow isn't looking good either. - Scott Adams
People bought fewer iPhones because they jacked the prices up and, didn't give anyone anything new that would justify such an increase. Thereby, negative return on investment. DUH! For people that are supposed to be smart, they sure say and, do some really stupid shit.
They Suck.
Apple is very similar to BMW and Mercedes when it comes to this "immersive brand experience" thing. None of these companies want people running around with old phones or cars. They want them on the 3-year leasing treadmill. They want you to basically subscribe to their hardware. To accomplish this, one of the things they do is fight efforts to make repairs economical. Apple basically builds their phones as glue sandwiches and solders all the components onto the motherboard for "design reasons." BMW/MB make the out-of-warranty repair experience painful with single-source expensive parts, so even if you find a good mechanic who charges reasonable labor rates, this sensor or that sub-assembly will cost thousands to replace. The only way to own one of these cars long term is to have the money and not care about spending it, or just throw in the towel and rent one forever in the form of a never-ending lease.
I think people in the US and Europe will finally get sick of this and realize they're being ripped off now that there's a huge secondary market for iDevices. China and India have huge middle class populations but they're less likely to blow $1100 on a phone than Americans are.
You do NOT need a headphone jack PERIOD. Why is that so hard for you to grasp?
I don't need an iPhone either. But if you want me to buy one, you should probably make one that I want to buy.
Why isn't Apple selling more iPhones?
1) Too darn expensive. I'm not dropping a grand on a device that I can lose or break in an instant. I switched over to Android because I can buy a phone with 90% of the functionality of an iPhone for $200 to $300, which is the price point I want.
2) We're at peak functionality. Yeah, apps are bloating and requiring more CPU power, but if I need a phone, email, calendar, a browser, and some basic games, I'm good. I don't need a zillion megapixels or a few more battery stealing CPU cycles, so why do I need a new phone?
3) The "wow" factor is over. Every phone looks the same and does most of the same things. I'm not jazzed by anything on the latest and greatest iPhone. Innovate!
Apple is just about where Motorola was after the RAZR crashed and burned. Motorola didn't take the RAZR profits and invest more in R&D and their customers moved on to the next big thing (smartphones). RIM / Blackberry had the same problem. As has just about everyone else in the space. The only saving grace for Apple is the ecosystem it has for its devices and software. That has built something of a moat around its products, but as long as older products continue to function, there is no incentive for Apple to get hungry again.
People complained about replacable batter, phone jack, ability to fix device and prices. They did not care - people stoped buing products - now they are surprised?How about listen to your customers next time?
Under Steve Jobs, Apple innovated creating whole new lines of products with innovative features. Now innovation at Apple means adding a notch to the screen or removing the headphone jack. The iPhone is a great phone, but enough people already own them and they're not willing to pay $1,000 or more for small incremental improvements.
[Insert pithy quote here]
The Apple Watch is fucking great, and people seem to love the Airpods, so I don't know what you're talking about.
I'm a huge Apple fan, and while you can "get by" without a headphone jack integrated into the phone, it is a silly compromise. I use Bose QC20 noise cancelling headphones when I fly; they are hands-down the best in-ear, noise cancelling headphone for that purpose. They have a 3.5mm (god I hate calling it that... it is 1/8"...) jack and a really stupid battery pack. I sometimes use these same headphones for listening to the in-flight entertainment. The headphones have an 18-hour battery, and can be charged while in use.
So, for Apple's world, I can either give up the best headphones and go bluetooth, with an extra bluetooth dongle for the IFE, or keep my stupid lightning/headphone dongle and maybe invest in a dual-port headphone/charger dongle. Either way, it is dongle madness. Oh, and I need two sets of bluetooth headphones since they don't last as long.
Oh, and since purchasing a new iPad pro, I need another dongle for USB-C... but that is a separate matter.
(If I could comfortably wear on-ear headphones for a 17-hour flight then there are more options, but that is not possible.)
> Headphone jacks are overrated, the little supplied adapter works fine
Bullshit. Maybe FOR YOU it's fine. Guess what some of us DO have a problem with it.
* How do I charge my phone and listen to my wired headphones (Senns HD 380 Pro) at the SAME TIME ?
* Why the fuck am I forced to carry around Yet-Another-Dongle ???
Oh, that's right Apple wants me to buy their shitty Beats wireless cans instead and/or more accessories that now I have to worry about remembering to bring and not lose.
Apple no longer cares about respecting the consumer. (Although one could probably argue they never really have with their shenanigans over the years.)
Fuck that shit.
I suppose the question is why he should have to pay *more* money to allow Apple to pursue their agenda, versus just buying products/sticking with products that are still designed in a way he prefers? Of course all that said he really should move to a credit card device that isn't magstripe based, due to liability issues, but not because he should pay more to have less function.
I would never dare say someone else's preference for having a port is any of my business.
Personally, I bought an android phone with only usb-c and dongles for headphones. When that phone messed up out of warranty, I was so glad to have a headphone jack again and not deal with the hassle of a dongle, and paid much less for the phone with *more* ports which is a very weird dynamic in the industry.
XML is like violence. If it doesn't solve the problem, use more.
I am in the same boat. I would like a OLED screen, but.... I do not want a physically bigger phone. I do not want to give up the 3.5mm headphone jack (which I use everyday, while charging). I actually prefer Touch ID over the new Face ID garbage. I like having a home button I can physically feel and press without needing to look at the phone.
But my battery had fizzeled out. Wouldn't keep a charge, kept shutting down when cold. But Apple offered a new battery for $25, so now my iPhone 6 is good as new, and in my opinion, better in almost every way over the current gen models except for the OLED screen.
Make a phone a I WANT to buy, and at a reasonable price, and I might bite. Until then, I will probably replace the battery in my iPhone6 again 2-3 years from now. I don't care if I stop getting iOS updates.