Apple cuts iPhone 5 screen orders by 50%

[Red Storm]

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-5...dly-cuts-iphone-screen-orders-on-weak-demand/

Now I know we normally see a lull as we get closer to the next iPhone 5, but this soon? And cutting orders by half? That's a lot less demand than they planned for. Surprising to me cause I expected the 5 to keep high demand since it has some key features that had been missing.

Doesn't say anything about the other models, so I guess demand for those is going as expected.

 

[Oyeve]

I heard 80% this morning on the news. But that was FOX so yeah, I dont believe its that high. I guess people are getting bored with more of the same. I am sure apple has something in the works to generate more demand.

 

[JimKiler]

If you already have the iPhone 4 the 5 is not that compelling an upgrade so unless Apple brings in new users sames are not going to continue to skyrocket with their premium prices.

 

[Red Storm]

If you already have the iPhone 4 the 5 is not that compelling an upgrade so unless Apple brings in new users sames are not going to continue to skyrocket with their premium prices.

The 4 lacks very important features that the 5 has. Namely a bigger screen, LTE, and native voice nav.

 

[Super56K]

This is most likely a sign that Apple's insane year over year growth with the iPhone is coming to an end.

 

[bearxor]

That's what I'm thinking. Was bound to happen eventually.

 

[nickbits]

The 4 lacks very important features that the 5 has. Namely a bigger screen, LTE, and native voice nav.

Not everyone wants or cares about those things and 4 has voice nav.

 

[ChAoTiCpInOy]

There's only been one source for this story. Yeah it's a WSJ, but still. Kind of suspect.

This news hasn't been good to the stock price.

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

If you already have the iPhone 4 the 5 is not that compelling an upgrade so unless Apple brings in new users sames are not going to continue to skyrocket with their premium prices.

What is this apple price premium that everyone keeps talking about?
Subsidizes Prices for flagship android phones are the same as iphone ($200, not counting discounts or sale prices).
Music on iTunes is usually cheaper than Google (99cents vs $1.29).

 

[openwheel]

not great news for Apple, but they'll still make insane amount of profit regardless.

iPhone's MSRP is generally much higher. Just compare iPhone 5 to SGS3, Lumia 920, One X and even the Nexus 4. Phablets like the Note II and DNA are different animals.

 

[Ravynmagi]

There's only been one source for this story. Yeah it's a WSJ, but still. Kind of suspect.

This news hasn't been good to the stock price.

WSJ really sucks at tech stories. I noticed they really love to over dramatize everything. So I usually roll my eyes and look for another source when I see anything reported by them.

I would think this is kinda normal. The phone is probably easy to get now, anyone that wanted one has gotten it. And now most of the new orders are just from people on expiring contracts.

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

not great news for Apple, but they'll still make insane amount of profit regardless.

iPhone's MSRP is generally much higher. Just compare iPhone 5 to SGS3, Lumia 920, One X and even the Nexus 4. Phablets like the Note II and DNA are different animals.

Most ppl in America buy phones subsidized by the carrier and that price point is $200, excluding sales.

 

[openwheel]

Most ppl in America buy phones subsidized by the carrier and that price point is $200, excluding sales.

I said MSRP which is the best way to compare. However, if we are comparing subsidized prices, iPhone still costs relatively higher especially given all the promotions. Don't forget you need to pay tax on the retail price also.

 

[Red Storm]

I said MSRP which is the best way to compare. However, if we are comparing subsidized prices, iPhone still costs relatively higher especially given all the promotions. Don't forget you need to pay tax on the retail price also.

Well on Verizon, flagship Android phones launch at $300. The new iPhone model launches at $200. So it's actually cheaper than competing phones when it comes to subsidized purchases, which I believe is the most common method in the US.

 

[Chess]

Not everyone wants or cares about those things and 4 has voice nav.

I think anyone that is into electronics and uses a smartphone would want LTE... no brainer... one reason why I didnt buy the 4..... :thumbsup:

 

[openwheel]

Well on Verizon, flagship Android phones launch at $300. The new iPhone model launches at $200. So it's actually cheaper than competing phones when it comes to subsidized purchases, which I believe is the most common method in the US.

I believe SGS3 launched at $199 for 16gig? One X and One X+ too. Which is align with iPhone 5, but have dropped since launch. Lumia 920 is much lower at launch. I don't think it's fair to compare Phablets to iPhone 5 since they target different buyers.

Plus, Verizon simply over charges. We all know that.

 

[openwheel]

I think anyone that is into electronics and uses a smartphone would want LTE... no brainer... one reason why I didnt buy the 4..... :thumbsup:

Not true, HSPA+ still works very well especially on a cellphone which lacks productivity function in the first place. There are plenty of tech savvy users who don't mind HSPA (including Engadget editors). The current crop of smarts phones will be phased out before HSPA+ is ancient history.

Especially dual-band carrier which in some cases exceeds LTE speed.

 

[Red Storm]

I believe SGS3 launched at $199 for 16gig? One X and One X+ too. Which is align with iPhone 5, but have dropped since launch. Lumia 920 is much lower at launch. I don't think it's fair to compare Phablets to iPhone 5 since they target different buyers.

Plus, Verizon simply over charges. We all know that.

I looked up the S3 and it did seem to launch at $199, so I guess Verizon did return to their senses a little. I know the Note 2 was $300 as was the Maxx HD.

 

[KeithP]

Lets face it, when you go into a store and look at cell phones, at first glance, the iPhone 5 looks like a low end product. Its got a small screen and the basic UI hasn't ever changed (if the consumer gets that far to look at it).

That being said, Apple could have a new larger iPhone coming. A 5" model with a 1080P for example. It could be that Apple has quickly designed a new larger model and expects it to take up the slack in the spring.

-KeithP

 

[zerocool84]

Well it's already been a few months after release and iPhones always sell a ton less at that time so it's probably just normal.

 

[jpeyton]

Their stock is almost back under the $500 mark today.

I hope some of you guys cashed out on the top, those lofty $1000/share price predictions are history.

 

[Phynaz]

Oops, maybe not...

http://news.yahoo.com/strange-math-apple-alleged-massive-iphone-5-order-142020793.html

 

[ControlD]

Lets face it, when you go into a store and look at cell phones, at first glance, the iPhone 5 looks like a low end product. Its got a small screen and the basic UI hasn't ever changed (if the consumer gets that far to look at it).


-KeithP

I am pretty sure that's why Apple requires the major carriers to have a separate iPhone area. If you put the iPhone in the middle of a bunch of modern Android devices it probably wouldn't have much of a "wow" factor going for it.

What would be telling is to see if Apple has had similar parts order cuts for their previous iPhone models. Perhaps this is a normal cycle, or maybe many 4 and 4S users like myself simply don't see much of a reason to make the upgrade at this time. I would like to have the LTE speeds but there is absolutely nothing else that I find compelling about the new model compared to the old. For $300 I think I'll just stick with 3G speeds for now.

 

[pm]

Not everyone wants or cares about those things and 4 has voice nav.

The iPhone 4 doesn't have built-in voice nav using Apple Maps. You can get it easily enough using Google Maps, but the way that the iPhone 4 comes out of the box, it doesn't have voice nav.

I think anyone that is into electronics and uses a smartphone would want LTE... no brainer... one reason why I didnt buy the 4..... :thumbsup:

While I would agree that there's no reason why someone wouldn't want LTE if it's free, as someone who lives in an area that AT&T has deemed unfit for LTE, it's pretty much a "don't care" feature for me.


As far as the original article, I'm a bit surprised too. I guess we'll know in two weeks when Apple announces earnings.

 

[dainthomas]

The iPhone 4 doesn't have built-in voice nav using Apple Maps. You can get it easily enough using Google Maps, but the way that the iPhone 4 comes out of the box, it doesn't have voice nav.

Who would buy a new phone just for voice nav when they can download it?