History repeating
Around this time one year ago, Apple announced for the first time that it had a drop in iPhone sales. This year again, the tech giant’s quarterly earnings report a similar scenario. Though it is a comparatively minor dip in sales- down 1.2 million from the same quarter last year- it does seem plausible that the iPhone’s popularity may be beginning to decline.
Recently, a 451 Research survey showed that “purchase intent”– the likelihood that a consumer will purchase a product– is at a nine-year low. When asked about it during the quarterly earnings conference call, Apple CEO Tim Cook said he had only “glanced” at the survey. However, he went on to explain that the company is currently in the midst of a “pause in the purchases on iPhone(s).” This, Cook believes, is “due to earlier and much more frequent reports about future iPhones.”
Three part problem
Cook does have a point in that since the iPhone 7’s release, the rumor mill has been working overtime regarding the next iterations of the insanely popular smartphone. It is kind of funny, though, because each prior iPhone suffered at least a similar amount of rumor-mongering. It couldn’t be that the iPhone 7 simply wasn’t as exciting a product as all the previous iPhone models proved to be, could it?
Admittedly, the iPhone 7 has a number of factors working against it.
The most important, of course, being the S-models implemented since the iPhone 4. iPhones are expensive, and if a new, and greatly improved version of the phone is going to come out one year later as it has with the last three generations, why fork out the 600-plus dollars to get an obviously dumbed down version of the product? Though there are those that always need to purchase the latest and greatest, the majority of consumers buy a new smartphone when they need one. If the prior model still works well enough, it’s in the buyer’s best interest to wait another year to purchase the better phone.
Second, of course, is the fact that this year marks the ten year anniversary of the original iPhone. Many are anticipating that Apple will release a special phone to commemorate this milestone, which makes anything the iPhone 7 could have done, aside from a major design overhaul, seem kind of “meh.” These are likely the “frequent reports” and rumors that Cook was referring to.
Lastly, it’s imperative to mention the increasing number of consumers that are beginning to flock to the Android market. Though Apple is still the dominant smartphone manufacturer, companies such as Samsung and HTC are beginning to increase in popularity. Aside from the leaps and bounds the Android platform has made, a large part of this is due to the simple fact that many Android phones are much less expensive than their iOS counterparts.
Time will tell
Though Apple has its detractors, they still have a strong hold on the smartphone market. However, if they wish to remain there, it may be time for them to shake up their products a bit.
Rumors abound regarding the next iPhone. Hopefully all the hype will be worth the wait.
#iPhone
