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Apple Abandons the Mass Market, as the iPhone Turns Luxury

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Re: Apple Abandons the Mass Market, as the iPhone Turns Luxury

#11

Post by toasterlovin »

mtgx wrote: post #4

Apple is moving "upmarket." It will be interesting to see if their fans' intense loyalty towards the company's products will win over this classic "innovator's dilemma" mistake that Apple is making. I for one thought Apple was going down a wrong path the moment they started implying they wanted to make super-expensive (compared to their costs and features) "fashion" products instead of continuing to make "premium tec…

The iPhone 7 (an excellent phone that I own and use daily) is prominently displayed on their iPhone page. It starts at $449 up front or $18.70/month. That is affordable to many people in the developed world. Doubly so when you consider that a phone is probably the most-used single object that most people own.

Re: Apple Abandons the Mass Market, as the iPhone Turns Luxury

#12

Post by megaman8 »

appleiigs wrote: post #5

Apple is so big, I don’t know why they can’t be mass market and luxury at the same time. Toyota:Lexus, VW:Audi:Porsche. It’s never been so easy to switch ecosystems. Trying to milk the apple cult is a quarterly earnings trap. Lacks vision.

it's simply too expensive to be selling to the masses. Apple knows where and who the money is, and it's not with the masses.

besides, Apple actually has plenty of low end offerings on sale alredy: the iphone 6 and iphone 5. the refurbished versions of their older phones the 4,5 and 6. Right? are those selling out?

Re: Apple Abandons the Mass Market, as the iPhone Turns Luxury

#13

Post by megaman8 »

mtgx wrote: post #4

Apple is moving "upmarket." It will be interesting to see if their fans' intense loyalty towards the company's products will win over this classic "innovator's dilemma" mistake that Apple is making. I for one thought Apple was going down a wrong path the moment they started implying they wanted to make super-expensive (compared to their costs and features) "fashion" products instead of continuing to make "premium tec…

at a certain point, you have to accept that there's nothing left to be done: at some point all the low hanging fruit has been picked clean.

If they really want to expand their revenue and move into areas it's going to be very risky. So, why not milk the cow for all it's worth.

Re: Apple Abandons the Mass Market, as the iPhone Turns Luxury

#14

Post by bitwize »

mtgx wrote: post #4

Apple is moving "upmarket." It will be interesting to see if their fans' intense loyalty towards the company's products will win over this classic "innovator's dilemma" mistake that Apple is making. I for one thought Apple was going down a wrong path the moment they started implying they wanted to make super-expensive (compared to their costs and features) "fashion" products instead of continuing to make "premium tec…

Well, that's what happens when strippers and drug dealers start buying iPhones and incorporating them into their bling alongside Prada handbags and Ralph Lauren shirts. Once the iPhone got that sort of normie cred, the door was closed on Apple as a tech company and open on Apple as a lifestyle brand. Plus it's a bit hard to say no to the luxury-aspirant dollar because you can charge a high price and still have a relatively large customer base.

Re: Apple Abandons the Mass Market, as the iPhone Turns Luxury

#15

Post by achillesheels »

mtgx wrote: post #4

Apple is moving "upmarket." It will be interesting to see if their fans' intense loyalty towards the company's products will win over this classic "innovator's dilemma" mistake that Apple is making. I for one thought Apple was going down a wrong path the moment they started implying they wanted to make super-expensive (compared to their costs and features) "fashion" products instead of continuing to make "premium tec…

I like to analyze Apple as if I were Warren Buffet, looking at from a fundamental valuation perspective.

Apple is more of a brand and high-end retailer these days (sales per sq ft rival and even exceed Nordstrom), with sticky customer retention through all of their service products. It helps they have made their tech fool-proof and continue to innovate in the direction of improving user experience, which is primarily social in nature with the smartphones.

In this regard, is the brand’s value compounding? Is the App Store, for instance, compounding in value the more it has aged? I think so.

Re: Apple Abandons the Mass Market, as the iPhone Turns Luxury

#17

Post by esotericn »

EpicBlackCrayon wrote: post #8

Maybe I'm a little young and naive, but it seems as if the disparity between what you paid in dollars versus what you got as an "experience" has never been greater than now I think. "Experiences" are always sort of an subjective measurement, but back in the day you could reasonably argue that the value proposition of the Mac and Apple's ecosystem as a whole was worth the premium. Think back to just after the iPhone's…

Consider that people - en masse - are willing to spend tens of thousands of dollars on cars that they spend far less time in.

$1000 for a phone is both expensive (compared to cheaper models) and trivial (compared to other budget items).

The interesting thing isn't why people buy an iPhone over an Android phone.

The interesting thing is why people spend huge amounts of money on luxuries when they have less than 6 months in the emergency fund.

Re: Apple Abandons the Mass Market, as the iPhone Turns Luxury

#18

Post by skybrian »

I'm wondering if part of this is Apple adapting to people keeping phones longer? The cost is spread out over more years. Also, refurbished iPhones may be the new low end, and why not?

I don't use iPhones, but the MacBook I bought last year was refurbished and I'm quite happy with it.

Re: Apple Abandons the Mass Market, as the iPhone Turns Luxury

#19

Post by watertom »

Mass market, talk about being out of touch. Considering Apple has about 12% of the cell phone market they were already a luxury item. They are becoming an ultra luxury item.

My wife ditched the iphone for a lower end Samsung, even my status symbol focused teenage daughters can't justify the cost of an iphone, their old iphones are being replaced by much cheaper Android phones.

Re: Apple Abandons the Mass Market, as the iPhone Turns Luxury

#20

Post by joezydeco »

skybrian wrote: post #18

I'm wondering if part of this is Apple adapting to people keeping phones longer? The cost is spread out over more years. Also, refurbished iPhones may be the new low end, and why not? I don't use iPhones, but the MacBook I bought last year was refurbished and I'm quite happy with it.

Refurbished iPhones are the best deal running.

Apple has already said every refurb gets a new battery and case. And if they replace any glass breakage, there's really nothing left besides the logic board. You're essentially getting a brand new unit.

https://www.cnet.com/news/apple-refurbished-used-iphones-new...

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