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US Smartphone Shipments Decline 19% in Q3 2023 as More Americans Delay Upgrade

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Re: US Smartphone Shipments Decline 19% in Q3 2023 as More Americans Delay Upgrade

#81

Post by nkozyra »

llm_nerd wrote: post #75
nkozyra wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You have it backwards IMO, the only reason Apple is able to achieve this effect is because their phones are heads and shoulders above the rest in hardware quality and integration. Build it (well) and they will come Well this doesn't explain why a person is upgrading from last year's model, which effectively does every single thing just as well. The status symbol feature is what makes people upgrade _when they don't…

While I am simply astonishing that so many people are playing along with such an obvious bad-faith troll as the root of this thread... The vast majority of Apple users don't upgrade year over year. Those that do generally take advantage of fantastic resale values to get the upgrade at little price. And are you claiming that Samsung or Pixel owners aren't doing the same? I know a number of peers who buy whatever is th…

> The vast majority of Apple users don't upgrade year over year.

I agree with that. But young people - for whom status symbols carry the most weight - generally upgrade their iphone in less than two years at a clip of ~50%.

> And are you claiming that Samsung or Pixel owners aren't doing the same?

I didn't claim that. I don't know. But it's less of an investment and far less of a status symbol.

Re: US Smartphone Shipments Decline 19% in Q3 2023 as More Americans Delay Upgrade

#82

Post by scarface_74 »

onlyrealcuzzo wrote: post #12
hospitalJail wrote: post #4

This is why I continue to be bullish on Apple. Apple is the only company that has been able to turn a smartphone into 'Nike Jordans'. They had people waiting outside at midnight, they have people buying the phone for the logo, they have people buying the phone for the location of the cameras. In the short term, I only see Apple as the company that does well during this next bumpy economy. Everyone else is selling pho…

Apple's Mac business is doing poorly and the iPhone business is not doing particularly well. It's one of the biggest losers in this upgrade cycle delay, with Nest/Pixel being the only manufacturer growing. Being bullish on excess capitalism during a slow down doesn't seem like a no-brainer play to me. But to each their own. Realistically, I'm just not sure how much growth Apple has left unless India becomes a giganti…

If only Apple sold more than just iPhones and had some type of services business that could leverage their base of customers to get continuing growing revenue…

Re: US Smartphone Shipments Decline 19% in Q3 2023 as More Americans Delay Upgrade

#83

Post by qzw »

In the enthusiast car world there's a growing trend called restomodding, where you take a beloved classic car such as Porsche 964 and rebuild it with completely modern guts. Singer, which is probably the most famous restomodder, charges 6-7 figures for their cars and has a years long waiting list.

Someone should start a restomodding business for classic phones. Just don't charge 6-7 figures for them, please.

Re: US Smartphone Shipments Decline 19% in Q3 2023 as More Americans Delay Upgrade

#84

Post by foobarian »

saiya-jin wrote: post #45
foobarian wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You have it backwards IMO, the only reason Apple is able to achieve this effect is because their phones are heads and shoulders above the rest in hardware quality and integration. Build it (well) and they will come

That is not true. Nothing Apple does say Samsung cannot repeat, heck these 2 specifically share quite a bit of hardware too, ie screens. In fact top of the line Samsung is more impressive to me, it manages to store whole chargeable pen in the body and is lighter than comparable Apple models. There are much better sounding headphones/earplugs, ie Sennheiser. Apple does fine products (and their share of fails), but the…

This reads like that famous line criticizing the iPod for having worse hardware specs than a competitor.

You need to include vertical integration and design in their secret sauce. Everybody else has been struggling to catch up ever since the iPod came out, and IMO they have not caught up yet.

Re: US Smartphone Shipments Decline 19% in Q3 2023 as More Americans Delay Upgrade

#85

Post by kiba »

xnorswap wrote: post #23

I just "upgraded" my phone and for the first time my new phone is worse than my old one. I only upgraded because I noticed my old phone (Huawei P20 pro) was no longer getting android updates and I was concerned for the security of it. My new phone (pixel 8) feels worse in almost every regard. I can't even customise the home screen as much ( Literally cannot remove a link to Chrome and other google apps ). Given it's…

I don't understand this issue. I also have a Pixel 8 but I don't use chrome, so it's not on my phone.

Re: US Smartphone Shipments Decline 19% in Q3 2023 as More Americans Delay Upgrade

#86

Post by Abekkus »

jghn wrote: post #28
ravenstine wrote: post #7

Not surprising. Phone upgrades in the last 5 years have been barely worth it. I'll be to first to criticize and mock The Google, but I've been plenty happy with my refurbished Pixel 5 that I not only plan on running it into the ground but getting another one if it finally croaks or loses too much battery capacity. Yes, I could just get the latest Pixel when that happens, but why switch from a phone that I know intima…

I'm on Apple's yearly upgrade plan and still don't bother. I'm not interested in a device larger than their mini form factor, and they keep a) killing the mini and b) making their devices larger. At the moment the mini I have is better than their SE offering. So why bother updating my phone? And as you say, everything works fine enough for me, so there's no pressure for me to move off my stance.

I deeply miss the iphone 5 form factor, their current "mini" and SE are noteiceably bigger than that size. I'm guessing smaller phones don't get people lost in content as well as the larger ones, and that's why they're not being made anymore.

Re: US Smartphone Shipments Decline 19% in Q3 2023 as More Americans Delay Upgrade

#87

Post by kspacewalk2 »

ravenstine wrote: post #7

Not surprising. Phone upgrades in the last 5 years have been barely worth it. I'll be to first to criticize and mock The Google, but I've been plenty happy with my refurbished Pixel 5 that I not only plan on running it into the ground but getting another one if it finally croaks or loses too much battery capacity. Yes, I could just get the latest Pixel when that happens, but why switch from a phone that I know intima…

One issue is that your Pixel 5 won't get any more security updates (past October 2023). My wife's Pixel 4A is in the same boat - perfectly fine except no more security updates. Doesn't matter much right now, but will gradually start to matter over time.

Re: US Smartphone Shipments Decline 19% in Q3 2023 as More Americans Delay Upgrade

#88

Post by Abekkus »

beretguy wrote: post #35
VancouverMan wrote: post #14

I know a number of people, myself included, who have been waiting for the return of decent mid-range phones before getting a new one. Right now, there are very few options for people who want a reasonably sized phone, offering reasonably good performance, at a reasonably low cost, with reasonably good durability, with reasonably long software support, from a reasonably trustworthy manufacturer.

We desperately need 3.5-4 inch phones. My iPhone SE with 4.7 inch screen is too big to use comfortably (I can’t reach the opposite corner with thumb and I am a male with average size hands) and I also have Unihertz Jelly 2 which is 3 inch screen, which is smaller than you’d want, but not unusable. Where is the middle ground? The first iPhones with 3.5-4 inch screen were if a PERFECT size! Why can’t we make nice thing…

I'd argue the 5S was a perfect size, but I would absolutely buy the original iphone size in a heartbeat.

Re: US Smartphone Shipments Decline 19% in Q3 2023 as More Americans Delay Upgrade

#89

Post by foobarian »

campboy wrote: post #32
foobarian wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You have it backwards IMO, the only reason Apple is able to achieve this effect is because their phones are heads and shoulders above the rest in hardware quality and integration. Build it (well) and they will come

100%, if there were another option with the same build quality (particularly for laptops) I’d love to try something new. Everything else is kinda mediocre in comparison. (The funniest thing is when folks on some Thinkpad or Dell think their machine has a comparable quality… It really doesn’t. You might not care in much the same way someone might care or not care about Tesla’s historically poor fitment, but there’s a…

One time around 2012 I was buying a laptop for someone who needed a Windows machine. Knowing the poor build quality of various low end options we decided to splurge and get a top of the line Dell model with a nicer magnesium case etc. with a price tag close to $2k. We unboxed it, powered it on, and were greeted by a loud grating noise that went away if you flexed the case.

Returned it immediately been using Apple laptops ever since.

Re: US Smartphone Shipments Decline 19% in Q3 2023 as More Americans Delay Upgrade

#90

Post by pjc50 »

cabirum wrote: post #52
izacus wrote: post #33

Note the negative tone about having our phones actually work longer, last longer and be usable longer without draining our money just to keep the threadmill rolling. Imagine how pissed the car industry must be now since most people drive cars for 10-15 years instead of replacing them once per few years like iPhones.

That is what EVs are for. Replace the battery every few years and replace your car whenever a new incompatible plug standard comes out.

Manufacturers and especially dealers are having to be pushed into EVs.
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