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Apple Reports Q2 2018 Results

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Re: Apple Reports Q2 2018 Results

#41

Post by microtherion »

ChuckMcM wrote: post #38
microtherion wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I also wish they would spin out their computer business (Macbook, Ma Pro, Mac Mini, iMac) into its own division To me, one of the core strengths of Apple is integration of all its devices, and it seems to me that creating separate divisions competing with each other would risk undermining this integration. In the late 90s, I heard hair raising stories of how various divisions at Sun were operating at cross purposes…

It is true, Sun did it poorly :-) What Apple has that Sun didn't are vertical product stacks. A 'Macintosh' company has its own hardware, software, and (shared) sales channels. The 'iDevice' company has its own hardware, software, and (shared) sales channels. I think that separation could work. From where I could watch, Sun's biggest issue was that they forgot they were a systems company and started trying to be a co…

As far as I can tell, Microsoft suffered similar problems, with their desktop oriented divisions occasionally holding back the mobile divisions. It's not like Apple never suffers from any organizational dysfunction, but I feel that separating divisions actively incentivizes dysfunction.

macOS and iOS share quite a bit of software, both in the sense of code bases that have overlap on the two platforms, and code bases that need to work together (e.g. for handoff, or features like Apple Watch unlocking a Mac). Not so sure about the hardware situation, but there is at least some sharing going on. And in many cases, the people behind the technology are shared as well.

Re: Apple Reports Q2 2018 Results

#42

Post by megablast »

antirez wrote: post #13

I think the Apple future may not look good for a few reasons: 1. iPhones units sold stalled for 3 years in a row. This means the company need to seek every year some trick to earn more from each phone. It is not obvious if they'll be able to do for a long time. 2. Top Android devices are improving and Google Pixel 2 is really an incredible device that is making some iOS users switching. I've no data but my nerd frien…

You are joking, right?

1. They have grown since last 2nd quarter, and are still pulling in ridiculous profits.

2. No one is buying the Pixel, they will probably sell 5 million this year if lucky. Less than 1/10 what Apple sold in this quarter alone. The S9 has also been struggling.

3. Cloud has grown.

Re: Apple Reports Q2 2018 Results

#43

Post by BryantD »

clairity wrote: post #39
antirez wrote: post #13

I think the Apple future may not look good for a few reasons: 1. iPhones units sold stalled for 3 years in a row. This means the company need to seek every year some trick to earn more from each phone. It is not obvious if they'll be able to do for a long time. 2. Top Android devices are improving and Google Pixel 2 is really an incredible device that is making some iOS users switching. I've no data but my nerd frien…

yup... 1. iphone is a mature product. 2. no onvious new groundbreaking product releases on the horizon (a watch is not it). 3. desktops are dying, and their replacements, the ipads, are stagnating. 4. intel screwed them with processor roadmaps intel had no hopes of meeting (cannonlake, anyone?) 5. no longer visionary on the future of computing (seem to be chasing all the flavors of the month lately). 6. services grow…

The Watch plus AirPods = the easier 2/3ds of a pervasive computing system. Audio plus haptic feedback is significant. Add a good set of AR glasses, which is the hard part, and you have something really interesting.

Siri needs improving, though, no question.

Re: Apple Reports Q2 2018 Results

#44

Post by scarface74 »

diminish wrote: post #12
oflannabhra wrote: post #6

One thing that is consistently amazing is how accurate Apple's guidance is. Horace Dediu: "How accurate is Apple’s Guidance? Over the last 23 quarters the average error has been 2.63% (measuring from top of guidance range)." [0] [0] - https://twitter.com/asymco/status/991345104848867333

Imho this isn't chance but Apple management has several tools to realize it. My guesses are specific operator campaigns, pricing, supply. What's surprising is the absence of extreme overshoot. I think smartphone market has matured enough.

They are also already a month into the next quarter by the time they announce it....

Re: Apple Reports Q2 2018 Results

#45

Post by samfisher83 »

oflannabhra wrote: post #6

One thing that is consistently amazing is how accurate Apple's guidance is. Horace Dediu: "How accurate is Apple’s Guidance? Over the last 23 quarters the average error has been 2.63% (measuring from top of guidance range)." [0] [0] - https://twitter.com/asymco/status/991345104848867333

They already probably have a month worth of data. They can extrapolate those numbers out. Also they have lots of data on what the trends are.

Re: Apple Reports Q2 2018 Results

#46

Post by toasterlovin »

diminish wrote: post #15
hw wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unit sales across the iPhone, iPad and Mac were a bit disappointing but better than I expected. Still, AAPL is a behemoth and the buybacks and dividends are welcome news

Why were you disappointed? Imho a traumatic unit sales drop was feared due to some supplier numbers but it didn't happen. What were you expecting?

At this point only fools peg their Apple expectations to supply chain rumors.

Re: Apple Reports Q2 2018 Results

#47

Post by Spooky23 »

antirez wrote: post #13

I think the Apple future may not look good for a few reasons: 1. iPhones units sold stalled for 3 years in a row. This means the company need to seek every year some trick to earn more from each phone. It is not obvious if they'll be able to do for a long time. 2. Top Android devices are improving and Google Pixel 2 is really an incredible device that is making some iOS users switching. I've no data but my nerd frien…

No way.

They don’t tell you the longevity of devices. From what I see, iPhones are cutting off the oxygen from android. My kids school is what use as a reference... literally 80/20 iPhone to non iPhone. The SE and used phones make it more attractive than throwaway androids that are un-upgradable.

Enterprises, same thing. I talk to a few companies/gov with an aggregate total of probably 200k phones. 95% iPhone.

Google is amazing at services. But the OEM bullshit, carrier concessions are hurting them. My guess is that they will make a Chrome phone to fix that. Google Photos alone is a killer app when they do that.

Re: Apple Reports Q2 2018 Results

#48

Post by hondo77 »

hw wrote: post #21
diminish wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why were you disappointed? Imho a traumatic unit sales drop was feared due to some supplier numbers but it didn't happen. What were you expecting?

Well, iPhone sales have been pretty stagnant. The new iPhones Apple rolls out every year isn't exactly revolutionary. Not sure how long they can keep this up and expect people to buy new phones every cycle or every 2 cycle. The X was disappointing, given the hype, and I'd be interested to see the X sales numbers. The Macbook Pro line is also suffering some hardware issues - keyboard, batteries, touchpad. The touch ba…

The X was disappointing even though it was the top-selling iPhone every week of the quarter?

Re: Apple Reports Q2 2018 Results

#49

Post by ghazak »

hondo77 wrote: post #48
hw wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, iPhone sales have been pretty stagnant. The new iPhones Apple rolls out every year isn't exactly revolutionary. Not sure how long they can keep this up and expect people to buy new phones every cycle or every 2 cycle. The X was disappointing, given the hype, and I'd be interested to see the X sales numbers. The Macbook Pro line is also suffering some hardware issues - keyboard, batteries, touchpad. The touch ba…

The X was disappointing even though it was the top-selling iPhone every week of the quarter?

Whether it’s disappointing or not is always relative to what expectations were.

Re: Apple Reports Q2 2018 Results

#50

Post by Analemma_ »

I'm kind of thrilled to see Mac revenue flat and unit sales down 3%. I was really worried that these keyboard problems wouldn't have any effect on the bottom line and give them an excuse to ignore it; hopefully this is setting off alarm bells and getting them to see that, yes, it really unacceptable and needs to be fixed.
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