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iPhone unit sales have been declining steadily for 5 years

zdnet.com

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Re: iPhone unit sales have been declining steadily for 5 years

#41

Post by theshrike79 »

xlii wrote: post #7
pjmlp wrote: post #2

That is to be expected, most of the world doesn't do contracts, the phones already do what 99% want from such a device, and most new features look like pointless gimmicks without much relevance for most public. This applies to Android as well.

I’m probably part of that crowd. As a geek I wanted to have the newest and the shiniest for years. But currently iterations are boring. There is no novelty. Since I’m the payer for the phones of my family if I don’t see the point there are usually at least few sales per year on phone alone that are lost here. It’s anecdotal but based on my talks with friends it’s the same for them.

We passed the revolutionary phase of phone development years ago, each yearly release is a slight evolution on the previous one.

But what us bleeding edge geeks tend to forget is that the releases aren't really aimed at the people who buy a new phone every year.

To the user whose phone went into EOL because of the new release, the 5 year jump in features is HUGE.

Re: iPhone unit sales have been declining steadily for 5 years

#42

Post by m0zg »

bad_user wrote: post #39
smabie wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It doesn't really matter, people want 5G. There's also the standard argument that when 5G becomes standard, new applications will arise. I can't think of any off the top of my head, but that's also kind of the point. People in the 90s probably couldn't imagine graphics cards enabling a deep learning either.

5G is primarily targeted at IoT. New applications yes, but those applications won't necessarily be for phones. Unless bandwidth prices for 5G get dramatically lower than 4G (unlikely, because I don't see mobile operators discriminating subscriptions like that), then 5G won't have much of an impact on phone owners.

What _is_ IoT in the first place?

Re: iPhone unit sales have been declining steadily for 5 years

#43

Post by Yetanfou »

pjmlp wrote: post #2

That is to be expected, most of the world doesn't do contracts, the phones already do what 99% want from such a device, and most new features look like pointless gimmicks without much relevance for most public. This applies to Android as well.

Yes, this. I find it far more satisfying to take older devices, put the latest AOSP-derived distribution on them and make them work just as well as new ones than to just buy... buy... buy... to follow the 'trend'...

Re: iPhone unit sales have been declining steadily for 5 years

#44

Post by bad_user »

This is natural. iPhones have a really long life, and the improvements are marginal.

I actually wanted to get off the iOS train, as I hate its restrictions, yet I just bought a new iPad, because my other 5 year old iPad Pro and my iPhone 8 are still being updated, and still running fine with no performance issues.

Apple's devices age well. And it's why I became their customer, despite not liking their philosophy for iOS, as I refuse to get on the 2-year upgrade treadmill forced by others (e.g Samsung).

Re: iPhone unit sales have been declining steadily for 5 years

#45

Post by nottorp »

asciident wrote: post #40
wilsonfiifi wrote: post #37

Perhaps if they made physical dual sim phones widely available (and not just in China and Hong Kong) they might be able to lure more users. In my corner of the globe, a significant number of people have more than one SIM so Purchasing an iPhone is not very cost efficient. And even if you do have the means to purchase a second device it will most likely be a cheaper android phone. Eventually you’ll come to realize tha…

What's the point of sim cards anyways? I'm not sure why it's needed when things can be done over software. It feels like an antiquated piece of technology. Like just use the phone identifier or something, and map it to a digital sim.

It decouples the carrier from the phone manufacturer.

I'd rather swap sims than beg Apple to change my carrier. Maybe to one they don't yet support.

Of course, you need an unlocked phone for this, but in the poorer countries most people are on prepaid not contract, and their phones are unlocked from the start.

Re: iPhone unit sales have been declining steadily for 5 years

#46

Post by xlii »

theshrike79 wrote: post #41
xlii wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m probably part of that crowd. As a geek I wanted to have the newest and the shiniest for years. But currently iterations are boring. There is no novelty. Since I’m the payer for the phones of my family if I don’t see the point there are usually at least few sales per year on phone alone that are lost here. It’s anecdotal but based on my talks with friends it’s the same for them.

We passed the revolutionary phase of phone development years ago, each yearly release is a slight evolution on the previous one. But what us bleeding edge geeks tend to forget is that the releases aren't really aimed at the people who buy a new phone every year. To the user whose phone went into EOL because of the new release, the 5 year jump in features is HUGE.

You're totally right. My mom absolutely loves her phone and yearly, iterative upgrades are godsend to her. And that's why i think Apple went into other devices to please gadget-loving crowd, such as watch or headphones.

I think that would explain decline in sales. Stage has been set and the movement is rather small between the platforms.

Re: iPhone unit sales have been declining steadily for 5 years

#47

Post by watt »

tboughen wrote: post #10

I was disappointed that the article ends with “ Apple is losing new iPhone users at a drip-drip-drip pace” without considering how long a user is keeping their phone or why. I would have thought the number of iPhone users continues to rise even though annual unit sales are falling, due to the longevity of the devices. I’m typing this on my nearly 3 year old iPhone X and don’t intend to replace it until 2021 at the ea…

I think so as well. Having been so impressed with the longevity of our current devices (old SE), my next phone also will be Apple's. My Samsung S8+ has served me well, but Samsung has no clue how to play the software game.

Re: iPhone unit sales have been declining steadily for 5 years

#48

Post by Polylactic_acid »

asciident wrote: post #40
wilsonfiifi wrote: post #37

Perhaps if they made physical dual sim phones widely available (and not just in China and Hong Kong) they might be able to lure more users. In my corner of the globe, a significant number of people have more than one SIM so Purchasing an iPhone is not very cost efficient. And even if you do have the means to purchase a second device it will most likely be a cheaper android phone. Eventually you’ll come to realize tha…

What's the point of sim cards anyways? I'm not sure why it's needed when things can be done over software. It feels like an antiquated piece of technology. Like just use the phone identifier or something, and map it to a digital sim.

I have wondered the same thing. I just did a search and all I can find is uninformed speculation about how its "more secure" or because its required as part of the mobile technology. None of it seems correct and my guess is there is just no push for esim because every phone has to have a sim tray for compatibility and every carrier gives out a sim because everyone has a sim tray and knows how to use it.

Re: iPhone unit sales have been declining steadily for 5 years

#49

Post by Polylactic_acid »

nottorp wrote: post #45
asciident wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's the point of sim cards anyways? I'm not sure why it's needed when things can be done over software. It feels like an antiquated piece of technology. Like just use the phone identifier or something, and map it to a digital sim.

It decouples the carrier from the phone manufacturer. I'd rather swap sims than beg Apple to change my carrier. Maybe to one they don't yet support. Of course, you need an unlocked phone for this, but in the poorer countries most people are on prepaid not contract, and their phones are unlocked from the start.

The obvious solution is that sim is replaced with a username and password

Re: iPhone unit sales have been declining steadily for 5 years

#50

Post by nottorp »

nottorp wrote: post #45
asciident wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's the point of sim cards anyways? I'm not sure why it's needed when things can be done over software. It feels like an antiquated piece of technology. Like just use the phone identifier or something, and map it to a digital sim.

It decouples the carrier from the phone manufacturer. I'd rather swap sims than beg Apple to change my carrier. Maybe to one they don't yet support. Of course, you need an unlocked phone for this, but in the poorer countries most people are on prepaid not contract, and their phones are unlocked from the start.

> The obvious solution is that sim is replaced with a username and password

That would still go through the phone manufacturer? Or maybe not, but in that case it would require changing how all the cell phone networks work. Not going to happen soon.

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