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iPhone 16 demand is so weak that employees can already buy it on discount

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Re: iPhone 16 demand is so weak that employees can already buy it on discount

#61

Post by zecg »

> “One of the key factors for the lower-than-expected demand for the iPhone 16 Pro series is that the major selling point, Apple Intelligence, is not available at launch alongside the iPhone 16 release,” Kuo said.

Well, I might be the minority here, but I don't want a phone that promises to integrate AI and would be very careful that it can be completely removed before I get it. What I'm seeing from people around me, there's quite a few that don't want any AI integration in their devices.

I'm fine interacting with an LLM via browser or command line, a channel where it cannot know anything other than what I give it, but I'm not trusting a product that can be stealthily enshittified without me knowing it.

Re: iPhone 16 demand is so weak that employees can already buy it on discount

#62

Post by wtcactus »

My plan is to only upgrade when a 13 mini alternative comes out - and only after it’s been out for 2 years so that I can buy it used for an acceptable price.

I understand there’s not as much demand for smaller smartphones, but then again, I would go on a limb and say there’s more demand than the demand Apple get’s to upgrade a device every year.

If they went on a 3 years alternating basis mini>standard>pro that would probably appeal to a very big lot of people.

Re: iPhone 16 demand is so weak that employees can already buy it on discount

#63

Post by ssl-3 »

joshstrange wrote: post #41
fire_lake wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple listened. They made the 12 Mini and it sold poorly. But persevered and released the 13 Mini. Again, it sold poorly, so they gave up. Don’t blame Apple here, vast majority want gigantic phones.

I hear you and I agree on the surface but I really wish Apple better understood 2 things: 1. Not every device can be your best seller 2. Some product categories are important to fill even if sales are low (even very low) Apple doesn’t release per-device breakdowns so it’s hard to have conversations on this topic but I’d bet money that the Mini (or another example: the Mac Pro) sold at levels that most companies would…

They just didn't sell very well at all. I've seen estimates that the little phones represented just 5-6% of total iPhone sales while they were around. They're darling little devices, but they were simply not very popular.

Now, sure: You or I would probably love to have a product that "failed" by selling only as much as 5% of iPhone sales. We'd either be rolling in dough, or working our nuts off trying to figure out how to keep up production and sustain this beast, or both. "Only" five million units sold (or whatever), at ~$700 each? Fuck yeah!

But we're not Apple. Apple is already rolling in dough. They want product lines which work on a much bigger scale than that or it simply isn't worth their time -- those engineering and marketing expenses are more-profitably spent elsewhere, where they get 20x the return.

Re: iPhone 16 demand is so weak that employees can already buy it on discount

#64

Post by pdimitar »

The fact that a Pro costs the same as previous generations Pro Max, and Pro Max is 25% over that, might also have something to do with it.

My wife still has iPhone X and as much as she's loving it, she wants some of the AI features for her hobbies and work. When we saw the price here in Eastern Europe we almost had a jaw drop moment. We're still buying it but... frak.

Apple is very openly abusing its monopoly at this point and no, don't tell me there are good competitors. Even the Galaxy S24 Ultra doesn't have as good a software.

Speaking of which, anybody can recommend a good gallery app that has Apple Photos' features?

Re: iPhone 16 demand is so weak that employees can already buy it on discount

#65

Post by k4rli »

pdimitar wrote: post #64

The fact that a Pro costs the same as previous generations Pro Max, and Pro Max is 25% over that, might also have something to do with it. My wife still has iPhone X and as much as she's loving it, she wants some of the AI features for her hobbies and work. When we saw the price here in Eastern Europe we almost had a jaw drop moment. We're still buying it but... frak. Apple is very openly abusing its monopoly at this…

Opinions vary obviously in this neverending "debate", but iOS is far from being good software unless you're neck deep in the ecosystem and don't know any better. Just because the UI is child-friendly doesn't make it useful. AOSP/LineageOS/GrapheneOS, especially with root, are excellent.

Also Immich is a great gallery app.

Re: iPhone 16 demand is so weak that employees can already buy it on discount

#66

Post by psb217 »

maximus-decimus wrote: post #58
justusthane wrote: post #4

I wish that this was seen as a good thing, not a bad thing. Everyone who wants an iPhone already has one, Apple makes good products that last, and new phones these days are incremental updates rather than revolutionary new products, so there’s not a large incentive to upgrade.

I bought a note 8 6 years ago and honestly, I don't see why I would ever need anything better than that. We've reached peak phone a long time ago.

Mostly to keep up with website/app bloat, and better cameras if you like taking photos or videos. Other improvements like better screens or battery life are nice too, but only really noticeable if you're jumping a few phone generations at a time.

Re: iPhone 16 demand is so weak that employees can already buy it on discount

#67

Post by pdimitar »

k4rli wrote: post #65
pdimitar wrote: post #64

The fact that a Pro costs the same as previous generations Pro Max, and Pro Max is 25% over that, might also have something to do with it. My wife still has iPhone X and as much as she's loving it, she wants some of the AI features for her hobbies and work. When we saw the price here in Eastern Europe we almost had a jaw drop moment. We're still buying it but... frak. Apple is very openly abusing its monopoly at this…

Opinions vary obviously in this neverending "debate", but iOS is far from being good software unless you're neck deep in the ecosystem and don't know any better. Just because the UI is child-friendly doesn't make it useful. AOSP/LineageOS/GrapheneOS, especially with root, are excellent. Also Immich is a great gallery app.

We are "neck deep in the ecosystem" by the mere virtue of actually using the said features. If that means "we don't know any better" then we're not going to find a productive common ground for discussion. We took what was offered. Again, do let me know if you believe there are actual alternatives. One example: Apple Photos' OCR worked better than many paid softwares I used 5-10 years ago.

And yeah I heard about Immich, thank you for the reminder. Guess I'll go scout what's out there and likely post a blog article here on HN at one point.

Re: iPhone 16 demand is so weak that employees can already buy it on discount

#69

Post by Tempest1981 »

sph wrote: post #27
Tempest1981 wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The 13 Mini was also a nice size. Impossible to find nowadays. Apparently 95% of users want big phones.

I get that some people spend their lives on their phones, but myself, with desktop, laptop and big hands, I don't want to carry half a tablet in my pocket to text people and play music. I adore my 12 Mini. I just wish it felt as thin as the 8

> I just wish it felt as thin as the 8

It's very close:

  12 mini -> 8 -> SE gen 1 (or iPhone 5)

  Height:  131.5 mm -> 138.4 mm -> 123.8 mm
  Width:    64.2 mm ->  67.3 mm ->  58.6 mm
  Depth:     7.4 mm ->   7.3 mm ->   7.6 mm
  Weight: 135 grams -> 148 grams -> 113 grams
https://www.apple.com/iphone/compare/?modelList=iphone-12-mi...

Re: iPhone 16 demand is so weak that employees can already buy it on discount

#70

Post by ornornor »

justusthane wrote: post #4

I wish that this was seen as a good thing, not a bad thing. Everyone who wants an iPhone already has one, Apple makes good products that last, and new phones these days are incremental updates rather than revolutionary new products, so there’s not a large incentive to upgrade.

Also, paying 1000+$ for a… phone is insane when you think about it.
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