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Do Any Of You Guys Think Apple Are Starting To Show Signs Of Falling?

A post of a ranting nature...

PetePreneur

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Right, so basically I think I'm starting to see signs of Apple beginning to decline. I actually made a vlog post about all this, which I've linked below, but if you don't have the time to watch that, I'll summarise what I say in it:

They're focussing on short term profits/greed without thinking about the customer as much anymore. For example, their decision to get rid of the headphone jack, which nobody liked was disguised as an attempt to innovate and give the customer a better experience, but in reality it was a money grab to sell us all these expensive wireless earphones. Also, with the announcement of the new iPhone X being $999- Again, this is just an attempt to rip people off for short term profits without thinking about the future.

I think they're riding on the wave of customer loyalty that Steve Jobs brought, but eventually people will forget about him. His death was only about 6 years ago, so he's still part of the brand, but give it another 6 years, I don't think people will really associate him with the brand as much and Apple will be seen as a different company.

I think they're still trying to be seen as this innovative company, but lots of the "innovations" they're doing are taking away from the functionality of the product. For example, again with the iPhone 7 headphone jack thing, taking away USB port in their MacBooks to seem like they're ahead of the times- When in reality lots of people still use USB, so it's less convenient for everybody. They're also insisting on making everything as thin as possible, when in reality most people would give up 0.3cm if it made the battery on their iPhone last longer. Then with this whole forcing people to use Face ID instead of keeping the fingerprint scanner aswell as an option for when the Face ID is less convenient is making the product worse. Why not just have both and have the fingerprint on the side or at the back?

I just feel that if they continue to go down this route, eventually people will feel ripped off and switch over to Android.

What are your thoughts?

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHkW8S0h6_Q&t
 
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BD64

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Why not? Nowadays getting their phone for $999 isn't good value compared to the best Androids, so surely eventually people will notice and switch?

Good value is all relative. To millions of people around the world the Apple brand is worth it.

And don't forget a huge part of their value equation comes not only from the physical product, but the buying experience in their stores. Their stores bring in crazy amounts of $/sq. ft. cuz they have a system that is so, so good.
 
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TonyStark

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Why not? Nowadays getting their phone for $999 isn't good value compared to the best Androids, so surely eventually people will notice and switch?
Just look at how many Apple stores are already sold out.

Apple is far beyond rationality at this point.
 

CPisHere

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Apple is on the back-half of the iPhone product Life Cycle. Businesses are built by creating value (aka revenue-generation) but profits are obtained by extracting value (aka business model + unit economics). That's what you are seeing. Apple is stacking cash until their next big breakthrough product.
 

Iammelissamoore

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I understand the point you are making, but, at the end of the day, as I look at it, no one places a gun to our heads to purchase anything. Okay, so we won't deny the fact that apple built a reliable brand over the years and they have many products/gadgets housed under this brand's umbrella. Surely, there are a lot of people who have strictly apple products in their home, but if after a while people aren't happy and apple is ignoring the issues, then as you've said they'll switch.

However, apple is an established brand, at present, does it mean they have foreverbility? NO, there are some established brands from yesteryear who have gone out of business for varying reasons ending their once seemingly 'foreverbility'.

...and All that I've raised is from the Consumer perspective.

Now, from the Productocratic perspective, someone(s) are looking at all these faulty aspects of the apple products and they are creating replacement products/parts compatible with the apple brand (because, why not ride the apple woo-hoo wave in the meantime that it's still around?) and presenting it to the market while profiting - they're listening to the needs of frustrated apple users. Also, someone/a company somewhere is working on building remarkable electronics that may rival apple that can possibly be better than, and I know a lot of people would think - "what can be better than apple?" However, it isn't impossible, I guess it's a matter of time. The actions from the consumer side of things can only do one of two things - it can demand apple to get back into perfecting their products by continuously acting, assessing and adjusting based on consumers demands, or the consumers can put them out of business if they choose not to continue fulfilling their needs as they place money ahead of needs. At the end of the day, the choice AND the power lie in the consumer's hands.
 
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Azure

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Why not? Nowadays getting their phone for $999 isn't good value compared to the best Androids, so surely eventually people will notice and switch?

Not sure if you are aware, but comparable Android offerings(s8/pixel) are similarly, if not higher priced.

Sure, they are better quality products, but similarly expensive
 

dabelge

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Sorry if this has already been discussed but I think Apple dropped the headphone jack so they could control credit card processing. Can't plug in a Square type device without the port. Maybe there are wireless options out there?
 

eliquid

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When Apple started to offer previous models and make a knob for the camera I knew they were starting to falling.

Knob? Is this like that drawer handle crap I see the kids with on the back of their phone? I almost super glued a leftover handle I had from my kitchen remodel to mine just to see what the fuss was about.
 

mikey3times

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I think Apple got rid of the headphone jack because wires are on the way out.

But seriously, this entire argument is pointless. Apple vs Android is just as polarized as politics. You cannot have a rational discussion about it without a fanboy making some ridiculous statement about how stupid the other side is.
 

PetePreneur

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Apple is on the back-half of the iPhone product Life Cycle. Businesses are built by creating value (aka revenue-generation) but profits are obtained by extracting value (aka business model + unit economics). That's what you are seeing. Apple is stacking cash until their next big breakthrough product.

Yeah, perhaps that’s it. The milking part is the easy bit- Now they have to come up with the revolutionary product haha.

I understand the point you are making, but, at the end of the day, as I look at it, no one places a gun to our heads to purchase anything. Okay, so we won't deny the fact that apple built a reliable brand over the years and they have many products/gadgets housed under this brand's umbrella. Surely, there are a lot of people who have strictly apple products in their home, but if after a while people aren't happy and apple is ignoring the issues, then as you've said they'll switch.

However, apple is an established brand, at present, does it mean they have foreverbility? NO, there are some established brands from yesteryear who have gone out of business for varying reasons ending their once seemingly 'foreverbility'.

...and All that I've raised is from the Consumer perspective.

Now, from the Productocratic perspective, someone(s) are looking at all these faulty aspects of the apple products and they are creating replacement products/parts compatible with the apple brand (because, why not ride the apple woo-hoo wave in the meantime that it's still around?) and presenting it to the market while profiting - they're listening to the needs of frustrated apple users. Also, someone/a company somewhere is working on building remarkable electronics that may rival apple that can possibly be better than, and I know a lot of people would think - "what can be better than apple?" However, it isn't impossible, I guess it's a matter of time. The actions from the consumer side of things can only do one of two things - it can demand apple to get back into perfecting their products by continuously acting, assessing and adjusting based on consumers demands, or the consumers can put them out of business if they choose not to continue fulfilling their needs as they place money ahead of needs. At the end of the day, the choice AND the power lie in the consumer's hands.

Yeah, I can just see signs of them starting to ignore their core base and I think eventually Steve Jobs won’t be part of their brand anymore. I guess any problem they create needs a solution like you said, so it’s more of an opportunity for us lot haha.
 
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PetePreneur

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I think Apple got rid of the headphone jack because wires are on the way out.

But seriously, this entire argument is pointless. Apple vs Android is just as polarized as politics. You cannot have a rational discussion about it without a fanboy making some ridiculous statement about how stupid the other side is.

Yeah, I’m just learning how bothered about all this people are! Haha. I actually have an iPhone, but I’ll be switching for my next phone because it’s becoming too expensive for what it is. I don’t understand why people have such an emotional connection to it all?
 

AdamMaxum

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It's going to come down to the next wave of tech to determine if Apple will eventually fall to the side like they did so many years before the ipod came about. What that next wave of tech is going to be and who's going to create it, are unknown. Until that time comes, apple and android and smart phones in general will continue to rake it in with minor improvements year in and out.

It could be another type of device. It could be a phone that doesn't require a charge or never loses it's charge. It could be a phone that does x y or z that no other phone can. Who knows. Until something like that comes about, the dominant players in the market will continue to be just fine.
 

lowtek

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No, Apple is proof positive that marketing is queen. Even when their execution slipped (lagging comparable android phones in features) they still sell massive quantities of phones at a big profit.

With respect to innovation, nobody is really innovating - least of all Apple, who never innovated. We're seeing the effects of corporatism and easy money. If you can get capital for next to nothing, then it makes no sense to innovate. You don't have to take risk to get a big return on your money, just bank on something iterative and rake in the profits.

Got a breakthrough idea? Oh... well, better make sure it doesn't violate any of the hundreds of thousands of patents held by the entrenched oligopolies. Good luck trying to reinvent the phone as a startup, given that Apple F*cking patented rectangles with rounded corners.
 
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The-J

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I find they're been declining for a while now, but it's very possible that it's only temporary.

Apple risks falling into the same trap HP did: refusing to innovate more because they think they've 'done enough' and need to focus only on maintaining their products.

However, they're in new businesses now. They're in the self driving car business and the VR business. They sell wearable tech. Their 40-year success largely has been through going into different businesses, designing things to be better, and then making a huge splash. The iPhone doesn't really need to 'innovate' anymore, really. What they probably could do, is go into a new market where they see a big user experience problem, design something better with their huge stacks of cash, and release it to great fanfare.

People made fun of the iPad when it first came out. Turns out, it's about the best toy for kids that's ever been invented. People made fun of the Apple Watch when it first came out. Turns out, it's extremely useful in situations when you can't be looking at a screen.

Think about this: they've been in the personal computer business for something like 40 years now. Yet their most dominant product is the iPhone. They weren't in the phone business as long as Nokia, RIM, Motorola, or even Sony.

Despite the downward decline, Apple is gonna be fine.
 

MJ DeMarco

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I can't speak for anyone else, but I told myself I would NEVER buy another iPad. I went with a Samsung.

When my iPhone kicks the bucket, I'll probably do the same.

I just feel that if they continue to go down this route, eventually people will feel ripped off and switch over to Android.

To quote a passage from Unscripted , Apple is simply squeezing the towel and they are no longer good at hiding it. Typical multi-national corporate BS.
 

G-Man

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I have never knowingly purchased an Apple product.

What did you think you were buying?

Apple is simply squeezing the towel and they are no longer good at hiding it. Typical multi-national corporate BS.

I agree, and I'm not going to disagree with any Apple bashing, but isn't that the only game in town?

Are there major phone companies out there that are legitimately not part of the corporate Legion of Doom?
 

jon.a

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What did you think you were buying?
Third party PC parts, except for Intel processors. I used to build my own PC's.

Now I buy Dell PC's.

Samsung, Motorola, Panasonic, LG etc. for everything else now days.
 

PetePreneur

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I find they're been declining for a while now, but it's very possible that it's only temporary.

Apple risks falling into the same trap HP did: refusing to innovate more because they think they've 'done enough' and need to focus only on maintaining their products.

However, they're in new businesses now. They're in the self driving car business and the VR business. They sell wearable tech. Their 40-year success largely has been through going into different businesses, designing things to be better, and then making a huge splash. The iPhone doesn't really need to 'innovate' anymore, really. What they probably could do, is go into a new market where they see a big user experience problem, design something better with their huge stacks of cash, and release it to great fanfare.

People made fun of the iPad when it first came out. Turns out, it's about the best toy for kids that's ever been invented. People made fun of the Apple Watch when it first came out. Turns out, it's extremely useful in situations when you can't be looking at a screen.

Think about this: they've been in the personal computer business for something like 40 years now. Yet their most dominant product is the iPhone. They weren't in the phone business as long as Nokia, RIM, Motorola, or even Sony.

Despite the downward decline, Apple is gonna be fine.

Yeah, they may well just be in a temporary slump, but their behaviour seems to be way more geared towards short term profits, so if that’s how they are from now on, they’ll struggle.

Yeah, but the thing is, it’s not even like they’re just slowly improving the products with technical updates etc. They’re making the products worse by taking away stuff like the headphone jack and raising the prices at the same time.

Yeah, there are plenty of industries that they can have a go at. I can see them going down the same path as what happened the first time Steve Jobs went though. Without him, I don’t think they know how to make the products work as well. They might do, but based on what they’re doing to their current products, I think they’ll struggle with new industries.

To quote a passage from Unscripted , Apple is simply squeezing the towel and they are no longer good at hiding it. Typical multi-national corporate BS.

Yeah exactly- and they can’t do that forever. I think once the emotional loyalty created by Steve Job’s branding wears off in a few years time, they’ll actually have to sell stuff instead of people buying anything they bring out no matter what.
 
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minivanman

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I've been an Apple user because the lil woman likes their products but.... next year when I get another phone it will not be Apple. This last update they gave me SUCKS (I just woke up one morning and my phone had updated. Never done that before)!!! It has so many things about it that I don't like now. It would take me an hour to type them all out... and I'm a fast typer! I don't know what I'll be getting next but not Apple.
 

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iPhone-Memes-iPhone-7-Funny-Hilarious-2.jpg
 
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GuestUser450

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Apple has been so successful in the last 10 years, it could never have another hit product again and be better than fine. Think about that.

As for drama, respect it, understand the incentives for creating it (including OP's) and learn how to both ignore and make moves against it. I bet you could make a full-time income just buying and selling AAPL premium.

I've been on both sides and hate bad tech regardless. All things considered, Apple does a better job than most at not shipping shit. I have lots of Samsung and Dell products I've either given away or are sitting in my closet including an S8+S3 Gear combo I thought would be great that turned out to be nice-looking, high-spec yet underperforming, unreliable and unsecure products. (search 'Tizen software security')

Apple products irritate me. But Android products infuriate me and put me on edge. And if Microsoft made a usable version of Excel for Mac, I'm not sure I'd use anything else.
 
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rc08234

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The last update really f-ed up my phone. It's to the point I can't really even text on it. My next phone will probably still be an apple
 

LeoistheSun

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Doesnt Apple have like 800Bil in Cash? I read somewhere they do. Or maybe it was 80Bil.

Either way they are not eager to spend. Perhaps buying time. Their was an article that said they could buy Google or Facebook + Tesla and Airbnb and have tons leftover.
 
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QDF

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Doesnt Apple have like 800Bil in Cash? I read somewhere they do. Or maybe it was 80Bil.

Either way they are not eager to spend. Perhaps buying time. Their was an article that said they could buy Google or Facebook + Tesla and Airbnb and have tons leftover.

There was an article in the journal in the spring about this:

Apple’s Cash Hoard Set to Top $250 Billion

"With $250 billion, Apple could buy both Tesla and Netflix and still have plenty left over."
 

TheCj

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Apple vs Windows and now Apple vs Android I think is the same kind of comparison.

People who could set up dos and windows back in the day saw apple as way overpriced and nothing better. Since you could do it all yourself in windows.

I see the same thing with Apple and Android, People raving about the latest app or feature on there iPhone that has been available and a free app on android forever.

The thing is Apple makes there products so easy and trouble free to use that the people who use them don't feel like idiots. I know people around me that get tired of asking for help with there computers and phones. They switch to apple and feel empowered and not as helpless, since you can't screw anything up. And if you do have trouble with something going to an apple store and asking for help isn't embarrassing because the store is filled with people doing the same thing!

For me personally when I mention that almost 90% of the phones in the world are android phones to an iPhone user, I can see they have a hard time believing that. The power of marketing.

Also the stats of less and less young adults getting driver's license means there phone is one of there bigger purchases instead of cars. But that might be more noticeable in bigger cities..
 

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