iPhone X - Discussion

drunkmonkey

There not buying them anyway that's the problem, the strategy has backfired.

Bob24

drunkmonkey wrote: »

There not buying them anyway that's the problem, the strategy has backfired.

Having the X in the middle wouldn’t have increased total sales IMO. It would just have transfered some sales of the XR and the XS to the X making the new models even less successful.

awec

Bob24 wrote: »

Having the X in the middle wouldn’t have increased total sales IMO. It would just have transfered some sales of the XR and the XS to the X making the new models even less successful.

This is why the X was stopped, to avoid cannibalizing sales of the new model. The difference between the X and the newer versions were so small that many people would just have opted for the cheaper option instead.

I think Apple have made a bit of a mess of their phone line up right now.

NSAman

Bought the X earlier this year. Came home to the States a few days later dropped it an broke the screen.

Went to local Apple store to see if they could fix it. Was done in 3 hours.

Went to pay only to find fixed free... still perplexed here.. No apple care plan and an Irish service provider.

Bob24

awec wrote: »

I think Apple have made a bit of a mess of their phone line up right now.

Agreed, and keeping the X would have made things even worse.

IMO they need to choose whether their way of covering different market segments is to keep selling older models at cheaper prices, or to have clearly differentiated product lines for lower market segments.

Either way is fine, but doing both as the same time (as they are doing now) is messy.

Bob24

NSAman wrote: »

Bought the X earlier this year. Came home to the States a few days later dropped it an broke the screen.

Went to local Apple store to see if they could fix it. Was done in 3 hours.

Went to pay only to find fixed free... still perplexed here.. No apple care plan and an Irish service provider.

I’d say either you were lucky and they did it out of good will (I think they have some leeway to do that and maybe they just found you friendly or felt sorry for you that you broke it immediately after purchase). Or they found out there was something else wrong about your phone which needed warranty service anyway and they just did that as it didn’t make sens to hand the phone back to you with a screen replacement bill and at the same time telling you it actually had another problem.

Sad Professor

Bob24 wrote: »

That would have made the X just 100 euros more than the XR which I would argue would have made the XR a very tough one to sell and at the same time cannibalised the XS. It’s a matter of point of view but I can see how it didn’t make sense to Apple (i can imagine reviews of the XR would have said for 100 euros more the X is a much more premium experience and reviews of the XS that unless you have a specific need for power the X is essentially the same device for cheaper - quite a problem for Apple if the old model is touted as better alternative to both new ones).

I already suggested that Apple didn't want it eating into sales of the XR and XS, so I agree with you that it didn't make sense from their pov to keep selling the X. But not because as you previously suggested the X wouldn't have fit in the line-up. It would have fit just fine for the same reason previous iPhones did. The X would have been 150-200 more than the XR. And the XR has a larger screen and comes in different colours.

The issue isn't with the X not fitting in the lineup, the issue is with the XS not having the appeal of previous S models and Apple possibly rigging their line-up in a way as to get people to buy it. If that's what happened and it still didn't work, then Apple have a problem.

Although as i said earlier, I reckon limited supply of OLEDs and them overestimating sales of the XS was a bigger factor in the X being discontinued, hence why there's now rumours of them resuming production of the X in some markets now that they know they have an oversupply of OLEDs.

Bob24

Sad Professor wrote: »

I already suggested that Apple didn't want it eating into sales of the XR and XS, so I agree with you that it didn't make sense from their pov to keep selling the X. But not because as you previously suggested the X wouldn't have fit in the line-up. It would have fit just fine for the same reason previous iPhones did. The X would have been 150-200 more than the XR. And the XR has a larger screen and comes in different colours.

The issue isn't with the X not fitting in the lineup, the issue is with the XS not having the appeal of previous S models and Apple possibly rigging their line-up in a way as to get people to buy it. If that's what happened and it still didn't work, then Apple have a problem.

If you read my post again, the question I asked with regards to the product line was:

Bob24 wrote: »

How would the original X fit in that product line in terms of pricing and in a way which makes sense to Apple?

Don’t miss out the highlighted part which was important: why would they build a product line which doesn’t make sense to them? (which I understand from your post you agree it wouldn’t?)

Also I still firmly believe the line-up is already too complicated as it is and thus doesn’t need more fragmentation with and extra model (7, 7 Plus, 8, 8 Plus, XR, XS, XS Max ... one reason for Apple’s success is to have easily indentifiable and understandable product lines and just this one is as complex as the iPhone product line as ever been - not need to complexity it even more).

As I mentioned, covering different market segments by selling older models at cheaper prices, or having clearly differentiated product lines for lower market segment are both fine. But IMO doing both at the same time is messy for a company like Apple and they should choose eithe one way or the other (and it is pure speculation but maybe at the moment they are trying to transition from the first strategy to the second one).

Shn99

Hi all, have an X I got in October(purchased new in March) and it was on 100% battery health..I check the health every so often (just a weird habit) however in the past week it’s suddenly gone from 100 down to 98, haven’t changed the way I charge it or anything..I charge it every night using a belkin wireless charger. Any reason why it would stay at 100% for months and drop 2% in the space of a week?

awec

It'll just drop every so often. It's not really an exact science.

whiterebel

Because the battery is depleting?

Shn99

whiterebel wrote: »

Because the battery is depleting?

That’s obvious...what I’m asking is why would it stay at 100% for months on end and then drop by 2% in the space of a week.

Sad Professor

The battery health stat will fluctuate, both up and down, that's normal. It isn't totally accurate nor reliable.

quarryman

Shn99 wrote: »

That’s obvious...what I’m asking is why would it stay at 100% for months on end and then drop by 2% in the space of a week.

That’s Nokia-level endurance. Nice.

Gumbo

Shn99 wrote: »

That’s obvious...what I’m asking is why would it stay at 100% for months on end and then drop by 2% in the space of a week.

The state of health of a battery is completely dependent on how it was last charged, last used, last depleted etc

The SOH can go up and down similar to electric cars.

murpho999

Ben Geskin who is a very reliable source for Apple info has leaked the above as the design for this year's iPhones.

Really find the triple camera to be fugly and don't see the need for it.

Creamy Goodness

tbh if I had seen that render 2/3 years ago I would have said it's a 12-13 year who's learning how to use rendering tools.

now it's probably set in stone considering how long the lead times are for pumping out 50 million + phones in the first quarter on sale..

Bob24

murpho999 wrote: »

Really find the triple camera to be fugly

Sometimes renderings are misleading and things look better in person ... but having said that yeah at first glance I find it hard to disagree with your visual assessment!

Dades

Surely what matters is what that camera setup does, rather than what it looks like. Maybe it does something amazing.

And most lens' poke through a gap in a phone case. So it might just need a bigger hole!

Shn99

Dades wrote: »

Maybe it does something amazing.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/gordonkelly/2018/12/30/apple-iphone-xi-11-xs-max-xr-upgrade-price-cost-3d-camera-iphone-11/#361fa59348c5

Bob24

Dades wrote: »

Surely what matters is what that camera setup does, rather than what it looks like. Maybe it does something amazing.

Both matter. While it is obviously not the only factor, it is definitly key to Apple’s brand image and marketing to deliver aesthetically pleasing products.

murpho999

Dades wrote: »

Surely what matters is what that camera setup does, rather than what it looks like. Maybe it does something amazing.

And most lens' poke through a gap in a phone case. So it might just need a bigger hole!

It's not yet clear what the third lens is for but I just find the design and increase of the bump to be very un-Apple like who have always valued design and sleekness.
I don't know why they don't make the phone a little wider to make the cameras flush and increase battery size.

Notch getting smaller but still there as well which is a negative for me too and turns me off upgrading from the 8 but probably means I will.:rolleyes:

omb0wyn5ehpij9

murpho999 wrote: »

It's not yet clear what the third lens is for but I just find the design and increase of the bump to be very un-Apple like who have always valued design and sleekness.
I don't know why they don't make the phone a little wider to make the cameras flush and increase battery size.

Notch getting smaller but still there as well which is a negative for me too and turns me off upgrading from the 8 but probably means I will.:rolleyes:

It would probably make it too wide for most people to hold then

Creamy Goodness

Ruth Wooden Thermos wrote: »

It would probably make it too wide for most people to hold then

It’s a typo. He meant thicker so the camera bump is flush like it used to be from 5S down the line.

omb0wyn5ehpij9

Creamy Goodness wrote: »

It’s a typo. He meant thicker so the camera bump is flush like it used to be from 5S down the line.

Ah, that makes more sense

murpho999

Ruth Wooden Thermos wrote: »

It would probably make it too wide for most people to hold then

Creamy Goodness wrote: »

It’s a typo. He meant thicker so the camera bump is flush like it used to be from 5S down the line.

Yes, sorry, I meant thicker.

Dades

The bumps are quite the protrusion now alright. Before I got a case, using my XR while lying flat on a desk was annoying as it the device wobbles.

Unfortunately cameras are now the main focus for "innovation" in smartphones, and better cameras mean more/bigger lenses.

That said, one, two, four or 10 lenses clustered on the front doesn't bother me, tbh. And As far as the Apple aesthetic goes, it's another way for people to display they have the latest phone given the ubiquity of shape these days.

murpho999

Dades wrote: »

The bumps are quite the protrusion now alright. Before I got a case, using my XR while lying flat on a desk was annoying as it the device wobbles.

Unfortunately cameras are now the main focus for "innovation" in smartphones, and better cameras mean more/bigger lenses.

That said, one, two, four or 10 lenses clustered on the front doesn't bother me, tbh. And As far as the Apple aesthetic goes, it's another way for people to display they have the latest phone given the ubiquity of shape these days.

Maybe the third "lense" is an FM Radio!:P

NSAman

I have to say, as an Apple user since the inception of Iphone, that developments on Apple are pretty basic lately.

I bought the X in Europe (thanks to an upgrage) coming up from an 8.

I recently bought the XR in the States as I had an old samsung which I hated.

I also have the S9 in Europe and its good BUT it is soooooo annoying to use.

I am not going to start the Samsung vs Apple debate as everyone has their own preferences.

I will agree, for the prices Apple are asking, they need to be doing a lot more to maintain existing customers.

Bob24

NSAman wrote: »

for the prices Apple are asking, they need to be doing a lot more to maintain existing customers.

I think that's one aspect of it, the price to get an XS at launch is pretty much double what you had to pay for the first few iPhones when they launched. So the cost to get the latest and greatest has doubled over the past decade, way above inflation (especially in the context of electronics - some electronics product categories even saw price deflation during that period). Of course today's phones are better, but to me it has more to do with natural technological evolution than with iPhones becoming higher end (exemple of what I mean: back in the days, the new iPhone 4 was sold for the same price as a 3GS before it even though it was a much nicer device, as rather than a higher end product it was considered to be the next technological iteration within the same product line). I think this is why Apple is now finding it hard to justify prices. They have tried to expend the product range and add cheaper options to justify higher prices on the top end, but the reality is that most of the low/mid end is simply constituted of older models used as fillers to justify that now much higher cost to get the latest model. And many people don't see why what used to get them the latest model is now more or less getting them a device 2 generations older that the latest model.

Now being fair to them, I think another aspect is that smartphones are maturing meaning you can keep them longer before they feel outdated, and Apple is doing better than most if not all Android manufacturers in terms of long term support. So to some extend the fact that you can keep them longer balances out the higher cost (and combined with an already saturated market it explains why they are selling less of them). But I agree with you this is not enough and they need to do more to justify those prices.