Gay Phones set to die off, poorer and poorer sales

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/technology/apple-set-for-slowest/2458880.html


Apple set for slowest ever iPhone sales growth
The iPhone 6S and 6S Plus, which boasted record weekend sales when they launched in September, are now facing weak demand, according to analysts.

Posted 26 Jan 2016 14:05 Updated 26 Jan 2016 14:25

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File photo of an iPhone 6S Plus. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith

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REUTERS: Apple Inc is expected to report iPhone sales increased slightly more than 1 per cent in the holiday quarter when it announces earnings on Tuesday, its slowest growth ever and far from the double-digit growth investors have come to expect.

The iPhone 6S and 6S Plus, which boasted record weekend sales when they launched in September, are now facing weak demand, according to analysts, because they have fewer distinguishing features than their popular predecessors.

The new iPhones also face tough comparisons with the strong sales of their older siblings.

Apple tapped into a crucial market when it unveiled its bigger-screen 6 and 6 Plus phones in 2014, grabbing the attention of Asian customers, who had previously lapped up phablets from players such as Samsung Electronics.

"Apple has become a victim of their own success as the blockbuster iPhone 6 product cycle was hard to replicate as many customers are either buying an older, cheaper iPhone 6 or waiting for the iPhone 7," FBR Capital Markets analyst Daniel Ives said.

China, the company's fastest-growing market, may also have weighed on first-quarter results, as a slowdown in the country's economy forced consumers to tighten their purse strings.

Analysts estimate Apple sold 75.5 million iPhones in the October-December quarter, a 1.3 percent increase from a year earlier, according to research firm FactSet StreetAccount.

This compares with a nearly 46 percent year-over-year jump in iPhone sales in the first quarter of 2015. The slowest growth in quarterly iPhone sales so far has been 6.8 percent, in the second quarter of fiscal 2013, according to data from Statista.

To make matters worse, Apple is expected to forecast a drop in iPhone sales for the March quarter – the first time that sales will fall since the iPhone was launched in 2007.

This was foreshadowed by disappointing March-quarter forecasts from the company's Asian suppliers such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co and Largan Precision Co Ltd.

Apple is expected to sell 54.6 million iPhones in the March 2016 quarter, according to FactSet. The company sold 61.2 million iPhones between January and March, 2015 - a 40 percent year-over-year increase.

Analysts said the company will have to wait until the launch of the iPhone 7, expected later this year, to return to growth, as buyers upgrade to the latest version.

Analysts, technology blogs and company watchers say the iPhone 7 could include waterproofing, wireless headphones and use its new force touch technology to kill off the home button.

Apple shares closed down 1.98 percent at US$99.41 on Monday. They have fallen nearly 10 percent since the start of October, steeper than a 2.2 percent decline in the S&P 500 index.

Out of the 50 brokerages that cover Apple, 43 have a "buy" or higher rating on the stock. Their median 12-month price target is US$141.50.

(Reporting by Anya George Tharakan and Supantha Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Sayantani Ghosh and by Savio D'Souza)

- Reuters

Sales below expectations is equal to poor sales and die off? LOL

All brands slowing down because nothing new to offer, actually phones stopped improving a long time ago even if processor gets faster, the battery life drops correspondingly.

Fret not.....iPhone comes on then they're be top again.
iPhone still got at least a few good years of being the top dog

Stompiss said:

Sales below expectations is equal to poor sales and die off? LOL

Click to expand...

Gay phone market shares are down and down year by year for many years. From a good past drastically pushed down by many competitions. Trend going towards dying off.



http://techcrunch.com/2014/01/06/kantar-nov-13/

iPhone Sees Ongoing Yearly Marketshare Decline As Apple Battles “Resurgent” Rivals, Says Kantar
Posted Jan 6, 2014 by Natasha Lomas (@riptari)

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Following the release of its latest pair of flagship smartphones, the iPhone 5s and the iPhone 5c, Apple is growing its share of smartphone sales, month on month, according to the latest figures out from Kantar Worldpanel. However despite its flashy new flagships giving it a short-term boost, Apple’s marketshare is continuing to be eroded year-on-year by smartphone rivals using the Android and Windows Phone platforms, the data suggests.

Apple’s new iDevices went on sale towards the end of September, with the two models racking up sales of nine million between them, over the launch weekend. Kantar’s smartphone sales data for the three months to November 2013 give Apple a 69.1% share of the Japanese market; 43.1% in the U.S.; 35.0% in Australia; and 30.6% in the U.K.

But despite Apple’s new models helping it improve its own marketshare performance in recent months — and the new models yielding high levels of satisfaction among iPhone buyers — Kantar says Cupertino is facing a tougher time to make year on year marketshare gains, owing to “resurgent” performances from rivals such as LG, Sony and Nokia.

While Android is generally continuing to increase its share in the majority of measured markets, Microsoft’s Windows Phone platform appears to be responsible for some of iOS’ dips in Europe, where the platform made year-on-year gains of up to 8.7 percentage points. Across five big European markets (U.K., France, Italy, Germany and Spain) Windows Phone had a 10% marketshare, in the three months to November, up 5.3 percentage points.

Meanwhile Kantar records some sizeable declines for Apple’s year on year marketshare performance — down close to 10 percentage points in the U.S. market, for instance. (Windows Phone made only marginal gains in the U.S., rising 2.1 percentage points to take a 4.7% marketshare).

Kantar

Apple has also seen a sizeable decline in Italy, where it’s dropped 9.1 percentage points in marketshare comparing November 2012 to November 2013. While across the EUR5 iOS is down 6.5 percentage points.

kantar

Like Windows Phone, Google’s Android platform also grew its share in Europe — up 7.6 percentage points to take a 69.1% marketshare. Android also strengthened its hold on the U.S. market with a rise of eight percentage points, to take a 50.3% marketshare.

Despite making some progress in Europe, Kantar notes that Windows Phone continues to struggle to crack the U.S. or China — with just a 2.7% share in the latter market.

Kantar

Commenting on the data in a statement, Dominic Sunnebo, strategic insight director at Kantar Worldpanel ComTech, said: “You don’t have to conquer China and the U.S. to win in the smartphone market, but you do need success in one of them. At the moment there are few signs of progress in either country for Windows Phone and momentum needs to be made soon before OS loyalty severely limits the available market.”


http://seekingalpha.com/article/3490886-apple-will-iphone-market-share-decline-in-the-long-term

Apple: Will iPhone Market Share Decline In The Long Term?
Sep. 4, 2015 12:33 PM ET|
About: Apple Inc. (AAPL)
Disclosure: I am/we are long AAPL. (More...)
Summary

IDC has projected a decline in market share for iPhone over the next four years.

Such projections tend to assume a continuation of the status quo.

There is some data that indicates that as smartphone markets mature, Apple gains market share.

IDC's projections may not to take the maturation effect into account.

IDC has projected Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) smartphone market share to decline by 2019. I believe recent trends in the U.S. and China indicate that Apple's long-term prospects are for market share gains. As markets mature and their consumers become more discriminating, the tendency is for Apple to gain market share.

Alternate Reality

IDC's rationale for their projection is that emerging markets such as India and Latin America will fuel growth in the smartphone market to 2019. Here's IDC's projection:

Region


2015* Shipment Volumes


2015* Market Share


2015* YoY Growth


2019* Shipment Volumes


2019* Market Share


2019* YoY Growth


5-Year CAGR

Android


1,164.3


81.1%


9.9%


1,541.9


81.1%


5.0%


7.8%

iOS


223.7


15.6%


16.1%


269.6


14.2%


3.3%


7.0%

Windows Phone


36.9


2.6%


5.8%


67.8


3.6%


12.8%


14.2%

Others


11.5


0.8%


-15.5%


23.0


1.2%


8.6%


11.0%

TOTAL


1,436.5


100.0%


10.4%


1,902.3


100.0%


5.1%


7.9%

IDC could be right about this, but IDC has some history with regard to predictions that the reader may be unaware of. Through the wonders of the Internet, we can time travel back to September 2010 to discover IDC's projection for 2014:

You won't find this embarrassment on IDC's site anymore. I had to dig it up from another site that published the data five years ago. It's kind of an interesting, alternate reality view of the current market, isn't it? Sort of The Man in the High Castle of smartphone market predictions.

IDC's 2010 prediction demonstrates the pitfalls of making quantitative predictions so far into the future. There's a natural tendency to linearly extrapolate the current data as well as impose one's own prejudices. For instance, when you look back at IDC's projections, Windows is always gaining market share. Some things never change.

Trend Spotting

Should the trends of 2010 have been really so difficult to spot? It's debatable, but here's a summary of 2010 courtesy Gartner Research:

Worldwide Smartphone Sales to End Users by Operating System in 2010 (Thousands of Units)

Company


2010

Units


2010 Market Share (%)


2009

Units


2009 Market Share (%)

Symbian


111,576.7


37.6


80,878.3


46.9

Android


67,224.5


22.7


6,798.4


3.9

Research In Motion


47,451.6


16.0


34,346.6


19.9

iOS


46,598.3


15.7


24,889.7


14.4

Microsoft


12,378.2


4.2


15,031.0


8.7

Other Oss


11417.4


3.8


10432.1


6.1

Total


296,646.6


100.0


172,376.1


100.0

Source: Gartner (February 2011)

I think the table above makes the trends fairly clear. Android and iOS are growing explosively in terms of y/y unit sales gains. Symbian and RIM are gaining y/y, but losing market share. Microsoft is losing both market share and in y/y unit shipments.

Fast forward to the end of 2014 for a snapshot of smartphone market share courtesy of IDC:

Operating System


2014 Unit Volumes


2014 Market Share


2013 Unit Volumes


2013 Market Share


Year-Over-Year Change

Android


1,059.3


81.5%


802.2


78.7%


32.0%

iOS


192.7


14.8%


153.4


15.1%


25.6%

Windows Phone


34.9


2.7%


33.5


3.3%


4.2%

BlackBerry


5.8


0.4%


19.2


1.9%


-69.8%

Others


7.7


0.6%


2.3


0.2%


234.8%

Total


1,300.4


100.0%


1,018.7


100.0%


27.7%

Based on the above table, it appears that at least IDC is paying closer attention to their own data. Their 2019 projection is at least a reasonable extrapolation from the current situation. However, I believe that there's additional data that suggests that the simple extrapolation is missing the larger trend.

Here, the key factor to consider is how Apple performs in markets as they become mature. Mature markets are saturated. Consumers all have smartphones, and sales are driven by replacement rather than first time purchases. Mature markets consist of smartphone consumers that are more educated, experienced and discriminating with respect to their purchase decisions. As markets mature, Apple's iPhone makes gains.

This can be seen in the current situation in China. As I discussed recently, Apple grew unit shipments by 68% y/y in the June quarter. According to Kantar WorldPanel data, Apple's market share has been trending up, as the chart below shows:

As of the June quarter, Apple had gained 7.3 percentage points of market share y/y. China continues to worry many Apple investors both from a macro economic effect and in terms of Apple's competitive position relative to other smartphone vendors. I've addressed the macro situation in a previous article, in which I pointed out that the data that's available through the June quarter doesn't suggest China is heading into a recession. However, Chinese markets are still nervous and many don't believe the data coming from the Chinese government. It's certainly possible that a recession could hurt Apple more than lower tier vendors.

While I understand the concerns, I tend to run with the best data I have available, and that comes from CEO Tim Cook, who sent this message to CNBC's Jim Cramer:

I get updates on our performance in China every day, including this morning, and I can tell you that we have continued to experience strong growth for our business in China through July and August. Growth in iPhone activations has actually accelerated over the past few weeks, and we have had the best performance of the year for the App Store in China during the last two weeks.

While I can't disprove a theory that says Apple's sales in China are about to fall off a cliff, a data driven approach mandates waiting for the data from at least the September quarter.

If we look at the most mature smartphone market in the world, the U.S., the indicators also are encouraging. comScore provides what they call "market share" data for the U.S. Here, I have to point out that comScore is using the term loosely. A distinction has to be made between percentage of sales for a given quarter, what I call market share, and percentage of users for a given quarter, what I call usage share. What comScore reports is really usage share in the U.S.

What comScore's data shows is that usage share in the U.S. for iOS has been steadily increasing for over a year:

The changes in percentage terms are not great because the pool of users is quite large. For instance, in comScore's most recent report for July, there were 192.4 million smartphone users in the U.S.

Drawing Conclusions

I believe there is some data that shows that as smartphone markets mature, there's a tendency to swing to Apple, thus increasing Apple's market share. I believe this is due to the inherent superiority of Apple's iPhone. I know there are many who don't accept this. They either think that the quality difference doesn't exist, or that it doesn't matter. This continues to be one of the principal irreconcilable differences between Apple bears and bulls.

Even believing as I do, it's hard to take issue with IDC's forecast. This is mainly due to the fact that new emerging markets will have to mature before Apple starts to gain significant market share in them. That process will have to run its course, but probably will take the next four years.

So IDC may be right projecting continued market share decline by iOS to 2019, and investors may need to look beyond 2019 for market share gains. However, Apple's current growth in China may not be adequately accounted for in IDC's data. Once again, IDC's view may be that recent gains in China by Apple are due to a "novelty" effect that is assumed to taper off, with which I disagree. Or they may view the macro economic forces or competitive environment in China as serious headwinds going forward.

At this point, I can't disprove the view that China presents headwinds for Apple, but I consider the proof (or disproof) to be imminent. When Apple's September quarter earnings come out, we should have a very good calibration of Apple's sales growth in China as well as the impact of the overall macro environment there.
About this article:Expand

From supreme dominance down and down, from standard setting prime smart phone maker down to the nearly insignificant market position.

Stompiss said:

Sales below expectations is equal to poor sales and die off? LOL

Click to expand...

are you retarded? they overproduced phones. unsold phones = money lost in producing them. anyway apple is a cult of personality like ah gong. all bullshit, no substance.

istana_pest said:

From supreme dominance down and down, from standard setting prime smart phone maker down to the nearly insignificant market position.

Click to expand...

You show this market share graph only prove how cock you are. You got graph for smartphone industry profit boh? Google it.

da dick said:

are you retarded? they overproduced phones. unsold phones = money lost in producing them. anyway apple is a cult of personality like ah gong. all bullshit, no substance.

Click to expand...

Apple overproduced phones? LOL. Yet they still earn, just less, read the report, hence the TS topic is misleading :P

Which idiot will keep on producing same quantity through the years when there are no more demand? you dumb or what? hahaha...

mojito said:

You show this market share graph only prove how cock you are. You got graph for smartphone industry profit boh? Google it.

Click to expand...

most profit just shows ios users are dumb,willing to pay 5 times more than what half the marketshare willing to pay.paying 5 times more than what half the industry pays.....being suckered out of their ass.

frenchbriefs said:

most profit just shows ios users are dumb,willing to pay 5 times more than what half the marketshare willing to pay.

Click to expand...

in the u.s. operators typically subsidize the phone with 2-year contracts and bear the cost of the device. apple gets a boost in upfront payment in such schemes and becomes extremely cash-rich. due to the popularity of iphones in the u.s. operators are now encouraging their customers to share the burden by paying monthly installments or 100% plus tax of the cost of phone without term contracts.

[video=youtube_share;rI4JZEp4Tg4]https://youtu.be/rI4JZEp4Tg4[/video]

http://m.9377.com/article-1731.html




苹果iPhone 6S遭遇空前危机：销量爆减！
发布时间：2016-1-9 10:27
分享到
在手机行业，iPhone一直是个金字招牌，似乎咋么都不用发愁，还垄断着行业里的绝大多数利润，不过最新的iPhone 6S/6S Plus已经遇到了前所未有的大麻烦。从这几个月的形势来看，苹果那一套大家都有点腻了，这种简单的换代产品已经无法激起市场和消费者的兴趣。
台湾《电子时报》调研室也发布报告称，iPhone 2015年第四季度的出货量预计只会有个位数的增长，但是2016年第一季度很可能会下滑5.2-10.1％。
最近这两个季度加起来，iPhone的总出货量将和上年同期基本持平，差别幅度不超过5％。也就是说，苹果能整体保住别大跌就很不错了。
想当年iPhone 6/6 Plus发布之后，2014年第四季度到2015年第二季度的iPhone出货量同比增幅都在50％以上。第三季度虽然降到了36％，但是连续四个季度，iPhone都贡献着苹果60％以上的收入。
另外，苹果下达给代工厂、零部件供应商的订单也会大大减少，而且幅度将明显高于iPhone本身的跌幅，第四季度只会有1300-1500万部iPhone 6S。
《电子时报》认为，iPhone 6S表现如此差劲的主要原因是前辈iPhone 6太过于出色，而自己的进步又实在太小。






http://www.chinatimes.cc/article/52934.html





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iPhone 2016年销售预期遭下调 苹果减订单伤了富士康

作者：卢晓

来源：华夏时报

发布时间：2016-1-8 23:25:24
摘要：日媒援引部件供应商的消息称，苹果将削减2016年第一季度iPhone 6S和iPhone 6S Plus手机30%左右的订单，以便于清理积压的渠道库存。

iPhone 2016年销售预期遭下调 苹果减订单伤了富士康

本报记者 卢晓 北京报道

苹果和它的供应链伙伴们已经感受到冬天的寒意。

1月5日，日媒援引部件供应商的消息称，苹果将削减2016年第一季度iPhone 6S和iPhone 6S Plus手机30%左右的订单，以便于清理积压的渠道库存。

尽管苹果没有对削减订单做出回应，但供应商们的表现暗示出苹果手机目前的生产并非马力全开。而在外界唱衰苹果手机销量的压力下，苹果要拿什么重振市场和供应链伙伴的信心？

供应链受波及

苹果将要减产的消息，对一损俱损、一荣俱荣的供应链来说，显然是个坏消息。

苹果手机在中国大陆最大的代工厂郑州富士康，此前传出了2016年春节将提前放假的消息。如果消息为真，这显然与2015年春节时，郑州富士康赶工iPhone 6即将上市的两款手机的热火朝天相差甚远。

富士康并没有对春节放假一事做出回应。但一位在郑州富士康车间工作的员工对《华夏时报》记者表示，春节什么时候放假还没定，但很多人现在就可以正常请假回去过年。

上述富士康员工所在的厂区主要做苹果手机配件。“现在除了每天正常8小时上班，几乎没有班可以加。在富士康工作十年以上，才能拿到3000多块钱的工资。”她对记者说。

这种无班可加的情况并非近期才出现。

上述车间员工对记者表示，“从2015年到现在都是淡季。厂里很多人都走了，我们车间以前有300多人，到现在为止已经走了100多个。”据她所知，郑州富士康的招工也已经停止。

而郑州富士康此前从郑州市官方获得的稳岗补贴，也被外界认为是因其订单减少却没有裁员而得到的“补偿”。

2015年12月27日，郑州人力资源和社会保障局在其官网贴出公告，宣布为帮助企业在中国经济减速的新常态下降低失业率，拟向富士康旗下5家公司发放失业保险稳岗补贴资金8187万元/月。

但富士康否认这笔补贴与近期苹果订单削减的消息有关。

1月7日，富士康公关部相关人士给记者发来的声明显示，富士康目前已取得河南省失业保险稳岗就业补贴。但声明强调，该补贴是河南省人社部门对135家企业在稳定郑州市2014年度就业状况作出的激励。

在代工厂外，苹果零部件供应商业绩的下滑也暗示出苹果订单发生的变化。

1月6日，鸿海旗下独立上市的触摸面板模组厂业成控股（F-GIS）与台湾最大的触摸面板厂商宸鸿（F-TPK）对外公布去年12月的业绩。这两家iPhone 6S的3DTouch供应商的当期营收，环比均下滑超过30%。

而手机摄像头企业大立光电去年12月的营收除了环比下滑30%外，还与去年同期相比下滑31%。有消息称，大立光电有40%的收入来自于苹果订单。

苹果的高增长压力

没有谁能比供应链更早感觉到苹果手机的销售颓势。

IHS Technology中国研究总监王阳对记者表示，据他所知供应链至少在一两个月前就得到了削减订单的消息，确实接近30%。“销售的手机要提前1个月生产出来，而通知供应商备货又要提前4周。此外，一季度是苹果的传统淡季。”

事实上，早在2015年11月，瑞士信贷发布的研报就称，因为新的iPhone 6S需求疲软，苹果公司已将苹果手机的元件订单削减了10%。而其预测，2016年第一季度则会回落到4500万部到5000万部之间。

市场疲软被外界认为是iPhone 6S所面临的窘境。

此前台湾媒体曾报道称，据苹果台湾供应链的业内人士透露，苹果手机在2015年第四季度这个传统旺季的出货量，可能比预期目标低5%到10%。而苹果对供应商的备货要求也相应下调。

而瑞士信贷发布的分析报告则认为，苹果手机在该财季的销量会与2014年同期持平，或略有增加。

报告称，苹果在2015年第四季度卖出的iPhone大概在7500万部到8000万部之间。2014年同期这个数字是7440万部。

无论是哪个观点，似乎都意味着苹果不复往日的高增长。去年10月发布的2015财年四季报显示，iPhone共售出4804.6万部，同比2014年增长22%。

王阳对记者称，据IHS观测，iPhone 6S的销售确实低于预期。

他对记者表示，一方面是6S跟6太像，没有太多的升级换代，刺激不了市场需求。而另一方面，很多换机的增量需求在iPhone 6上市的时候就已经满足。“iPhone 6在中国市场卖的太火了，原来苹果在中国一年销售2000多万台，而iPhone 6出来之后，卖出了将近5000万台。”

显然，iPhone 6S的表现与苹果此前的预期相差甚远。

去年10月，苹果CEO库克曾表示，他预计2016年第一财季（指2015年第四季度）iPhone 6S/6S Plus的销量将会同比保持增长。库克还表示，中国市场对于iPhone 6S的强劲需求已经成为了苹果保持收入绝对增长的重要来源。

此外，全球经济放缓也成为iPhone 6S销量不如预期的原因。

王阳对记者说，“现在全球智能手机的增长点在印度、巴西等新兴市场，但这些地区的经济实力不足以支撑苹果手机大份额增长，增量还是被性价比高的安卓手机所占据。”

市场之所以对苹果手机的销量如此关注，源于iPhone对苹果业绩的影响力。外界认为，这个占苹果营收将近2/3的品类，已经无法再像从前那样实现高速增长。

摩根士丹利2015年12月发布的研究报告称，预计苹果iPhone的销量将在2016财年下降近6%。而瑞士信贷则在近期将它对iPhone 2016年的销量预期目标由2.22亿部下调到2.14亿部。

1月7日，截至记者发稿，苹果的股价为96.45美元，再创新低。

看起来，新一轮的销量增长要等到iPhone 7 的面世。王阳对记者表示，iPhone 7的生产预计要到今年的6、7月份。预计今年一二季度，苹果手机的销量都不会有太大的起色。

但苹果应用商店在2015年取得超过200亿美元销售数据，这似乎意味着苹果实现业绩高增长有另一种可能。





http://www.chinanews.com/it/2015/07-17/7410891.shtml


苹果手表销量骤减九成 市场成熟度低难成杀手锏
2015年07月17日 08:44　来源：通信信息报　 参与互动()

　　据《京华时报》报道，市场调查公司Slice发布报告显示，Apple Watch智能手表销量在经历4月发售初期的短暂井喷之后，就进入了休眠期，其销量跳水90%，在美国市场出现断崖式下跌。日销量一直低于2万块，有时甚至低于1万块，并且利润较低的运动版占据了销量的三分之二，而隶属于奢侈品的Apple Watch EDITION在美国的销量则不足2000块。曾经让万众期待的苹果新品，如今却被贴上了半个失败产品的标签。

　　可穿戴成熟是假象

　　Apple Watch发布前，舆论上存在两种声音，一方对库克寄予厚望，毕竟Apple Watch是库克执掌苹果后的第一款新产品。一方则持续唱衰，当然不只是针对Apple Watch，整个可穿戴行业都成为质疑的根源。如今我们来看一看年初还被捧上神坛的Apple Watch，现在却是如此的不堪。

　　Apple Watch在2015年4月份上市。此时距离Jawbone推出第一款智能手环已有三年之久，从美国到中国，前前后后出现的智能手环品类已达数千种，智能手表也让三星、谷歌等科技巨头竞相加入。同时在大众群体中，智能手环的计步和睡眠监测功能备受追捧，媒体们也纷纷把新型的可穿戴产品推至头条。

　　与此同时，苹果也感受到了可穿戴概念带来的压力，其一是三星早在2013年9月便发布了第一款智能手表，LG也在同年12月亮相了自家的可穿戴新品，谷歌也在I/O大会上早早的透露了MOTO360的消息，或许苹果也已意识到手机厂商之间的竞争似乎注定会转向可穿戴领域。其二，外界对苹果进军可穿戴的呼声很高，从2014年初开始便相继流出苹果iWatch的多张概念图。

　　但可穿戴真的成熟了吗？认为智能手环功能鸡肋的观点从2013年说到了现在，不少媒体抛出智能手环三月抛的调查报告，三星、LG、MOTO等手机厂商的销量成绩并不理想。尽管多家调查机构预言在2018年左右的时候，全球可穿戴市场规模将达500亿美元，但真正接触过这些产品的都会感慨这个行业并不成熟。作为科技界的翘楚，用户对苹果改变可穿戴现状寄予厚望，国内外的一干手机厂商迟迟不肯在智能手表上有所行动，不排除是在观望苹果的态度，在手机产品上频频向苹果致敬的国产厂商，在可穿戴产品上难免唯苹果是从。

　　可惜的是，Apple Watch虽然在上市之初被抢购一空，但新鲜感过后销量已初现端倪。在乔布斯用iPhone改变手机市场的时候，已经经过了从黑白屏到彩屏再到塞班智能机的过多，这次发力智能手表，库克和他的Apple Watch或许来的太早了。

　　Apple Watch负众望

　　正如前面所言，几乎所有人都对AppleWatch期待有加，库克却没能像乔布斯那样改变世界。AppleWatch的没能解决智能手表的痛点，也未能给智能手表重新定位，具体表现在以下三点。

　　首先是智能手表的产品痛点。不少人希望智能手表能够取代智能手机，但这显然不符合手机厂商的初衷，不管是苹果还是三星，都把智能手表定义为手机配件，这一点我们对苹果无可厚非。然而在功能还是续航的问题上，苹果选择了前者，虽然AppleWatch没能满足数码爱好者的功能需求，可相比于智能手环类产品，智能手表已经足够的酷。但18小时的续航注定让AppleWatch饱受诟病，或许我们应该佩服苹果知其不可而为之的勇气，事实却是，“苛刻”的用户难以忍受一天一充的糟糕体验。

　　其次是时尚定位的失败。几乎所有的可穿戴玩家都想掀起一场手腕革命，这便注定智能手腕类产品的竞争对手多了传统腕表这一庞然大物，而苹果为了突破这一市场，选择了时尚产品的角色。2013年苹果便把奢侈品牌Burberry前CEO安吉拉·阿伦德茨纳入麾下，2014年圣罗兰前CEO保罗·德内夫也跳槽到苹果。在产品上，不但邀请了美国超级名模克莉丝蒂·杜灵顿站台，Apple Watch也频频亮相巴黎时装周和Vogue杂志。可时尚界依旧视Apple Watch为另类，18K金Edition版不足2000块的销量，从侧面印证了Apple Watch时尚定位的失败。

　　最后说的是Apple Watch的售价。从苹果产品的一贯风格来看，定价一直在大众数码产品的最高点，试图走时尚路线的Apple Watch更是从349美元起售。iPhone的价格能够被用户所接受的原因在于市场上有足够的产品来进行体验和价格上的对比，而Apple Watch的直接竞争者屈指可数，更重要的是智能手环尚且不是用户的必需品。缺少了必要的价值衡量标准，或许苹果认为自己的定价策略合乎情理，用户却并不这么认为。从报道来看，最低售价的Sport版占了主要销量的2/3，苹果需要重新审视自己的产品价值。

　　后乔布斯时代失败？

　　为了给Apple Watch清路，APP Store先后下线Fitbit封杀Pebble，结果却是因为Apple Watch的发布让Pebble Time众筹翻番，在销量上也输给了Fitbit。后乔布斯时代Fitbit们的胜利，至少在三个方面说明了一些道理。

　　第一是巨头并不是不可战胜。或许Fitbit从未享受过Apple Watch所拥有的殊荣，单单从销量上来讲却打败了Apple Watch。或许在技术、资本、营销等方面，创业公司难以和巨头们匹敌，在用户需求上却是本末倒置。相比于苹果，Fitbit们更了解用户的真正痛点，把简单的功能做到极致就是一种胜利，而不需要为了让产品满足更多的需求而让产品变得复杂。

　　第二是巨头们的自我束缚。无论是苹果、谷歌还是微软，乃至国内的一些企业，在打造单个产品时从未把产品独立出来。以Apple Watch为例，苹果希望它能够成为继PC、iPad和iPhone后的又一块屏幕，为了不同设备之间的协调工作，Apple Watch的功能开始变得花哨，同时为了Apple Pay等服务，这款手表不得不添加NFC等功能。可以说，巨头们都在生态之中做产品，这些产品是决策者们需要的，却未必能够引得消费者的青睐。

　　第三是巨头崇拜的瓦解。想必最在意Apple Watch动态的当属中国深圳的一大批电子厂商，其实还有更多的人想要从Apple Watch中悟出可穿戴设备到底该怎么做，就连谷歌也参考苹果对自家的Android Wear进行修改。虽然Apple Watch只是苹果的第一款可穿戴产品，却在隐形之中为可穿戴制订了许多标准，比如在系统交互和产品设计。这次苹果的路并没有完全走对，不知道它的模仿者们该如何应对，毕竟2015年上半年不少国产手机厂商开始了对智能手表的尝试。

Read this ok? Apple profit is 13.2 billion in Q2, Samsung is 3.02 billion

Stompiss said:

Read this ok? Apple profit is 13.2 billion in Q2, Samsung is 3.02 billion

Click to expand...

No use.

Apple's remaining customer pools is shrinking very fast, so they are creaming heavily on the fianl patch of loyal customers, milking last drops of milk from them. Samsung low profit but huge market share, they are not milking customers like Gay-phones, so gay-phone's pissed off customers jumps ship to Samsung.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/business/apple-shares-seen-staying/2463824.html


Apple shares seen staying muted until iPhone 7 rings in growth
Apple Inc shares fell 4 percent on Wednesday after the company reported its slowest-ever rise in iPhone shipments, with an uptick likely only after the expected launch of iPhone 7 in September.

Posted 27 Jan 2016 21:50 Updated 27 Jan 2016 22:50

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Apple logos are seen on boxes in a shop in Munich downtown, Germany, January 27, 2016. REUTERS/Michaela Rehle

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REUTERS: Apple Inc shares fell 4 percent on Wednesday after the company reported its slowest-ever rise in iPhone shipments, with an uptick likely only after the expected launch of iPhone 7 in September.

The March quarter is likely to be the weakest this year in terms of iPhone sales for the company, which forecast on Tuesday its first quarterly revenue drop in 13 years.

Shares fell to US$95.97 at open, knocking off nearly US$20 billion from Apple's market value of about US$554 billion.

Tepid demand for the latest iPhones - that succeeded blockbuster sales of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus - led Apple to sell 74.8 million iPhones in the first quarter. It expects to sell 50-52 million units in the March quarter.

But analysts said the depressed stock price could create a buying opportunity for long-term value seekers.

"We are looking for March to mark the trough in year-on-year iPhone unit growth, which should provide an attractive entry point into the stock ...," Goldman Sachs analysts wrote in a note.

At least 11 analysts cut their price targets on the stock. FBR Capital was the most bearish, cutting its target by US$20 to US$120. The median price target is US$142.29, according to Reuters data.

"Cook & Co have a few tough quarters ahead until we get to the buildup around iPhone 7 later this year, which is what bulls (including ourselves) are focused on to turn this ship back into growth waters," FBR & Co analysts said.

Apple usually launches new iPhones in September and sells most devices in the December quarter. Unit sales typically drop over the next few quarters leading up to the next iPhone launch.

The iPhone 7 is expected to sport a new look with features such as waterproofing, wireless headphones and force touch as home button.

Up to Tuesday's close, Apple's stock had lost a quarter of its value since April 28, when it hit a record high of US$134.54. In contrast, shares of Alphabet Inc rose 10 percent in the same period. While Apple trades at 10.5 times forward 12-months earnings, Alphabet trades at 25.30.

(Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee, Tenzin Pema and Tripti Kalro in Bengaluru; Editing by Sayantani Ghosh)

- Reuters

aiyah! every fucktard waiting for the iphone 7. apple's yearly performance is based on the next numerical model it releases and has become a victim of her own success. might as well release a new iphone number every quarter to meet wall street expectations.....iphone 7 in q2, iphone 8 in q3, iphone 9 in q4. i'm petitioning them to release my pent up demand for iphone 6.9. every soixante neufer's dream. :p

Jessie Robles 1 year ago
Iphones are GAY I've owned a 3gs and iPhone 4 . It's just junk limited piece of crap. After my iPhone I had a galaxy s2 then s3 s4 and now a galaxy s5. And I ain't broke. Apple is junk. Even their computers are junk. I got money n I choose not to buy anything apple it's just so gay. I just bought a xbox one, the s5, the galaxy gear 2, the galaxy tablet. I have freedom with android unlike applejunk

When iPhone 7 comes on it will be boomtown Charlie yet again.

And as to being gay.....if a phone can make you seemed gay the that guy ain't confident over his masculinity to begin with....in fact the iPhone made me more masculine assured as before I would never be caught dead with a pink phone....ok rose gold.

Those who never owned an iphone, never compare both phones before, kindly leave your comments/justifications to yourself.

It takes 2 companies (google and samsung) just to compete evenly with Apple, you look silly if you think one of those 2 companies can outdo Apple in the next few years