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from the it-worked-until-it-didn't...-now-what? dept.
Apple has had an incredible decade. Since the iPhone debuted in 2007, the company's sales have jumped tenfold. The stock has soared over 700%. And up until last November, it was the world's largest publicly traded company. But two weeks ago, Apple issued a rare warning that shocked investors. For the first time since 2002, the company slashed its earnings forecast. The stock plunged 10% for its worst day in six years. This capped off a horrible few months in which Apple stock crashed about 35% from its November peak. That erased $446 billion in shareholder value—the biggest wipeout of wealth in a single stock ever.
[...] Despite the revenue growth, Apple is selling fewer iPhones every year. In fact, iPhone unit sales peaked way back in 2015. Last year, Apple sold 14 million fewer phones than it did three years ago.
[...] In 2010, you could buy a brand-new iPhone 4 for 199 bucks. In 2014, the newly released iPhone 6 cost 299 bucks. Today the cheapest model of the latest iPhone X costs $1,149! It's a 500% hike from what Apple charged eight years ago. [...] In 1984, Motorola sold the first cell phone for $4,000. The average price for a smartphone today is $320, according to research firm IDC. Cell phone prices have come down roughly 92%. And yet, Apple has hiked its smartphone prices by 500%!
[...] Twelve years ago, only 120 million people owned a cell phone. Today over five billion people own a smartphone, according to IDC. [...] now iPhone price hikes have gone about as far as they can go. [...] A publicly traded company that makes most of its money from selling phones is no longer telling investors how many phones it sells!
(Score: 4, Interesting) by DannyB on Tuesday January 22 2019, @08:41PM
About the headphone jack . . .
I look a few years back. The Samsung Galaxy S5 seemed like the peak of phones. Consider:
* headphone jack
* replaceable battery
* WATER PROOF -- that was amazing!
Since then, it has been down hill. Even for Samsung who made the S5. The next generations had glass backs. Non replaceable batteries. Were not water proof. Its like the disappearing headphone jack.
Why could they once make good phones, and now phones evolve in a direction that is actually consumer unfriendly?
Oh, and the preloaded non-removable apps.
What I now use: Google Pixel 3 XL. Was using: Google Nexus 6P. Both are nice. But expensive. Do these phones really have to be that expensive?
The lower I set my standards the more accomplishments I have.