“Foxconn, Apple’s main assembly partner, on Tuesday declared its first-ever annual sales decline since going public in 1991, something reportedly linked to weak demand from Apple prior to the arrival of the iPhone 7,” Roger Fingas reports for AppleInsider.
“Foxconn’s 2016 revenues were $136.38 billion, 2.81 percent lower than in 2015, according to Nikkei,” Fingas reports. “Apple accounts for over 50 percent of Foxconn’s revenue, closely linking the two companies.”
“Last year [Apple] posted its first annual sales decline since 2001, something directly related to lower iPhone sales. The latter problem was regularly blamed on lukewarm demand for the iPhone 6s,” Fingas reports. “Slowing sales even led Apple to issue a pay cut for its executive team, including CEO Tim Cook, whose compensation was docked by $1.5 million for failure to meet the company’s internal goals.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Apple’s iPhone struggles (in the press and sales) every other year is, plain and simple, a marketing failure.
Death to the S!
Note that the only thing “different” to the non-tech-savvy general public about iPhone 7 versus the iPhone 6s is the naming scheme. The down year was the self-defeatingly-named “S” model. The whole number iPhone model is expected to show growth despite looking pretty much the same.
There are plenty of numbers in the universe. Infinite, actually. Don’t worry, Apple, you won’t run out. – MacDailyNews, October 4, 2011
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It’s as if Apple is naming iPhone models solely for their own internal inventory purposes, just so they can keep track of which model is which, with no regard for how the iPhones are perceived by the rest of the world – the media, the customers, etc. – outside One Infinite Loop.
The “S” doesn’t stand for “Speed,” it stands for “Stupid.” Yes, we know it’s the same case design; we know the “S” version is the one you make the big margins on; we get it. Call it the “S” internally if you must, but don’t be so engineer-ish that you insist on calling it that on the box, too!
It’s not about sales figures or the model’s success (as long as “iPhone” is in the name, it will be a success), it’s about setting a tone. In this case, with the “S,” Apple sets a tone that they are just making an incremental update… Why gift the naysayers with the opportunity, Apple? — MacDailyNews Take, April 5, 2013
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Apple, enough with the stupid iPhone ‘S’ naming already.
iPhone “S” years usher in hugely significant features, such as oleophobic displays, significant GPU improvements, world phone capability, Siri personal assistant, video stabilization, panorama photos, 64-bit processors, TD-LTE support, Touch ID, and 3D Touch, among other improvements and additions. Each year’s iPhone deserves its own number. By not doing so, Apple is shooting itself in the foot; handicapping iPhones with an “S” every other year. Why Tim Cook or Phil Schiller haven’t put an end to this stupid – yes, stupid – “S” naming is inexplicable. Why don’t you just name it “iPhone No Big Deal This Year,” Tim and Phil?
Here’s what you say onstage and in the press release when there’s no “iPhone 7s” and you jump directly from iPhone 7 to iPhone 8: “The improvements are such that the new iPhone deserves its own number.” Period. Done. Mission accomplished. It’s your naming convention, Apple, and you can correct your stupid mistake at any time. – MacDailyNews, September 16, 2015
SEE ALSO:
Gartner expects weaker YOY iPhone volume performance from 2016’s iPhone 6s, return to growth in 2017 with iPhone 7 – October 6, 2016
“There are plenty of numbers in the universe. Infinite, actually. Don’t worry, Apple, you won’t run out. ”
😂😂😂
OMG!!! That’s, like, math…right?!
Say what?
Infinite numbers Dude! Far out!
In fact, there are seven infinities in the realm, each one larger than the next.
Gnarly Duuuude
You have read Cantor ha…. .. bitchin..aint it.
How about some Godel….. what a buzz…. dude.
.. infinite degrees bro….
but hey surfs up … who cares about this shit… lets go rip .
In fact Georg Cantor, Kurt Gödel, David Foster Wallace, and a number of others who deeply immersed themselves in the study of infinity developed mental illness and killed themselves. Some concepts have claws.
Could not agree more… …infinite whirlpool of thoughs that can suck u and drown u in frustration. …. Quantom is not too far either.
You say that with such suoerposition…
Sureposition u mean?…
Well what can i say i am entangled 😉
C’mon. You know we can’t edit.
Just remember to include the measuring device in your entanglement.
Poor Godel (no umlaut, sorry) brilliant. Heard he had a nice stroll with Einstein.
“The weather outside is weather..” – Forgetting Sarah Marshall
What’s in a name? — Apparently more than Apple leadership thought. — I invite them to ditch their s-for-so-what pet naming scheme and try something new, instead of blaming lapsed sales on foreign currency headwinds or some such. Their guidance is beginning to falter because their assumptions are all exogenous and they haven’t considered internal biases, even seemingly trivial ones like this. Maybe consumers aren’t all that into Shakespeare.
That which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet. And it might sell better, Apple.
Devil is in details .. subtlety in God…
MDN’s headline blames iPhone 7….
The article blames iPhone 6….
Oops. I meant 6S.
Headline says ‘prior” to iphone 7
Devil is in details .. subtlety in god…..
Rapidly waning iPhone 7 sales aren’t helping either. People asked for battery life and got emojis and dongles instead.
How do u know they are rapidly waning?
Good question yojimbo. I have been looking at people’s phones for a while now and i have seen only one iPhone 7. The guy was using the dongle to allow him to use his own hifi headphones. So I suspect iPhone 7 may not be a big hit.
I guess we will find out in 20 days …
but reports from Foxconn seem to indicate that iphone seven had a good holiday season…….
Sheesh MDN jumps the shark!
Since Apple accounts for ~50% of Foxconn output so any dip might well be down to…oh, I don’t know…Microsoft maybe.
More snivelling self important crap.
I think the phrase “jumped the shark” has jumped the shark.
The other 50% does not count?
Apple is a sinking ship with Tim Cook.
Apple accounts for around half of Foxconn’s revenue, but when Foxconn’s revenue dips, it’s claimed to be solely because Apple’s new iPhone isn’t selling well.
I believe that Samsung also use Foxconn and if my memory serves me right, there could have been a Samsung phone model which was suddenly pulled from production last year. Such an event could possibly have an effect on Foxconn’s overall fortunes without it being Apple’s fault.
Maybe Apple needs to release more of their stock to the telcos than pushing people to pay more from the store.
My telco was down to 22 6s Pluses in their Sydney warehouse just after Christmas. In the end I had to buy direct from Apple. Those models were selling like hotcakes but Apple either were disinterested or incapable of releasing stock. Maybe that may have contributed to the problem.
However both my wife and I like the phones but I know I we would’ve got a better plan if I we could have done it through Optus (our telco). GRRR!
On average, Foxconn assembled over 2/3 of the microelectronics you own. If they are having a bad year it is because ALL of the microelectronics is pulling back on assembly activity. Stop blaming Apple for everything.