“Last week, I discussed the possibility of Apple’s next high-end phone going for more than $1,200, a rumor that’s been circling due to certain components being in limited supply,” Bill Maurer writes for Seeking Alpha. “We’ve been hearing a lot of analysts recently talking about a potential delay, and more and more on the street are starting to discount the notion of a supercycle. With everyone waiting for Apple to finally deliver on a major smartphone upgrade, it may be fair to wonder if this year could mark a turning point.”
“We’re still a couple of weeks away from Apple’s earnings report, but the street is becoming more and more negative about the September quarter,” Maurer writes. “It’s still unclear when the next set of iPhones will launch, and if only two of the three rumored devices come in September it will push forward significant revenues to the December period.”
“With expectations now coming down for this year’s iPhone launch, one must wonder if this was Apple’s last chance to make a big splash,” Maurer writes. “Samsung is looking to recover from last year’s Note debacle, and Google is looking to increase market share from last year’s Pixel launch. Everyone has been waiting for Apple’s next big device to spark a massive supercycle of upgrades, so if not now, when?”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: The guidance we get for Q417 (holiday quarter) from Apple on August 1 will have factored in whether or not Apple is planning for the OLED iPhone to be late or not. As always, Apple’s guidance will tell the story.
SEE ALSO:
Will Apple’s August 1st earnings report finally deliver some good news for iPad? – July 13, 2017
Apple to release Q317 earnings, webcast live conference call on August 1st – July 6, 2017
Wired reviews Apple’s new iPad: Offers plenty for just $329 – May 8, 2017
The Daily Express reviews Apple’s new iPad: ‘World’s greatest tablet just got more affordable’ – April 22, 2017
Macworld reviews iPad (2017): With a stripped-down iPad for $329, you may not need to go pro – April 10, 2017
Ars Technica reviews Apple’s $329 iPad: ‘For people who have never upgraded’ – April 6, 2017
It’s just plain old iPad, and it’s cheap – starting at just $329! – April 3, 2017
Apple’s new iPad is actually more than ‘just’ an iPad Air – March 30, 2017
Apple unveils new 9.7-inch iPad starting at new low price of just $329 – March 21, 2017
lol. Bill Maurer was just itching to use, but did not, the standard cliches too often conclude in highly speculative articles that communicate very little of substance: “We’ll wait and see,” “Only the future knows,” “Can’t wait to find out,” We’ll see.”
It really puzzles me why Apple is seen as being so weak as a company. They have plenty of free-flowing cash, cash reserves, and loyal customers. Why is it that every move Amazon makes turns competition into fodder but yet Apple can’t do the same. It’s always automatically assumed Apple will fail while Amazon will succeed. Apple should be the one making the big acquisitions, but it’s Amazon constantly disrupting other companies with acquisitions. It’s as though Apple doesn’t even care whether the company grows or not. It just seems somewhat odd how Apple isn’t able to manage what Amazon can. I can really imagine Amazon passing Apple in market cap because Apple won’t do anything to grow itself despite having the means to do so.
“It really puzzles me why…”
Be puzzled no more. ‘Dog bites man’ is not considered newsworthy, ‘man bites dog’ is.
Nobody is going to write about how well Apple is doing, because THAT isn’t considered newsworthy. Splitting hairs to the nth degree, overstating problems (if they exist at all) creates tension which IS considered newsworthy.
If it wasn’t for the creative “reporting” today’s fiction writers, oops, I mean “journalists”, they’d have nothing to write/report, and you don’t get paid if you aren’t writing/reporting.
It all comes down to what drives Apple (and its executive team) as a company. In Apple’s case, they aren’t conquerors. They want to make really great products that they themselves want and can be proud of in terms of introducing them to the world.
It’s very interesting to have listened to Jobs, Gates, Ballmer, Cook, and others to hear what drives them, and how they speak about their companies and passion. Jobs was on one end of the spectrum, while Ballmer was on the other end. Ballmer was a conqueror. He didn’t care what he (Microsoft) owned or controlled, as long as it provided them with more power.
While money is power, Jobs interest in money and thus power was only in enabling him (and his companies) to do/create what they really wanted.
Elon Musk falls in the same category as Jobs, which is why so many Apple people look favorably at him and Tesla/Solar City/et al.
Bezos is a bit of a hybrid. He wants to both create and conquer.
The create/conquer spectrum is a bit of a horseshoe as well. The founders of Google are creators, which some may think of as being an odd classification for them, but really, they’re so far to the left (or right depending on perspective) that they do many things that a conqueror would do. Jobs even offered them the friendly advice that they were trying to do far too much, and that they needed to focus instead of trying to develop everything.
” It’s as though Apple doesn’t even care whether the company grows or not.”
The executive team does care. They don’t want it to grow. They want it to be successful and they know as a public company they have a responsibility to shareholders, but almost the entire executive team has talked about how they think of, and desire, Apple to be a small company regardless of how big it gets in terms of success.
Musk is a fraud, living off taxpayers’ largess via government subsidies.
Innovation does not adhere to a schedule. And, as been stated on this forum, a later release of a polished product is much better than a rushed release of a product that is not quite ready. Well, it is time to put that to the test. Apple is likely to get hammered by everyone if the super iPhone 8 is not released in volume at the customary date in autumn. But, as an Apple shareholder, I am not worried as long as Apple gets it right. Because Apple cannot afford Samsung-style flaming phones or similar miscues. Better to wait and get it right – the iPhone sales will still be there, just delayed by a couple of months. People will simply hold on to their current iPhones for a little while longer and some people may get iPhone IOUs in their stockings.
I’m still waiting to learn of a company as innovative in the computer tech field as Apple.
Considering the above, I always LAUGH and LAUGH when these Wallnut Street ULTIMATUMs are perpetrated. These are the whiny, clueless rants of people who have NO IDEA how to actually create something themselves.
Then I LAUGH and LAUGH even MORE! when I read drivel that Samsung is magically going to become an innovative company somehow or other, like they could come up with something original! HARDY HAR HAR!!! 😂🤣😂🤣
To be kind, Samsung has come up with occasional bells and whistles of interest. But that’s not what the whiny Wallnut Street money grubbers are looking for. Not At All. But convince them of that? Just laugh. 😁😆😅🤣😂🤣
Meanwhile: Optimizing the creativity of Apple is a concern. They’re the best at it! But pioneering is their history and legacy. It still goes on at Apple! We The Fanatics know all the examples. But we also whine for more please!