“Odd though it may seem, selling a significantly less powerful and less appealing smartphone for barely any discount compared to your flagship smartphone isn’t a good idea,” Zach Epstein writes for BGR.
“We have seen countless signs that Apple’s iPhone 5c has been a pretty magnificent flop thus far, and now we have one more to add to the growing collection,” Epstein writes. “As shared by Andreessen Horowitz analyst Benedict Evans, the following chart shows iPhone market share on Chinese analytics company Umeng’s network within the first six months of each launch.”
Epstein writes, “Bottom line: the iPhone 5c will definitely not go down as the best decision Apple ever made.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: If Apple didn’t see this obvious issue with the iPhone 5c pricing/feature set in relation to the iPhone 5s, it would be worrisome, unless they planned it that way:
The iPhone 5s is separated from iPhone 5c in many ways: Touch ID fingerprint recognition, materials quality, the camera’s larger 8MP sensor with 1.5µ pixels, ƒ/2.2 aperture, dual LED True Tone flash, Burst mode, slo-mo video, improved video stabilization, a 64GB option, and, of course, the A7 chip with 64-bit architecture and M7 motion coprocessor.
Unless you’re allergic to aluminum and/or fine craftsmanship, there is no reason why anyone who can afford an iPhone would not buy an iPhone 5s (unless you’re buying a first iPhone for your son or daughter). Even then, if you want a brightly colored polycarbonate phone or some feeling of extra protection from drops and dings, slap a plastic case on the iPhone 5s. There, it almost weighs as much as the 5c now.
The bulk of any smartphone cost is the data, not the phone.
Am I missing something or is the price difference between the iPhone 5s and the iPhone 5c too insignificant to ever consider opting for the 5c?
Why the hell would anyone buy an iPhone 5c instead of an iPhone 5s?
It seems to me that Apple is using the iPhone 5c as a tool to push buyers to the 5s (well, at least those buyers who can grasp a simple value equation).
Once Apple gets the customer to the websites or into the stores and the prospective buyer can see and/or hold both phones and learn that they’re only separated by a mere $100, my guess is that Apple figures they’ll have plenty of upsales occurring. Upsales that will boost Apple’s iPhone margins nicely. — SteveJack, MacDailyNews: “Why would anyone buy an iPhone 5c instead of an iPhone 5s?” – September 10, 2013, the very day both iPhones were revealed
All of that said, according to CIRP, in the days after launch, the iPhone 5c accounted for 27% of iPhone sales vs. 64% for iPhone 5s. In the previous year, also according to CIRP, the iPhone 4s captured 23% vs. 68% for iPhone 5.
So, how is the 5c a “pretty magnificent flop?” Answer: It’s not. It’s a media concoction. Apple expected a bit more than they got, but that doesn’t mean iPhone 5c is a “pretty magnificent flop” in the grand scheme of things. The iPhone also-rans would kill for iPhone 5c sales.
Related articles:
Will Apple unapologetically abandon plastic after apparent failure of iPhone 5c? – March 4, 2014
Cook tacitly admits Apple blew it with iPhone 5c – January 28, 2014
Was iPhone 5c the cause of Apple’s woes? – January 28, 2014
MacDailyNews presents live notes from Apple’s Q114 Conference Call – January 27, 2014
Why would anyone buy an iPhone 5c instead of an iPhone 5s? – September 10, 2013