iphone 5 iPhone 5 components order cut: Apple under pressure?

[Colin McGregor]

let us know how he likes the windows phone in two months once he starts to complain about the lack of and quality of apps

What are you smoking? WP has tons of quality apps. Sure it doesn't have 500 fart apps like iOS or Android. The same tired "lack of apps in the store" complaint is getting old and and tiring. Why can't trolls be more creative. Please just one creative troll that doesn't copy and paste the same generic excuse over and over.

[Order_66]

The nice thing about being on straight talk is you can bounce between different phones, currently I'm using a galaxy note international and it works great however.... the quality of the apps can be pretty bad, most apps are good and work as intended.

Prime example, I use key bank and their apps, the apple version of the app is top notch, works without any issues and is very fast, the android version is horrible, it really sucks, slow, buggy and crashes constantly.

Google voice crashes every once in a while on android and is sometimes slow and laggy but works flawlessly on ios.

2 months ago i was using a galaxy S3, for some reason it just wouldn't hold a strong cell signal, dropped a few calls here and there, the note is a little better, the iphone has never dropped a call and will still have 2-3 bars in some areas that neither one of my samsung phones could even hope to achieve.

I'm certainly no apple fanboy but I can't ignore the higher quality of their products, my iphone works flawlessly and is superior to my samsung phones in most areas, I doubt apple will be going anywhere anytime soon regardless on where their stock is sitting at.

[Rippleman]

I'm certainly no apple fanboy but I can't ignore the higher quality of their products, my iphone works flawlessly and is superior to my samsung phones in most areas, I doubt apple will be going anywhere anytime soon regardless on where their stock is sitting at.

i too "upgraded" to a Samsung galaxy 2sx about 8 days ago, tried to force myself to like it. The only thing that is better then my iPhone 4 is screen size and that is it. The whole adriod ICS is better then 2.2 but still cumbersome and horrible to navigate around. The screen (model specific i know) is ok from straight on but horrible at angles. Apps are of lesser quality on the ones i use and are missing features that i actually use. battery life (model specific i know) sucks compared to iphone. Don't even get me started on auto-correct. Its so horrible on the andriod that it actually corrects my "correct" words into something else. Frustated me so much i basically have cut back my texting 75% this week while using. Google+ hangouts, yahoo, skype all suck extremely bad when compared to facetime. tomorrow i am "downgrading" back to iphone 4 thankfully. The small screen sucks but over all its worth the sacrifice. If apple ever gets the genius idea to "invent" a bigger 4.5-5" screen i will go with them too in the future, but for now, iphone 4 is fine for my needs.

[catilley1092]

Their stock is dropping like a brick. They've hit below $500 today.

I LOVE IT! I knew it would be a matter of time before Tim Cook would crumble. The management shuffle was a sign things were going south, otherwise why change? No corporation changes direction when on top of the world & climbing higher.

Tim Cook proved on his very first presentation (of the iPhone 4S), that he was not in the same league as Steve Jobs. Could barely finish the presentation. Jobs was a master at this, & even when he was very sick & knew it, didn't allow it to be an excuse to get on stage & do his thing. He actually was working around 36 hours before his death, a miracle in itself, as he knew it was coming. Cook doesn't have Jobs's work ethitc, his talent, doesn't draw the same attention when he walks into the office, & will be the downfall for Apple. He took a corporation on top of the world & single handedly wrecked it.

Now he's looking to China to be Apple's #1 market. Must have been part of his plan way back when Jobs was on medical leave & he decided to move the workforce there. Steve Jobs would never have done this (may have thought about it, but as true American hero, he wouldn't have brought it up himself), the board approved of Cook's plan on the Asia migration. At any rate, relying on China to be their #1 market smells of desperation. Apple's US customers are beginning to smell the roses & look at other products, tiring of constant issues such as battery life ones, among others.

Many analysts seen this coming, by now, most of Job's DNA is no longer in Apple's products. By the next release, it'll be zero. Steve Jobs made Apple from scratch, & Cook is a **** poor replacement for him. Cook was basically a tail kisser, a "yes" man, simply wanting the top job at Apple. Who knows, Jobs may have given Cook the job to implode the corporation, remember, he was fired from his own position by the Apple board many years ago. Sweet revenge indeed. He had to know that Cook was no clone of himself.

It's time for someone at Apple to come up with a new gadget, unfortunately, they don't have Jobs to do all of the creation any longer. And I doubt that Tim Cook will be the creator of it either.

The shareholders should have cashed in when Apple hit $700, as it's unlikely that the corporation will hit those numbers again. Mabye if a true innovator comes on board again, however that's a once in a lifetime deal. Steve Jobs & Bill Gates are of a rare breed, no one can copycat them. The chances of hitting a Powerball ticket are better.

Apple has some truly rough days ahead of them. Deservedly so.

Cat

[bandit_liberty_rumble]

[Cook] took a corporation on top of the world & single handedly wrecked it. [...] he decided to move the workforce [to China]. Steve Jobs made Apple from scratch [...] Cook was basically a tail kisser [...] Jobs may have given Cook the job to implode the corporation [...] Sweet revenge indeed. [...] they don't have Jobs to do all of the creation any longer.

That all makes sense when you're high, I guess....

[Melfster]

Apparently according Wallstreet anaylst this is all noise and are the result of better component yields. The iphone 5 is still selling like hotcakes. Iphone 5 compared to anything on the market is still pretty good. I tried the S3 and was shocked how ****ty the camera is compared to both the Lumia 920 and the iphone 5.

[neo1911]

I LOVE IT! I knew it would be a matter of time before Tim Cook would crumble. The management shuffle was a sign things were going south, otherwise why change? No corporation changes direction when on top of the world & climbing higher.

Tim Cook proved on his very first presentation (of the iPhone 4S), that he was not in the same league as Steve Jobs. Could barely finish the presentation. Jobs was a master at this, & even when he was very sick & knew it, didn't allow it to be an excuse to get on stage & do his thing. He actually was working around 36 hours before his death, a miracle in itself, as he knew it was coming. Cook doesn't have Jobs's work ethitc, his talent, doesn't draw the same attention when he walks into the office, & will be the downfall for Apple. He took a corporation on top of the world & single handedly wrecked it.

Now he's looking to China to be Apple's #1 market. Must have been part of his plan way back when Jobs was on medical leave & he decided to move the workforce there. Steve Jobs would never have done this (may have thought about it, but as true American hero, he wouldn't have brought it up himself), the board approved of Cook's plan on the Asia migration. At any rate, relying on China to be their #1 market smells of desperation. Apple's US customers are beginning to smell the roses & look at other products, tiring of constant issues such as battery life ones, among others.

Many analysts seen this coming, by now, most of Job's DNA is no longer in Apple's products. By the next release, it'll be zero. Steve Jobs made Apple from scratch, & Cook is a **** poor replacement for him. Cook was basically a tail kisser, a "yes" man, simply wanting the top job at Apple. Who knows, Jobs may have given Cook the job to implode the corporation, remember, he was fired from his own position by the Apple board many years ago. Sweet revenge indeed. He had to know that Cook was no clone of himself.

It's time for someone at Apple to come up with a new gadget, unfortunately, they don't have Jobs to do all of the creation any longer. And I doubt that Tim Cook will be the creator of it either.

The shareholders should have cashed in when Apple hit $700, as it's unlikely that the corporation will hit those numbers again. Mabye if a true innovator comes on board again, however that's a once in a lifetime deal. Steve Jobs & Bill Gates are of a rare breed, no one can copycat them. The chances of hitting a Powerball ticket are better.

Apple has some truly rough days ahead of them. Deservedly so.

Cat

Some epic hate here!

Buddy relax. This is a good thing if it pushes Apple out of complacency. We will see better innovation and ultimately it's us who will benefit.

[catilley1092]

That all makes sense when you're high, I guess....

Steve Jobs, by his own admission was high himself (on acid) when he created some of the things that he did, at least in his earlier years.

Being high can work both ways, one can be a obvious druggie, while the other may function quite well. Prior to becoming disabled, I smoked on the job everyday for over 23 years & never got caught. I was in route sales, & quickly moved forward to a operations manager position. Marijuana made me very focused on my tasks, nothing distracted me. Paid very close attention to details, & got compliments on my work (as well as the salespeople that I trained).

Unfortunately, just as I had received another promotion, to a regional sales manager position that I had chased for the better of 10 years, I had health issues to develop, which after surgery left me unable to work at all. Having 20+ pounds of extra weight in rods, screws, cages, nuts & bolts in the lower region of my spine left me in more pain than marijuana could relieve.

My point being, that many successful people gets high. I know several home builders, other highly paid skilled workers such as electricians, A/C servicemen, other independents such as tree service owners, roofers, plumbers, & even a handful in the medical profession who smokes weed & are very dedicated to their line of work.

Most people who smokes weed are good people. In fact, if it came down to it, I'd much rather be in the company of a room of marijuana smokers than heavy drinkers. They tend to get aggressive & pick fights at parties, while the weed smokers typically just has fun & ends up raiding the fridge. Note that there are exceptions to every rule.

I noted that you did make a accurate observation from my post above & quoted some of the highlights, which I fully agree with & stand by. Had Steve Jobs still been at the helm, Apple's stock would have continued to climb, because he's a proven leader. If he weren't, the folks at Apple wouldn't have brought him back (after, once again, someone else ruined the company) to rescue them from certain bankruptcy.

The thing was, Apple was in litigation with other companies, but they didn't have time for the courts to settle matters, Apple needed a infusion of cash, & right then, not 6 months to a year down the road. Steve Jobs cut the deal with Microsoft (to the disbelief of many) that allowed Apple to flourish down the road. It was a $150 million loan from Microsoft that kept Apple afloat, & it wasn't "the board", nor Tim Cook (if he was around then), but Steve Jobs that negotiated the deal with Bill Gates to keep the wheels at Apple turning. Jobs had to swallow some pride, but that's business. There was & still is plenty of business for both corporations to thrive.

Yes, it does make a lot of sense. Tim Cook is not Steve Jobs, as much as he'd like to be, he isn't. Looking at the top Forbes 25, Cook isn't even Steve Ballmer, let alone Jobs.

Steve Jobs was the heart & soul of Apple. He ran a tight ship for many years, & it was only after his passing that it began to crumble. It just didn't appear right off the bat to the consumers (& Wall Street) because his DNA was still in another product cycle release.

Cat

[rfirth]

Jobs had to swallow some pride, but that's business.

He then spent the remainder of his life vomiting it back up.

[catilley1092]

Some epic hate here!

Buddy relax. This is a good thing if it pushes Apple out of complacency. We will see better innovation and ultimately it's us who will benefit.

No, it's not a "hate" post, I'm no fanboy of any brand of OS. I can run Windows & Linux. Windows 8 is a very good OS, most likely, it'll be the last $40 version of Windows released. Zorin OS is also good, I've been running Linux OS's for 4 years now.

Would have been a iMac owner back in 2005, had the salesman used his time more to push his product, rather than belittle mine (a Dell Latitude D610 running XP). He spent 20 out of 30 minutes telling me how inferior my product was, rather than telling me how good his product was. I got up & left, stating that I'd better get my notebook out of the building before it fell apart. Didn't even take the Mac for a test spin.

I was a professional salesman for 23 years & the first thing that I learned, is that you tell potential customers what they want to hear. No one wants to hear that their current computer (mine was less than a year old) is a piece of junk. The customer is #1, no matter what.

That attitude was what never made me second guess my decision, & I'm glad. One can almost buy two quality Windows PC's of equal or better specs than a base model iMac. For $1,300, one would expect at least 16GB RAM to be there, as well as a i7 CPU & a 2+GB discrete GPU, as well as a SSD + HDD combo. For that price with a iMac, one doesn't get half of that. A 512MB discrete GPU? They were being pushed, in what, 2007 or so?

I'm glad that it happened now. And you're right, other doors are opened. One can tell that Apple is a desperate corporation when low class outfits like Cricket Wireless (a no-contract, pay as you go provider) has the iPhone 5. These were once AT&T exclusives, which I'm also glad is busted up, between the two, they were monopolizing the industry.

Hopefully Samsung, Google & MS will now gain a lot of ground. MS has a ways to catch up, however, Google & Samsung will forever & always be a thorn in Apple's side. It will tickle me pink to see Apple's stock selling at the price of MS. Being that they plan to make China their #1 market, it may well happen.

At least one person listened to me, my sister in law, she dumped hers when it hit $700, all of it. No way with the current competition, could Apple hold that high of a market share.

Cat

[jakem1]

I wouldn't be surprised to see demand for the iPhone slowly dropping. It's an exceedingly boring, overpriced device with a dated UI and has lacked any innovation for years now. Having said that, I think its demise will be slow as lots of people will have invested heavily enough in Apple's ecosystem to give them a reason to stick around a while longer.

[FloatingFatMan]

The Apple of the 90s was nothing like the Apple today.

And the Apple of today is nothing like the Apple of a year ago. Jobs was Apple, and without him, they're just another mediocre tech company that overcharges for its average quality products.

[Xerxes]

It's not surprising, Apple declined after Steve left back in the 80's, and it's declining now that he's dead. He was the only one that really brought fresh ideas to the table. Look at their bounceback when he came back in 1997.

The problem isn't the lack of fresh ideas. Apple has plenty of them but the problem is there is nobody to "cultivate" them and they are all allowed to produce fruit (products). Jobs was able to make Apple so successful (in my opinion) because he was brutal with how he selected what products made the cut and what direction the company went in. Jobs was never driven by money (he cared little for it) and just wanted to make the most perfect products no matter the cost (yes over generalized but you get the point I think), this is what elevated Apple above the pack. The people currently in charge (and who ousted him the first time) just care about the bottom line and investors, that's the problem. They need a CEO brutal like Jobs was, not afraid to make the hard decisions and who relentlessly cuts through what the company is doing and planning to do and cut it down to the bare essentials, because Apple was successful when they had a smaller line up and offered less choice but better options if that makes any sense :p maybe I'm just rambling nonsense but is how I feel about it.

[grik]

Yes, Apple needs to risk and launch game-changers like it used to with Jobes.

I dont think this new Head-Man is up for this, i think he will be Milking the Cow instead of pointing the way

[.Neo]

There have been multiple reports now that the next iPhone will be introduced in June/July. Which means production is going to start within two months or so. Apple cutting back on iPhone 5 components could very well have to do with that.

[Growled Member]

I'm not sure this is as much about Apple as Android. Android is eating Apple for lunch. Apple may sell 25 to 30 million phones a quarter but Android will sell twice that. The thing is, without Jobs Apple doesn't seem to have an answer.

[Rippleman]

Totally different marketing, I would rather sell 10 million Pancakes for $10 each then 100 million for $1 each. Less shipping, less packaging, less everything for same turnover. Android is to phones what McDonald's is to fast food.

[TurboShrimp]

iphone 5s coming soon nothing new stock prices will even out over time has nothing to do with tim cook lol

the amount of apple hate on this site is at an all time high

the amount of trolls in one topic is crazy

[Rippleman]

the amount of apple hate on this site is at an all time high

been like that for years now with the younger kids here... they will move on eventually

[TurboShrimp]

I'm not sure this is as much about Apple as Android. Android is eating Apple for lunch. Apple may sell 25 to 30 million phones a quarter but Android will sell twice that. The thing is, without Jobs Apple doesn't seem to have an answer.

you know why they sell twice as many ?

do you know how many android tablets are for sale in New York that are only $50-80 USD ?

cheap phones and tablets all over the world with crappy super super crappy specs all count to the total number its really a shame

here is a link to 12 under $100 cheap A@@ pieces of junk

http://staenz.com/754/cheap-android-tablets-with-wifi-3g/

its not fair because every apple product is top quality

India unveils $30 tablet PC (Android) ? India?s iPad

http://latestpctabletnews.com/india-unveils-30-tablet-pc-android-indias-ipad.html

this is why when I hear droid out sells apple I laugh because of a $30 Droid

[einsteinbqat]

Just a little perspective. Let's just wait and see.

Why The WSJ Got The 'iPhone Demand Is Crashing' Story All Wrong

A decade ago, MTV debuted a show called Punk?d in which Ashton Kutcher would play elaborate practical jokes on celebrities before the big reveal at the end of each episode. While the setup isn?t quite the same, it?s possible that Japan?s Nikkei played the role of Kutcher this Sunday and the Wall Street Journal acted as the duped celebrity with a breathless report suggesting iPhone orders are about to fall off a cliff. Apple?s stock has been under a ton of pressure lately, falling about 30 percent from its all-time high and this latest bit of apparent bad news has helped drive it down more, to below $500 a share today.

It started when the Journal reported: ?Apple?s orders for iPhone 5 screens for the first quarter, for example, have dropped to roughly half of what the company had planned to order, the people said.? What?s missing from that quote, however, is what Nikkei originally included and can still be found on Reuters (although no longer on WSJ): ?Apple has asked Japan Display, Sharp and LG Display Co Ltd to roughly halve supplies of LCD panels from an initial plan for about 65 million screens in January-March, the Nikkei cited people familiar with the situation as saying.? And that 65 million number we know is completely absurd. Just how absurd? Well, let?s break it down.

For calendar fourth quarter, the one that just ended, the iPhone forecast is for 43-63 million phones. (Not all of those are iPhone 5s, of course, given that the 4s and 4 are still available.) The median of those estimates is around 49 million and a high estimate would put the iPhone 5 at 40 million of those. Since the latest iPod Touch uses the same screen, it?s possible another 5 million screens would be used in the Christmas quarter for that. So let?s say there is a total need for 45 million screens in the quarter that just ended.

Every year since the iPhone has launched, Apple has seen some seasonal drop off from the end of the year into the first quarter (what Apple calls Q2, but what is the first calendar quarter). The iPod Touch, in particular, sees a huge drop off. So no matter how strong iPhone 5 is selling, if the company needed 45 million screens last quarter, it would need fewer this quarter. How many? Perhaps 40 million or so. Of course, if Apple had ordered more than it needed last quarter to make sure that it was ahead of the game, it would need fewer still going into winter and might only require 30-35 million. The truth is, we don?t know,, but then neither does Nikkei, or its unnamed sources.

None of this stopped a credulous WSJ from running the story as front-page news just eight days ahead of Apple?s Jan. 23 earnings announcement. It?s pile-on season for the Cupertino, Calif. consumer-electronics giant, which has apparently ?lost its edge? according to most everything you read these days. It?s an interesting spin given that the company sold 37 million iPhones in the holiday quarter this year and even the lowest end of the forecast would be a 20 percent boost to that number. (At 50 million, year-over-year growth would be 35 percent.)

Nevertheless, the latest rumors about Apple slashing component orders, in fact, come on the heels of supposedly positive developments at competitors. First, we heard ?good news? from Nokia, which reported shipments of 4.4 million Lumia phones in the year-end quarter. Never mind that we are talking less than 2 percent market share for Nokia or that sales were boosted by heavy discounting, often down to $99 at retail ? less than half what competing phones sell for. This is good news in the land of Nokia. It might not be repeatable as the Windows Phone platform has yet to prove especially popular, but was unequivocally spun as a positive pretty much everywhere it was reported.

Similarly, Cnet was very excited about Samsung?s announcement that the Galaxy S phone line had crossed the 100 million mark in total sales. The phone is so desirable, ?Sales of the flagship Galaxy S3 reached 30 million units in 5 months, and 40 million in 7 months, with average daily sales of about 190,000 units.? You?d think that it?s the hottest thing going with those numbers. Of course, as we were just discussing above, in the quarter just ended, Apple will have sold about as many iPhone 5?s as Samsung has sold Galaxy S3?s in 7 months! This is what the ?experts? are already calling trouble and they haven?t seen the numbers yet.

Now, of course, Samsung is also selling the prior generation S2, which Cnet tells us, ??is described as a steady bet after recording sales of over 40 million in 20 months.? So that?s about 2 million a month for that model to go with the 17 milllion S3 phones Samsung apparently moved in Q4. In other words, if we just compare the last two generations of phones, Apple sold somewhere around 35-45 million last quarter while Samsung moved about 23 million. It?s certainly true that Samsung has a number of less-expensive entry models and will outsell Apple in raw numbers. But when one looks at ?profit share? and wonders why Apple will continue to earn more of it in smartphones than Samsung, those numbers tell the story.

Certainly, if iPhone 5 demand is indeed falling off the cliff that the WSJ claims it is, things will change next quarter. And perhaps Apple?s earnings report next week will tell us more about that. Then we?ll find out who?s really getting punk?d.

[FloatingFatMan]

Yes, Apple needs to risk and launch game-changers like it used to with Jobes.

I dont think this new Head-Man is up for this, i think he will be Milking the Cow instead of pointing the way

Thing is, Apple have been milking one cow so long, that they've ended up with this...

[Quillz]

And the Apple of today is nothing like the Apple of a year ago. Jobs was Apple, and without him, they're just another mediocre tech company that overcharges for its average quality products.

I certainly agree with this. But the main difference is that the Apple of today still has upwards of $100 billion in cash, versus the Apple of the 90s that probably had less than a fraction of that. The innovation is certainly gone, it has been for a while, but Apple still has plenty of money to survive for a long time. Or so it would seem.

[techbeck]

you know why they sell twice as many ?

do you know how many android tablets are for sale in New York that are only $50-80 USD ?

cheap phones and tablets all over the world with crappy super super crappy specs all count to the total number its really a shame

here is a link to 12 under $100 cheap A@@ pieces of junk

http://staenz.com/75...s-with-wifi-3g/

its not fair because every apple product is top quality

India unveils $30 tablet PC (Android) ? India?s iPad

http://latestpctable...ndias-ipad.html

this is why when I hear droid out sells apple I laugh because of a $30 Droid

So, why are cheap phones a bad thing. For someone who only does web/facebook...a $80 android would do just fine. Hell, i know several people with budget droids who do email/web/facebook and they love it. It suits them. Want to do more? Then Android users have other options. So you can pay a little for the tasks/features you only use instead of paying 400+ for a bunch of features you will never use. So you may call those super crappy specs...but it depends on what you use the device for.

Cheap andorid tablets are a diff story. My mom got one on a Verizon deal. Buy a phone, get a free tablet. I told her not to get the tablet, but she didnt listen.

[+DKAngel Subscriber²]

Apparently according Wallstreet anaylst this is all noise and are the result of better component yields. The iphone 5 is still selling like hotcakes. Iphone 5 compared to anything on the market is still pretty good. I tried the S3 and was shocked how ****ty the camera is compared to both the Lumia 920 and the iphone 5.

rofl, yet im rather impressed on the camera and i reckon the iphones camera is a piece of ****