Apple reportedly planning two larger iPhones for 2014 The iPhone may be getting bigger again. According to The Wall Street Journal, Apple is developing a pair of new iPhones with larger displays, one over 4.5 inches diagonally and one over 5 inches diagonally, and plans to release them this year. Reports that Apple is planning a larger iPhone have persisted for some time now, with the Journal itself reporting several times in 2013 that such devices were in the works. http://www.theverge.com/2014/1/23/5338288/apple-planning-two-larger-iphones-2014
Why do you hate it? I have one and while I might not like everything about it I far from hate it, it's a great phone overall. Do you just hate smartphones in general? Seems if you hate the Iphone 5, it would be hard to imagine that you find one of it's competitors so good you actually love it since in the end they are not all that different.
If they make bigger devices I certainly hope they make them more about form and function than aesthetics. From the dawn of the iPhone 4 until now they've cared more about how the phone looks, than how it can function under daily usage for two years. Let's design a phone out of glass and only put a protective material around the edges? Due to their poor design they easily flex under load, and aren't rigid enough. If they make larger phones, they'll have to address the rigidness (or lack there off), as flexing is the primary reason for screen shatters on larger devices. Apple makes great looking devices, but for them to keep up with Samsung they are going to have to "Think Different" than they have the past 4 years. The iPhone 4 came out in June 2010 - so they need some serious innovation to stay relevant.
While I agree that Apple has failed to innovate for years now, I find it amusing when people say that the company will lose relevance if they continue on this path. Year after year, Apple sells ungodly amounts of products to people that are tied into their ecosystem and appreciate the ease of use. There will always be a market for people that want an experience that just works. The iPhone will continue to be relevant as long as they keep marginally improving on an already solid foundation.
Their market share is decreasing every quarter in the mobile space. They are being crushed by the likes of Samsung. IDC and Gartner are both predicting that it will continue to slide and it could very well slip under 10% in the next 18 months. In 2012 iOS devices had 16.6%, and in 2013 it fell to 13.2%. They shipped more units from 2012-2013 (as the US smartphone market grew), but they didn't keep pace with market share growth. Only Android and Windows Phone grew in market share. Apple still dominates the tablet market, and that is the only reason investors aren't panicking.
groundbreaking. anyhow it's funny that apple's going this route while android enthusiasts are clamoring for a spec'ed-out phone with a smaller screen well below 5". moto x made noise last year and the sony z1 compact at this year's ces. bigger isn't always better.
Market share is misleading, though, because the market is growing so fast and Apple doesn't really compete in a huge chunk of it. Samsung and other companies have basically 100% market share in the fast-growing low-end smartphone segment. But Apple isn't really making an effort to compete in that arena except by repackaging their old phones. I'd really be more curious how their market share is doing in the high-end segment (Iphone 5/5s, Galaxy S4, etc).
I think the 5C was a clear indication that they are trying the low-end market. How is market share misleading? Nearly half of America is still on dumb and feature phones, so if they don't keep pace with new adoption - they are going to be irrelevant in a few years. If they aren't going to gain market share, they need to at least keep it.
I've never owned an Iphone, but I think it is the perfect size. Not everyone is reading books or watching movies on their phones all day long. Some of these Android phones are almost on a comical circus like tablet size these days.
Your premise is flawed. You are essentially comparing the sales of one or two devices to the sales of hundreds of other devices. You need to look at it one for one. The fact that Apple dominated the smartphone market share so heavily in the past was quite amazing, but it is simply unsustainable given the environment. You need to lower your expectations for Apple because they are simply unrealistic.
Market share is only relevant in the market you're competing in. "Smartphone" is too broad a market if Apple doesn't target the majority of those customers because they don't care about that market segment. It's sort of similar to the Mac - Apple is selective about the type of customer they target. They aren't really interested in the "commodity" version of the market. Whether that's the right or wrong strategy, I have no idea, but I think they are more interested in maintaining a certain image than just dominating all segments of the market. The 5C is odd because it's not priced competitively in the lower-end segment. It seems more targeted towards the midrange segment that likes colorful phones (teens, etc) rather than the low-end market. For example, no matter how well they do, Tesla will lose market share over time in the electric car market - not because people don't like their products, but because there will be far more low-end electric cars. It's just a different market segment and target audience than what Tesla is competing in. As an example, Samsung just released earnings: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-...isses-estimates-as-new-iphones-win-share.html The S4 is the primary competitor to the iPhone in the high-end market. Samsung shipped 9 million of them vs 33 million iPhones in their most recent quarters. (to be fair, IPhone came out in the last Q; not sure when S4 came out). There's also this: http://www.forbes.com/sites/tonybra...s-market-share-but-apple-makes-all-the-money/ The competition price-competes so much that they don't generate much profit. Apple seems content to maintain their core customer base and generate much higher profits - seems similar to their Mac strategy, but this time they had a headstart on the market.
This is a good article talking about the different philosophies and target markets: http://appleinsider.com/articles/13...rtphone-share-are-junk-phones-selling-for-215 (apparently it's on a site called Apple Insider, so presumably, it's kind of biased)
It isn't a flawed premise and I'm not comparing device for devices. I'm comparing ecosystems. Android market share vs. iOS market share. iOS is losing ground each end every quarter since mid 2011 while Android skyrockets higher. If Apple is going to stay relevant in the mobile game, they have to put a cork in the sinking ship. Wrong. Apple has been selling low-end smart phones for years. They sell their "old" models for years and years to compete with the entry level smartphone market, and now they've come out with the 5C to compete with entry level phones. They don't retire a model until it is at least about two years old. Right now you can go to Apple.com and buy a 5S, a 5C and a 4S (for free). Short of pre-paid phones, they have a phone at every price point in the market. The iPhone 4S came out in October of 2011, and it is still on sale.
I have both Apple and Android. I don't really care. What I do care about is laughing at the Apple fanboys who claim they innovate and everyone steals from them. This is just absolutely hilarious to me.
