10 years later, the iPhone has to take a leap – Hipertextual

The first quarter decline in revenue in Apple thirteen years, came from the hand of a lower sales of iPhone, its biggest market. Special marked was the decrease in China, the market had boosted the figures for the iPhone the past two years.

The expectations of Apple for the current quarter are also bad at a comparative level, and could confirm a trend cycle change on the iPhone. That only it can be confirmed later this year after the start of the new model. Apple has demonstrated year after year this decade the ability to keep away omens of bearing, since 2007, saying that the iPhone is going away to hell.

Analyzing the path

Highlighting is changing trend that accounted iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus .

on the one hand we see some saturation of the Chinese smartphone market, will continue to grow but will add in a couple of years the state of the Korean market, Japanese, European and North American where most the company already has a smartphone. Apple still claims that have good numbers of people coming from Android, but it really turn Android users is the only major world fishing grounds that remains.

the iPhone 6 and his brother 6 Plus came to change the trend, the 6s and 6s Plus have not been able to keep

In this sense, the most negative element is ironically: smartphones every day are better. And we use them for longer. Sickness tablets comes to smartphones. The iPhone is iPadiza in a sense . Apple has already countermeasures for some time, with the introduction of leasing programs iPhones to arrive where subsidies for operators not arrive.

The annual growth rate of the iPhone was reaching worrying levels, but iPhone 6 and 6 Plus his brother came to change the trend. A trend that the 6s and 6s Plus have failed to maintain. There was a very large hidden demand for that once covered large iPhone, you do not need a new model in two to three years on average.

The pretty girl iPhone remains its profit margin. Extremely high compared with other segments of Apple, and ridiculous compared to its rivals in the market. Apple routinely carries most of the benefits of all global smartphones market. In a hungry market, Apple is a fat and rotund king.

What to do

Apple assess multiple ways to solve this trend. Traditionally a company long-term advantage to buy their shares on the open market when he sees them at a low price due to shortsighted shareholders, it may take several quarters, or years, to see it clearly. Here are several possibilities, some are incompatible with others.

• a) An iPhone much more expensive and differential. Apple faces a classic question: reduce margins to increase the quota? Apple’s answer may be totally opposed to the logical: increase the price of the iPhone in saturated markets such as the professional upper middle class in developed countries and China. Despite recent raids in this market Samsung remains the preserve of Apple.

  If you can not sell more iPhones, at least sell them more margin. The figures are a large window in this regard. And no competition. We are not talking about fancy devices, or make a gold iPhone. It is adding components outside the market and the scope of other manufacturers more costly the final product well above $ 1,000.

• b ) Expand the range down in price. Apple could choose to keep a juicy fee in the range of “good enough” smartphones with the iPhone SE. Even more so if it is able to incorporate it forward in a cohesive end with a marketing strategy behind.

  Convert the iPhone in a range with different prices and capabilities, with particular emphasis on creating one of lower rank. Even it is more aggressive than with the iPhone, to arrive at mid-range prices in Europe, Africa, China, Latam and India, where Apple has the worst performance and smartphones have more growth.

• c) Software desktop for the iPhone. we do not mean to run OS X, but that can connect to a monitor and keyboard and run applications with greater capabilities and functionality. Android N and Windows 10 are at that point, maybe next version of iOS is able to do well.

  This point could be compatible with the “expensive iPhone” the first point. Limit this ability to a specific model of the iPhone would move much of customers up in price is concerned. Remove the Border that separates iPads and iPhones could be interesting if raised well.

• d) Tying users with services. No services would define as a weak point of Apple, but not strong. Last quarter became the second largest source of income, and the nature of them makes them more prone to extensive profit margins. iCloud, Apple Pay, Apple Music, iTunes in general, particularly the App Store, and more to come, can be pillars. The Apple Watch may be key to its success.

Options as a second brand you are dismissed before even being raised. Companies like Huawei Honor are able to grow playing a dual strategy. As do companies connected through multiple investors in China that act as “alternative brands” de facto, such as: Vivo, Oppo and OnePlus. Is also eliminated a “phase iPod” for the iPhone, because it is unclear what will be replacing the iPhone and is several orders of magnitude higher sales and income. If only all the world’s problems were like those Apple has with the iPhone. Blessed puzzle.