Maybe truth in there, but we have been rather over-corrected, I would, say now with the slide continuing…
This seems as much art as science to me
One of the biggest overlooked factors is cases.
Phones are so fragile and expensive to repair at this form factor that you’d be brave to use it without a case
Because everything is wrapped in a case it’s quite hard to tell the difference between an iPhone X and a normal iPhone. Or even the difference between a 7 and an 8.
The social driver of not having the latest phone has been greatly diminished.
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I was brought up on Macs and then a series of three iPhones, but have become thourghly disillusioned with Apple.
With each iteration their hardware becomes more expensive (in real as well as absolute terns), less repairable, and - especially with the laptops - just worse.
And that’s leaving out their tax avoidance, collaboration with state survalence programs, abuse of copyright and patent law, and designing devices to have short life spans.
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I think Apple have done this to themselves (let’s remember they were the first public company to hit a $1 trillion market value).
Back when Steve Jobs was at the helm the majority of upgrades to the iterations of iPhones were massive - 3G to 4G - the speeds - the functionality. Now realistically there isn’t that much more that is being packed into these phones year on year to warrant dropping £1,000. I hold onto my iPhone for two years on my tariff and then upgrade (upgrading to the X last year only cost me £150 upfront).
Next are the iPads - once a neat device to sit in the living room with but with the advance of Tablets that can double as Laptops Apple have tried to muscle in where the Surface Pro was holding its own. But realistically when you are selling MacBooks, MacBook Pros, and now the newly upgraded MacBook Air - why would someone pay for an iPad when they likely have an already massive phone and/or a laptop - just doesn’t make sense to be completely in the Apple ecosystem like it used to be.
The laptops are also overpriced - good machines undoubtedly but overpriced. I just recently bought the bog standard MacBook Pro but that was because I like the build quality and assurance that it will continue to work and wont get ‘bloatware’. My previous MacBook Pro lasted me 5/6 years.
Finally the elephant in the room is its competition - interestingly Apple are blaming China - Huawei have made massive strides in taking Apple’s build quality but reducing prices to a more “consumer friendly” market. Apple seem to be targeting the high-end market rather than “Apple Products For All” like it used to be a few years ago and this change in target demographic has hit, I think they will be fine though.
Out of interest, what are you basing this opinion on. I know this isn’t an Android vs. Apple thread, but you’re not the first to state this.
I’ve a nearly 2 year old “flagship” Android phone that’s going very strong in terms of battery (lasts over 24 hours) and isn’t slowing down, so don’t intend to replace it any time soon.
Smartphones are a funny thing. You could argue that if iPhones are indeed better made and last longer, then the consumer base won’t upgrade as often out of necessity but out of want. Whereas Android are cheaper, so consumers more readily pay for a new phone as the outlay each upgrade is less overall?
I don’t know the answer, just thinking out loud!
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To be honest, I think you’ve hit the nail on the head here (and I’m an Apple user). You see lines and lines of people for the new product launches when they are standing their with 6-12 month devices in their hands - irrespective of if that is a new Laptop/ Watch/ Phone etc. I can’t speak for Android users on their upgrade habits but I think the want of the new device 100% for the most part outweighs the need to upgrade.
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I stated this earlier.
Without doing the research (so I’m half expected to be shown up here), I said it because…
• Average length of support offered to Android phones is less
• Fragmentation of support with new OS’s (applies to new and old phones).
I could possibly hash together some other reasons, but those two are the ones that stand out to me.
Agree - If I was an Android user, I’d have little problem dropping £5/600 quid per year on the latest and greatest.
The same can’t be said for the latest iPhones (in my opinion anyway). I’ll only upgrade when there is a killer feature that comes along.
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There is something to this. I had a friend switch from Android, to the ill fated Windows Phone and now to iPhone.
He said whilst he liked his android phone he felt that Phone’s weren’t supported long enough unless you had a Google made/endorsed by google phone (the nexus being the first example of this).
He liked the Windows OS, but no one else did/supported it…
He’s currently on an iPhone and whilst he likes it… cost is the only thing that he doesn’t like.
It’s funny to me seeing what some friends describe as a killer feature to jusify an upgrade! Apple are amazing at marketing something as so “new” and “fresh” that the only option is to upgrade.
Also, a friend of mine has recently started working in an Apple store. She’s not the most outgoing person, but working there has really made a difference to her confidence - she truly sees her colleagues as her extended family and appreciates how well she’s looked after by the company.
I think this is due to change. Didn’t Google announce that the underlying OS will be on a different partition to the skinning that manufacturers put on the phones so Google can push updates to the OS onto handsets independently from the phone manufacturer?
This has been an annoyance of mine - LG took over a year to release Oreo on the G6, their “flagship” phone.
Edit: I’ll stop going off topic! haha
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Ha, this is every single Apple fan on release day - If it weren’t for the increased costs across the board, I’m sure you’d see even more people justifying the smallest things so they can upgrade!
I now see people swinging the other way - They’ll knock the new updates because they don’t want to spend the huge costs on upgrading - And convincing yourself is the first battle! 
This isn’t even older phones - Brand new flagship Android phones still can’t get the latest Google OS which has been out for months.
Bonkers.
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And oftentimes, it’s not even something new to the market now, just new to Apple … 
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I don’t mind that so much - I’d rather it be done well, than rushed to market just to say they are the first.
Don’t get me wrong, there are still some things Android phones do better, and it can be a bit cringe when half of Apple’s keynote is centred around features which have indeed been out for a few years (I’m looking at you wireless charging)…
But generally, when Apple do it, the market changes.
Take wireless charging for example - Once Apple committed to QI standard - The competition was smoked.
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Apple also shoot themselves in the foot by being the “first” - remember the backlash from removing the headphone jack 
although I can understand why it sometimes feels like they try to push innovation by making consumers go cold turkey (I’m looking at you USB-C only MacBooks)
I think that this could also be what has affected Apple’s market share - they seem a bit wobbly on whether they innovate or perfect and that I think can lead to consumers waiting to see whether a product is worth the price tag.
Backlash - Yes (just like when they went to lightning, from 30 pin, or USB-C as you mentioned).
But innovators always face backlash - Then it becomes the norm (you are lucky to find a headphone jack on any phone these days).
Plus, wireless headphones are now much more common (shame Apple don’t ship them with the iPhone!)
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cough…
face recognition
cough…
No I completely agree that they should have done that - they just faced backlash which I feel is what is promoting this fall in stock.
They always do things that gets peoples backs up and then push through it - they’ll be fine its just a panic I think!
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I’m not sure this is accurate …
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This article is from the end of last year.
The first paragraph goes…
It’s notoriously difficult to find a smartphone with a headphone jack. Many manufacturers, from Apple to Google to Xiaomi, are omitting headphone jacks from their phones, instead opting for reversible ports like Lightning and USB-C
So depending how how literal you want to take my previous statement, I’d say it was pretty accurate personally 
According to this article, the following brands are all still supporting the headphone jack (at least as of August last year): Samsung, Motorola, LG, Nokia, Huawei (on all except the premium devices) and Sony (again on all except premium devices)
https://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/article/644451/state-headphone-jack-which-brands-still-support-it/
Of course, just like you can still buy a Sony beta max from somewhere.
But looking at flagships, latest phones and the general trend - It is very clearly away from headphone jacks.
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