back to article Ouch, Apple! Plenty of iPhones stuck in tech channel. How many? That's a 'wild card'

Never mind the car crash financials that Apple is expected to file tonight, an estimated glut of iPhones taking up warehouse space in the tech channel could point to worse things to come this year. This is the damning analysis delivered by Wall Street analyst Bernstein ahead of Apple reporting financials for Q1 of its fiscal ' …

  1. EuKiwi

    What a surprise...

    ... who would have thought that sales might suffer if you're selling phones for the price of a good-spec laptop?

    Here in Germany the XS Max top capacity model is 1650 Euro... I mean, come on, people complained about the Samsung Note 9 which can be had for 900 at the same capacity. And, for the record, the Note 9 IS overpriced, so what do we call the price of the XS Max?

    1. Charlie Clark Silver badge

      Re: What a surprise...

      Here in Germany the XS Max top capacity model is 1650 Euro...

      Hence the continuing campaigns by Deutsche Telekom et al. to try and shift the shit. There's too much inventory in the channel and too many similar models (SE, 8, 8+, X, XR, XS).

      Apple has at least prepared well for this by preferring to talk about margins rather than units. They also usually cull product lines swiftly and silently (SE, 8, X(S) is probably all they need for segmentation). But they also desperately need something new for the fanbois to gush about.

    2. K

      Re: What a surprise...

      Its easy, Apple and Samsung no longer see you as a customer, instead you are now a cash-cow.

      Santa brought my wife an Honor 8X and son a Xioami a2 Lite, in total the cost was less that £350 (taking advantage of the sales)... When the OnePlus 7 launches, I'll bag myself one of them, I'm guessing a price of £550. For close to the price of a Samsung Note 9 or iPhone XS, I'll manage to get new phones for my whole family.

      Finally, consider me a conspiracy nutcase, but I see this as the real reason behind the West's recent anti-Huawei actions.. Manufacturers are used to fat margins and won't compete, politicians are scared their donors will stop, so they start fear-monger and applying political pressure.

      1. EuKiwi

        Re: What a surprise...

        Totally agree with the Xiaomi A2 Lite - bought one for my Dad and it's utterly brilliant for the price - cost me 160 Euro.

      2. Charlie Clark Silver badge

        Re: What a surprise...

        Finally, consider me a conspiracy nutcase, but I see this as the real reason behind the West's recent anti-Huawei actions

        You're a nutcase: the manufacturing of consumer electronics moved to China years ago. The Huawei stuff is partly about companies like Cisco, partly a stick with which to beat China in the US-China trade negotiations, and partly about which agencies get to stick backdoors in network equipment. But the US is being so cack-handed about negotiations, using the threat of CPU supplies as a bargaining chip*, that it can't really win this one. Huawei also isn't necessarily the best company to go after as it's not directly controlled by the communist party and is, therefore, perhaps more open to negotiations.

        *At the moment China can't do without US designed chips in some equipment. But it has been working on its own CPU design skills for the last few years and while, if it was forced to drop Intel and nVidia, this would be disruptive I suspect this would only be for a while.

        1. jmch Silver badge

          Re: What a surprise...

          "You're a nutcase: the manufacturing of consumer electronics moved to China years ago"

          So? Apple is manufactured in China but most of the profits go to Apple (I would say in the US but they stash most of their cash offshore - in any case it's US-owned even though not stashed in US). Huawei is manufactured in China and most of the profits go back to China.

          1. Charlie Clark Silver badge

            Re: What a surprise...

            So? Apple is manufactured in China but most of the profits go to Apple

            The same is true for… and the list is long of companies that "did the deal with the devil" when they offshored production. The manufacturing isn't coming back (to US citizens), but Foxconn got a great deal in Wisconsin for assembling stuff there! Tax rebate and hotline to the courts!

            Listed companies rarely feel much loyalty to any particular country, hence the persistent lobbying everywhere over tax. Apple sales have declined for the same reason that nearly every other company's have: market mautration and saturation: people around the world are not replacing their expensive phones with even more expensive ones as often. In the American handset market Huawei is essentially displacing other non-US brands and is, thus, not so interesting. It's the "5G" and network equipment market that has got feathers so ruffled.

            1. Anonymous Coward
              Anonymous Coward

              Foxconn's Wisconsin plant will make LCDs

              It isn't going to have anything to do with iPhones, they just implied it would to fool Wisconsin's governor into making a terrible deal - not even tax rebates but up front cash payments. The state of Wisconsin will lose most of it, since the plant won't employ anywhere near as many as were claimed and is 20 miles from the Illinois border so some workers won't even pay taxes in Wisconsin!

            2. Anonymous Coward
              Anonymous Coward

              Re: What a surprise...

              "In the American handset market Huawei is essentially displacing other non-US brands and is, thus, not so interesting."

              If this was 1970, I'd have you confused with a trader describing Walmart.

        2. K

          Re: What a surprise...

          You misunderstood - My definition of manufacturers is Samsung, Apple, Cisco and other companies that traditionally dominate western markets are being challenged, and rather than competing, they're going behind closed doors and crying (also threatening) politicians.

    3. Anonymous Coward
      FAIL

      Channel Stuffing - Nothing new

      Microsoft are masters of it.

      Remember Kinect? They made millions of the things, and sold a few thousand real ones. The others ended up on a slow boat from China (Flex Doumen to be precise)..

      Still, it didn't stop the idiot press falling for the rouse.

      https://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/03/10/kinect_ten_million_sales/

      Microsoft did the exact same stunt for Windows Lumia phones for years, and the same idiot press fell for the same stunt.

  2. Korev Silver badge

    For those with short memories, Apple experienced challenging channel inventory dynamics last year after releasing higher margin handsets, the iPhone X.

    That means they're asking for too much; why not write in English?

  3. Khaptain Silver badge

    Apple boredom

    Maybe it's also because smartphones have no glitter left in them. We've seen the same ole crap for the last 3 years, nothing evolutionary nor truly exciting.

    Not just Apple but smartphones in general.. Although Apple win for having done nothing more than "rebrand" the same phone slightly longer than the others.

    Steve Jobs at least made sur that there was some evolution, whereas the current numpties seem to have lost all creativity or sense of adventure.

    1. chivo243 Silver badge
      Facepalm

      Re: Apple boredom

      @Khaptain

      Yes, that sums it up particularly well.

      What other usable\useful doddad can be added to a phone? Folding? Please... no. Better battery life, yes please. Less data slurping, yes please. Better screening of apps and their function, yes please.

      1. Wade Burchette

        Re: Apple boredom

        "What other usable\useful doddad can be added to a phone?"

        I, for one, like to make sure phones have this feature where you can connect a set of headphones into. This adapter can be small and unobtrusive, say 3.5mm. Another feature I would love for phones to have is a battery that anybody can remove. This way I can carry around an extra battery or two for occasions where I know I will not be able to charge for long periods of time.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Apple boredom

          soldered battery does make the phone slightly more reliable, maybe - but it does mean that the pesky users can't ever really turn their personal tracking devices completely and utterly OFF. There is malware that simulates an "off" phone.

          as if apples' wonderful hardware & software (group Facetime) might accidentally leak personal stuff, on world privacy day?

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: Apple boredom

            soldered battery does make the phone slightly more reliable, maybe

            It may indeed, but I'm aware of few that are. Most phones and tablets use push fit connectors with a flimsy plastic clamp terminal. The problem is that dismantling the device is (for some makes) a considerable challenge.

      2. jmch Silver badge
        Happy

        Re: Apple boredom

        "Folding? Please... no... "

        Actually folding is about the only really useful feature I have seen in the new phone generations

        a) I really don't like / understand why phones have gotten slimmer and slimmer to the point where they become uncomfortable to hold.

        b) I'm caught between wanting a smaller phone that fits more comfortably in my pocket vs having a bigger screen.

        c) I really don't like the extreme elongation in form factor to practically 2:1. I prefer a 'squarer' aspect ratio.

        With a folding phone I could get a device that is more 'chunky' in hand when folded, which can still fit in my pocket while having a bigger screen, and can use the 'A' paper sizes trick of keeping the same aspect ration when folded, for example something like A6 or a bit bigger when open and A7 or a bit bigger when folded.

        Of course based on early versions they are also stupid expensive and I wouldn't go for the 1st generation anyway until they iron out any problems with folding

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Apple boredom

          It's one of the reasons I liked the Motorola V3i despite its horrific UI and a keyboard that only became usable when someone came up with the idea to do one in matte so you could look at it when the sun was shining.

          It folded very well, it had an absolutely perfect shape (even shirt pocket compatible) and balance and it was very good at picking up signal (well, it was a Motorola). Also, you could replace the battery and SIM very easily, and it had a microSD for storage.

          If someone could make a smartphone in those exact same dimensions (so with some better brains and screen but with the same removable battery and good reception) I would definitely be interested. THAT would be innovation. Even better if it was capable of reading a SIM and converting it into an eSIM, and do that twice.

          Never gonna happen, but that would for me be an almost instant sell if it came at a sensible price.

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: Apple boredom

            one of the reasons I liked the Motorola V3i ....If someone could make a smartphone in those exact same dimensions .... I would definitely be interested. THAT would be innovation. ....Never gonna happen, but that would for me be an almost instant sell if it came at a sensible price.

            Ahhh well, if you were following the sector news, you'd know it is certainly going to happen, and soon. Apart from that bit about "sensible price". And if the reports are to be believed, it will be a low volume loss leader purely to milk the brand of the original Moto V3.

          2. hoola Silver badge

            Re: Apple boredom

            The V3 range was also pretty much indestructible and well designed. Metal frame, big buttons, angled shape that put the mic near your mouth and speaker near your ear. Battery life was good as well.

        2. IceC0ld
          Joke

          Re: Apple boredom

          until they iron out any problems with folding

          ====

          the i-Rony is strong with this one :oP

          1. Fred Flintstone Gold badge

            Re: Apple boredom

            Groan. I think that one counts officially as worst joke of this month.

            Well done, more please.

            :)

            1. Korev Silver badge
              Coat

              Re: Apple boredom

              What? I'm board of the iron puns already...

      3. Anonymous Coward
        Joke

        folding

        I've got the game box folding in order to heat my bedroom without being utterly wasteful about the most useful form of energy we have. Something tells me the phone could be made to do it but the battery won't like it...

      4. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Apple boredom

        What other usable\useful doddad can be added to a phone?

        Perhaps I'm old school but how about letting you plug your phone into a windows computer and then put music onto it by just dragging and dropping it. Like you can with Android.

        While your there how about being able to see all of the files saved on your phone in windows?

        I'd happily forego apps that I don't use like Facetime and iMessage as none of my family has an iPhone, so their existence is an irrelevance to me.

      5. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: What other usable\useful doddad can be added to a phone?

        Is there a particular reason why an HDMI output cannot be added to a phone? My first tablet had one, and it worked far better and more sensibly than any of this WiFi-dependent "screen mirroring" junk ever seems to these days.

        Presumably the "media rights owners" wouldn't approve and therefore it's not permissible?

        OK, disguise the thing as a 21st century headphone socket then... it's presumably not beyond the wit of man to convert (just) the audio from an HDMI output to something to feed a 3.5mm connector for actual real headphones (who needs the TV in the middle :)), and microHDMI is a sufficiently small connector that even Apple scruffs wouldn't be able to object, surely?

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4OohhGjat0

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Apple boredom

      There's new features but it just depends how important they are for you.

      For instance the Huawei showed off triple cameras allowing (sort of) lossless zoom from wide angle to 5x with a 40mp sensor max and PDAF.

      It also has an under-screen fingerprint sensor, reverse wireless charging.

      It also combines that with all the other useful stuff - IR blaster, waterproof, dual Sim, storage card slot, 3d IR face recognition, Bluetooth 5,NFC, Wireless Charging,

      If only it had a headphone socket and didn't have such a big notch.

    3. Tim Almond

      Re: Apple boredom

      "Steve Jobs at least made sur that there was some evolution, whereas the current numpties seem to have lost all creativity or sense of adventure."

      To be fair, products hit a point where it's hard to develop them.

      I remember cars from the 1970s to the 1990s getting new innovations almost every year - rear wipers, electric windows, central locking, turbochargers, fuel injection, automatic choke, servo brakes, ABS, tape players, reclining seats, heated seats, airbags, crumple zones. The BBC used to televise the motor show every year because there was a lot of innovation and Top Gear was mostly about car reviews. What's different between a mid-range Renault of 2001 and a mid-range Renault of 2019? A little more MPG? Slightly better aircon? A USB socket?

      1. N2

        Re: Apple boredom

        "What's different between a mid-range Renault of 2001 and a mid-range Renault of 2019? A little more MPG?"

        Less MPG and they don't last as long.

        1. Wellyboot Silver badge

          Re: Apple boredom

          You can't identify it as a French car just by going for a ride now.

          French cars used to lean like a drunken sailor when cornering. (perhaps just a little earlier than 2001)

      2. G.Y.

        Re: Apple boredom

        Backup video

      3. G.Y.

        Re: Apple boredom

        Backup video camera

      4. hodma727

        Re: Apple boredom

        There are still plenty of new car technologies creeping in. We got rid of our 2017 Jeep Cherokee, and our replacement this week has:

        Both seats electric (old one only drivers side was)

        Heated AND vented seats (wife no longer has to complain that I put on a blast of aircon when we get into the car, and I no longer have to feel like I'll be sweaty otherwise)

        Automatic dimming of the mirrors when bright lights (eg., highbeam) shine on us from behind

        Cruise control that actually works - eg., set the speed and it sticks to it, both up and down hill, unlike the old model that sped up past the limit you set on downward slopes

        Adaptive cruise control - can also set the distance to keep from the car in front and the car automatically speeds up and slows down (to a stop) as necessary

        Automatic parking

        Automatic dimming of high beam when there is a car coming towards you

        Lane control - automatically steer you back into the lane if you drift (could be improved on)

        Crash alert - warns you if you are looking like you are about to hit a car in front

        Much better detection of objects around the car when moving at slow speed

        A boot that opens and closes through a simple foot gesture

        Warning on the mirrors (orange triangle) that lights up when there is something in your blind spot, to warn you to be careful if you want to change lane (eg., car creeping up from either side)

        Probably quite a few less obvious others - the engine seems a lot more responsive, stereo has improved, etc etc.

        Next lot of big changes will be around self driving and electric driving distance. Pure electric range for local conditions is not quite there yet (needs to be at least 500km on open highway before we bite).

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Apple boredom

          > Cruise control that actually works - eg., set the speed and it sticks to it, both up and down hill

          That might be new for Jeep but my 2004 model car maintains cruise down hills just fine.

        2. NBCanuck

          Re: Apple boredom

          With the exception of the passenger electric seat adjustment and the foot triggered hatch, all of the features you listed above are on my 2016 Cherokee. So you may not have had them on your 2017 but they were available.

      5. AndrueC Silver badge
        Meh

        Re: Apple boredom

        And digital watches in the late 70s. Seems like it's normal product lifetime. From new, to innovative to meh. I'm quite impressed that Casio have managed to maintain interest in their products, G-Shock is probably mostly responsible for that. Someone had the right idea there. I've got two G-Shocks and the second was bought just because I fancied a change. It's rare for me to fall victim to that kind of consumerism.

        The only other thing I buy for no good reason is new golf clubs :)

    4. Cuddles

      Re: Apple boredom

      "We've seen the same ole crap for the last 3 years"

      The first smartphone I had was an HTC Hero, released in 2009. It had a capacitive multitouch screen, camera, 3G data connection, wifi, bluetooth, GPS, accelerometer, compass, USB, headphone socket, SD card, removable battery. It could even make phonecalls if you really wanted. Compared to a brand new £1000+ flagship phone today, the only things missing are NFC and possibly some level of waterproofing, but you may also note that at least a couple of significant things have gone missing as well.

      So no, we haven't seen the same ole crap for the last 3 years, we've seen the same crap pretty much since the first smartphones were sold. The only thing that's changed is that the incremental improvements to the various parts have reached the point where even the most bling obsessed no longer see the benefit of regular upgrades; most of us were at that point a lot more than 3 years ago.

    5. Marty McFly Silver badge
      Megaphone

      Re: Apple boredom

      Wrong.

      Faster processors. More RAM. Higher resolution. That is all 'evolution' of the product. Steve Jobs was about 'revolution'.

      That is the current problem with the iPhone. It continues to evolve, but the innovation of revolution has been lost. Killing the headphone jack and forcing expensive wireless headphones is not a revolution. Nor is a creepy always-on camera for facial recognition.

    6. Chronos
      Devil

      Re: Apple boredom

      Indeed. They had a pair of them chained to a table in Tesco on Friday. Mrs Chronos, not being a techie, wandered over to have a prod.

      "Look at these!"

      "Yes, look at the price."

      "What do they do that mine [Moto G] doesn't?"

      "Lock you into Apple's ecosystem and make you part of the Apple clique."

      Unsurprisingly, we completed our shopping without further reference to Cupertino's finest. You will note I said Tesco. Not Waitrose or John Lewis, which would seem to be more their target demographic. It smacked a little of desperation. They'll be in the bargain bins at Lidl next...

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Apple boredom

        Cupertino's finest..... They'll be in the bargain bins at Lidl next...

        I doubt it, there's usually good stuff in the Lidl & Aldi bargain bins. You might not want much of it, but the price/performance/endurance is usually very good indeed.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Joke

          Re: Apple boredom

          I doubt it, there's usually good stuff in the Lidl & Aldi bargain bins. You might not want need much of it, but the price/performance/endurance want factor is usually very good indeed.

          FTFY.

          1. Ivan Headache

            Re: Apple boredom

            So True.

            A friend of mine [in his 80s) bought a chain saw and a horse blanket in Lidl.

            He hasn't got a horse - nor any trees too cut down in his first floor apartment.

            Mind you, m the champagne he bought at the same time was super.

    7. N2

      Re: Apple boredom

      Stopping every man+dog tracking what you do with the 'effing thing might be a good start!

      Just been up to my tits in the filth that slups the interwebs, some of these sites make 'The Daily Mail' a well known snakes wedding of trackers and other slurp shyte, look like saints.

      </rant>

      Although FF Focus isnt bad

    8. sanmigueelbeer
      Happy

      Re: Apple boredom

      Steve Jobs at least made sure that there was some evolution, whereas the current numpties seem to have lost all NO creativity or sense of adventure.

      There, FTFY.

      What other usable\useful doddad can be added to a phone?

      But the new range will have THREE/FOUR/FIVE cameras. That's still falls under "creativity", right? </SARCASM>

  4. AMBxx Silver badge
    Windows

    It's all my fault

    I bought BlackBerry just before they stopped.

    Then I bought MS, we know how that ended up.

    I only had to moot the idea of switching from Android to Apple and this happened.

    1. Ragarath
      Coat

      Re: It's all my fault

      So you're the one that ruined it all! We had choice man, we had choice.

      1. EuKiwi

        Re: It's all my fault

        I wonder if he was watching the Netflix Marvel shows as well...

    2. AK565

      Re: It's all my fault

      Wait. What?

      I thought i was the one who killed Blackberry by buying one just before the end.

  5. jmch Silver badge
    Go

    Oh, to have such 'problems'...

    ... as a quarterly revenue of $32.6bn!!

    1. Shadow Systems

      Re: Oh, to have such 'problems'...

      Dear Lord, please let me try to prove being filthy, stinking, obscenely rich won't spoil me. Pretty please? Amen. =-D

    2. EuKiwi

      Re: Oh, to have such 'problems'...

      The problem isn't the income, it's the fact that Apple's shareholders are incredibly, incredibly spoiled and used to continuous record-breaking growth and profit etc... so if there is a hiccup like now, they all run around with their hands in the air and panic, and unjustifiably large amounts of value are wiped off the value of their stock in the market.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Oh, to have such 'problems'...

        ..Apple's shareholders are incredibly, incredibly spoiled and used to continuous record-breaking growth and profit etc...

        seems that analysts project profit growth ratios to infinity (without discount) to justify stratospheric share values, then non US investors follow the momentum. When reality bites the share values drop and the next tranche of US & overseas investors do exactly the same.

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Oh, to have such 'problems'...

        I don't think unjustifiably large amounts of money (not value) were wiped off their stock; I think the investors are finally facing reality, which is that a very highly rated company has increasingly become about nothing but IP, and the new IP is not being created at the rate that would justify the share price.

        To be fair, Clive Sinclair may have invented the virtual company but as usual it didn't really make lots of money till it crossed the pond.

        The problem with Huawei, the reason they are currently the subjects of the Two Minute Hate, is that they can't be threatened as were ZTE because the Kirin processors are their own design and they can make their products more or less entirely in Greater China (including Taiwan). They can be barred from the US and its client states, but not from the rest of the world. Hence the clumsy US tactic of "we can have you arrested whenever you leave China".

        Meanwhile Apple is effectively held hostage - how far is China prepared to go? China has more to lose from a new Cold/trade war, but the US public and business is likely to shout much louder if they start to notice they are losing anything.

      3. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Oh, to have such 'problems'...

        "Apple's shareholders are incredibly, incredibly spoiled and used to continuous record-breaking growth and profit etc... "

        And in recent years this has been largely paid for by Apple borrowing money on the bond market, rather than bringing their offshore subsidiaries dosh back into mainland USA (something about a wall, maybe?).

        "unjustifiably large amounts of value are wiped off the value of their stock in the market."

        Apple's stock market value is already unjustifiably large. Not just Apple but we're here to talk about Apple and they are a particularly pertinent example because...

        [This from a reputable pink source in 2017, other similar reports elsewhere]

        "Apple has been among the most prolific issuers of debt this year, trailing only AT&T among corporate sellers of bonds. At $7bn, the sale lifted the Cupertino, California-based company’s full-year debt haul to more than $35bn, Dealogic data show.

        The company said it planned to use its latest borrowings for general corporate purposes, including share repurchases and dividends. Apple has amassed more than $110bn in debt since 2013 to fund returns to shareholders. More than 90 per cent of the group’s cash is held overseas, and would be subject to US taxes if the company repatriated those holdings to pay a dividend or buy back stock"

        Some of this (quite a lot of this?) borrowing starts to be repayable in 2020.

        Time for the faithful to start circulating the collection plates, maybe.

  6. Richard 31
    Paris Hilton

    I would assume that Apple don't really care, and that part of the strategy has been just to see just how high they can set prices before profits are hit. I am quite sure it can stand the "hit" of not making as many billions of profit on this set of phones, and just set them more sensibly next time.

  7. Kenny Millar

    OS Slow downs on the way then

    So in order to drive sales, Apple's iOS updates will inevitably include:

    if(getIphoneAge() > MONTHS_12)

    {

    if(rand()%2==0)

    {

    crash_any_app();

    }

    else

    {

    crash_entire_phone();

    }

    }

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: OS Slow downs on the way then

      Maybe.

      Three weeks ago I put my four year old iPhone 6 to rest, replacing it with an XR. Anecdotal, sure, but I'm pretty pleased with iPhone longevity. YMMV

      1. cambsukguy

        Re: OS Slow downs on the way then

        Still using my 5 year old non-Apple phone, because it still gets updated and still works well.

        I think 4-5 years is not too much to ask really, I have yet to lose a phone to breakage despite never having a case for any of them.

        I prefer to self-insure, get the benefit of a sleek caseless design and simply buy a phone and look after it well until breakage seems less of a problem.

        1. AK565

          Re: OS Slow downs on the way then

          What non-Apple phone do you have that's still being updated at 5 years old?

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Apple are screwed in China

    From what several Chinese in-laws told me, Apple did a negative ad campaign against Huawai that got everyones back up, and so many people started boycotting Apple and pressuring friends still using Apple to swap.

    Huawei got in on the act by giving all their retail employees and many employees of China Mobile and China Unicom free mid-range to high-end Huawei phones.

    Add the stupid pricing, the lack of innovation and the sales ban through November/December, and I doubt Apple sold ANYTHING. From the very few I saw during my stay there, I doubt they have a 2% market share left, even counting the old iP6/7/8 models that I saw being used as music players in various taxis.

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Overpriced.

    I bought an XS.

    I really like it.

    Sorry.

    ( In mitigation, my daughter also really likes my (ex) iPhone 6s )

  10. -tim
    Facepalm

    Another factor

    We aren't buying any more mac-minis for our secure areas since the new ones have no removable storage so we can't get them repaired since we have to keep any data in house even if encrypted. The result is no more macs in our secure areas, which resulted in no more macs for management of those areas which resulted in a decision not to support both PCs and macs. No more macs for management means no more mac laptops for any of their underlings which means the iPhone unified experience isn't anymore. I'm sure I don't work for the only company where this has happened.

    Oddly enough, there is a connector pad with access to PCIe channels on the new mac-mini, they just didn't bother putting the connector on the circuit board.

  11. Terafirma-NZ

    Environmental policy

    Anyone else find it so amusing that along with all the other corporate talk they shout about how they are pushing to be a green company and protect the environment then complain in financial results that people are not filling landfills with enough iPhones and buying new ones. Maybe start selling iPhone/Mac parts as a new business.

    Yes I know they can be mostly recycled but honestly who believes that is actually happening.

    How many years do we have left of natural resources to remain on this path?

  12. Winkypop Silver badge
    Devil

    Apple

    Huawei too expensive!

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