iPhone 5S, 5C Announced

[Canuck_in_Japan]

Originally Posted by Penforhire

And on 5S versus 5C sales -- http://appleinsider.com/articles/13/...ekend---report

5S over 3x more popular. Not as definitive as the 9M total sales announced but still a strong effort at tracking the difference (through some app activations).

Well of course it is. You don't expect the enlightened to buy something with a *shudder* plastic back, do you?

[afv011]

Originally Posted by holymadness

See your devices list. Pick one. You overpaid for all of them.

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Not hardly

• Kindle 3 = free
• Kindle 4S = $49
• Fire HD 7 16GB = $128
• Nexus 7v2 32GB = $216
• Nexus 4 16GB = $249
• Clip Zip 8GB = $30
• iPod touch 4 8GB = $149

All excellent values for their intended uses.

Burn!

Awesome shopping around, tubemonkey.

[pl001]

Originally Posted by Canuck_in_Japan

Well of course it is. You don't expect the enlightened to buy something with a *shudder* plastic back, do you?

That would explain all the commercials for the 5c on TV this weekend. Didn't see a single 5s ad anywhere.

On a related note, how about that pink? I was recovering from a stomach bug at the time, so after that "liquid-splashing" ad I will now probably always associate the 5c with Pepto Bismol. Ick.

[Sil_liS]

Originally Posted by holymadness

Nope. It boils down to hugely increased demand each year, combined with the increasing technical complication of producing the devices, as well as the particular timing of the iPhone rush.

You've got it backwards (again). The shortage only lasts for a month because there is a massive initial rush of orders for iPhones that declines over time. There's no point investing in manufacturing infrastructure to meet a 2-4 week demand only to let it lie fallow for the rest of the year.

I'm not talking about investing in manufacturing infrastructure, I'm talking about timing the release. A month later the manufacturing lined up to the demand.

Originally Posted by holymadness

In other news...

Apple sets another opening day record for iPhone sales

Two things:
1) You do realize that the article is comparing a full week of sales this year to the opening weekend sales last year, right?
2) A ratio between the 5s and the 5c sales of 3.5 to 1 means that the 9 million devices were 7 million 5s and 2 million 5c, and I have no idea where they got their 7.65 million number from.

[holymadness]

Originally Posted by Sil_liS

I'm not talking about investing in manufacturing infrastructure, I'm talking about timing the release. A month later the manufacturing lined up to the demand.

Last I checked you were talking up the conspiracy theory of artificially constricting supply as a marketing ploy.

Two things:
1) You do realize that the article is comparing a full week of sales this year to the opening weekend sales last year, right?

Yup.

2) A ratio between the 5s and the 5c sales of 3.5 to 1 means that the 9 million devices were 7 million 5s and 2 million 5c, and I have no idea where they got their 7.65 million number from.

Yup.

[Sil_liS]

Originally Posted by holymadness

Last I checked you were talking up the conspiracy theory of artificially constricting supply as a marketing ploy.

You were calling it a conspiracy theory. It's just marketing.
With the current manufacturing process, if they would have released the new iPhones in October they would have had enough to satisfy the market for the demand on release.

[jbjb]

Originally Posted by Sil_liS

Two things:
1) You do realize that the article is comparing a full week of sales this year to the opening weekend sales last year, right?

Are you sure? From the article:

Apple sold a combined 9 million iPhone 5S and 5C smartphones over the handsets' first full weekend of sales — the most it's ever done.

(emphasis mine)

/JB

[tubemonkey]

Apple's iPhone 5S costs $199 to build, iPhone 5C goes for $173

Apple's 16GB iPhone 5S costs the company $199 to build, according to data provided to All Things Digital by IHS. The 64GB option costs Apple $218 to build. The cost analysis was completed by IHS during a device teardown that it'll publish details on tomorrow. The company claims that Apple pays $8 to assemble the units, leaving the remaining cost to parts.

In addition to tearing down the iPhone 5S, IHS reportedly examined the iPhone 5C and discovered that that device costs between $173 and $183 to produce. The assembly cost on that unit is $7.

~~~~~~~~~~

Still, Apple is generating some healthy margins on the devices. Apple sells its iPhone 5S for between $649 and $849. The iPhone 5C sets customers back $549 and $649 sans contract.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by afv011

Burn!

Awesome shopping around, tubemonkey.

bargainmonkey loves a good deal -- all devices were new-in-box

[holymadness]

Originally Posted by Sil_liS

You were calling it a conspiracy theory. It's just marketing.

Nope, I call it what it is. There is exactly zero evidence of Apple deliberately creating artificial shortages for marketing purposes. If you have any, produce it. There are also zero compelling reasons to believe they would do so. I always read this theory on the internet promoted by people who think they've caught on to some scheme, but it just sounds like a stupid idea a person would come up with in a comedy caper movie. Not being able to satisfy consumer demand is a much bigger hit to your stock price and reputation than any news report about pre-orders being sold out. This just doesn't happen. There is no traction in it.

With the current manufacturing process, if they would have released the new iPhones in October they would have had enough to satisfy the market for the demand on release.

Actually, you don't know anything about Apple's manufacturing process, so this is empty conjecture. The first thing to note is that not even Apple can perfectly gauge demand for its product, demonstrated by the fact they they revised their Q4 guidance upwards by up to $3 billion after the weekend. The second is that your proposal is antithetical to just-in-time production principles of in-process inventory management and would represent a huge business cost which would not be recouped by having more units available at launch. The third is that your proposed timing would interfere with Apple's plans to launch new iPads and Macs in October, not to mention the rest of their release schedule.

The real question is: why would Apple go to so much trouble to satisfy the Sil_liS' of the world, who have no intention of buying an iPhone anyway? This mentality of Internet Apple critics has always amused me. "I don't like you and I have no intention of buying your product, but I'm going to weigh in on every single decision you make and give my unsolicited advice on how you should change everything you do."

[holymadness]

Originally Posted by jbjb

Are you sure? From the article:



(emphasis mine)

/JB

Sil_ilS is being slightly disingenuous. At the time of the press release, the 5C had been available for pre-order for a week. The 5S had only been available for pre-order for 3 days, same as the iPhone 5, 4S, and 4. So the pertinent comparison is ~7 million iPhone 5S sold in three days vs. 5 million iPhone 5 over that same period last year.

Surely another sign Apple is doomed. Steve Jobs never would have let Apple increase opening weekend sales by 40% year over year.

[afv011]

Originally Posted by holymadness

~7 million iPhone 5S sold in three days

I wonder how many of those are now on Ebay...

[jbjb]

Originally Posted by holymadness

Surely another sign Apple is doomed.

9 million devices of such complexity sold in such a short time, and an estimated 200 million devices already running iOS7, are staggering achievements.

The engineering and logistical difficulties of both of these are immense, and I take my hat off to any organisation capable of doing it.

/JB

[Prestidigitweeze]

Moses on a moped, when exactly did MR members start wailing on good-natured monkeys? What's next -- lemur abuse?

We're talking about a smartphone, for the love of Dr. Phibes. It's not worth tearing down one's fellow wooly beings to defend.

[pl001]

Originally Posted by jbjb

9 million devices of such complexity sold in such a short time, and an estimated 200 million devices already running iOS7, are staggering achievements.

The engineering and logistical difficulties of both of these are immense, and I take my hat off to any organisation capable of doing it.

/JB

I am not an Apple fan for many reasons, but yes, those numbers are simply staggering and Apple deserves to be commended for them.