Apple (Almost) Does Something Smart

As many budgets get tighter and young people need a first phone, Apple has veered away from that market by producing more expensive, larger, and higher tech phones. This policy has offered Android models a chance to capture the young, less fiscally represented contingent of cell phone users right under Apple’s nose.

Because Android models offer features which are reasonably similar to Apple phones, when the family 13-year-old wants her cell phone, she’s more likely to get the $200 Android than the $800 Apple.

Spoke too soon

We had intended this to be a post on Apple returning the iPhone SE to the market. As recently as yesterday, it was reported they were selling brand new Apple SE iPhones in their Clearance. Not used or refurbished models, but brand-new-in-the-box units. However, upon closer inspection, it appears that the entire stock has been swooped down upon and sold within a matter of hours.

Apparently, it was just a matter of Apple liquidating the stock they had left.

What it means

On the one hand, this is disappointing, because the speed with which remaining models disappeared shows a substantial untapped market for Apple. On the other hand, we aren’t surprised that they were snapped up like TV’s at a Black Friday sale. The question is how Apple is going to consider the results of their clearance sale.

Meanwhile, they claim the market is saturated. Well, sure, if your product sells for $1000 and not many people buy one, it’s easier to believe the market is saturated. Meanwhile, Android sales are on the upswing.

So, the question is, why won’t Apple dial back and offer those lower tech, lower priced models? They appear to be heavily motivated by profits. Because, the U.S. is still Apple country, and what they fail to make in sales, they more than make up for in net profits. They are a trillion dollar company, a mark they hit in 2018. Meaning they don’t need to listen to people who tell them how to do business. We can’t help but wonder at the possibility.

Repairs satisfy holdovers

Meanwhile, the people who don’t want to buy a phone with a four-digit price tag are quietly having their old phone repaired when it has an issue. We sell a lot of screens, but also offer battery replacements, LCD refurbishment, camera repairs, and fix charging problems. Customer satisfaction with Apple cell phones is high, so Apple phone users stick with their old model rather than paying for a substantial upgrade or switching to Android models. Nokia and Samsung users also report high satisfaction ratings, only a shade lower on the satisfaction scale than Apple. Those numbers tell us that if a cell phone user does jump off the Apple bandwagon, they may be just as happy with a Nokia or Samsung.