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Deleted member 12837
Unconfirmed Member
Aesthetics are subjective. Size/weight increase is negligible.
Objectively the 5C has a better battery and more LTE bands.
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Analyst: iPhone 5C sales are disappointing
- Thread starter Guevara
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Aesthetics are subjective. Size/weight increase is negligible.
Objectively the 5C has a better battery and more LTE bands.
Taking a quick look at history, every year a new iPhone is released and at the same time the previous version gets discounted by $100. Some people actually wait for that $100 discount.
This year its a $50 discount with a forced new personality. Sure its a "smart" business decision, maintain high profits and production costs low, but its basically taking advantage of those who have no patience or lack of awareness...which are typically parents and young kids. It's my guess as to why walmart is at the forefront of selling those phones. The colors are by no mistake attractive to that kind of crowd.
How is it a better deal? Please don't bother quoting the facetime camera improvements. They discountinued the 5 to maintain the $600 costs of the 5C. No one is even talking about the $700 up price of the 5S, which to me is directly in line with the pricing decision of the 5C.
I can't imagine a $550 5 and a $700 going over too well. Most people would say screw the finger-print bullshit. It's a squeeze.
Price point buddy.
EDIT:
And it can be said a lot of people prefer the 5 to the 5C. Opinions are opinions man. Weighing the facts (and performance) the 5 is 99% close to what the 5C is. Certainly not worth the extra $50.
battery increase is negligle. LTE bands don't matter to most users.
Objectively the 5 is thinner, lighter and made of high-end expensive metal.
most pretentious shit I've ever read. Don Draper would rip their sorry asses..
never forget.
Opinions are opinions, man.
Objectively, the 5C is not a downgrade of the 5. That was the contention.
The Maverick
Member
The 5S only has 1560 mAh of juice? I will laugh in the face of the next Apple zealot I see that tries to diss Android phones.
There was a time where Apple made the best smartphone on the market. That time has passed.
There was a time where Apple made the best smartphone on the market. That time has passed.
Objectively metal > plastic
LTE band and battery capacity increase are negligible.
Oh? For what?
For the perceived value of a CE device.
Ah, perceived value...thought we were speaking in objective terms here.
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Deleted member 12837
Unconfirmed Member
battery increase is negligle. LTE bands don't matter to most users.
Objectively the 5 is thinner, lighter and made of high-end expensive metal.
So it's a wash then. Certainly not demonstrably worse than the 5. Better for some, worse for some.
I think you mean subjectively
Where are you getting this "extra $50" thing? Was an unsubsidized 4S $500 this time last year or something? Don't most people (at least in the US) buy subsidized phones? I think most people see it as $99 vs $199, just like it is every. single. year. If you're willing to shell out $550 for a phone (just trusting you on the price, I've never looked at the unsubsidized pricing) then the 5C is definitely not targeted to you.
Bob Dobalina
Member
Welcome to the world of coldfoot.
As far as the topic is concerned, I have seen a ton of 5Cs around the bay area, it certainly doesn't seem to not be selling well here. 50 is a better price too!
Agreed. I think the innovation is just not there any longer. How many people really use Siri a lot and the fingerprint thing is a gimmick IMO. iOS 7 is boring and still feels dull and lifeless to me compared to my Windows Phone. I have a 5 as my work phone and use my Lumia 920 95% of the time.
I don't really care about the app ecosystem because I'm not a big app user. The magic is not there with Steve gone.
RastaMentality
Banned
I don't get the Steve stuff when people called the 4S boring when that was released under him. I guess he's just a scapegoat for the Apple is doomed people.
Diablohead
Member
Battery stinks I can agree with that, I would take a slightly fatter device by a mm or two and have a better battery then something super thin. The 5 only has a 1450 in it.
I play a lot of 3D heavy games on my iPhone 5 and off a full charge it probably hits around 2 hours before it's flat, i'd love to see it be 3+ on the iPhone 6 or what ever the next apple device will be with a slightly bigger screen.
DedalusJoyce
Member
I'm sure it's already been mentioned. But do you guys think the entire purpose of the C line would make more sense if the nest iPhone with the larger screen is priced higher than the correct flagship? I think it would make more sense. $550 for C and $850 plus for off contract iPhone 6.
Unknown Soldier
Member
Apple has historically never known how to move downmarket out of their premium space. No one should be surprised they have no idea how to make a 'cheap' iPhone nor do they know what a 'cheap' smartphone should reasonably cost.
Jill Sandwich
the turds of Optimus Prime
A cheap eBay case won't give you a FaceTime HD camera, more LTE bands, or better battery. The only thing the 5 has going for it over the 5C is the aluminium form factor, which I prefer over the 5C's polycarbonate shell. But I'll tell you what, the 5C is a lot more comfortable to hold, like the 3G/S, but the shell has a lot more quality feel to it than those models. It's worth going to a store and seeing and handling one for yourself, I was pleasantly surprised.
Of course they now how, they just not interested in that game. They'll be getting some valuable data from these 5C sales I'm sure.
Iacobellis
Junior Member
Apple should continue to use the 5c design for future phones. The rounded edges make my mom's phone so much more comfortable than my 5. It feels like a thinner, heavier, but not-as-wide iPhone 3G/3GS.
Perceived value follows real value in this case since metals are also more expensive than plastic in real life, and iPhone 5 craftsmanship takes more hours than the 5C.
The iPhone 5 BOM and labor are higher than the 5C and this is readily apparent in the exterior appearance of the phones. Hence the perceived value follows real value.
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Deleted member 12837
Unconfirmed Member
When did Apple move downmarket and make a cheap iPhone?
Nightengale
Member
5C should've been a thicker iPod Touch with a cell-radio.
5C is very obviously a profit-margin play from Apple, where they're trying to see if they can maintain high margins, by releasing a product that cost less to manufacture.
5C is very obviously a profit-margin play from Apple, where they're trying to see if they can maintain high margins, by releasing a product that cost less to manufacture.
Davey Cakes
Member
Yeah, the 5C probably has more going for it than just specs and overall value. It's about appeal. It's about what the customer finds appealing.
One of my friends upgraded from a crappy keyboard phone (that's been plaguing her for years) to a pink iPhone 5C and I congratulated her. It seemed like the right fit for the kind of person she is. The color, the form factor, the price (which isn't the greatest value bit still...).
As for me, I have an iPhone 5 and I'm still fully content with it. I'll upgrade the the 6 when my contract expires but I personally see the 5C and the 5S as a waste. I'm not the target for these phones necessarily, though. And, in the case of the 5C, if it's a way to bring in new customers (like my friend) then good for Apple. If the sales never really improve then I guess the company will have to try focusing more on value than on reducing their own costs.
never forget.
I love Apple products but this is just laughable.
same feeling. it's just awful and you can pick apart the text quite easily to see that they don't even believe that bullshit. Every product they've released except the low-end ipod nano and shuffle contradicts the shit they're spewing about color here.
If color has been important since "time immemorial", why did it take Apple 7 years to make a phone in color? Why wasn't it important to them before if it's been so important to human existence for all time?
How does color affect the way the phone works? are they referring to the stock wallpapers? because everything else works just like a metal iphone. They should just be honest and say that color is an emotional, fun thing and leave out crap about how it permeates every pore of the phone as though it works differently than every other black and white iphone that has existed before.
When they say they examined thousands of colors, do they really mean that they examined a few shades of basic primary colors and then just used those?
And plain-ass white is counted as one of those 5 colors of "uncommon beauty and depth"... I just throw my hands up in the air reading that.
Davey Cakes
Member
I love my iPhone and iPod but Apple is a disgustingly pretentious company. Their advertising is horrible too.
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Deleted member 12837
Unconfirmed Member
lol why do you care so much? Why are you wasting your time reading ad copy (for anything, not just Apple)? Either use a company's products or don't. The way the product is advertised doesn't affect the product itself. You don't have to watch/read their marketing stuff. You're right, that particular blurb is pretty absurd, but have a laugh and move on. You sound genuinely upset about it. Like it personally offends you.
What about the iMac, iBook and iPod Touch? Do those not count?
I don't think Apple is doomed at all but I do think they have become a bit complacent with iOS and iOS devices. Their dominance has pushed other companies hard though and now all consumers are benefitting.
Iacobellis
Junior Member
iPhones have been such incremental upgrades since the 4S. Hate on it all you want, but it's the truth.
We will probably never see a leap like iOS 4 + iPhone 4 again.
the “why do you care” rebuttal is so fucking tired and useless. sorry. we can ask that about every ancillary thing ever. It doesn’t address anything.
I know the ad copy is not as important as the product. I also know that Apple places a lot of importance on marketing materials and usually their writing is pretty good.
It’s possible for me to know that this line of ad copy isn’t the most important thing in the world and also to note that it’s fucking garbage.
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Deleted member 12837
Unconfirmed Member
Apple sells its 2-generation old phones for $450 and its 1-generation old phones for $550 (off contract).
If you want a $450 Apple phone, the 4S is available. Why would they start selling their 1-generation old phones (the 5C) for $450 all of a sudden?
Sure. But you didn't just "note that it's garbage". You went on a several-paragraph tirade. I was just noting that it was a bit excessive, and the whole "Apple is so pretentious and their marketing is ridiculous" line is commonly used as a straw man argument against Apple products, which is annoying.
It also wasn't a rebuttal. As I mentioned, the ad copy is indeed garbage (although let's be honest, hyperbole in marketing is hardly unique to Apple).
The 5c looks and feels cheap to me, borderline ugly the way the plastic shell wraps around the phone. I wouldn't buy it for $300 let alone what Apple wants for it.
Because it's a proper price? $450 for the 4s is highway robbery.
the thing that gets me about that paragraph is that its different from Apples usual ad copy. its worse. It stands out as something that reads like a parody of what Apple usually writes about its products.
And I honestly dont think they believe it themselves, which makes me think the whole exercise of the 5C is a bit cynical.
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Deleted member 12837
Unconfirmed Member
Most people aren't buying iPhones off contract (at least in the US) so it's a free phone to them, not $450. If you want a cheap off-contract phone, Apple is not for you. There are plenty of great Windows Mobile and Android phones out there sold at much slimmer margins and a lower price.
edit: changed "phones" to "iPhones"
That's a fair observation. I don't know if I agree about the last bit though. I think they really did/do believe that the 5C will sell better than the 5 would've had they just continued their usual strategy of bumping down the older models. I also think they do believe the colors contribute to that strategy and are a net positive (I also believe this). Basically, take the old phone, repackage it in a way that gets people talking about it and set it apart from "just the old model", bump up the specs a bit and reduce production costs. Makes sense to me. Obviously they lose some people who want the 5 and its metal frame, but I honestly think they will end up gaining more net customers with the colored plastic and the targeted ads.
No way of knowing for sure, obviously. We'll have to see how this plays out a year from now (compare 2013-2014 5C sales to 2012-2013 4S sales). Not a perfect comparison, but the best that we can do.
Aquamarine
Member
killertofu
Member
I bought one :/
50$ and way faster than my 4s...
Plus I have soft spot for Yellow electronics. I wish the yellow were a bit more like the Lumia's though.
50$ and way faster than my 4s...
Plus I have soft spot for Yellow electronics. I wish the yellow were a bit more like the Lumia's though.
I'm not going to be pleasantly surprised by plastic, I assure you.
Also a HD FaceTime camera implies that 1) anyone uses FaceTime and 2) the image you receive ever actually looks good. So basically you're left with battery (which I doubt is remotely substantial) and LTE, which is probably benefitting few people.
I had a 5 and upgraded to a 5S, mostly because upgrading yearly in the long run doesn't cost that much more as you can get more selling your old phone. Never in a million years would I consider buying a 5C.
I own and love my grey 32GB 5S and I can agree with this 100%.
It's only a matter of time before I jump over to android. I just hate that Google refuse to release the 5S version of android but I understand that their business model is different to apple.
never forget.
I like Apple and all, but they've gotten more and more cringeworthy over time. That Made in Cupertino commercial was eye-rolling-ly bad.
Jill Sandwich
the turds of Optimus Prime
So you prefer a 5s. Well done. Don't shit on the 5C because it wasn't for you.
I'll shit on it all I want because this is the internet and my shitting on it as just as useful as your defence of it.
For me the Forbes article seems to be right. There was a huge, 10.4 mln drop in iPhone shipments in Q1 2013, (compared to Q4 2012) which seems to agree with production cuts at the end of 2012. For comparison a year before (Q1 2012) the drop was only around 1.9 mlns.
And while Apple sold more phones in Q1 2013 than in did in Q1 2013 the Q1 2013 result showed slowing growth of iPhone sales, was below Wall Street expectations and iPhone lost market share in that quarter (year over year).
Diablohead
Member
I always thought that the iPad mini was a rather good cost-cut iPad for people, that will all depend on the 22nd and what the next mini will be though. And that they saved money by making it smaller, something the iPhone 5c can't really do.
Is the joke here that the 5S still beats Android phones with 2500mAh batteries in battery life tests?
It also "only" has a dual-core processor and wins nearly every CPU benchmark, too.
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