Don’t get me wrong: Apple has never failed to disappoint me with their products and services. Unlike my prior experience with Windows laptops, Macbooks have been reliable and have never bothered me with any persistent updates or viruses. Although pricey, iPhones has provided me fluid user experience without any clutters and super slow lags that some Android phones obtain over time. In the tablet world, there are no better products than the iPad, which is especially popular among educators.
However, there has been news of how Apple has not been doing well with their sales, particularly with the iPhone Xr in Asian countries. It is simply because Apple does not take many risks and fixes only what’s broken or what can be improved — just take a look at the progress of iPhones from 6 to 8. It just keeps raising its price point.
Apple tries to make their latest iPhones — the Xr, Xs and Xs Max — seem like “revolutionary” innovation. But, are they really? Apple really likes to innovate safely and does not take any avant-garde approaches. Apple has stuck with the same notch for Face ID since it released its iPhone X and has not made any attempt to minimize the notch. Meanwhile, other countries are trying various methods to achieve the all-screen look, from the teardrop notch on the Oneplus 6T to the Infinity-O on the Samsung A8s, which is a hole punched on the screen for the selfie camera. Some companies are even trying to make the selfie camera pop up using motors. While Asian competitors are trying different sorts of ways to minimize the notch, and are even trying to put the fingerprint scanner underneath the screen itself, Apple still does not bring much to the table, yet keeps its high price point for its devices. It is not surprising that Tim Cook had to send a letter to investors of low expectations.
If Apple wants to have better sales, it should either drop its price point for its phones or provide a more innovative product. Apple used to have better sales in China, until Huawei became the leading smartphone manufacturer that provided modern smartphones at less than half the price of Apple’s flagship iPhones. Apple has already dropped the price on its Xr in China and has started its trade-in program to boost its iPhone sales. However, people just simply don’t want to upgrade to a device that does not provide many new features.
