Is Apple going to decline massively?

buck65

I see shares have dropped from a high of $700 down to $500 in the space of a few months.
Has the Apple bubble burst? I think so.

Maximus Alexander

Possibly. I reckon they will always have a hard core following of some description but the general public has become more aware of other options in the smartphone market at least, and are switching in their droves.

If Apple don't steal some fresh ideas soon, their market share could suffer.

MagicSean

What's the deal with not having any control over playlists on your iPod? What genius came up with that? I'll be going back to creative as soon as I can.

And don't get me started on apple maps.

joydivision

They are creators of fad items . They will go up and down with each new idea .

Corkbah

in a nutshell ...yes !

Apple always have sleek design, but other manufacturers are offering similarly sleek designs at a fraction of the price that apple are charging so...given the option of functionality versus design - more and more people are opting for functionality....cheaper is not always the best but over the years it has become more reliable and hence why the cheaper option is now an acceptable choice.

I am a macboy, have 3 apple macbook pro's iPhone, iPod (not into the ipad thing....but can see that other makers are as popular and offer similar products at a fraction of the price.

I shelled out 3K on a macbook pro about 6weeks ago and have in the last few days discovered a few dead pixels on the screen ...this for me is not (NOT) acceptable - especially as the shop I purchased it from told me it'll take 3-5 days to repair ...no offer of a replacement product to assist me while I work - which is in my opinion the very least that should be done.

I'm very annoyed with Apple and the mac reseller shop - and will seriously look at other options when purchasing again (my main reason for staying mac is that I have thousands worth of legally purchased software and its transferrable between macs but not transferrable to a PC.

Duggy747

Not this Xmas, anyways. iPad Minis are flying out the door, suppliers can't even keep up with stock.

The name "iPad" is still ingrained in people's heads when referring to a tablet: "Have ye any iPads for sale??" when they actually mean any sort of tablet like an Android or Apple one.

Apple's grip on the market has loosened and people are beginning to look at the alternatives like Samsung phones / tablets and Android in general. The Nexus and other 7'' tablets are huge sellers this year and will be big next year, too.

Big Nasty

Yes - Apple are the new Nokia.

peteeeed

i think next year it will very much depend on the much talked about 'itv' apple's move into the television market

KungPao

Probably not. I'd say the hype of windows 8 is part of the reason for the slight decline. But they have a huge share of the market. Just have to share it more with Nokia, Samsung, Android etc.

GLaDOS

Duggy747 wrote: »

The name "iPad" is still ingrained in people's heads when referring to a tablet: "Have ye any iPads for sale??" when they actually mean any sort of tablet like an Android or Apple one.

Same with ipod, it's become synonymous with mp3 player. I've never owned an ipod in my life but pretty much everyone referred to my old creative as an ipod.

chakotha

I think so.

Without Steve Jobs there to push the marketing in his unique way I think people will gradually realise how overpriced everything is.

Discostuy

They won't decline too much while other companies aren't bringing anything to the table.
They've plateaued as you'd expect because they haven't brought out anything new in a few years.

The ipod, iphone, ipad, iTunes were all massive game changers.

Their next project, which looks like investment in the TV/set top box market, could be a huge game changer...or a flop.

With their money and ideas, I'd imagine it will be a winner and they'll again set new standards for tech.

Chuck Stone

See, what you do with shares and stocks is you buy them when they're priced low and you sell them when they're priced high.

Dow Jones told me that and he's rarely wrong.

As for Apple? I'd have my reservations about their Apple's core business - it's not beyond the bounds of imagination that Apple will crumble.

I don't have a hotline to any Apple inciders so don't get crabby with me if I'm off the mark.

Richard Hillman

If it means i can turn on a film or tv programme without its nauseating product placement then hopefully.

Augmerson

I don't think so OP, sure after all, they say an Apple a day keeps the Doctor away.

seamus

"Decline massively" is OTT. It's a cycle. Apple bring in a product, shares go up, competitors eventually catch up and build superior products, shares go down, apple bring in a product....etc

In the absence of groundbreaking new technology, Apple are always going to start losing ground to their competitors because Apple only aim at the premium market. They are going to get annihilated in the tablet market though. They're asking too high a price for products which offer no improvement on the competitors. Even if some people might call it "iPad", when they see a €600 iPad sitting besides a €400 Nexus and no discernable difference between them, which one will they go for?

Wibbs

The loss of Steve Jobs will weigh on them more and more I reckon. The companies image and more, it's direction hinged far more on him, than say Microsoft's image and direction hinged on Bill Gates. What ever ones personal opinion of the guy Jobs was a bona fide business and marketing genius who turned around a company that was on the skids within 5 years. At the moment they're coasting on his legacy and they need to start new directions and fast, or they'll just end up another name in the list. They're so big now that the rot won't be obvious for a while, but it'll be there.

Plus IMH they should have slotted Jonathan Ives their chief designer into the frontman role.

seanmacc

The thing with Apple is that none of their products were groundbreaking in technology terms they were just devices well put together with very good interfaces that looked cool. There were MP3 players on the market before iPods and there was smartphones out before iPhones just none as fancy or as user freindly as Apples creations. Apple's competition has caught up and they are going to have to come up with something to really wow the consumer to get back to where they were. The same thing happened to Nokia. I can see a Nokia comeback in the next few years with the help of Microsoft, Pureview camera technology, the Lumia brand and their good name for making bulletproof phones.

intellectual dosser

I always thought that Apple's "$100 Billion Warchest" was a bit of an insult to those loyal hardcore fans/customers in terms of the prices they have to pay. That said a $100BN warchest should keep their noses in front for a while longer.

All the same with Steve Jobs gone, and Samsung just after upping the price of some internal components they provide to Apple by 20%, Apple have a bit of a hill in front of them if they want to stay ahead.

I would think that their existing product ranges have been almost exhausted at this point, the iphone 5 showed little innovation from the 4, and at the end of the day the iPad mini is just a mini iPad right?

youcancallmeal

Apple aren't innovating anymore, iPhone 5 showed that. I dislike Apple and their products in general but I would be fairly confident that they will turn it around towards the end of 2013. They will release a slew of new products like an Apple TV and actual cutting edge iPhone 6. They know they have to change the way they work to keep up with other innovators like Samsung.

sfwcork

Apple are no where near falling

The share price was inflatd and still is.It wont balance out for another while but watch in storm up again in Q1 2013.By all accounts theyre having a very good Q4

Apple prducts are ahead of the rest.They only fail on pricing

Mr Benevolent

Thanks fcuk Android has won, Apple was getting waaay too uppity.

iDave

I dont know how they did it but they developed a cult surrounding their products of which I've never seen before. People seem to have an emotional attachment to this company that their rivals could never cultivate. That will be tough to break but then again Nokias position in the market looked untouchable a few years ago so the mighty are always in danger of falling

PS dont bother pointing out the Apple branding that inspired my username, I'm well aware of it. Only ever owned an iPod Nano in my life though.

BigGrayKettle

The Microsoft Surface could be a game changer I believe. Previously been a big Apple fan; iPhone, iPad and Macbook. Lately though have got fed up with the simplicity of the iPad. The lack of MS Office as a fully functional suite of software on the iPad is a major drawback, as well as the inability to connect a USB device and the use of a raw file system like that of a PC. Also in terms of enterprise use, I think the Surface could be way better.

intellectual dosser

sfwcork wrote: »

Apple are no where near falling

The share price was inflatd and still is.It wont balance out for another while but watch in storm up again in Q1 2013.By all accounts theyre having a very good Q4

Apple prducts are ahead of the rest.They only fail on pricing

We're half way through Q1 2013.

Sorry to be the cnut to point this out.

kingtiger

sfwcork wrote: »

Apple prducts are ahead of the rest

could you elaborate on this? or are you part of Apples marketing dept?

Wibbs

seanmacc wrote: »

The thing with Apple is that none of their products were groundbreaking in technology terms they were just devices well put together with very good interfaces that looked cool. There were MP3 players on the market before iPods and there was smartphones out before iPhones just none as fancy or as user freindly as Apples creations.

True, I think what Apple did and were always good at doing going way back, even before the return of Jobs in the late 90's was they took the "nerd*" out of IT gear and made it less daunting for the average user and people who would have considered IT not for them. That's where they were groundbreaking.

I remember back in the late 80's early 90's where networking two PC's together or connecting up a printer required a star trek fixation, pallid skin and no girlfriends,:) whereas with macs at the time your granny could sort it out. You saw similar with MP3 players that were out before the iPod. They were better quality, had way more features and options, but Jobs realised Joe and Jane Soap out there really didn't care. They wanted play, rewind, fastforward and skip and an easy way to get music onto the thing and legally with it. Sure you or I would prefer to drag and drop and have all the options, but most people don't. Studies show that people say they want choice, but are in reality put off by it if they get too much choice.

I reckon this is why the "nerds"* have generally disliked apple and dismissed them as "toy computers" and the like. They were never aimed at the guy or gal who wants to hit command lines and spend hours setting up linux distros. That's not their market, so it doesn't really matter to apple if that segment doesn't like, care or use their stuff. They do care about the Joe and Jane Soap who want the latest thing that is fashionable and easy. Lose them and they're boned.


*BTW I'd be a nerd in so many ways(not so much with IT) and would be proud of it

Discostuy

BigGrayKettle wrote: »

The Microsoft Surface could be a game changer I believe. Previously been a big Apple fan; iPhone, iPad and Macbook. Lately though have got fed up with the simplicity of the iPad. The lack of MS Office as a fully functional suite of software on the iPad is a major drawback, as well as the inability to connect a USB device and the use of a raw file system like that of a PC. Also in terms of enterprise use, I think the Surface could be way better.

I don' know. The Surface to me doesn't seem to know what it wants to be. Its half tablet, half laptop...keyboard, fans and an awful battery life from what I've read. It's expensive too. For the price of it, i'd pick an ipad if I wanted a tablet or a full laptop if I needed full functionality.

Also I believe MS Office is very close to an iPad release (March 2013 according to The Verge)

vard

Chuck Stone wrote: »

Apple will crumble.

Zing!

opinion guy

There is a thing called regression to the mean.

I expect Apple to regress to the mean.....whatever the mean is

sfwcork

wrote:

We're half way through Q1 2013.

Sorry to be the cnut to point this out.

Im sorry to be the bearer of worst news but I work for a v v large IT company and we are still In Q4 2012 H2

there is still 2 eeks left in H2 Q4 2012.

Rabidlamb

seamus wrote: »

They are going to get annihilated in the tablet market though. They're asking too high a price for products which offer no improvement on the competitors. Even if some people might call it "iPad", when they see a €600 iPad sitting besides a €400 Nexus and no discernable difference between them, which one will they go for?

Good point but I'd even take it further with the improved quality of no name tablets & phones coming out of China atm for a fraction of both the above.
With Android now controlling 72% of the market, up from 52% a year ago it doesn't bode well for Apple.
http://mashable.com/2012/11/14/android-72-percent/

Interesting times ahead.

donalg1

We all probably need an Apple tv to watch your apple tv box, and whatever programmes they buy the rights too will only be available on the Apple box with the Apple TV, they will probably tell us all what to watch too and not let anyone have any control over anything. And if you want to change the station on your Apple box to watch a different programme on your Apple tv you will most likely need to get an Apple iPhone or Apple iPad to be used as a remote.

Duggy747

Tablets packaged with a keyboard are instant buys to lots of people who like the idea of a tablet but are skeptical to the on-screen keyboard for word processing. To many, they don't care about the power inside and wouldn't know the difference between a €150 tablet to a €500+ one.

Much like what the general consumers would know or care about the specs in a laptop or desktop really when purchasing.

Tablets in the €200 and under market have improved massively and aren't the ball of shìtes they first were when they appeared. Plus the 7'' market has seen a massive boom this year, hence Apple's iPad Mini existing to take a bite out of that pie.

AlmightyCushion

Rabidlamb wrote: »

Good point but I'd even take it further with the improved quality of no name tablets & phones coming out of China atm for a fraction of both the above.
With Android now controlling 72% of the market, up from 52% a year ago it doesn't bode well for Apple.
http://mashable.com/2012/11/14/android-72-percent/

Interesting times ahead.

I don't think cheap no name tablets/phones will have much of an impact on Apple's sales. It will decrease their market share in that market but I doubt any one who is buying a €100 android tablet was ever going to fork out €350+ for an iPad mini or iPad 2. The nexus devices are what will really make android compete against Apple. They've good hardware and build quality, will get plenty of software updates quickly and they're relatively cheap (€100+ saving on the equivalent apple product).

intellectual dosser

sfwcork wrote: »

Im sorry to be the bearer of worst news but I work for a v v large IT company and we are still In Q4 2012 H2

there is still 2 eeks left in H2 Q4 2012.

http://investor.apple.com/faq.cfm?FaqSetID=3

"Apple’s fiscal year 2013 runs from September 30, 2012 through September 28, 2013."

I was a month off myself, but Q1 2013 is correct.

Cienciano

Apple could release a shít rolled in glitter with the apple logo stamped into it, call it the iTurd, price it at €600 and there'd be queues of people outside their shops trying to get one.

AlmightyCushion

AlmightyCushion wrote: »

I don't think cheap no name tablets/phones will have much of an impact on Apple's sales. It will decrease their market share in that market but I doubt any one who is buying a €100 android tablet was ever going to fork out €350+ for an iPad mini or iPad 2. The nexus devices are what will really make android compete against Apple. They've good hardware and build quality, will get plenty of software updates quickly and they're relatively cheap (€100+ saving on the equivalent apple product).

Nexus is a few years later than it should've been. Google should've done something about the poor Android offerings at least 2 years ago. Microsoft seem to have noticed that and have tried to set a base standard for Windows 8 RT.

Cienciano

Cienciano wrote: »

Apple could release a shít rolled in glitter with the apple logo stamped into it, call it the iTurd, price it at €600 and there'd be queues of people outside their shops trying to get one.

It's hilarious, if you check out the Apple forum on here there was a poster who when the Mini was announced said something along the lines of "I didn't think a 7 inch screen was desirable but now that Apple have one out I realise that it is." I wonder if they realise how much they've become a parody.

sfwcork

wrote:

i
there is still 2 eeks left in H2 Q4 2012.

http://investor.apple.com/faq.cfm?FaqSetID=3

"Apple’s fiscal year 2013 runs from September 30, 2012 through September 28, 2013."

I was a month off myself, but Q1 2013 is correct.

thats financial yr not sales yr Im afraid

I have two ex apple employees standing next to me and they have just confirmed in sales it Q4 2012 H2

seamus

Cienciano wrote: »

Apple could release a shít rolled in glitter with the apple logo stamped into it, call it the iTurd, price it at €600 and there'd be queues of people outside their shops trying to get one.

This is probably why people who own Apple products are so quick to defend them - because there's so much anti-Apple snobbery out there, people who are quick to personally insult Apple owners on the basis of what technology they buy.

kuldeep121

May be they are,if they had Steve Jobs i could guarantee that they will be back with a bang but without him they are just declining as the report suggests!

Korvanica

sfwcork wrote: »

Apple are no where near falling

The share price was inflatd and still is.It wont balance out for another while but watch in storm up again in Q1 2013.By all accounts theyre having a very good Q4

Apple prducts are ahead of the rest. They only fail on pricing

I too would like you to elaborate on this.

AlmightyCushion wrote: »

I don't think cheap no name tablets/phones will have much of an impact on Apple's sales. It will decrease their market share in that market but I doubt any one who is buying a €100 android tablet was ever going to fork out €350+ for an iPad mini or iPad 2. The nexus devices are what will really make android compete against Apple. They've good hardware and build quality, will get plenty of software updates quickly and they're relatively cheap (€100+ saving on the equivalent apple product).

Equivalent isnt the best choice of words there...

Cienciano

Deleted User wrote: »

It's hilarious, if you check out the Apple forum on here there was a poster who when the Mini was announced said something along the lines of "I didn't think a 7 inch screen was desirable but now that Apple have one out I realise that it is." I wonder if they realise how much they've become a parody.

I know. People heading up to the apple shop in belfast to queue, they do it for every phone. I think apple stuff becomes an expensive hobby for some people.

intellectual dosser

sfwcork wrote: »

thats financial yr not sales yr Im afraid

I have two ex apple employees standing next to me and they have just confirmed in sales it Q4 2012 H2

OK fair enough.

Thread started off discussing financials but it has moved into sales.

Mr Benevolent

opinion guy wrote: »

There is a thing called regression to the mean.

I expect Apple to regress to the mean.....whatever the mean is

Nokia.

mathepac

MCMLXXV wrote: »

Yes - Apple are the new Nokia.

Watch out for collaborations between Apple possibly Nokia and at least one top-flight medical device manufacturer in the next year or so. Far from declining I can only see upsides for Apple and their partners (subsidiaries?)

sfwcork

wrote:

Korvanica




I too would like you to elaborate on this.

I dunno what you want the elaboration on!

If you compare apple's new toy on the Ipad 4th,which is the retina display then its miles ahead of the competition.Espically is your stream alot or watching Movie.If you zoom in completely on large font its completely clear and not broken.

From the App side of things there is no getting away from the fact that all apps are apple and that android or windows are only catching up.Yes they are catching up but still far behind

The processor on the new Ipad is wicked fast too.Its only Mile seconds if you compare against android but its still faster

The One Who Knocks

In my family, a tablet is simply referred to as an "ipad."

donalg1

!!!!

Kev_2012

Lieutenant Dan got me invested in some kind of fruit company. So then I got a call from him, saying we don't have to worry about money no more.