Apple Predictions
Following yesterday's event I probably came off sounding very negative. And I think everything I said is fair. But it definitely doesn't paint the whole picture.
Let's just recap; Apple didn't unveil anything interesting. They even backtracked on a prior decision to stop making phones around the size of the iPhone 5. There were no innovations. There were no ground breaking decisions. Really, not a ton of stuff to get excited about. Yesterday's new can effectively be broken into two primary categories; price cuts and new device sizes to target new (lower) price points.
As I mentioned yesterday though; the fact that they had an "event" with so many of those sorts of announcements did mean something. It means Apple is becoming that which they always mocked. They are catering to the mainstream and doing everything in their power to increase sales. I'm not going to say that Steve Jobs never would have allowed this. But I will say that the Apple of 10 or even just 5 years ago would NEVER have cut prices on devices or released a new model just to create a lower cost entry. And no, that isn't saying the same thing.
Does it really matter that Apple "sold out"? That depends I suppose. If you were the sort that bought Apple products as a status symbol you'll probably find yourself less inclined to stay up to date on Apple's every release and may even find yourself testing the waters elsewhere. But, if you're the type of person who was impressed by those who toted around the latest Apple products, the price cut means you're now more likely to either make the switch or upgrade more often.
And, let's be fair, the latter group is probably larger than the former. So, what I expect is that this combination of events will probably, in the short term, trigger a boost in Apple's overall sales.
That being said, I don't expect this to translate into long term gains. In fact, without something truly new and innovative which also gets good consumer reaction... I think Apple is now at roughly the same place Microsoft was with Windows 7. The last gen products (the 6 and 6 Plus on the phone side) will be seen as the Windows XP equivalents for Apple fans. Once the initial consumer influx from the new prices and price points dry up, they are effectively out of weapons to convince people to spend more money or more often on Apple products.
But, now is probably the time to buy Apple stocks. Just make sure you sell again when they start slipping.
Let's just recap; Apple didn't unveil anything interesting. They even backtracked on a prior decision to stop making phones around the size of the iPhone 5. There were no innovations. There were no ground breaking decisions. Really, not a ton of stuff to get excited about. Yesterday's new can effectively be broken into two primary categories; price cuts and new device sizes to target new (lower) price points.
As I mentioned yesterday though; the fact that they had an "event" with so many of those sorts of announcements did mean something. It means Apple is becoming that which they always mocked. They are catering to the mainstream and doing everything in their power to increase sales. I'm not going to say that Steve Jobs never would have allowed this. But I will say that the Apple of 10 or even just 5 years ago would NEVER have cut prices on devices or released a new model just to create a lower cost entry. And no, that isn't saying the same thing.
Does it really matter that Apple "sold out"? That depends I suppose. If you were the sort that bought Apple products as a status symbol you'll probably find yourself less inclined to stay up to date on Apple's every release and may even find yourself testing the waters elsewhere. But, if you're the type of person who was impressed by those who toted around the latest Apple products, the price cut means you're now more likely to either make the switch or upgrade more often.
And, let's be fair, the latter group is probably larger than the former. So, what I expect is that this combination of events will probably, in the short term, trigger a boost in Apple's overall sales.
That being said, I don't expect this to translate into long term gains. In fact, without something truly new and innovative which also gets good consumer reaction... I think Apple is now at roughly the same place Microsoft was with Windows 7. The last gen products (the 6 and 6 Plus on the phone side) will be seen as the Windows XP equivalents for Apple fans. Once the initial consumer influx from the new prices and price points dry up, they are effectively out of weapons to convince people to spend more money or more often on Apple products.
But, now is probably the time to buy Apple stocks. Just make sure you sell again when they start slipping.
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