The news sounds onerous as Apple has reported that it is cutting orders for parts for its iPhone 5. "Rumor of Apple's iPhone order cuts have been circulating for a month. Interestingly, analysts have been raising their iPhone estimates lately. Many of them are anticipating Apple's March quarter is a mess." So what is the problem? For me, the challenge across the board is the frequency of hardware updates on a faster and faster basis. With consumers on a 2 year phone subscription, phones can only be replace so often without paying a greater share for the latest toy. As a consumer, if the current phone works fine, why keep replacing it, especially if the next hardware update is only 6 months away. The same holds true for Apple's other products. Many have bought the iPad Mini over the holidays. So to hear that the next generation model is less than a year away makes the consumer a bit frustrated. Apple needs to rethink the timing of these hardware releases.
On the other hand, tweaking the software should happen frequently. Adding more value to the product only keeps us loyal to the brand. And for Apple to rebound, it means it needs another new product that adds value to the line. The iPhone wristwatch, an Apple subscription service, an Apple TV; it is time to expand the line. For now, the market sentiment may be negative, but I still believe that Apple has opportunity in front of them.
Apple reached a critical mass of people who don't mind being a model behind the curve. The thing to realize is that all these people create a vital market for refurb/used iDevices, so the early adopters can always pick up $100-150 to offset the cost of their new device by selling the old one. But the rapid growth curve had to slow eventually.
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