Consumers Told Don’t Buy An iPhone Just Yet, Deep Price Drops Tipped
Apple iPhone fans are being urged to hold off buying an iPhone from an Apple Store or a Carrier such as Optus or Telstra as there is every possibility that the US phone Company will slash prices said one carrier insider.
According to sources Telstra has already held discussions with Apple about the slump in sales of iPhones.
In Japan, Apple’s biggest market outside of the USA the iPhone maker is already offering subsidies to mobile-network operators in a desperate effort to shore up sales of their new iPhones that are not selling due in part to the high cost of their handsets and the perfection that the devices contain little in the way of new technology to justify the high price.
Discounts in Japan, coupled with deep cuts in global production plans for the XR, are a sign of limited enthusiasm among consumers for the cheapest iPhone model, which has fewer features than Apple’s other two new releases and costs more than still-popular older models like the iPhone 8.
According to the WSJ, major wireless carriers in Japan plan to cut iPhone XR prices as early as next week, people with direct knowledge of the plan said, without giving details of the extent of the cut.
Japan is one of the most lucrative markets for Apple with the Company holding 46.7% share of the Japanese smartphone market.
At this stage it isn’t known when Apple plans to offer similar programs, but insiders claim that both retailers and carriers have reported weak sales Australia.
Also affected are makers of iPhone accessories with one major brand telling ChannelNews that “it has never been so bad” following a new iPhone release.
This is not the first time that Apple has been forced to splash the cash. When the iPhone 6s failed to sell Apple cut production on one model then offered carrier and retailer discounts to help reduce excess inventory.
The downturn has also come at a bad time for Telstra who was hoping for a lift in sales in this quarter according to one Telstra store manager.
We reported earlier this week that Apple has slowed production plans for all the three models released in recent months, with some drastic chops made on least-expensive XR models.
Though it has been done in the past, officials at Japanese carriers say it is rare for Apple to cut the price in their market on a recently launched handset.
“A price cut within a month of the release is rare not just for Apple but for smartphone makers in general,” said a senior official at a wireless operator, who monitors sales.
Apple’s iPhone 8 has remained hugely popular in several markets for those looking for an affordable Apple handset, because it is cheaper than the XR and remained available when the XS and XS Max were released.
Apple suppliers have also recently resumed making the iPhone X, the 2017 model that Apple had stopped selling at its own stores, people familiar with the matter said.
People involved in the supply chain said the resumption of the X is due in part to Apple’s contract with Samsung SDI Co., a major provider of iPhone X’s organic-light emitting diode display, or OLED, panels. Apple needs to buy a certain amount of the panels from the South Korean maker, and given the cut in XS and XS Max, Apple is trying to fill the gap with the old device, they said.
