iPhone prices headed lower in LOS?

[reader]

It will be interesting if the reduction in iPhone prices going on in China will spread to the LOS. iPhones have a well-known cachet among SE Asian guys--and no small number of their admirers.

From CNBC

Retailers are slashing iPhone prices across China as consumers say the phones aren't worth the cost

• Apple's latest iPhone models are seeing huge discounts from retailers in China.
• The technology giant recently revised its first quarter sales forecast downward, putting a large part of the blame on a slowdown in the Chinese market.
• Experts said a mixture of a poor pricing strategy and a lack of exciting features compared to local rivals like Huawei has led to the newest iPhones' weak performance in China.

Continues with video and pricing info

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/11/apple-iphone-retailers-are-slashing-prices-across-china.html

 

[ggobkk]

Might be a relief to farangs who get talked into buying phones for the boys who like shopping

 

[vinapu]

44 minutes ago, ggobkk said:

Might be a relief to farangs who get talked into buying phones for the boys who like shopping

 

I was thinking other way around, request may actually  go up in numbers phones becoming more frugal friendly

[spoon]

I am one of iphone user who went for a different brand recently due to the ridiculously overpriced iphone. Took some times to get used to android though lol but my phone is as good as the new iphone minus the non practical upgrades like full glass body, and its more than half the iphone price. 

[Guest]

Practicality comes into it as well.  Not just Apple.  When I came to replace my Samsung Galaxy S5, the equivalent newer models have curved screens.  I don't see any benefit from that and I also don't see how to fit a glass screen protector or a wrap around case.   I offed a bar boy last year & he had a 3 week old top of the range Samsung phone with a cracked screen.   He will have to be ****ed quite a few times to pay for that.

The Chinese phones have flat screens, but don't seem to be waterproof, so I settled on an LG.   

These don't even seem to be sold in Thailand, where it is Apple, Samsung, Huawei, Oppo, Vivo, Mi & goodness knows what other brands.

[TotallyOz]

I just bought the new Google Pixel 3 and I love it. It is intuitive and easy to use and is fast.  It also uses the Google Fi network when I want so I can use it in any other country rather cheap. Before this, I would never have traded my Apple. But, they lost me when they kept updating and things kept getting slower each time. I do not like being forced to upgrade a phone every 2 years.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Michael said:

I would never have traded my Apple. But, they lost me when they kept updating and things kept getting slower each time. I do not like being forced to upgrade a phone every 2 years.

Well done.   

I had the same problem with my Samsung Galaxy.    The phone was very fast when new and became very laggy after all the so called "upgrades".  Downgrade would be a better description. 

It's about time we had a class action lawsuit or perhaps some EU action against these phone makers who sabotage their phones to force customers to upgrade.   Italy has taken some action, but much more widespread fines would help.

http://18018322/apple-samsung-italy-phone-slowdown-fine-antitrust

Also, there are now so many Android phone makers, that if one or two brands declare that they will not screw their customers over by slowing phones down, perhaps competition will fix the issue eventually.

 

[reader]

Microsoft recommends switching to iPhone or Android as it prepares to kill off Windows phones

From CNBC

• Microsoft says anyone who uses Windows 10 Mobile should switch to Android or iPhone.
• The company will kill off support for Windows 10 Mobile in December of this year.
• Microsoft once hoped to beat the iPhone, Android and BlackBerry.

Microsoft says anyone who still uses its Windows 10 mobile platform — once called Windows Phone — should switch over to an iPhone or an Android phone. A change to the Windows 10 Mobile support page was first spotted by Thurrott, a site that covers Microsoft.

Microsoft said that on Dec. 10, 2019, it will stop sending "new security updates, non-security hotfixes, free assisted support options, or technical content updates from Microsoft for free." In other words, there aren't going to be any more updates, and only a few phone models will even be supported until that final date.

"With the Windows 10 Mobile OS end of support, we recommend that customers move to a supported Android or iOS device," Microsoft said. "Microsoft's mission statement to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more, compels us to support our Mobile apps on those platforms and devices."

The company once had huge plans for Windows on mobile devices, particularly when it refreshed the operating system in 2010 and launched Windows Phone 7. At the time, it held a parade and declared that both BlackBerry and iPhone were dead. Microsoft also acquired Nokia's mobile unit so that it could build Windows Phone products internally. That too was a failure, and Microsoft eventually wrote down its $7.6 billion Nokia acquisition.

Continues at

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/18/microsoft-ending-windows-10-mobile-says-switch-to-iphone-or-android.html

[reader]

From CNBC

Apple's 2020 iPhones will likely get upgraded displays after the XR disappoints

• Apple's 2020 lineup of iPhones are likely to ditch LCD displays completely in favor of OLED, according to The Wall Street Journal.
• OLED displays appear more brilliant and colorful and offer more flexibility in design compared to LCD displays.
• Japan Display, which supplies LCD displays for Apple, is reportedly seeking a bailout as its business suffers from Apple's supply changes.

Apple's full line of 2020 iPhones are likely to get a display upgrade and ditch LCD completely, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The iPhone XR is the only model in Apple's latest iPhone release that still uses an LCD display, rather than an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display, which allows for greater design flexibility and is supposed to show a higher quality color display. But the phone, which was expected to be more appealing to budget-conscious shoppers with a price tag starting at $750 rather than $999 for the XS, has failed to meet sales expectations. Earlier this month, Apple published a letter to investors downgrading its guidance for its first quarter 2019 in light of weak iPhone sales, among other factors.

However, CEO Tim Cook told CNBC earlier this month that the XR has been Apple's best-selling iPhone model since it launched last fall.

The shift from LCD to OLED would have a great impact on Apple suppliers like Japan Display, which is already suffering from supply cuts from Apple, the Journal reported. Japan Display, which supplies LCD displays for Apple, is in advanced talks with an investor group from Taiwan and China to bail it out with a potential investment of the equivalent of $550 million with a 30 percent stake in the company, the the report says. The deal could give Taiwan's TPK Holdings and Chinese state-owned Silk Road Fund even more control in the company later on, the Journal reported.

Japan Display has sought bailouts in the past as the industry has begun to shift to OLED displays. In 2016, Japan Display sought a bailout equal to about $703 million from a fund backed by the Japanese government as Samsung increasingly used OLED displays in its designs, the Journal reported at the time.

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/22/apples-next-iphones-likely-to-get-oled-displays-after-xr-disappoints.html

 

[reader]

A dissatisfied workforce responsible for making iPhones may portend quality control problems ahead for Apple.

South China Morning Post (3 Mar.)

Foxconn, a tale of slashed salaries, disappearing benefits and mass resignations as iPhone orders dry up

• Workers line up on a daily basis to leave the world’s largest iPhone assembly plant in China’s Henan province as overtime opportunities plunged
• Apple CEO Tim Cook announced in January a 5 per cent fall in fourth quarter revenue, attributed in large part to weaker demand for new iPhones in China

It issued  a normal Saturday in Zhengzhou, the capital of central China’s Henan province. The sky over the Foxconn factory complex is obscured with a choking smog. Under the hazy sunset, hordes of workers have started to walk out of the production facility. The crowd thins out quickly.

But working conditions inside the world’s largest iPhone assembly plant are not normal, as weaker demand for the mobile phones assembled inside the vast 1.4 million square metre (15 million square feet) facility has led to lower salaries and reduced benefits from Apple’s largest supplier.

The shuttle bus service to the workers’ gloomy dormitory compound has been cancelled, forcing some to walk for up to 40 minutes to get to their rooms.

The cancellation of the shuttle service is routine during the Lunar New Year holiday, but normally it resumes when production picked up again. But not this year, as the service was cancelled earlier this month, long before

 

The cancellation of the shuttle service is routine during the Lunar New Year holiday, but normally it resumes when production picked up again. But not this year, as the service was cancelled earlier this month, long before.

Continues with photo and video

https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/2188162/foxconn-tale-slashed-salaries-disappearing-benefits-and-mass

[1moRussian]

Had a chance to hold in my hands popular among boys cheaper phones like Vivo, Oppo - maybe I need such one as my next phone? And I really like Xiaomi production... But what to do with the whole system of apps, contacts, iCloud photos etc?