I Was Wrong And The iPhone 5c Is Still A Failure

The best way to defeat the iPhone is to create a superior alternative to the app ecosystem. With widgets, notifications, continuity and inter-app processes in iOS 8, Apple did just that. Woe to Android, Windows Phone and anyone who hopes to see Apple falter this decade.

Unless, of course, I’m completely wrong.

Perhaps there’s some amazing technology out there waiting to leapfrog iPhone. Perhaps the new iWatch and iPhablet and all the various Kits and Plays fail to entice. Maybe Tim Cook and Angela Ahrendts succeed in transforming Apple into a luxury brand, turning the iPhone into a “Veblen good” and moving the company from high margin computing to higher margin fashion.

This seems unlikely. Nonetheless, on the cusp of the big Apple launch event, I am thinking not of new products, but of past ones, and not only of successes, but failures. When I labeled the iPhone 5c a “failure,” readers did not hesitate to emphatically declare I was wrong.

Wrong.

The iPhone 5c was a failure both in terms of sales and for how it diminished Apple’s image as an innovator. I may never have been so right as when I declared the 5c a failure. Expect it to be erased from Apple Stores before this year is out.

The 5c will not be the last Apple flop. I suspect the primary value of any iWatch, at least in the first few years, will be to show people you have an iWatch.

Carry That Weight

I understand if you vehemently disagree with my assertions. Tomorrow brings us new products but will not necessarily end any long standing debates. For example, despite the adoption of Chromebooks and the gutting of the great LA Public Schools iPad experiment, I steadfastly believe in the merits of my plan to give an iPad to every child in America. Similarly, regardless of what every other tech writer is saying, and no matter what Apple introduces tomorrow, I still think NFC is a waste of Apple’s talent and our time.

Going on public record can be daunting. Certainly, it is filled with missteps. Here are two minor predictions I have for tomorrow’s event: 

  1. Apple will offer universal content search and a single log-in across apps for its Apple TV
  2. The company will launch consumer-grade, home-optimized iBeacons

Now a big one:

The weeks-long stream of “leaks” is well orchestrated and not at all coincidental. Apple plans to reveal a great many products tomorrow but few will ‘wow’ and several are almost fully dependent upon multiple partners. CarPlay and iPhone payments may be great — but these will take time and usage and third party vendors to make successful. As the ecosystem expands, Apple has less control. This forces them to talk up the product whereas in the past, the product spoke for itself.

We will know shortly if I am right.

Some predictions take longer, however, and are not as clear-cut. My very first Techpinions column, from February 18, 2013, focused on — believe it or not — the Apple iWatch. I wrote:

Very soon, sensors throughout our homes, on our pets and possibly inside our bodies, all monitored or even controlled by our smartphone, will be the norm. Imagine now if these were ad-subsidized devices, like Android or Kindle, offering no escape from the latest marketing pitch or sponsored social media update. Is this a tolerable future?

I know. Brilliant.

But a paragraph later I followed up with:

The next design battle will almost certainly not be about “skeuomorphism” versus “flat design”. Rather, monetizing hardware, the Apple way, versus monetizing data and advertising, the Google way, will set the stage for this next great battle.

Incorrect.

Nearly 2 years later, this was a battle that never happened. The market has embraced both models, not chosen one over the other. Perhaps, as wearables and smart homes become more common place over the next many years, this will change. That’s a rather weak prediction, however.

Here’s a bold one. From March 18, 2013:

As the blogosphere pronounces ‘Apple is Doomed’ at every turn, I can’t help but thinking we have it wrong. Apple will have its ups and downs, no doubt. It’s just, the more I follow Apple, the more I study Steve Jobs, the more I suspect that, while he could not live forever, Jobs absolutely believed his creation, Apple, could. Literally. 

Am I right or wrong?

Fixing A Hole

Confession: sometimes I secretly blame you for when I am wrong. In “iOS 7 Game Changers,” I spoke glowingly of AirDrop:

I predict AirDrop will have a paradigm-shifting impact on content sharing – which means it should have a paradigm-shifting impact on social sharing sites, particularly Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn. 

Hundreds of millions of iPhones with simple, real time, on-the-spot sharing, all thanks to AirDrop. Big transformative things were supposed to happen. I really believed what I said. So why do almost none of you use this “paradigm-shifting” feature? (Because it’s not necessary, that’s why. I did not think it through at the time.)

Of course, some outrageous ideas may yet come true. Just over a year ago I recommended Apple:

Integrate iCloud, fingerprint technology, and an open API. Touch any connected screen and it instantly re-calibrates itself to our preferred, personalized settings, ST:TNG-like. In this way, Apple becomes the company that manages every screen in our life, everywhere, all the time.

I think this is a near certainty within the next 10 years.

Oddly enough, it’s the stuff that seems patently obvious where I get the most pushback. Following last year’s big Apple iPhone launch event, I stated:

Asking Apple to go down market is like asking Microsoft to no longer charge for software. It runs counter to their history, their strategy, their culture and skill set, their strengths, their leadership and how they recruit, reward and incentivize their staff.

…and took a great deal of flak for that.

I contend it was true then and more so now. That even the most expert Apple analysts refuse to accept this makes it no less correct. The 5c was a mildly painful reminder the company cannot go down market. That Apple is moving further up market is no surprise to me.

Getting Better All The Time

I think I have maintained a reasonably high average for prognostication. For example, fully nine months before the actual Amazon Fire Phone was released, I explicitly stated here that:

  • An Amazon smartphone would be focused on getting us to shop more — from Amazon
  • The widely reported “3D” screen technology would be a bust
  • No Amazon Phone could possibly hope to compete with other devices unless it was completely free, which I seriously doubted would happen

You’re welcome.

Unfortunately, there are those predictions that are quickly proven wrong. Just two months ago I wrote:

Given Android’s headstart in wearables, it’s hard to see Apple winning any wearable app wars. Given the limitations of its market reach, it’s similarly difficult to see Apple winning the “smart home” market without buying its way in. 

What was I possibly thinking? With Mac, iOS and HomeKit — and a premium user base — there may be no company with a bigger head start here than Apple.

Apple will reveal much tomorrow. I predict this will be a once-a-decade event, with a stunning array of new products, services and partnerships. However, despite all the talk, all the tweets, all the analysis, we will not know the full impact of the company’s efforts for years to come.

Published by

Brian S Hall

Brian S Hall writes about mobile devices, crowdsourced entertainment, and the integration of cars and computers. His work has been published with Macworld, CNBC, Wall Street Journal, ReadWrite and numerous others. Multiple columns have been cited as "must reads" by AllThingsD and Re/Code and he has been blacklisted by some of the top editors in the industry. Brian has been a guest on several radio programs and podcasts.

424 thoughts on “I Was Wrong And The iPhone 5c Is Still A Failure”

  1. “Asking Apple to go down market is like asking Microsoft to no longer charge for software.”. Didn’t MS just release a free version of Windows ?

  2. Even though many companies would like to have sold that many devices and made as much money with iPhone 5c, by Apple standards it is a failure. I like this line and agree with you – “…and for how it diminished Apple’s image as an innovator”

  3. BB,

    “…and for how it diminished Apple’s image as an innovator”

    It maybe diminished Apple’s innovator aura for some geek posters, but my friends were delighted to buy a beautiful on contract with $100 off for $0… They still love its colors and style and haven’t been told that it doesn’t have TouchID or the latest A7.

    They own an Apple iPhone and they’re happy and proud.

    1. And as I said, no one looks at Samsung, HTC or Asus with the same critical eye. For anyone else to have a so-so product is okay but if Apple has even a minor slip-up pundits show up with measuring tape like an undertaker.

      If one product meant the complete and utter demise of a company Microsoft would be selling off the furniture after the Zune, Windows ME, Windows Vista, So.cl, Surface RT and Windows 8.

  4. The iPhone 5C is not a failure. It’s the second best-selling smart phone of all time – topped only by the iPhone 5S.

    Why do you keep perpetuating the nonsense spouted by Fandroids everywhere that the 5C is a failure? It’s just not true and it makes you sound silly.

    1. I knew Brian would strike a nerve with this one when I read it a few days ago prior to publishing. I’ve talked to Brian about this before, and while we disagree, I think he is bringing a specific set of assumptions to the 5c and perhaps he is right with several of them.

      We will know tomorrow, but I’m not sure the 5c lives on. I understand why Apple made it, and yes it sold well. It was targeting late adopters and that was great. It gave late adopters a current generation phone at a lower cost. It has also only done well in the US and parts of Europe. I think you can make a strong case that globally it did not live up to the expectation, but again what expectations one had with the 5c to begin with is they key and that is where I think Brian differs from many.

      1. So if you don’t think the 5c lives on, what do you predict Apple’s line-up for the rest of the year be? It basically leaves the following;

        iPhone 4S
        iPhone 5s
        iPhone 6 4.7″
        iPhone 6 5.5″

        I don’t think the 4S sticks around. It’s too outdated in terms of the screen and 30-pin adaptor. Plus how well does iOS 8 perform on a 3 year-old device?

        1. I think the 4s may stick around, simply because it is starting to gain traction in emerging markets. I’m seeing an uptick in India for example, although many of those are secondary market products.

          Right now Apple uses the 4s as the entry level iPhone, so if they do discontinue it then it will be very interesting to see what they then turn into their entry level iPhone.

          1. This is where I think the 5c could serve as Apple’s entry-level iPhone and be priced aggressively, say $349 to $399. Then you would have the 5s ($549), 4.7″ ($649), 5.5″ ($749)

          2. Yes that could be interesting and I suspect a 5c at that price would do very well in India through the primary channel which would really be key.

            I like an aggressive 5s for China, as that could do well there against the Mi3 for example. But really, I’m interested in India. I think Apple can crack the nut there and if they do the ramp could be huge over the next few years as India transitions from feature phones to smartphones.

        2. The 4S is gone for sure. Apple is not going to keep a model in their lineup that will be more than four years old when the next iPhone comes along.

      2. “I think he is bringing a specific set of assumptions to the 5c and perhaps he is right with several of them.”

        Could be, but the assumption that the 5C did not sell well is simply false. Do we not have data, or at least pretty good estimates on sales of the 5C? From what I’ve seen it’s tough to objectively call it a failure based on sales.

        I expect the ‘fun colorful iPhone’ to stick around. My teenagers love it, it’s the iPhone they want, they don’t want the 5S.

          1. For several months the 5C was reportedly the second best selling smart phone in the US and several other markets. Was it supposed to outsell the iPhone 5s? Many people thought so but I doubt Apple agrees. Why would Apple want their best selling phone to be the one with lower margins?

            For what it is worth, I see more 5Cs now than I do 5S iPhones. This changed about 6 months ago. Before that the 5S seemed to dominate.

          2. Actually only 1 month, after Apple and distributors had a FIRE SALE in February, to reduce huge inventories, even though they had reduced orders after it was obviously failing to sell in China. Which was it’s target market, when they pulled iPhone 5 from the shelves there!!!

          3. If you’re not offering a statistic on iPhone 5C one way or the other, how can you declare it a failure? You’re making a declaration about a product being a failure without knowing or choosing not to share how many were actually sold. Without you (the author) offering up a data point, your argument is purely subjective.

          4. But you declared the 5C a failure and a flop with even less evidence. How can your characterization be valid if Chris’s is not?

          5. The 5C was a replacement for the obsolete previous generation iPhone that Apple always sells for $100 less than the new flagship. And it was a new case design which has some value for at least some customers. The alternative would be to sell the previous model iPhone 5 for $100 less than the new iPhone 5S. That was technically untenable because they needed the same manufacturing capacity needed by the 5 for building the 5S.

            So the 5C was a direct replacement for the placement of the iPhone 4S in the lower tier when the iPhone 5 was introduced. The 4S didn’t have the A6 processor of the iPhone 5 and the 5 had a better camera too. Was that devaluing Apple hardware too? By being in the lower tier the 5C seems to have succeeded by selling well after the initial wave of 5S flagship hype wore off. I can’t understand where the idea of failure comes in. Because it had a colorful plastic case? That seems a stretch. It seems that it was mostly just a misunderstanding by analysts.

            Unless you can give numbers for how well the 4S sold when the 5 was introduced, I don’t see how you can make a comparison with the 5C and declare sales failure. I’d love to see that analysis even if it was only based on estimates.

          6. Apple still sells what you call “obsolete”.
            Where are you getting any of these numbers related to what is or is not technically untenable for Apple manufacturing capacity? I will look at them if you provide.

          7. “Apple still sells what you call “obsolete”.

            So? They don’t still sell the iPhone 5 do they?

            “Where are you getting any of these numbers … for Apple manufacturing capacity”

            As you know Apple isn’t going to give details for their CAPEX but it has been well reported that Apple bought up as much aluminum milling capacity that they could. This is not controversial.

          8. If only Apple had a history of using plastic and various colour choices for their devices. Maybe then they wouldn’t have looked like they were imitating Nokia.

            Joe

          9. What would change that would be if Apple had no history of offering devices in plastic and multiple colours. But since they do, it is hard to trace back far enough to figure out who influenced whom.

            But then, maybe that was part of the design patent licensing deal between MS and Apple that came out in the Samsung trial.

            Joe

          10. If Samsung did not already have a history of slavishly copying other competitors (even before iPhone), while I might doubt it, I couldn’t rationally argue it with anything other than coincidence.

            If Apple was influenced by Nokia, it certainly was a back-handed complement. In Apple tradition (with only a couple of exceptions), plastic and multiple colours are relegated to lower tier products. If you want to argue that Apple was implying that plastic and colour choice means second rate, you might have a point.

            Since Jobs, top tier products have always been one or two colours (special editions, not withstanding). And usually once the top tier goes metal, it never goes back. The only exception I can think of is the iP3 line. And that was probably due to giving them more time to figure out the antenna issues of a metal body.

            Joe

          11. So Samsung top of the range phone is plastic and that’s OK for a premium phone, but Apple producing a “quality” plastic phone “devalues” the brand??

          12. I presume, as a serious journalist, when you reference “poor” hardware you have evidence. Either based upon your own technical evaluation derived from a high level industrial design career or sourced from equivalents.

            I would hate to believe that this was just some emotive clic-bait comment.

          13. The 5C looks a lot more like the older iPod Touches that came in colors, and before that the other color iPods, and even before that the color iMacs. Bright appealing colors aren’t ever going to be that different. You’ve got a tough argument to make if you want people to think Apple copied Nokia here.

          14. Well I suppose there’s just no arguing with people who live next door in that alt.universe! Where No.1 and No.2 are not first and second and you don’t get gold and silver. Where no.3 is really success (Samsung) and no.4 is a runaway success (Moto).

      3. “but I’m not sure the 5c lives on.”

        Well, the technical reason for making the 5c was that they could not buy enough aluminum milling machines to make cases for both a discounted 5 and the new 5s. (IIRC, they have been essentially buying all the milling machines that the manufacturers can make for several years now)..

        Unless they have since massively increased the number of milling machines they own, or moved completely away from the aluminum unibody aesthetic this year, a plastic case version of the one year old and two year old phones are still going to be required — the machines to make those cases don’t grow on trees.

      4. If you believe the second best selling smartphone on the planet is a failure, then your set of assumptions and expectations need to be adjusted. The 4S is dead for sure and who cares if the 5C doesn’t live on? That doesn’t change the fact that it outsold every phone on the planet except for its big brother. Sales alone dictate the 5C is a success. Calling it a failure is nothing more than hyperbole and link baiting.

        1. Again, thinking from Brian’s perspective I think failure is entirely subjective. I’m not saying he has the right view of it but it doesn’t really matter. Collectively Apple has had a sold year and next year will be even better.

          If the 5c stays around and gets even lower priced, it could be a brilliant move for emerging markets.

          1. The iPhone 5C is a failure for the same reasons that people consider Google+ to be a failure, because it has failed in its initial goal of taking user away from Android

            I often laugh when I hear people like @benbajarin saying that a bigger IPhone will take user away from Android which I’m willing to bet wont happen.

      5. “This is true. 5c outsold a number of flagship Samsung devices in all of 2013 in US as well” – tweet from Ben Bajarin, 22 March 2014

        source: http://appleinsider.com/articles/14/03/22/apples-iphone-5c-failure-flop-outsold-blackberry-windows-phone-and-every-android-flagship-in-q4

        There’s no reason for Apple to just ditch the 5c like it didn’t happen. No, they likely won’t announce a 6c but I believe whatever strategy Apple had for the 5c probably worked. Maybe it didn’t trounce the competition like many “projected” but that doesn’t mean it was a complete waste of time.

        Once again we’re subjecting Apple to expectations that no other company has to bear. No one’s asking about sales performance of the Samsung Galaxy Curve or the state of Nexus phones or tablets. But in Apple’s case having a ho-hum device immediately equates to the complete collapse of the Apple empire.

        And yet, as the linked article states, it outsold every major competitor… in one quarter. Even if it tanked afterward that’s quite the milestone for a product that CONTINUES to be seen as a reckless and unnecessary move from Apple.

        I suppose it’s Apple’s blessing and curse. They’ve changed the world so many times that we’ve come to expect no less. So when something sells in the “okay” sector of pie chart it’s the end of the world.

        Ping was a mistake, Me.com had to go and the launch of Apple Maps had an array of issues (overblown if you ask me but that’s another topic) that are blemishes on an otherwise stellar record. But compared to where Apple has succeeded those hiccups account for nothing based on where Apple has been and is going.

      1. Wouldn’t it be more appropriate to ask if Windows RT was a failure? Windows 8 (Metro) is Microsoft’s flagship where Windows RT is meant to be down market. Correct?

  5. Repeating the slogan that the iPhone 5c is a failure does not make it so. You seem to have a thing about the 5c, but whatever you say, a failure it is not. It may have disappointed the management of Apple Corp but you should be silent now, as you have no idea about the success or failure of any Apple products.

    Your “reasonably high average for prognostication” is no more than an attempt to avoid the awareness of the contrary.

  6. Brian, you clearly hit a nerve with the 5c failure statement. I think the common error in evaluating the 5c is forgetting that Apple has always had a subsidized cheap phone ($ 0; $ 100). The 5c wasn’t aimed at moving Apple’s product line down market, it was a future replacement of the existing cheap phones. The purpose of Apple’s low end is to supply a phone for those who can’t or won’t buy the current technology and yet introduce these people to Apple’s advantages and to have them buy into the Apple ecosystem. And for those who can buy the better phone, the downstream has to sell these folks upstream. According to these objectives, I think the 5c was a smashing success.

    1. I find the 5c somewhat fascinating because it is the device that everyone got wrong. Even the Apple blogs were touting a “cheap” iPhone in the weeks and days leading up to its launch. Wrong! Then Apple releases it and it’s a flop, selling well below expectations. It’s that rare Apple product where everyone was wrong.

      1. It’s only a failure insofar as it didn’t sell all that well: it did bring people in the door, who then walked out with 5s’s. As a product, maybe a failure. As a marketing manuever, not so much.

  7. Not sure how or why anyone can declare the iWatch a failure. You get no points for being right, as nobody I know is clamoring for a smartwatch; of course it seems unnecessary. But if Apple actually has something great up its sleeve, your comments become part of the next batch of claim chowder for Apple lovers.

    Why the rush to judge an unannounced product? We don’t even know the use cases that Apple will promote. You can still take credit for your prediction even if you write the same article tomorrow afternoon. But at least at that point, you would have some basis for judgement. You would know what it is that you are dooming to failure as another junk-drawer gadget.

  8. The company that i am really really rooting for right now is Motorola.

    while they may not get the respect they deserve, but over the last 3 year they had out innovate every other company in the industry when it come to hardware. I really love what they doing and the way they approach the market.
    they remind me of Apple Before the IPod, and wish them to succeed just as I used to wish Apple to succeed before they’ve become this giant arrogant corporation with an army of biases blogger acting as PR agent throughout the web.

    the worst thing that could happen for consumers, it’s for Apple and Samsung to completely control the entire mobile ecosystem, something I know that many of your IFAN here will disagree with.

        1. Motorola seems to have made a pretty bad mistake with 360 though using a slow, battery hogging obsolete SOC. For a company that seems to be trying very hard to show hardware prowess, it seems like an odd oversight.

          1. The moto 360 is the first generation of a New category of product that has its flaw just as it was the case with the first iPhone but when it Come to the basic, Motorola nail it

        2. “they had out innovate every other company in the industry when it come to hardware”

          Innovation in hardware is half the story. And innovation in software is half the story. Putting them together effectively? Now that’s innovation. Remember Google + Motorola? Remember MS + Nokia?

          Skeleton/Muscles + LifeBlood/Nervous system. Apple conceives and gives birth to both as one unified entity. Everyone else creates Frankenstein monsters.

          1. Have you bought a Moto X phone? If yes you would’ve know that what say above is complete non sense writing by Apple PR team

          2. No, I haven’t bought a Moto X phone. I spend my dollars as wisely as I can, which means I won’t buy a product from a company that is highly likely to fail. Motorola has made compelling designs here and there, but as long as these devices run the half-measure OS that is Android, I’m out. Motorola is dead. Have been for some time.

        3. Motorola has failed to re-invent themselves at every turn. They’re not worth of being compared to Apple in any way – for at least the last 15 years.

    1. You’re unnecessary slam not-withstanding, I agree about Motorola, although at this point hardware innovation is really on a micro scale. No one is pushing anything that will largely affect the market. If I were not an iPhone user, I would look at either of those before Samsung. I’m still a fan of my old Razrs.

      Joe

      1. I agree about Motorola, although at this point hardware innovation is really on a micro scale. No one is pushing anything that will largely affect the market. (jfutral)

        I beg to differ
        if you ever use the original Moto X, then take a look at the new Moto X, Moto Hint, Moto 360, Moto voice and active display etc, you will notice some huge technological improvement that is unmatched by anyone in the market right now.

        they are pushing the technological envelope where it will be very difficult for Apple and Samsung to follow, add to that Lenovo with their logistics might, what you end up with is a company that is well positioned for the future.

        Look at how the Moto 360 has changed our perception of what a SmartWatch should look like and set the standard hardware wise for other to follow.

        1. Well, if Samsung has shown anything, it has shown it’s tenacity to fast follow. I would not underestimate that regardless of the technological innovation. And it wouldn’t be the first time Motorola was stung by Samsung.

          As for the 360, while I think it looks smart (no pun intended), I’m afraid they still have made a huge mistake with its design. It will hardly make a dent in the female market because of its size. That is something I believe is a risk for Apple, too, if they aren’t careful. If I were to guess which is the larger market for wearables, women or men, all things being equal I’d peg it solidly on women. Even as primarily a watch. I haven’t worn a watch in well over a decade, probably two. My wife and daughter still wear wrist watches.

          I hope you are right about the affect of Moto’s technologies. I’m rooting for them. They are a far more respectable company than Samsung and with a respectable history on par with the likes of HP. A lot of what we have today in communication technology is thanks to them.

          Joe

          1. One of the most important aspects of marketing is to polarize people to the point of madness.

            while we all like to think that business success is based on merit, but the hard truth is that to succeed, you not only need a good product, but you also need some real Mafia tactics take no prisoner attitude that Samsung and Apple have been very successful at.

            the reason i am faithful for Motorola future is Lenovo.

            they are a Chinese born company that would never be where they are today if they did not have some ruthlessness in their vein to play dirty in this competitive world of computer business.

            My daughter has a pink Moto X phone, and watch her talking to it every day and the reaction of her friends tell me that Motorola is on the right track with this stuff.
            she can not wait for the new Moto Voice update to be able to name her phone Mika as her cat.

          2. Samsung had first patents for round screens back in 2011, believe it or not. But Moto has Samsung make their AMOLED screens forever, just like Nokia and every other device maker out there. Samsung’s AMOLED is now so much more advanced than any other OLED technology. LG’s fake RGB cheaper technology uses higher energy using LED backlight and white Oled’s only with color filters. Therefore it can’t do true Adobe SRGB or even True RGB and get the benefits of AMOLED Designed Screens!!!

            But….. as far as round goes, Samsung was preparing for a Round Smartphone to counter Apple’s Rounded Corner Rectangular Design Patent Claims. But then they got YOUM technology and Graphene patents for even better innovations. Where Samsung now has over 35% of all Graphene Technology patents!!! ….to go with best quality Polymeric Screens developed by their own 60yr old Award Winning Plastics Division in Cheil Industries now called Samsung SDI!!!

  9. “I suspect the primary value of any iWatch, at least in the first few years, will be to show people you have an iWatch.”

    You should read John Kirk’s Claim Chowder series. You’ll be featured in a future one, I’m sure.

  10. What if there are three versions of iPhone 6 tomorrow.
    A 4 inch version for people who don’t want a bigger phone.
    A 4.7 inch version
    A 5.5 inch version.
    The iPhone 5S sells for $100
    The iPhone 5C sells for $0

    1. There won’t be so many size choices and even so the 5.5″ iPhone if all it is, is a bigger version of iPhone 6 will flop. It has to have features that can compete with Samsung’s Galaxy Note. Like S pen at least with dual digitizer for sure. MS has proved changing from Wacom’s Dual digitizer on tablet PC was a bad choice. The technology is just not ready for Artists first of all and now that Samsung has advanced Note’s features to such a degree with the addition of Gear VR Oculus technology on AMOLED Screens with full SRGB Profile (Adobe), nothing can compete with them! ……not to mention Galaxy Edge refinement of curved screens they were the first with!

      So what I’m saying is iPhone 6 (5.5″ model) will be the new iPhone 5c Flop!!! ….because it only competes with Galaxy Mega!!!

      1. True, Joe. But Apple knows best, I guess. But for those who don’t need or who have conscience attached to their wallets, they are left out of new conveniences or have to carry another iProduct in their pocket. I would have thought the 4 for cheap would be another dagger to the heart of a certain climber. I’m trying to be delicate.

  11. If the 5C remains as is in the lineup or gets upgraded with an A7, are you still declaring it a failure? If new non-phone products using the plastic case of the iPhone 5C are released in the next year, are you still declaring it a failure?

    Note that with the 5S/5C lineup (and according to Apple, with the 5C selling better than the previous year’s 4S in the mid-tier slot), Apple has continued to take share from Android in the US according to Comscore.

    And besides the already-mentioned issue with aluminum milling machines, the 5C clearly reduced the production cost of the iPhone 5, thus giving Apple better margins at the middle tier ($99 when subsidized). This lower cost makes it also possible, if not likely, for it to move to the next lower tier (free when subsidized).

  12. You guys still keep going on about how the 5c was a flop. I bet you the main reason it shipped is because they couldn’t make enough 5s’s and still make the metal 5. They needed the facilities the 5 was using due to the intensive machining required. Obviously this wouldn’t be acceptable as a public excuse. Was the 4s a failure in its second year? Did it say apple lacked “innovation”? Seriously people, is this the verge or something?

    1. The 5c flopped because it was an attempt to fool low end markets into thinking they were getting next generation products. It wasn’t because the case was plastic either. Because reality is polycarbonate formulas are not any cheaper than their cheapened untreated aluminum frame they’re using today on 5s and 6 (actually in all idevices). Even the Chinese use better grade aluminum, that isn’t scratched, scuffed, bent and dented so easily. It’s the old hardware inside that makes it cheaper to build and so naturally the Chinese, nor anyone else are going for it!

      You can fool some of the people some of the time, but you can’t fool all of the people all of the time, simply by changing the outside appearance. If Apple does make a 6c it must have more advanced hardware for people like in China, India, Africa, South America to buy it! …..maybe not the same features, but there is no reason for them to basically throw iPhone 5 or even 5s into a plastic case and pretend they reinvented plastic. The polycarbonate isn’t such a bad thing after all. In that one thing 5c does much better than 5 is it has better radio signal transference and is actually more durable than iPhone 5s or what 6 will be with thinner corrugated (rib reinforced cheap low grade aluminum that can’t be heat treated! …..and what if as supposed, they use plastic panels over the antennas in iPhone 6? Proves plastic is better with higher end internal hardware and not to mention they should have added NFC all along!!!

      1. That was a welcome surprise, iPhone 5 and up. I assume you need Apple Watch plus iPhone 6 for Apple Pay though. That Apple Pay system looks really smart, it’s going to be difficult for others to copy I think, given that Apple doesn’t need to make money off our data they can go to another level on security and privacy. Apple Pay is exactly what I expected, a modular system built on top of existing infrastructure, it just kind of ‘plugs in’.

        1. “difficult for others to copy” was thinking the same, actually “impossible”, or ‘Holy cow, Sam’s copy machine blew up in shock’.
          Like, where do they start? Complexity copiable? I don’t think so. There are tears and gnashing of teeth across the seas.
          Regarding Apple Pay, that raises the question of universality. I missed a lot with lost connections. But if it works with iPt, might that revitalise the little player for those with skimpier wallets? or will other players be able to come up with some system of their own? But cards are universal so it’s really just convenience not a lockout.
          And of course, Apple stock rose and dropped/sank. Not a surprise.

          1. I think I was wrong about Apple Pay, seems that the Apple Watch with the iPhone 5 and up will be able to do it. The advantage of Apple Pay isn’t just convenience, it’s much more secure than using your actual credit card, at least from the initial info I’ve seen.

  13. In your posts, your goal seems to be to point out who is doing it wrong, who is stupid, who is failing. Calling yourself wrong or stupid is just more of the same.

    I’m not all that interested in who is stupider than whom. I am more interested in what is going on, in what is being created, and in how the world is reacting to technology. This tends to get lost in all of the judgement and keeping score in your posts.

    I know I don’t have to keep reading. So, I won’t.

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