Is the iPhone 8 a failure?

[Spencerdl]

In my opinion, iPhone 8 and 8 Plus exist because there’s enough demand to warrant their existence. There are plenty of consumers who don’t want to or can’t afford to spent $1,000+ on a smartphone, especially internationally

I totally agree. Well said/written.

 

[scruffypig]

You also had the iPhone SE and, I guess technically, the iPhone 7 in the same year; though the SE was a mid-cycle release.

The iPhone SE was introduced in March 2016.

 

[anon(9721108)]

I personally think Apple should have skipped the iPhone 8 and just released the iPhone X as the new model for 2017 and left it at that.

I know there are folks out there who love the home button and have become accustomed to having it, but I think this is going to hurt Apples profits in the long run buy releasing two major upgrades in the same year.

I have asked many of my clients and friends if they are going to upgrade to the new iPhone 8 and they said no. There is not enough new features to justify the upgrade and having wireless charging is not a big deal to them.

The other issue I hear is a lot of folks don’t like the glass back compared to the all metal body on the iPhone 7 and are concerned with long term durability.

Myself, I did buy a new iPhone 8 64 gold model and so far I haven’t seen any major speed increase or better screen quality. I do find the device more slippery and harder to hold compared to my iPhone 7, but my Apple OEM leather case will solve that issue.

Would I recommend upgrading to the 8 from a 7, probably not. If your coming from a 5 or 6/6s model, it is worth the upgrade as long as your willing to part with your headphone jack and go the Bluetooth route.

I will also be buying the iPhone X as soon as it becomes available for pre order and looking forward to using the gesture concept being I am also a Blackberry person who loved OS10. Just my two cents.

But you bought one LOL.

I for one was never a fan of gestures, and that was why when I had the choice I chose a 9900 over the Q 10 last year when I wanted a Blackberry to play with and use for a year. I think choice is important, choice is how GM got really huge in the 1950s and as they recently learned when they killed off Pontiac and Oldsmobile, people did not flock to Buick and Chevrolet like they thought they would, (substitute Android here) they flocked to Toyota Nissan and Honda! And it HURT them. (It also did not help when the orphaned Olds dealerships were stuck with a product they could not sell because of this and they eventually sued GM for BILLIONS) I think that they learned their lesson over that. I for one and I'm glad that Apple offers more choices and Apple is an American company that seems to understand offering choices is how you can stay big and profitable. This is something RARE in this downsizing and streamlined world today. I also think it is brilliant what Apple does, namely still selling older models like the iPhone SE or the iPhone 6 or 6S to attract lower budget buyers and you can bet they KNOW it takes a bite out of cheaper Android budget buyers. There is nothing cheap about any new iPhone model, it is considered a luxury product, so this is something that Apple has learned can be very effective, by offering CHOICES to the masses, and they can afford to do this.

I for one LOVE the Home Button and I am not ready to go the gesture route just yet. So I think Apple has learned from History that offering choices is important because look at what happened to Blackberry, and that hurts me to say this as a Canadian who likes Canadian companies. Many companies don't learn and they fall and fall hard.

Apple knows they have millions hooked on the home button and they are probably slowly trying to wean us off this by offering the iPhone 10. But I'm glad they offer it. It would probably make a lot of people angry if they refused to offer the home button anymore cold turkey, just like people were furious with iOS 11 when they eliminated some 3D Touch features and now Apple is promising to bring it back soon.

 

[Moneymiike420]

I'm still wondering why it wasn't because it completely went against apple's precedent for naming their phones.

Totally agree I mean they did add the a11 and the glass back but it should have definitely been named the 7s

 

[ItnStln]

2013 saw the iPhone 5S and the 5C.

I wouldn't count that because all the 5C was is a 5 with a plastic back, there were no other differences.

 

[anon(9721108)]

I wouldn't count that because all the 5C was is a 5 with a plastic back, there were no other differences.

The 5C had a bigger battery I believe, mine lasted 3 full years. It still counts.

 

[anon(9721108)]

I wouldn't count that because all the 5C was is a 5 with a plastic back, there were no other differences.

 

[Mainer82]

I'm happy with my 8 Plus and home button and no facial recognition.

 

[donnation]

Again, and this is just my opinion, but I think Apple's plan is for the X to be this year and next years flagship. It just doesn't make any sense otherwise. Are they going to have an iPhone 9 and an iPhone 11? That makes no sense. They will release the iPhone 9 next year, which will really be an 8S with most likely some upgrades and different colors. The X won't be widely available until spring/summer, so it will be the flagship for 2018 as well. Then 2019 will bring a unified model of the iPhone 11, with Apple hopefully figuring out how to embed a home button under the screen for those that still want one.

 

[Quis89]

Discussions like these (i.e. “I’m not impressed with the iPhone 8”) always bring me back to this very basic question: What else would you like your iPhone to do that it doesn’t already do? I mean, the iPhone 8 can take on a 13-inch MacBook Pro. It benchmarks higher than literally every other smartphone on the market, including the Note 8. I would be buying one in a heartbeat if I wasn’t waiting on the iPhone X.

I’m not being argumentative. I’d really like to know what would have caused everyone to be intrigued by the iPhone 8. Where did it fall short?

I don't think this is a question that we should have to answer. It is the job for the companies to intrigue me. We didn't know we wanted the original iPhone until Steve Jobs showed it to us.

I shouldn't have to say, "This is what I want to be intrigued". The mastery of a good product and marketing is to convince me that I need something (that I probably don't need).

The iPhone 8 didn't do that. It didn't offer anything substantial over my 7 Plus that told me, "I should go get that phone". So I didn't. I stuck with my 7 Plus.

I'm probably going for the X.

 

[Matty]

I'm still a title on the fence on whether or not the iPhone 8 should be considered a failure.

• Argument Against Failure:
  I think it wasn't a failure because many people would have been unhappy if Apple suddenly dropped the home button and made them learn new things. Lots of people like things to remain the same, just improve. So having wireless charging, new True tone displays and of course less antenna lines would all be considered improvements without effecting the customer.
• Argument For Failure:
  One of the reasons i feel Apple isn't selling as many iPhone 8 phones is simply because, in my mind, they released the next version of the iPhone in the same year. So basically releasing the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s in the same year. Naturally, people would go for the 6s if they can afford it. For me, even though they are running the same processor, it just feels like i would be purchasing "old tech" (iPhone 8) when i can buy "new tech" (iPhone X).

I will be interested to see what the sales numbers are around January next year. for both models.

 

[mogelijk]

The iPhone SE was introduced in March 2016.

Yes, and the iPhone 7 was in September of 2016. The comment I responded to was two phones introduced the same year, not at the same time -- though that may be what was meant.

 

[Premium1]

I’ll just leave this here https://love-ios.blogspot.com/2017/09/apples-iphone-8-adoption-rate-lower.html?m=1

 

[BreakingKayfabe]

Is the iPhone 8 a failure?

Nah

 

[anon(9721108)]

Why some customers are buying the 8, like what I said yesterday, many of us want a home button and familiarity...

Why some customers are buying iPhone 8 instead of iPhone X
http://a.mynews.ly/!MD.G2d1h

 

[bakron1]

While that is very true, I was at the Apple store yesterday and they had every device color and memory configuration in stock and that’s very rare less then a week after it officially launched.

The traffic at the new iPhone 8 areas was also non existent compared to the iPhone 7, so I would think sales are way down compared to previous product launches. Just my two cents worth.

 

[Craig]

Not sure why people think it's a failure. Just because it's not sold out worldwide, does not equal failure, it shows a slower rate than prior. If someone does 100% last year, and only 90% this year.. is that a failure. You can't have 100% sell out every time, especially when you're not changing the design. On the subject of design change, by introducing a 2nd option this year the iPhone X it's giving people pause. If they were released on the same day we would have a better grasp of the numbers. Regardless Apple being in the position of maybe being the first Trillion dollar company does not scream failure to me on any level. Not everything needs to be a A+ each time, total sell out. Mercedes, Porsche and other "Top Level Car" dealerships don't sell out 100% of each car the day they're out, but yet they're not failures. Not sure why anyone feels this phone is a failure, when it has so much to offer, but in the same body.

 

[Tartarus]

Who’s to say Apple didn’t manage to have enough in stock this time?
Not being sold out / having still in stock doesn’t equal low sales.

 

[ItnStln]

Who’s to say Apple didn’t manage to have enough in stock this time?
Not being sold out / having still in stock doesn’t equal low sales.

You're right, it's all about supply and demand. In the past there was a lot of demand but low supply. Perhaps this year it's low demand and low supply?

 

[Ledsteplin]

You're right, it's all about supply and demand. In the past there was a lot of demand but low supply. Perhaps this year it's low demand and low supply?

Why does anything have to be low? Maybe sales are simply adequate to meet demand, given there's the X as well. Apple seems satisfied with sales so far.