Apple CEO Tim Cook Attributes iPhone 8 Rumors To Lower Global iPhone Demand
Everyone has been focusing on that figure for iPhone shipments, even if it’s down ever so slightly from the year before. Some are wondering if Apple has lost its mojo, or if Apple’s iPhone boom in China has lost its sizzle.
According to Apple CEO Tim Cook, there’s another explanation for weaker sales. Cook is blaming this downturn on a product that hasn’t even been released.
“I only glanced at it and so I haven’t had time to study it,” Cook said on an earnings call. “But in general, we’re seeing what we believe to be a pause in purchases on iPhone, which we believe are due to the earlier and much more frequent reports about future iPhones. And so that part is clearly going on, and it could be what’s behind the data.
“I don’t know, but we are seeing that in full transparency.”
In other words, customers aren’t buying the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus in higher numbers because they are waiting on the upcoming iPhone 8, which will reportedly be the biggest update to the Apple’s flagship smartphone since the original debuted in 2007.
The iPhone 8 is expected to have an edge-to-edge OLED display with a Touch ID sensor embedded under the front glass. In addition, the smartphone is expected to feature a glass panel (last seen on the iPhone 4S), an ultra-fast Apple A11 processor, and perhaps some tie-in with augmented reality technology (which Cook has been crowing about for quite some time).
So, yes, people may be swayed by iPhone 8 rumors swirling on the internet, however, perhaps Cook is missing one big reason why sales might be down. Could it be that buyers have just become bored with the iPhone 7’s design? The look of the phone is not that far removed from the iPhone 6 that debuted in 2014, and while performance has increased since then, the iPhone 7 wasn’t exactly a “must have” upgrade for those that currently own an iPhone 6 or iPhone 6s.
With that being said, customers’ tepid reaction to the iPhone 7 could play well for Apple in the end. Investors are giddy about a so-called “super cycle” in upgrades when the iPhone 8 is released. All of those holdout that skipped the iPhone 7 (along with those that will buy a new iPhone regardless) are expected to create a sales explosion for Apple.
