Apple Blames Users Not Upgrading for Bad Sales, Expects $9 Billion in Losses

A letter from Tim Cook to Apple investors revealed that the company is not performing as well as expected and forecasts a whopping $9 billion in losses.

The letter outlines quite a lot of reasons for Apple’s decline but points a finger at two major factors: emerging markets being affected by the US-China trade war and consumer reticence to upgrade their iPhones.

“In some developed markets, iPhone upgrades also were not as strong as we thought they would be. While macroeconomic challenges in some markets were a key contributor to this trend, we believe there are other factors broadly impacting our iPhone performance, including consumers adapting to a world with fewer carrier subsidies, US dollar strength-related price increases, and some customers taking advantage of significantly reduced pricing for iPhone battery replacements,” explained Tim Cook.

A conspicuous absence from the list is the fact that the 2018 iPhone line-up upped prices for even the most basic device (an iPhone XS retails for $1100 while iPhone X debuted at $1000). Also, Apple did not announce a budget smartphone like a new iPhone SE, as many users expected.

It will be interesting to see how Tim Cook plans to increase sales. Perhaps we could see a price reduction?

Also read: ✍Apple Patents Face & Touch ID Tech That Will Be Used on The Same iPhone✍