Updates
December 13, 2018: only hours after posting the note below regarding an upbeat article about Apple, Inc., I see that the lead story in today's WSJ is an Apple, Inc. story. Whoo-hoo. As my wife would say, "I'm always ahead of the curve." LOL. Purely serendipity. The screenshot:
The link to the story. Apple will build a new campus in Austin, TX, The company will invest $1 billion in a new facility and will open new offices in Seattle, San Diego, and Culver City, CA.
In Austin, where the iPhone maker already employs more than 6,000 people, the new 133-acre campus will initially accommodate 5,000 additional employees, with the capacity to grow to 15,000, with new jobs covering engineering, research and development, operations, finance, sales and customer support.
Apple said it added 6,000 jobs in the U.S. this year, bringing its American workforce to 90,000, and is on track to create 20,000 jobs in the country by 2023.
The company plans to invest $10 billion in U.S. data centers over the next five years, including $4.5 billion this year and next.
Original Post
These are the stories that fascinate me right now:
- the incredible wells in the Bakken;
- Apple iPhones; and,
- Macron (France)
The Apple iPhone story is very, very interesting. Apple has, for a "limited time," slashed the price of the iPhone XR from $749 to $499 -- a savings of $250 on a $750 phone. My initial reaction was that this was bad news for Apple. I am not so sure. I am questioning my initial impression. Cutting the price of a new phone was unprecedented, especially during the holiday season. Certainly Apple would prefer not cutting prices at all, but now that they have, it is interesting to think about it.
The Apple links:
- iPhone XR sales might be better than expected -- 14 hours ago -- the inquirer.net
- bad news for Apple as iPhone XR price slashed -- two days ago -- Forbes
- iPhone XR may have been most successful iPhone X of all -- mashable
- iPhone XR from $449 -- Apple ramps up iPhone sales push -- zdnet -- December 5, 2018
So, Apple slashes prices on its most popular phone. Doesn't cut prices on its most expensive phones. I went to MacRumors to see if contributors there might have something to offer to explain Apple's decision. MacRumors did not have anything. Earlier I posted several links to stories about the XR sale, and some analysts see it as a bad omen; others think it's a great move.
Regardless, it's a real opportunity for consumers. All three phones are incredible. The XS and XS max are a bit too big for me. I would buy the XR in a New York minute if I was in the market for a new phone.
Some people argue that the fact that the XR was reduced in price proves that the market is saturated with smart phones. Others argue that the price point was wrong. If nothing else, this drop in price is a nice experiment. If the XR sales surge, then the price point was wrong and the market is not saturated (saturated means no need to upgrade; "everyone" has a smart phone by now, so in that sense the market is saturated; the question is whether the market to upgrade has been saturated). On the other hand if XR sales do not surge, that would suggest that the market to upgrade to the XR is saturated. Whether the overall market is saturated depends on how sales for the XS and XS max go.
I look forward to Apple's October - December, 2018, earnings call. Something tells me Apple will do just fine.
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