I guess they are reaching saturation point in the market they cater to. After reaching the one billion mark in devices sold, or I think activated, I'm not too surprised. A examination of what the iPhone could be for the rest of the 6 billion people on the planet, and how the next billion can buy one, might be needed. After all,it has almost been a decade since the first iPhone.
The traditionally high prices apple charge for their devices play a part in what I mentioned above, I understand they do it for the profit margins, however people on a iPhone 5s onwards don't see much of a reason to upgrade, as they would have to shell out high price, the death of two years contracts in the US adds to this.
Before the cost of the phone was spread out, now it's front and centre for the customer to see. I'm no economist, but I guess even in these post recession times, the full cost of a iPhone is a hard pill to swallow for a lot of people. Especially for those who rely on the cost of the phone to be spread out so they can upgrade. As it is they look at their still decent 5s, on the latest iOS version, and continue to use it. Maybe trade it in towards another one with a new battery and more storage space, through a 3rd party seller.
Sure the iPhone se caters towards this demographic, however it's geared towards getting those holdouts onto more modern hardware and making the iPhone users re-invest in the apple ecosystem. Nothing wrong with that at all. It's a shrewd business move.
But in a post-jobsidian era where the chinese and Asian competition has proved they can beat apple on both specs and price even on the iPhone se level, more is needed. The Chinese are knocking it out of the park, xiaomi is fucking itching to get into the West, patent wars withstanding, and huawei Western expansion is going very well. These two, especially the first, have the ability to be disruptive in the market place.
The rumoured uptake of amoled screens for the 2017 iphone is a good starting point to gain back the growth they had a little while ago. Apple has a brilliant understanding of software and hardware, the amoled screens will provide a boost to sales, and user experience.
Samsung has also put there best foot forward with the s7 and it shows. It's been very well received both critically and commercially. They are also number one in the fastest growing mobile market, India. Which apple is growing in, but again the Chinese and home grown mobile providers are ahead and already vying to one up another.
This might seem all doom and gloom, but remember, apple is a one of the wealthiest companies on the earth. They earn billions and billions of profit each year. They are in no danger at all of going bankrupt over night. They can last, probably, decades based on how they currently are. It's a money making machine that holds 90 PERCENT of the overall profits made on smartphones.
But the decline is happening. You don't order less parts if sales are going to stay the same. The climate, much like real life is changing, and apple would be best served to see how they can adapt.