Oil up, Apple down, the market up, and the Fed remains on the sidelines, or so we are told. Of the three, Apple is by far the most interesting reality.
– Apple tumbled more than 8% before the bell Wednesday after reporting its first year-on-year sales decline in 13 years.
Apple is a fine company, and it has produced innovative and quality products for as long as it has been around, but sheesh, talk to an apple product owner and, well …
The reality of Apple has always been you get what you pay for, and you pay a lot, but has the quality edge, say, in smart phones been worth the price? Is the Apple market starting to realize that competition has created other quality phones and the extra fluff is not worth the extra dollar?
Is this the time when other phone manufacturers begin grabbing market share with less expensive products with a competency that matches what the market needs, not what the desires?
Perhaps the smartphone market is now where all other growing markets get to – consumer reality, which means the bells and whistles no longer dazzle. What phone consumers want, no need, is a competent product for the best price. Is this the next Great Flood – competent and cheap, really cheap, cell phones everywhere?
Apple will always have a market, no matter what the price, but will they return to their former smartphone glory? Me thinks those days are gone.
