One of the charts within an influential presentation on the state of the tech union at last week’s Code conference illustrated a ‘problem’ with Apple’s apparent plans for the iPhone 8. The company is believed to be aiming to sell the first ever $1000+ iPhone at a time when global smartphone shipments are essentially flat.
Business Insider argues that the problem shown in the chart by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers analyst Mary Meeker is this. Apple has historically taken around 15% of the smartphone market. When the market as a whole was growing, Apple could happily take its premium slice and see continued growth. But when the market is stagnant, growth can only be achieved by either growing its share, or boosting the overall smartphone market.
Can the company really do this, asks the piece, while trying to push its prices even higher … ?
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