You may have heard that Apple is Doomed. No, this isn't 2013, or 2014, or even 2015. It's 2019 (already) and one of the first things to happen this year in the tech universe was the declaration that Apple's mighty house, the house that built the iPhone, was finally crumbling. Why? Because Apple didn't get enough people to upgrade to a new iPhone.
Now, we can discuss why Apple might not have had a lot of people upgrade to an iPhone near the end of 2018. The company has already confirmed that new activations of iPhones actually set a record in the United States and Canada, so things aren't completely dire. However, Apple has also confirmed that they are going to have a pretty weak first fiscal quarter in 2019, and that's what sent the industry and its analysts into a bit of a tizzy.
The difference this time around is that it is actually Apple saying all the negative things about iPhone upgrades, pointing to issues in sales in greater China, or not moving enough devices in developing markets, or even the too-hard-ignore $29 battery replacement program the was in place throughout 2018. This isn't just analysts being analysts.
Apple told all of us that it wasn't going to have a lot of positive bullet points in its next earnings call, at least when it comes to the iPhone.
Apple calling out its own battery replacement program is kind of interesting to me, because I can personally attest to that fact impeding an upgrade for Apple. I know several people who chose to keep their older iPhone and get the battery replaced rather than opt for a brand new model.
"It can last one more year," is something I heard quite a bit.
Now, I don't know what those people are waiting for exactly. Maybe Apple does reduce the cost for consumers buying iPhones this year. Who knows! Whatever the case, Apple definitely had a rough go of trying to convince people to buy a new iPhone in late 2018, and it sounds like it'll have an impact and require some major changes for the company heading into 2019.
But, I was curious about something. Apple obviously removed the 3.5mm headphone jack from the iPhone several years ago, and by now it should just be what the industry expects (from flagship phones), with only a few exceptions. Still, I know that a headphone jack is a feature that some people want.
Which got me wondering: If you still want a headphone jack in your phone, and if Apple put it back in its flagship models (or even the iPhone XR lineup), would you buy a new iPhone in that case? Have you held onto your iPhone with a headphone jack because you don't want to lose the port, and would you upgrade to a new model if it made a comeback? Let me know!
Would you buy a new iPhone if it had a headphone jack? originally posted at http://phonedog.com
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