Apple enjoyed consistent growth for years on end, partially because of the general state of the economy but also because it felt like the company was on a strong streak with product releases. It seemed that in 2022 the company lost a lot of momentum due to external and internal factors. Apple’s weak demand seems like a culmination of the COVID-19 pandemic, moving production centers, and the current economic downturn. These factors mean that we might see Apple put more effort into revolutionizing some products to attract more customers while also introducing alternative products at lower price points.
Find out more about Apple’s weak demand and what that might mean for the company’s most popular products.
Apple’s weak demand might mean we see the company change how it operates and markets its products. How might that look?
iPhone 14
The iPhone 14 was a flop. There was less demand for the product seeing as there weren’t many improvements to the overall hardware compared to the iPhone 13, but there was also less demand because Apple couldn’t get any product on the shelves. It seemed like, compared to the iPhone 13 which had an extended marketing campaign with everyone talking about it, the iPhone 14 had radio silence. To this day, it’s more difficult to get a hold of the iPhone 14 than any other model. A big part of this is due to major disruptions in the supply chain between China and the rest of the world. This disruption (along with a few other factors) prompted Apple to diversify its manufacturing to countries like Vietnam and India.
Since Apple is working on improving its supply chain issues, we can expect there to be much wider availability for 2023 releases and the iPhone 15 in particular.
AirPods
The AirPods seem relatively unscathed compared to the iPhones and MacBooks, but it’s also suffering due to Apple’s overall poor performance in 2022. The AirPods Pro 2 was a successful upgrade, and it was much needed, seeing as there were other wireless earphones on the market that had better technology and sound quality. There are reports that Apple is working on a new line in the AirPods series called the AirPods Lite. If the rumors are correct, these earphones would be priced at around $99 in response to a weaker overall economy where people aren’t buying as many pricier luxury items.
MacBooks
The new M2 chip-powered MacBook Pro and Max were supposed to arrive in Q4 2022, but due to multiple setbacks and logistical issues, they have been pushed back to Q1 2023 (assuming there are no further setbacks). It may not be a good time for Apple to release a product like a MacBook, as the company might forecast poor sales due to the economy. Additionally, what do these new M2 chip MacBooks provide that the M1 doesn’t? Sure, there are internal upgrades, and you get a more powerful processor with better battery life, but that doesn’t seem like enough to justify spending thousands of dollars on a new machine.
Although the MacBook line has been such a powerful staple in Apple’s product arsenal, the company needs to make some more radical changes to continue growing. With more OS updates that complement more powerful hardware, perhaps we can see a MacBook that can rival the computing power of Windows machines while keeping the easy navigation and functionality that macOS has.
Apple’s Weak Demand: Analysis
There are two reasons for Apple’s weak demand: external factors and lack of innovation. When Apple implements large-scale, effective, and ambitious updates, we see massive public support, like when the company released iOS 16. The new OS paved the way for more customization and added functionality to your smartphone, which also paired well with your Apple devices.
It feels as if the economy is slowly recovering, and more people are willing to purchase luxury devices. It’ll be interesting to evaluate the iPhone 15’s sales, seeing as the iPhone is typically the biggest tech release of the year. Since not many people could purchase the iPhone 14, we predict that the next one will be one of Apple’s stronger products to make up for that.
The company is doing a good job of alleviating its logistics issues. It’s moving production centers to other, more West-friendly countries so that it doesn’t suffer from similar supply chain cutoffs. Therefore, we shouldn’t see low supplies in the future unless purposefully done. Overall, we see Apple’s weak demand getting better in the latter half of 2023 and into 2024.
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