14 DAY TRIAL // Apple’s struggling to deal with lower than anticipated iPhone sales, and after the company reduced orders for 2018 models at least twice, it’s now announcing major price cuts for the XR version.
However, the discounts are only available as part of Apple’s trade-in program, and the newer the device you want to give up on, the bigger the refund you’re going to get towards the purchase of a new iPhone XR.
As per Apple’s announcement, you can get up to $300 if you trade in an iPhone 7 Plus in mint conditions, but if you decide to give up on an iPhone X, for instance, this value can be increased to no less than $500.
In other words, you could eventually have to pay just $250 for an iPhone XR in the United States, as the base model is available for $749.
More aggressive marketing
As part of Apple’s damage control strategy, the company is also making changes to refresh its marketing efforts. Bloomberg writes that members of the marketing team are being told to focus more on increasing iPhone sales and less on other projects that they were working on.
This is seen as living proof that 2018 iPhone sales are well below expectations, as it’s the first time Apple wants iPhone marketing efforts to be accelerated.
Sources with knowledge of the matter said Apple has substantially reduced its orders at suppliers due to weak demand for the 2018 iPhone generation. iPhone XR, in particular, originally accounted for more than 50 percent of all orders, and today’s major price cut is another sign that Apple’s expectations haven’t been met.
Apple no longer shares data on iPhone sales, but most analysts are already lowering their forecasts in anticipation of weaker demand in early 2019.