To say that Apple's iPhone 6S has failed to live up to expectations is an understatement.
The iPhone 6S has the dubious distinction of being the first iPhone ever to sell fewer models than its predecessor. And it's not underperforming the iPhone 6 by a little bit -- Apple sold 51.2 million iPhones last quarter, 10 million fewer than it sold during the first three months of 2015.
On a conference call with analysts on Tuesday, CEO Tim Cook said the percentage of customers who are upgrading from older iPhones to the iPhone 6S is way lower than the upgrade rate to the iPhone 6 from a year ago.
"I don't mean just a hair lower -- it's a lot lower," said Cook. "If we would have the same rate on iPhone 6S that we did iPhone 6, it would be time for a huge party. It would be a huge difference."
The iPhone 6S' poor performance dragged down Apple's overall sales last quarter, causing Apple's revenue to fall for the first time in 13 years.
Why the iPhone 6S has been a disappointment
In many ways, the iPhone 6S was destined to fail.
The iPhone 6S had a set of relatively unappealing upgrades compared to the iPhone 6. 3D Touch was its most innovative feature, but it's utility is still rather limited. It also has a better camera than the iPhone 6. Those features haven't provided a compelling case for customers to put down $650.
There's also a case of bad timing: The release of the iPhone 6S coincided with the death of two-year contracts in the United States. American wireless customers are now incentivized to keep their phones longer, allowing them to pay less every month on their bill.
And smartphone sales have been slumping overall, as the global economy worsens. That's particularly true in China, where Apple's sales fell the most last quarter.
The iPhone 6S has the dubious distinction of being the first iPhone ever to sell fewer models than its predecessor. And it's not underperforming the iPhone 6 by a little bit -- Apple sold 51.2 million iPhones last quarter, 10 million fewer than it sold during the first three months of 2015.
On a conference call with analysts on Tuesday, CEO Tim Cook said the percentage of customers who are upgrading from older iPhones to the iPhone 6S is way lower than the upgrade rate to the iPhone 6 from a year ago.
"I don't mean just a hair lower -- it's a lot lower," said Cook. "If we would have the same rate on iPhone 6S that we did iPhone 6, it would be time for a huge party. It would be a huge difference."
The iPhone 6S' poor performance dragged down Apple's overall sales last quarter, causing Apple's revenue to fall for the first time in 13 years.
Why the iPhone 6S has been a disappointment
In many ways, the iPhone 6S was destined to fail.
The iPhone 6S had a set of relatively unappealing upgrades compared to the iPhone 6. 3D Touch was its most innovative feature, but it's utility is still rather limited. It also has a better camera than the iPhone 6. Those features haven't provided a compelling case for customers to put down $650.
There's also a case of bad timing: The release of the iPhone 6S coincided with the death of two-year contracts in the United States. American wireless customers are now incentivized to keep their phones longer, allowing them to pay less every month on their bill.
And smartphone sales have been slumping overall, as the global economy worsens. That's particularly true in China, where Apple's sales fell the most last quarter.