How Apple's Sales Dip Explains That Weird iPhone 4S Launch That No One Wanted
Suddenly, Apple's (AAPL) iPhone 4S misfire makes sense: The company needed to launch a new iPhone product -- any new iPhone product -- because in Q4 2011 (ended Sept. 30) iPhone sales sank 16 percent in units shifted and 18 percent in dollar sales. (The rest of the company is doing just great, FYI.)
Those were mostly sales driven by the old iPhone 4. With rumors that iPhone 5 was around the corner, consumers appear to have held off on buying new iPhones until the new model arrived. When it did, in early October, observers were disappointed that iPhone 5 was in fact not ready to go. Instead, the stopgap iPhone 4S was introduced. I noted at the time that the iPhone 4S was probably good enough, from a consumer point of view, to be given the iPhone 5 brand. Early reports of lines around the block outside Apple stores for the 4S suggest that I may have been right: Consumer demand for a new iPhone is hot enough, and is going to drive 4S sales higher in the next quarter, thus rescuing Apple's iPhone sales dip. They could have called it iPhone 5 and gotten away with it.
Normally, you'd expect Apple, under perfectionist CEO Steve Jobs, not to release any new product until it's perfect. But Jobs, who died Oct. 5, was long gone from the company by the time it must have become obvious inside Apple that iPhone 5 was not going to be ready to boost sales in Q1 2012.
What to do?
Release iPhone 4S, a pretty good placeholder until iPhone 5 is ready to take over the burden of driving Apple's phone sales next year.