Apple warns investors not to panic as sales dip this year. (Wikimedia Commons)

In developed, western nations, Apple’s $1000 dollar smartphones have become accepted, reluctantly for some, as the societal norm. Apple isn’t the only smartphone company to do this though, with Samsung, Huawei, Oppo, Vivo, and others selling flagship phones that can cost up to one grand.

What hurts Apple is that the aforementioned companies sell multiple series of phones at all price points, except for the American tech giant. While the premium, pricey product may appeal to someone in the developed world, to citizens of developing nations, who are just trying to find a phone that works, are attracted to budget models from these trusted smartphone brands: Samsung’s A and J series, for example.

While these phones’ inferior performance, features, and capabilities could would turn off people who can afford the top phones, the price is attractive, and it gives the companies a chance to test new technology before they put it into their premium devices. Some companies are testing new ways to fix the notch, and some are putting a large number of cameras on the phones. A quad camera example would be Samsung’s A9, starting at $450.

Other companies sell cheap phones en masse to finance the development of more expensive, luxury phones, like the Oppo Find X and the Vivo Nex S, both notchless phones. The innovations these companies are making have begun to turn heads in the west.

Apple, however, has one shot every year to get everything exactly right, and for such a big company, a minor flaw can become a major problem.

The iPhone 6 in particular is infamous for being riddled with problems, despite being Apple’s top selling smartphone. This device could easily be bent and destroyed due to its new thin, lightweight design, leaving consumers furious. In addition, and more important to Apple’s current financial state, the iPhone 6 also had battery problems, revealed in 2018. It showed that as the phone grew older, its battery and performance became worse, which led to more enraged consumers. Apple’s response was to offer an apology as well as a 50% reduction in the price of a battery replacement which made the phone good as new again.

While the program was successful and many lauded Apple for its great solution, it meant that Apple started to take some financial losses. Add to that how the newest $1000 iPads are suffering from a reincarnation of Bendgate, with Apple having to refund people for something that could have been avoided with testing on lower-end models. Now, the newest Macbook Air, a much anticipated device, has had keyboard problems, which will hurt the sales of an otherwise good product.

Apple also suffers from its limited product releases: if a product doesn’t do as well as expected, then there is no fall back. Currently, we can see this happening with the iPhone Xr, Apple’s version of a budget smartphone.

The Xr debuted at Apple’s keynote conference last year, and with its $750 price and comparable hardware to the XS and XS Max, the flagship devices, it was predicted to be the largest seller. But the Xr isn’t selling well, and neither are the XS and XS Max.

To rub salt into its wounds, Donald Trump’s tariffs on China are forcing Apple to move some of its smartphone production from the manufacturing giant to India.

While Apple had no control over the tariffs, other issues could have been prevented. By releasing lower-end, budget phones, the Chinese and Indian markets, where a smartphone transaction is below $200 on average, would be encouraged to buy Apple’s products, funding development and testing new ideas for their flagship devices. Apple could find and eliminate issues that would hurt its sales before the product release. Finally, Apple needs to stop using its status as an excuse to overcharge people for devices with capabilities that can be found in phones from other brands for half the price.

These recent fiscal shortcomings are a warning for Apple. For so long, it was the industry standard, but it isn’t changing with the times, as other companies are forced to do. Operating as it has in the past won’t keep them on top.