People are holding onto old iPhones for longer. Apple faces exactly the same problem with the iPhone as it did with the iPad — people are hanging onto older models for longer.
That’s a problem for Apple’s profits and stock price as long as the company primarily relies on selling hardware.
A leading Apple analyst thinks the company could make its stock more valuable by becoming a subscription company like Netflix or Spotify.
Apple is already doing this in a small way through the iPhone Upgrade Programme, which lets you buy the newest iPhones SIM-free through monthly installments.
The fact that more people are hanging onto older iPhones for longer is good news for customers’ wallets, but bad news for Apple’s future stock price.
One of the most respected Apple analysts out there, Bernstein’s Toni Sacconaghi, has said that the iPhone is at risk of turning into the iPad, and that Apple needs to move fast to head off that problem.
Tech: Analysts say iPhone sales could shrink by 17% if Apple doesn’t make a drastic change to its business
