iPhone XS Users Complain of Charging Issues, But Sales Look Very Healthy
Apple's new premium phones have spent several days in the wild now, and the rollout hasn't exactly been flawless.
The iPhone XS and XS Max, which Apple (AAPL) - Get Report unveiled Sept. 12 and shipped starting Sept. 21, have made their way into the hands of hardcore iPhone fans -- many of whom are posting selfies shot with the iPhone XS's vaunted "portrait mode," but also reports of aggravating flaws with the device.
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On forums like Reddit, Twitter (TWTR) - Get Report and Youtube (GOOGL) - Get Report for example, some owners of the iPhone XS and XS Max have complained of charging issues with the new phones, whereby they don't charge if the phone is asleep when it's plugged in. Others have complained of slower WiFi speeds or a worse LTE signal, or both, on the new phones. Still others have observed odd software tics. Tulley Rafferty, a programmer in Oakland, Calif. and longtime iPhone user, said that his photos and many of his contacts disappeared after completing the sync with his new iPhone XS Max.
"It's frustrating because I've updated three phones now (four total iPhones) and the other two upgrades were seamless," he said. "This was super weird because it was a selective sync. Got most of my contacts but not all. Got music, but no photos."
With regards to the charging problem, the issue is fixed in iOS12.1 beta according to the Apple blog iMore -- but that software upgrade won't roll out for everyone till later in the year.
It's not the first time that iPhone users have revolted over flaws to the phone or its operating system. (Batterygate, anyone?) And so far, any quirks that may exist with the iPhone XS and XS Max don't appear to be hurting sales.
We won't get any official reports from Apple on how the new phones are selling at least for a few more weeks -- Apple reports its next quarterly earnings on Nov. 1 -- but early analysis suggests that the launch period was a success.
Flurry Mobile, a mobile analytics firm, tracked device activations of Apple's new premium phones and found that in the first full week since the iPhone XS and XS Max launched, they gained a market share of 0.42% and 0.68%, respectively, for a total of 1.1%. That outpaces the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus in the first full sales week by 45%, noted Flurry GM Peter Farago.
"While the XS and XS Max sales appear strong during their first week, we believe that trend will continue over the holidays, further supported by the release of the XR," Farago wrote. "Our net takeaway is that Apple is able still able to drive solid market share uptake with its latest devices, but is also actively raising prices to keep revenue growing." The iPhone XS and XS Max start at $1000 and $1100 respectively.
Reports of healthy early sales were corroborated by analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who wrote in a note obtained by Macrumors that iPhone XS Max sales were "better than expected" on the first weekend of sales, and that XS Max sales were well outpacing the smaller XS.
"We are positive that XS Max shipments will grow steadily in 4Q18 thanks to demand from Asia market and the gift season," Kuo wrote.
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