Analyst somehow thinks "it's over. It's over for Apple"

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What you need to know

  • Analyst Hilary Kramer was talking to Yahoo Finance.
  • "Apple is a hardware company."
  • 12-25 year-olds want Android and Windows, apparently.

Sometimes you read or hear something and you just have to re-live it to make sure you didn't imagine it. That's definitely the case here after analyst Hilary Kramer told Yahoo Finance that "it's over for Apple" with a straight face.

The video, shared to Twitter and then taken apart by John Gruber, is one that is absolutely worth watching. In it, Kramer makes some rather interesting claims.

They say that:

  • People aged from 12 through 25 don't want iPhones. They want Android instead.
  • Not content with Android, they're also going into Microsoft Stores, too. They didn't say whether they were actually buying anything, though.
  • People are "upset" at something. Presumably Apple.
  • Everyone has found there are vulnerabilities in Apple devices.
  • The batteries "go really quickly" on iPhones.

Here it is in full. The fun starts around the 1:50 mark.

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That's quite the rant. And we're not even sure the part about Apple being a hardware company is correct, either.

Apple makes so much money from services that it could be its own business and still do extremely well. In fact, Apple's services business grows 88% year-over-year. And as John also points out, the whole reason people buy Apple hardware is because of the Apple software that runs on it.

Apple is arguably more of a software and services company than one that focuses on hardware. And we don't even have Apple TV+ or Apple Arcade yet!

As for the future, Kramer thinks that the next generation of buyers are going elsewhere. In fact, a recent Piper Jaffray survey found that 83% of teens in the United States already own an iPhone. And 86% expect their next phone to be an iPhone, too. But sure, they must be picking up those iPhones running Android.

But remember, Apple's done.

Oliver Haslam
Oliver Haslam

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too.

Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.
4 Comments
  • Apple will still be here after I'm long dead! But! They do run the risk of loosing their Mojo! Becoming a stiff board of a company, not a fleet-footed company they once where. That is... The people who have supported them for years. The discontent is when their needs are lost in the newer systems. We do want innovation! It's just not loosing the functionality. The work process should not need to bend to the system/software, the system/software needs to enhance the process not confuse it or require more steps that are not logical. Not even acknowledging they went too far sooner. Apple needs to spend the time to have a Plan-B ready so any action thats pushing the envelope can be backed off without loosing the beat. As an example the Butterfly keyboard should have been replaced no later than the 2018 models with the older design that was being asked for almost from the day of the release of the 2016 models. Being a stick in the mud rolling out fix after fix trying to salvage a sinking design should not have happened. Sure the MacBook testing was a good idea but the 'Use Model' of a MacBook user is not the same as the MacBook Pro user which is what burn't them. They had convinced them selves it could work where it was clear it just couldn't. Poor in the field reporting was either not gathered or not processed in a way that the failure point would have been seen (heavy used keys where failing). Did Apple take the time to directly contact the people with the failures (at least a sizable sampling)? Did they ask the right questions? Was it even complied into a report that got to the designers and upper management? Did they rethink the design so its more serviceable in the next? Poor marketing feedback was also a failure, not seeing the new MacBook Pro's left the high end market to rot. When Apple finally responded they had boxed them selves within a body design that just couldn't support the hotter running chips, here again the lack of a Plan-B to address the needed CPU update (cooling and power needs). The current models are thermally constrained from what the chips can achieve. Even today the heavy pro's working in the field now need to make sure their hotel rooms have a way to either cool their systems to speed them up, or need to carry battery packs to off set the inability of the newer MacBook Pro power system to support long rendering sessions, and in some cases both! Apples new Mac Pro shows us they get the message! But, it shouldn't have taken this long. Now let's get the mobile heavy weight pro's MacBook Pro built and out the door. I hope it meets the need of this top end group with the needed ports, CPU performance, better power subsystem and serviceability. Basically, enhancing the work flow, not adding complications!
  • I sit here thinking about my iPhone 11 Pro I just bought for $1400+ and my iPad for another $1300 while I drink coffee reading your confidence in what you think Apple should be doing. Comments like "Apples new Mac Pro shows us they get the message! But, it shouldn't have taken this long" makes me smirk. Apple does and and always will release their products when THEY feel they are ready. You should learn from them instead of being a non profitable analyst. but then you are a Marketing expert also? Wow! I'll finish my coffee and think about how my new purchases will serve me for next 4-5 years feeling grateful how well Apple's plan and offerings are doing.
  • I sit here, thinking about my iPhone 11 Pro I just bought for $3,000, and my iPad that I spent $11,367 on, drinking coffee that costs more than you’ll make in a lifetime (per cup), reading the comments of some peasant and their silly opinions. I drive an Audi, and do you know what that means? I’m better than you. I live in a high rise apartment building, with a fantastic view of my local artisanal avocado toast restaurant. As I sit on my Corinthian leather sofa, which was handmade in Naples by a 85 year old Italian man, I just can’t stop thinking of how annoying people like you are. People who brag about only spending $1400 on an iPhone. I spent that little bit extra so that I could have my new piece of Apple excess hand delivered by Tim Cook himself. I’m connected to him via LinkedIn, mind you. And on that note, I have devoted too much time to you, and I must ask you to leave in whatever Japanese excuse for a luxury car you arrived in. Let me guess, you drive a Lexus, don’t you? And you think you’ve really made it in life now, don’t you? You make me smirk, silly poor person. Now on to my favorite pastime, getting drunk on $5,000 a bottle Bordeaux while viewing my personal collection of Warhols.
  • I didn't get lvavila's post as highlighting his ability to buy Apple products, but rather Apple's ability to sell them. Apple is doing fine, regardless of the monday morning quarter backing of the post above his. Maybe they shouldn't be, given some the valid points brought up by BookHound, but they are, and they continue to be, despite the missteps.