Are Millennials Killing Apple, Too?

Price tag and wait for new iPhone X proving a turn off for Generation Y buyers.

Millennials have been blamed for the death of everything good, from child-rearing, to date night, to home ownership. But a new finding from the tech sector might place the blame for yet another loss squarely on the shoulders of the whipping-boy generation.

After much fanfare and quite a few “accidental” leaks, Apple finally unveiled its latest version of its flagship smartphone. By the time the major press conference came around, the only surprise left was what the company was going to call it.

Has Apple pushed its luck too far with Millennial fanbase?

Turn off

Skipping right over version nine, the iPhone X (aptly named as it’s the tenth anniversary model of the phone) had all the awesome features we’d been teased with – facial recognition, edge-to-edge bezel, stainless steel casing, and more – but it came with one massive surprising feature: a nearly $1000 price tag, after taxes and fees.

And Millennials heaved a collective sigh and said, “No thanks.”

Mixed reaction

According to Reuters, “Shares of Apple Inc in overnight trade stunting a euphoric rally in the major Wall Street indices which hit record closing highs on Tuesday. Apple’s shares closed a volatile trading session 0.4 per cent lower at $160.86 after rising as high as $163.96 following the unveiling of its 10th anniversary edition of the iPhone. Apple’s release date of November 3 was later than some investors had expected.”

Too much, and too long?

So perhaps thew price tag wasn’t the only factor, the almost two month waiting period may have had a little bit to do with the per-share price. It remains to be seen how Apple’s value fluctuates once the phone actually hits store shelves, but something tells us that the mad dash to buy up multiple handsets that we saw in past versions won’t be quite as common.

Interestingly, Apple did sneak in an iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus during the launch for those of us still on the fence about shelling out the price of a solidly unfancy 10-year-old car, but their price tags – between $650 and $950, depending on model and memory – aren’t much better. For the money, you could skip dinner out with friends and go for an iPhone X rather than the 8 Plus, if you don’t mind the wait.