iPhone users still love their devices, but aren't upgrading as often

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - People love their iPhones, but many don’t have the latest model and Apple says that’s part of the problem.

“I have an iPhone,” said Hannah Mirden. “It’s simple. Easy.”

Look around Uptown Minneapolis and there is no shortage of smartphones, but there are signs the company that brought the world the iPhone is no longer the apple of its customers eyes.

“It’s really easy to use and some of them, they be looking good,” said Moises Duran.

"Honestly I think they had their moment,” said Chris Grathwol. “I think they were the big thing. There are so many competitors who have caught up and a lot of foreign competition and I think they've lost their luster and that command and sexy factor they used to have."

"I wouldn't say Apple is on the rocks,” said Julio Ojeda-Zapata, the tech writer for the Pioneer Press. “We're just seeing a little bit of an adjustment here."

Ojeda-Zapata says the lower-than-expected sales of Apple’s signature product isn’t a surprise.

He says the U.S. trade war with China may have turned some Chinese citizens against American products. Here in the U.S., people aren’t upgrading their phones as often as they used to.

"A lot of improvements you see on the iPhone are incremental. Every iPhone has a slightly better camera. That's exciting for me because I like to take pictures with my camera but that's not enough for me to spend $1,000 a year on a new iPhone,” Ojeda-Zapata said.

Apple says it will take steps to remedy the situation by offering more subsidies to wireless carriers and increasing the value of old iPhones in the company’s trade-in program, which Ojeda-Zapata says will mean deals for consumers.

"It’s obvious we are going to see a massive adjustment in affordability,” Ojeda-Zapata added. “How much phone you can get for your money?"

Some iPhone users say they are ready to let the competition take a bit out of Apple.

“I’m going to try to make this phone survive as long as I can and after that I’m probably going to shop around,” said Grathwol. “Sorry Apple.”

Ojeda-Zapata says, in the future, Apple’s revenue may be driven less by the iPhone and more by other devices like the Apple Watch and a new Apple streaming service.