Apple CEO Tim Cook Calls Reports That iPhone XR is a Flop 'Bologna'

Apple CEO Tim Cook recently sat down for an interview with Mad Money's Jim Cramer, which aired today at 6:00 p.m Eastern Time. CNBC shared tidbits of the interview this morning, but now the full discussion is available.

Cook covered topics that include Apple's recent earnings downgrade, Apple's performance in China, iPhone upgrades, how well the iPhone XR sold, and more.

iphonexr
When asked about reports that the iPhone XR was a flop, Cook says he calls "bologna on that." The iPhone XR has, in fact, been the most popular iPhone "every single day" since it started shipping out to customers.

Cook did, however, demur when asked about iPhone XR sales relative to other sales, saying only that he'd like to sell more, and that Apple is "working on that."

According to Cook, naysayers have been saying similar things about Apple for many years now, but Apple is focused on the long term. Cook pointed towards Apple's large active install base, high customer satisfaction rating, and growing services business as positives.

On the topic of poor iPhone sales in China, Cook said that the Chinese economy is slowing, and that trade tension with the U.S. created a "more-sharp downturn." He said that he believes trade tensions are temporary, and that he's heard "some very encouraging words" recently.

As for upgrades, which were impacted in 2018 by the availability of cheaper $29 battery replacements for older devices, Cook said he's not bothered, and that the number of iPhones sold in a 90-day period, which many analysts believe is the "most important metric" is "far, far, far" down on his list of concerns.

This is far, far, far down my list. The point is, if somebody decides to buy an iPhone a little later, because of the battery, huge discount that we gave, they decide to hold on a little longer, I'm I'm great with that.

I want the customer to be happy. We work for them. And so the important thing is that they're happy. Because if they're happy, they will eventually replace that product with another. And the services and the ecosystem around that will thrive.

Apple does plan to encourage upgrades, however, through features like new phone setup, data transfer, and older device trade-ins to lower the base cost of a new device.

Cook went on to explain that Apple's "not about making the cheapest" products, instead focusing on making the "best product that enriches people's lives."

Now, the best phones, we knew that, as we went to the X and then the follow-on of the XS and the XS Max, that everybody would not want to spend $1,000 for the phone. So we made the iPhone XR.

The most important thing, says Cook, is that "customers are satisfied."

A full transcript of Cook's Mad Money interview is available from CNBC.

Popular Stories

iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Coming Next Week With These New Features for Your iPhone

Friday February 14, 2025 6:18 am PST by
The first iOS 18.4 beta for iPhones should be just around the corner, and the update is expected to include many new features and changes. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman expects the iOS 18.4 beta to be released by next week. Below, we outline what to expect from iOS 18.4 so far. Apple Intelligence for Siri Siri is expected to get several enhancements powered by Apple Intelligence on iOS...
iPhone 17 Roundup Feature 2

iPhone Design to Change 'Significantly' This Year

Monday February 17, 2025 7:09 am PST by
Apple is set to "significantly change" the iPhone's design language later this year, according to a Weibo leaker. In a new post, the user known "Digital Chat Station" said that the iPhone's design is "starting to change significantly" this year. The "iPhone 17 Air" reportedly features a "horizontal, bar-shaped" design on the rear, likely referring to an elongated camera bump. On the other...
Apple Maps 2024

Apple Maps Might Start Showing Ads

Sunday February 16, 2025 7:22 am PST by
Apple is "exploring" the idea of showing search ads in the Apple Maps app, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Back in 2022, Gurman said software engineering was "already underway" to display ads in the Apple Maps app, but Apple did not move forward with the idea at the time. Today, he said Apple is "giving this notion more thought" again. This time around, he said Apple has yet to...
apple launch feb 2025 alt

What to Expect From the 'Apple Launch' Next Week

Thursday February 13, 2025 11:48 am PST by
Apple has yet to announce any new devices this year, but that could change starting next week. Apple CEO Tim Cook today said to "get ready" for a "launch" on Wednesday, February 19. "Get ready to meet the newest member of the family," said Cook, in a social media post. The post includes an #AppleLaunch hashtag, along with a short video featuring an animated Apple logo inside of a circle....
m2 pro mac mini

Apple is Now Selling a Refurbished Mac Mini for Just $319 (!)

Saturday February 15, 2025 9:58 am PST by
A few days ago, we reported that Apple's refurbished Mac mini pricing had a problem, and it appears that Apple has taken note. Apple was offering a refurbished Mac mini with the M2 chip, 16GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage for $559, which was $50 more than a refurbished Mac mini with the M4 chip, 16GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage. All other key specifications were equal. That's no longer...
iPhone 17 Pro Render Front Page Tech

iPhone 17 Pro With All-New Camera Bar Design Allegedly Revealed

Thursday February 13, 2025 5:49 pm PST by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro will feature three rear cameras arranged in a familiar triangular layout, but the cameras will be housed in an all-new rectangular camera bar with rounded corners, according to YouTube channel Front Page Tech. iPhone 17 Pro camera design render created by Asher for Front Page Tech In a video uploaded today, Front Page Tech host Jon Prosser said the camera ...
Tim Cook Apple Park

10+ Announcements Apple Could Have Rolled Into a February Event

Saturday February 15, 2025 8:00 am PST by
Apple appears to have enough upcoming product announcements to justify a full event this month, yet all signs indicate these reveals will be handled through a series of press releases instead. There are a multitude of rumors from reliable sources about specific announcements in the coming weeks, so here's everything that Apple could have feasibly included in a hypothetical February event: ...
iPhone SE 4 Thumb 1

Apple's Next iPhone SE Launching on Wednesday - Here's What We Know

Friday February 14, 2025 4:04 pm PST by
Apple CEO Tim Cook teased an Apple announcement that's coming on Wednesday, February 19, and it's looking like that mystery announcement will be the next-generation iPhone SE. We've been hearing about the iPhone SE 4 for quite some time now, and we essentially know everything to expect. If you want a sneak peek at what's coming, read on. Naming Apple first introduced the iPhone SE in...

Top Rated Comments

Klae17 Avatar
80 months ago
Then release the numbers Tim. What are you afraid of?
Score: 49 Votes (Like | Disagree)
djcerla Avatar
80 months ago
I’m from actual Bologna and can confirm that. Full of XRs here.
Score: 44 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Act3 Avatar
80 months ago
bologna / baloney. “Bologna” is the name of a city in Italy, pronounced “boh-LOAN-ya.” But although the sausage named after the city in English is spelled the same, it is prononced “buh-LOAN-ee” and is often spelled “baloney.” ... When it means “nonsense,” the standard spelling is “baloney.”May 19, 2016

https://brians.wsu.edu/2016/05/19/bologna-baloney/



Just a common error in spelling, maybe.
Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)
goobot Avatar
80 months ago
The low upgrades this year are because of price and the lack of anything new in the XS. I’ve upgraded every year since the 3g and I’m not going to spend over 1k for almost nothing new. You could also argue that anyone who is in the market for something other than a phablet was pretty much given the finger because apple wanted to try and grow their user base in China.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
az431 Avatar
80 months ago
I gotta believe it is indeed a flop. In NYC, which is extremely loyal to new iPhones and where I constantly see iPhone X/XS’s and even a lot of Max’s, I have yet to see a single XR in the wild!
Given that Apple sold 240 million iPhones last year, the personal observations of what one person sees in their neighborhood is rather meaningless. Also, not sure how you determined the loyalty of NYers with respect to iPhones, and what the relevance is of iPhone loyalty to the choice of a particular model within the iPhone line.

No offense, but I'll take the word of the CEO who looks at the sales figures every day and risks prison time for making materially false statements, than that of an anonymous forum poster.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
robjulo Avatar
80 months ago
The “this” is a that TC cares about your money...that is it. Foolish to think otherwise. If TC cared about the customer, he wouldn’t still be sticking 5400 rpm drives in overpriced computers and he wouldn’t be charging several times market price for memory and SSD storage.

"I want the customer to be happy. We work for them. And so the important thing is that they're happy. Because if they're happy, they will eventually replace that product with another. And the services and the ecosystem around that will thrive."

This ^^
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)