Apple's woes lie not in China but in your mom's unwillingness to upgrade

Apple is also facing competition from rivals like Samsung and Huawei, which have flooded international markets with lower-cost Androids that are, in many cases, just as functional as iPhones

When Apple lost more than $75 billion in market value this past week after a surprise announcement that it is expecting lower iPhone sales than originally projected, the company put most of the blame for its troubles on China, where a slowing economy and the trade war with the United States have hurt sales.

But a bigger issue for Apple might exist much closer to home, in a small, leafy town in Ohio.

That’s where my mom lives. She’s a relatively tech-savvy retiree and a longtime Apple fan who has used many of the company’s products over the years. I