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Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
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TechCrunch writes of the latest report from NPD, covering U.S. smartphone sales in October and November of last year. The data, which begins right about when the iPhone 4S was released, shows a dramatic increase in market share for the iPhone. The jump, from 26% in Q3 2011 to 43% in October and November, is due in-part to pent-up demand for the next iPhone following the pushback of the "iPhone 5" from the traditional June release cycle. As a result, iPhone share is unlikely to remain quite so high going forward, but the gain is nonetheless impressive.

npdsmartphone.jpg



Perhaps even more striking is that the top three phone models are all iPhones. Unsurprisingly, the iPhone 4S is the most popular, followed by the now-$99 iPhone 4. The iPhone 3GS, free on AT&T with a two-year contract in its third year of availability, comes in third, ahead of the Samsung Galaxy S 4G and Samsung Galaxy S II -- both Android phones introduced in 2011.

top10npd.png



Samsung, like Apple, makes three of the top ten most popular models; HTC holds two spots, whilst Motorola and LG each round out the remaining models with one model each.

Article Link: iPhone 4S Closes Sales Gap on Android as Apple Sweeps Top Three Smartphone Models
 

nick_elt

macrumors 68000
Oct 28, 2011
1,578
0
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8C148 Safari/6533.18.5)

It says alot when a 3 year old iphone sells more than "the best" android.
Boom!
 

nick_elt

macrumors 68000
Oct 28, 2011
1,578
0
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8C148 Safari/6533.18.5)

gpat said:
FYI, the world does not start nor end with America.

Im not american but by the way rumours is spelt. Im sure this is an american website
 

FakeWozniak

macrumors 6502
Nov 8, 2007
428
26
Looks like Apple ate Androids lunch this last quarter.

This goes to show that the market share levitates around Apples annual release cycle. Apple being the 800lb gorilla, will famine a little before the release and feast just after it... And so will Android, but in reverse.
 

eNcrypTioN

macrumors 6502
Nov 4, 2009
393
1
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A405 Safari/7534.48.3)

Apple ftw!!
 

*LTD*

macrumors G4
Feb 5, 2009
10,703
1
Canada
Perhaps even more striking is that the top three phone models are all iPhones.

No it isn't. This is how it's been for a while now. Apple is usually in top spot, and the 3GS has been outselling most newer Android devices.

Apple's Quality vs. the competition's Quantity.

----------

This is great news for those of us who are shareholders.

It's great news for everyone. It means that iPhone users are part of a robust ecosystem that is healthy and will last. It's good news for our investment - as users - in the platform.
 
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Rocketman

macrumors 603
Pretty cool to see the 3GS still kicking arse.
I find it amazing that they, a) still make it and, b) sell a whole bunch of them.

It goes to show people really do care ore about basic functionality than specs. Because for $200 more on contract one could get a 4S with all its spec and feature bumps, yet some do not!

Rocketman

Minor nit. At this point I am thinking the marginal cost of the next iPhone 4 is not very much more if at all than an iPhone 3GS. This is a marketing not a manufacturing function!
 

ArtOfWarfare

macrumors G3
Nov 26, 2007
9,544
6,042
I wonder how things would have turned out for Samsung if they'd gone with Apple's approach and released one phone instead of two.

By releasing two phones at the same time Samsung did two things to harm themselves.
1 - They splintered their sales. People looking for non-iPhones now have twice as many models to choose from. The two models will fight with each other for market share.
2 - They display a lack of confidence in their own products. Essentially they're saying "Hey, we know neither one of these are perfect, so we'll let you choose which one you think is better." Apple, on the other hand, displays extreme confidence in their product by saying, "Here it is. This is the best phone on the planet. We tested dozens of other designs, and this one is the perfect one."

There are the pros to releasing multiple models, but those are more obvious.
 

jzuena

macrumors 65816
Feb 21, 2007
1,123
149
Yes, among other things it says that 99 cents is a very attractive price for an iPhone (especially versus $100 to $230 for all the others in the top nine slots).

Except that 99 dollars is an even more attractive price for an iPhone... and $199-$299 is even more attractive than that. Apple seems to be the only manufacturer that can outsell a 99 cent iPhone with more expensive models.
 

h0mi

macrumors member
Mar 4, 2007
91
0
This should demonstrate that Apple's "weakness" over the past year or 2 as Android captured bigger market share was availability on carriers.
 

kdarling

macrumors P6
By releasing two phones at the same time Samsung did two things to harm themselves.
1 - They splintered their sales. People looking for non-iPhones now have twice as many models to choose from. The two models will fight with each other for market share.

It's all still revenue to the same company. The main difference is that individual devices won't score as high on popularity charts like the one in this thread.

2 - They display a lack of confidence in their own products. Essentially they're saying "Hey, we know neither one of these are perfect, so we'll let you choose which one you think is better."

And Apple currently sells three models. It's not about lack of confidence; it's about hitting multiple market tiers.

Apple seems to be the only manufacturer that can outsell a 99 cent iPhone with more expensive models.

All the $100 to $230 Android phones on that list outsold the 99 cent ones... which didn't even make the list. Apparently "free" Android phones don't account for the most popular sales.
 

yeah

macrumors 6502a
Jul 12, 2011
974
275
Wow. This is GREAT for consumers! Especially since now 54% of people in the U.S. are now considering to buy an iPhone!
 

ArtOfWarfare

macrumors G3
Nov 26, 2007
9,544
6,042
And Apple currently sells three models. It's not about lack of confidence; it's about hitting multiple market tiers.

Yes, but when did Apple begin selling each model? They released each model in a different year, whereas Samsung released several models in 2011 alone. Apple was capable of claiming that they're released the best phone ever each time, whereas Samsung couldn't. For Samsung to say one of their phones was the best ever would imply that the other ones that they were releasing in the same year weren't as good as Samsung was capable of making them, that Samsung had cut corners.
 

george-brooks

macrumors 6502a
Oct 31, 2011
732
16
Brooklyn, NY
Wow, this is very impressive data! It seems Apple finally finally got it right, offering a fantastic phone for free, an even better phone for a low price, and an incredible phone at an affordable price. The numbers will probably level off a bit over the course of the product cycle, but imagine what these numbers will look like when the rest of the hold-outs switch when the iPhone 5 comes out!

Also love to see how deep a plunge Android took! Because you KNOW that thats where most of the new iOS users are coming from!

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Except that 99 dollars is an even more attractive price for an iPhone... and $199-$299 is even more attractive than that. Apple seems to be the only manufacturer that can outsell a 99 cent iPhone with more expensive models.

YES!!! I love that Apple can say "Here, we'll give you this one for free!! or... or... you can pay us $200 and we'll give you this one that looks a lot prettier and runs a little faster" and most of time, you'll fork over the $200. Thumbs up for improving upon your own designs!
 
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panerista

macrumors G5
Oct 20, 2011
12,679
10,516
Austin, TX
Yes, but when did Apple begin selling each model? They released each model in a different year, whereas Samsung released several models in 2011 alone. Apple was capable of claiming that they're released the best phone ever each time, whereas Samsung couldn't. For Samsung to say one of their phones was the best ever would imply that the other ones that they were releasing in the same year weren't as good as Samsung was capable of making them, that Samsung had cut corners.

A friend and I were discussing Motorola's similar strategy. I don't understand why the company continues to cannibalize its new products with newer ones a month later. Why not ride out one phone for a while.
 

*LTD*

macrumors G4
Feb 5, 2009
10,703
1
Canada
A friend and I were discussing Motorola's similar strategy. I don't understand why the company continues to cannibalize its new products with newer ones a month later. Why not ride out one phone for a while.

No confidence. They don't believe in their own products.
 

BC2009

macrumors 68020
Jul 1, 2009
2,236
1,371
FYI, the world does not start nor end with America.

However, the USA is the one of the few countries where the iPhone 4S was first available. By the same note the Galaxy Nexus has only been available on subsidized contract in the USA since December if I am not mistaken. iPhone has been the leading selling smartphone worldwide for years though (even with the old model out-selling competitors). The OS market share numbers are interesting, but another look at this in 3 months after the dust settles will help in determining trends. I for one do not subscribe to the Droid Army belief that Android is on its way to 90% market share with Apple fading into irrelevance. The user satisfaction numbers on Android phones represent a huge opportunity for Apple.
 

danahn17

macrumors 6502
Dec 3, 2009
384
0
Yes, but when did Apple begin selling each model? They released each model in a different year, whereas Samsung released several models in 2011 alone. Apple was capable of claiming that they're released the best phone ever each time, whereas Samsung couldn't. For Samsung to say one of their phones was the best ever would imply that the other ones that they were releasing in the same year weren't as good as Samsung was capable of making them, that Samsung had cut corners.

Sorry but I don't buy that argument. Look how many models of Ferraris there are. Does that suggest a lack of confidence in their cars?

Or closer home...how many models of iMacs, MBPs, and iPods are there? Does that suggest Apple lacks confidence in their other products?

Apple and the various Android makers have just different business models and each method has their own pros and cons. Just leave it at that... there's nothing more to it.
 
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