iPhone 6 and 6 Plus Boost Apple's Customer Base in Europe, but Market Share Slightly Down in U.S.

dampfnudel said:

Before the beer got to me, I noticed that most of the smartphones I saw at the Oktoberfest last month were not iPhones. Same story in Frankfurt and nearby Aschaffenburg. When I got back to New York, I saw more iPhones here in one day than I did in Germany in a whole week. Same situation in Denmark and Switzerland as well. I could count the number of my relatives (close to 30) with an iPhone on one hand. With the exception of the UK, Android rules over there and I don't see that changing much anytime soon.

Then again, you should be proud that you belong to a relatively exclusive club over there and don't have to worry about "everyone" owning an iPhone like here.

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Without carrier subsidies, people tend to be more budget conscious.

haruhiko said:

Without carrier subsidies, people tend to be more budget conscious.

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There is NO CARRIER SUBSIDY. Frack, I'm just tired of this. When you buy a Iphone on contract you have to take the top level plans which include the financing for the damn phone.

For example, in Canada, with Fido, the Iphone 6 costs $330 + 2 year contract, minimum of $75 per month (Considering my current contract is $49, that's an extra $26 per month for basically the same thing, only difference, 1G extra of data, but I'd prefer less cost and less data).

So, the total cost would be :
$330 + 26 * $25 ($650) = $980... You will notice that this is $230 more than buying the phone outright = $750

So, tell me how on earth is this subsidising. This is near credit card level of financing cost. If I limit the financing part to the extra $420, that means it cost $650 to get $420, 22% interest rate per year.

Considering you're locked in a contract for this "benefit" and they also lock your phone until you paid, you'd be better off financing the phone yourself.

Keirasplace said:

There is NO CARRIER SUBSIDY. Frack, I'm just tired of this. When you buy a Iphone on contract you have to take the top level plans which include the financing for the damn phone.

For example, in Canada, with Fido, the Iphone 6 costs $330 + 2 year contract, minimum of $75 per month (Considering my current contract is $49, that's an extra $26 per month for basically the same thing, only difference, 1G extra of data, but I'd prefer less cost and less data).

So, the total cost would be :
$330 + 26 * $25 ($650) = $980... You will notice that this is $230 more than buying the phone outright = $750

So, tell me how on earth is this subsidising. This is near credit card level of financing cost. If I limit the financing part to the extra $420, that means it cost $650 to get $420, 22% interest rate per year.

Considering you're locked in a contract for this "benefit" and they also lock your phone until you paid, you'd be better off financing the phone yourself.

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Of course I understand this. Hey I work in the finance industry. However an average person may be more conscious about upfront cost and telecom staff are very good at selling these "pay less upfront, pay more later" plans.

haruhiko said:

Of course I understand this. Hey I work in the finance industry. However an average person may be more conscious about upfront cost and telecom staff are very good at selling these "pay less upfront, pay more later" plans.

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So, they not thrifty... What drives sales is the fact they are financially illiterate and company use that to make money off their clients... Making them believe they are giving them a "deal".

A classic sales tactic for sure.

So, it is not those so called subsidy where called that way for purely marketing reason to confuse the masses.

Credit is pervasive in the US, more so that in the rest of the world and that's part of what drives the sales of everything, Iphones are no exception.

And This Is Precisely What Is Helping Android Sales!

Keirasplace said:

There is NO CARRIER SUBSIDY. Frack, I'm just tired of this. When you buy a Iphone on contract you have to take the top level plans which include the financing ... Considering you're locked in a contract for this "benefit" and they also lock your phone until you paid, you'd be better off financing the phone yourself.

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Just two years ago, only Apple and Samsung were making profits. But this year, a host of additional companies (i.e. LG, HTC, Motorola, Asus, Acer, Huwaei, Kyocera, Xiaomi, Lenovo) are at or near profitability. Why? Mid-range Android phones.

You can get a Moto G, LG G3 Stylus, Huwaei Ascend, HTC Desire or Sony Xperia SP with 1-2 year old hardware specs but running the latest version of Android for 1/2 to 1/3 of the cost of an unlocked "flagship phone" and do it without a 2 year commitment. The phones are very affordable, but can still be sold at a decent margin because of the cheaper "slightly outdated" hardware, and the newer versions of Android (Android requires less processing power and battery life with each iteration, and with Lollipop switching from ART to Dalvik it will make average hardware perform much better) makes it a quality device. (Ironically, the first two 64 bit Android phones are mid-range phones ... the HTC Desire 820 and the Huwaei Honor 4x.)

So people who are not looking for the top notch design and engineering of an iPhone (or a Galaxy Note) can get a very capable smartphone for less than all but the very cheapest of Windows PCs (or as cheap as a 4th generation iPod Touch). And that is what most Android buyers will opt for. It is terrible news for Samsung, because they have not quite gotten the midrange thing down yet. They either make excellent devices like the Galaxy Note, very cheap but useable Android devices for prepaid phones and developing markets, or gimmicky junk. They are trying to enter that area with their Galaxy Alpha line, but they are a year behind everyone else, and they still cost a couple hundred more than people are willing to pay off contract.

Basically, that is going to transform the whole "iPhone versus a few premium Android phones and cheap junk" narrative. The Huwaei Honor 4x offers a 64 bit CPU, 5.5' 720p display, 2 GB of RAM, a battery that lasts 3 days on a single charge and hardware that is (to a degree) designed around Lollipop for $215! The LG G3 stylus - the only smartphone other than the Galaxy Note designed for a stylus pen - is only $100 more.

So with better hardware, a MUCH better OS, and also much better apps on the way (several developers are targeting Android because of too much competition in iOS) expect Android market share to remain constant or even increase. Apple coming out with bigger screens may well devastate Samsung, but it won't affect the other players. While Samsung's profits took a beating last quarter, the other Android manufacturers' profits and sales actually increased and this is why.

RockSpider said:

I've never seen an Android lineup

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That's because there's never been a single Android model that was actually popular. Instead they release 50 models a year, like "spray and pray" in a Rambo movie, attempting to hit as many customers as they can.

RockSpider said:

, oh, and if you think they're after quality when buying Apple, why is there a post on this forum asking people if he should buy matching Colors for his iPad and iPhone.

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Who gives a crap? That's like complaining that your girlfriend likes to match her purse with her shoes. People are weird, get over it. Pretending you're cooler than everyone else doesn't make you any more interesting. Instead it makes you look like a 16-year-old kid trying to define himself based on merchandise.

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RockSpider said:

Yeah, yeah, have a look at the class lawsuits against Apple, reliable hardware my foot, have a look at the number of people complaining about Apples software, that's even funnier. I own Apple products, so I know what I'm talking about.

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Oh please. No one files a class action lawsuit against Windows laptops because no one expects them to last longer than 2 years. My last one lasted about 18 months. I called the company for a replacement part, and they quoted me a price higher than what I paid for the entire laptop.

synp said:

I didn't mean the sales people directly. If a Lumia 930, an iPhone 6, and a Galaxy 5s sell for similar prices, but the company makes more money on each Lumia sold, then the salespeople are going to be instructed to push the Lumia. If it's the iPhone, they'll push the iPhone.

Suppose Apple (or Microsoft) offered the carrier a cut of their cut from the price of each app the user will buy. Or maybe they promise a bonus (cash to the carrier) if they manage to sell a certain number of handsets. There are a lot of possible incentives.

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Yes, I agree those could happen, but it's not very common though. Wireless salespeople sell based nearly entirely off what makes them the most money. Asking them to sell more a paticular thing will get you little more than a head bob. Sales people who move through customers slowly maximize revenue differently than rapid fire reps. While there are occasional promotions by manafactures they generally result in valueless swag, or a free device. Money, if offered, is rarely offered to sales rep at a difference that impacts their sales strategy. You have to keep in mind that many of these retail store salespeople make 50 to 100 k a year.

Mtmspa said:

All phones are the same price? There are tons of cheap crapper android phones.

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You might think that way but a lot of people think about functionality over popularity and looks. Not everyone want to have the same look and feel when it comes to a phone.

Market share for the iPhone 6 might be up a little more if we didn't have 6-8 weeks to even get one.

I like and own Apple as much as many here but the headline should not be about anything but Japan!

Forget about the majority readership of US and EU for a moment - dropping 15.9% the screaming piece of data by any measure yet is entirely ignored.

Poor reporting to the point of blatant ignorance (bias).

This data does not reflect what I see in the street or in the tube. In south London, I see mostly iPhones. I probably see 2 or 3 iPhones for each Android/Samsung user. In the Android figures, do they include the cheaper £50 phones? If so, these figures need to be broken down to really get a clear picture of the smartphone market shares.

Aloft085 said:

That's because there's never been a single Android model that was actually popular. Instead they release 50 models a year, like "spray and pray" in a Rambo movie, attempting to hit as many customers as they can.




Who gives a crap? That's like complaining that your girlfriend likes to match her purse with her shoes. People are weird, get over it. Pretending you're cooler than everyone else doesn't make you any more interesting. Instead it makes you look like a 16-year-old kid trying to define himself based on merchandise.

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Oh please. No one files a class action lawsuit against Windows laptops because no one expects them to last longer than 2 years. My last one lasted about 18 months. I called the company for a replacement part, and they quoted me a price higher than what I paid for the entire laptop.

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You obviously know nothing about Android at all.

I choose my Laptops to go with the color of my lipstick.

My last 3 Windows laptops have all lasted over 5 years.

ProfessorHenry said:

That's because you can pay your cell phone and cable bills with a credit card.

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I'm talking even those who are in a chapter 13 and factor them into the budget that is submitted to the court. AT&T for example will build in the cost of a new iPhone at $25-35 per month right onto your bill.

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Keirasplace said:

There is NO CARRIER SUBSIDY. Frack, I'm just tired of this. When you buy a Iphone on contract you have to take the top level plans which include the financing for the damn phone.

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In the US there was but that has recently changed. When I bought my Note 3 after it launched, the price for my service contract actually went down $40 per month because they had more lucrative plans that provided me more minutes, SMS and data and I only paid $299 for the phone. Yes, I signed a new 2yr agreement. Today, if I go to buy a Note 4 my plan will stay the same but they will be charging me the full list price of the phone and adding it to my monthly payment for either 18 or 24 months. They don't care that I do this now or at the end of my contract, their pricing will be the same.

In the end, I am paying full price for a phone today whereas in the past, I was only paying a couple hundred bucks in exchange for being locked into the provider. So going forward, we can upgrade at any time but just need to plan on raising our bill by $25-35 per month or just simply pay for the phone up-front.

For me, I'll likely just hang onto my phones longer and or buy one that is one generation behind and save like 75%.

RockSpider said:

You obviously know nothing about Android at all.

I choose my Laptops to go with the color of my lipstick.

My last 3 Windows laptops have all lasted over 5 years.

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Good for you. Have a cookie.

Aloft085 said:

Good for you. Have a cookie.

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I don't know, I'd be pretty embarrassed if anybody thought I had a cookie...

Good. Apple needs a fire behind their asses to actually make some big changes.

R.I.P. iPhone (and Apple Watch).

AppleInTheMud said:

Do you ever leave you home? Almost every super market sells smartphones without contract for almost nothing (android)

We have a Samsung Galaxy Trend Plus S7580 for the car. It cost me 60$ and thats absolutly a okay phone.

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Our supermarkets don't sell phones....

hachre said:

Market share for Germany cannot be right. I know only one guy who uses an Android phone - everybody else bought a new iPhone this season and I know many people.

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For me it's quite different. I am working in the tech industry and almost everyone has an Android phone. Also most of my friends and family members have switched from iPhones to Android. Most of them say that to them it really doesn't make a difference whether it is an iPhone or Android. But Android is much more affordable.

londoner33 said:

... In the Android figures, do they include the cheaper £50 phones? If so, these figures need to be broken down to really get a clear picture of the smartphone market shares.

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Why? Android is Android. If they have a cheap Android phone it means they don't have an expensive iPhone nor an expensive Android phone.