Exactly why do you “need” to upgrade those items every couple of years, and list how the new versions were so materially different for your work that it was necessary?
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Android Bosses iPhone in Smartphone Activation Market Share
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Exactly why do you “need” to upgrade those items every couple of years, and list how the new versions were so materially different for your work that it was necessary?
iPhone is their bread and butter. Apple is doomed.
![c8f7221a-b5ea-4f59-b5cc-99b1c1b4bde4_text.gif]( "c8f7221a-b5ea-4f59-b5cc-99b1c1b4bde4_text.gif")
Won't lower activation numbers simply mean iPhone users are holding on to their iPhones longer? This is made possible by the iPhone being made of more durable materials such as glass and metal, as well as being supported by software updates longer. In contrast, you have android phones that don't receive a single software update ever, or have poor build quality precisely because they are cheap, and so break down more quickly, necessitating more frequent replacements.
I am not certain this is something for Apple to get worried over. Yes, people may be upgrading their iPhones less often, and this has been accounted for in the form of Apple shifting from selling iPhones to selling to people with iPhones. You have higher prices, more accessories, more services, App Store revenue, the annual $20 billion payment by Google, even Apple Pay nets Apple a small cut of each transaction.
In short, Apple seems to have plenty of ways of continue monetising their user base (something most android OEMs can't do). So Apple doesn't really need people to keep buying iPhones; they just need people to keep using them.
I am not certain this is something for Apple to get worried over. Yes, people may be upgrading their iPhones less often, and this has been accounted for in the form of Apple shifting from selling iPhones to selling to people with iPhones. You have higher prices, more accessories, more services, App Store revenue, the annual $20 billion payment by Google, even Apple Pay nets Apple a small cut of each transaction.
In short, Apple seems to have plenty of ways of continue monetising their user base (something most android OEMs can't do). So Apple doesn't really need people to keep buying iPhones; they just need people to keep using them.
It's a strange thing - services. Services to make the ecosystem 'sticky'. But will it always work?
I used to have an mp3 collection - a mix of my own ripped CDs and CDs from friends
Then painfully downloaded from the internet during the early days of websites offering a handful of songs.
Then illegally downloaded at scale during the mp3 boom, where like 100s millions of people I got a load of music I always wanted but didn't buy...
Then iTunes came along and I went back to buying albums, which were beautifully curated, with album art and extras etc. But it never felt like a throwaway commodity. I still spent time making sure everything was neatly organised.
Then came Apple Music (I'd missed the boat a bit with Spotify)... and suddenly my collection doesn't matter any more. It's just a list of songs. I can play any song I want whenever I want. It's all just there, on Apple Music, on Spotify, on YouTube. I don't own anything.....
.. and Apple Music itself is a mediocre application. It doesn't feel personalised. It doesn't feel like having a 'music collection'. It's just some playlists, loads of white space, disposable stuff. So what's keeping me on iPhone?
Same with Games - I played a lot of iPhone games during the golden age of 2009 to 2013. But I've not bought one in years. Steamdeck is better for mobile. Most iPhone games are horrid and throwaway. SO there's nothing sticky keeping me there.
And most applications I use are cloud based with apps on both android and iPhone.
So in the end, the iPhone and android are becoming a bit like xbox and playstation, just generic hardware platforms, fewer and fewer 'exclusives'.
It'd be great if apple would innovate and experiment with iPhone. I keep buying them because I'm getting old and change is annoying. I queued to buy an iPhone 4. The Samsung Fold isn't perfect but it's great for what it does and is something new, pushing new technology. It works well.
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Apple’s greed is limitless. Every iPhone model is overpriced.
I love my iPhone but would happily go back to Android. Apple has got me now because I have airpods, watch, and macbook. So it'll be hard if I did decide to go back to Android.
FTFY
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
As prices rise, buyers scrutinize value proposition harder. "Wow! Now it costs $X,XXX. Can I get another year out of an 'almost as good' <thing> I already own?"
Apple needs higher pricing to keep the "another record quarter..." announcements train rolling down the track. Pleasing Wall Street (and especially the recurring spin of 'another record quarter') seems like it rules all decision-making these days... which is why so many decisions can feel "greedy" more than anything else. There is some price tier(s) where a segment(s) of even historical fans opt out and/or kicks the can for another year or three.
Consumers need a perception of greater value in new releases... a "bargain" if you will through a consumer lens... and not just in iPhone but in all Apple products. Instead, it feels like the Corp has forgotten where the revenue flow starts... and/or that another way to delight shareholders is as a byproduct of happier customers being moved to buy more stuff instead of maximizing profit on every single transaction.
I'm a 20+ year Apple everything guy in need of an updated MB. I was ready to buy on launch day of M2 MBair until I configured it as I wanted it. Unlike PCs where there is robust competition for upgrade "parts", Apple upgrade pricing is relatively ridiculous. So that easy Mac sale did not occur... nor have I "come around" since that launch... even at refurb offerings (10%-15% off "ridiculous" is still relatively ridiculous). Instead, I purchased a $55 third party battery to reinvigorate the existing MB for another year or two. This has me fully considering a PC laptop instead of MB. 5+ years ago the ONLY choices could have been MBpro vs. MBair. Now a PC is firmly in consideration.
What is the whole OCLP thing about? A hack to let people squeeze more years out of the aging Macs they already own. Is a very security-minded crowd turning to a third party hack so they can upgrade macOS which- among other things- promises more security (against hacks)? Think about it: choosing a fundamental hack for better protections against hacks. And then there's the other thought: look there, aging hardware CAN readily run macOS updates beyond when the Corp chooses to cut them off. With that hard proof, why doesn't the Corp just extend some useful life value? [rhetorical: we know]
5+ years ago when I had to run anything in Windows, I'd run it in a Mac via Bootcamp. Now, I've added a PC desktop for "old fashioned bootcamp" since ARM Windows is not full Windows.
5+ years ago, all of my computing would be done on an Apple-branded screen. I'm viewing this post on a Dell 5K ultra-wide screen. Why Dell? Much more screen R.E., multiple inputs to support "old fashioned bootcamp" too and a built-in hub with many 2024 useful ports instead only 3 of one type. Looks fantastic with the Mac I have AND the PC (and has 2 more inputs should I want to use it with anything else).
3+ years ago, I would only consider AirPods for buds. When my APP2s wore out and rumors of APP4s flying, I decided to try some $20-but-well-rated cheapies on Amazon to try to bridge the gap. They look, feel, sound and work as well as the old $169 APPs. So now AirPods is no longer a "must-or-bust" purchase.
HomePods? Nope, I chose the much more flexible and open Sonos for smart speakers, which work as well with Mac, Siri, Home, Airplay, Music, etc... and already offer Apple fan wants like true surround sound setups and soundbars. Sonos pricing is very much like Apple pricing. So unlike the buds proposition, Sonos was not about price but about relative VALUE for about the same money.
Similarly, that Dell monitor cost about the same as an ASD with stand option or an iMac 27" which had the same ASD monitor in it + an entire Mac + keyboard + mouse in box too. Again, the message is consumer VALUE.
These are the kinds of things that happen for some of us when a CORP goes too far towards pleasing shareholders at the (ever growing) expense of customers. We start considering OTHER options, try OTHER things and realize that our tech itches can mostly get scratched as well- or better- with other products... and/or at lower-to-much-lower prices. That "old fashioned bootcamp" PC purchase got me a gaming PC with TEN TBs of fast SSD and 32GB or RAM for LESS than only the 8TB upgrade price of Apple SSD (alone... not counting the Mac or RAM). AAA gaming??? It's already thoroughly established on PCs... as are countless other great apps NOT available for Mac.
While I did NOT expect it at all for only $20, I've owned the "temporary" buds for 2 months now and they are at least as great in my objective opinion as the $169 APP2s they replaced. I consider that shocking as an Apple guy... but ears don't lie.
5+ years ago, my household looked like an Apple store. Now there's only some Apple stuff. Hopefully in 5 more there's still at least something Apple. The trend is not their friend in this microcosm. How to "fix" it? Show me more consumer value for the money... like it seemed up to about 2015-17 or so... when the Corp margin target was >7% lower than where it is in 2024. Maybe I'm alone in such thinking?
Apple needs higher pricing to keep the "another record quarter..." announcements train rolling down the track. Pleasing Wall Street (and especially the recurring spin of 'another record quarter') seems like it rules all decision-making these days... which is why so many decisions can feel "greedy" more than anything else. There is some price tier(s) where a segment(s) of even historical fans opt out and/or kicks the can for another year or three.
Consumers need a perception of greater value in new releases... a "bargain" if you will through a consumer lens... and not just in iPhone but in all Apple products. Instead, it feels like the Corp has forgotten where the revenue flow starts... and/or that another way to delight shareholders is as a byproduct of happier customers being moved to buy more stuff instead of maximizing profit on every single transaction.
I'm a 20+ year Apple everything guy in need of an updated MB. I was ready to buy on launch day of M2 MBair until I configured it as I wanted it. Unlike PCs where there is robust competition for upgrade "parts", Apple upgrade pricing is relatively ridiculous. So that easy Mac sale did not occur... nor have I "come around" since that launch... even at refurb offerings (10%-15% off "ridiculous" is still relatively ridiculous). Instead, I purchased a $55 third party battery to reinvigorate the existing MB for another year or two. This has me fully considering a PC laptop instead of MB. 5+ years ago the ONLY choices could have been MBpro vs. MBair. Now a PC is firmly in consideration.
What is the whole OCLP thing about? A hack to let people squeeze more years out of the aging Macs they already own. Is a very security-minded crowd turning to a third party hack so they can upgrade macOS which- among other things- promises more security (against hacks)? Think about it: choosing a fundamental hack for better protections against hacks. And then there's the other thought: look there, aging hardware CAN readily run macOS updates beyond when the Corp chooses to cut them off. With that hard proof, why doesn't the Corp just extend some useful life value? [rhetorical: we know]
5+ years ago when I had to run anything in Windows, I'd run it in a Mac via Bootcamp. Now, I've added a PC desktop for "old fashioned bootcamp" since ARM Windows is not full Windows.
5+ years ago, all of my computing would be done on an Apple-branded screen. I'm viewing this post on a Dell 5K ultra-wide screen. Why Dell? Much more screen R.E., multiple inputs to support "old fashioned bootcamp" too and a built-in hub with many 2024 useful ports instead only 3 of one type. Looks fantastic with the Mac I have AND the PC (and has 2 more inputs should I want to use it with anything else).
3+ years ago, I would only consider AirPods for buds. When my APP2s wore out and rumors of APP4s flying, I decided to try some $20-but-well-rated cheapies on Amazon to try to bridge the gap. They look, feel, sound and work as well as the old $169 APPs. So now AirPods is no longer a "must-or-bust" purchase.
HomePods? Nope, I chose the much more flexible and open Sonos for smart speakers, which work as well with Mac, Siri, Home, Airplay, Music, etc... and already offer Apple fan wants like true surround sound setups and soundbars. Sonos pricing is very much like Apple pricing. So unlike the buds proposition, Sonos was not about price but about relative VALUE for about the same money.
Similarly, that Dell monitor cost about the same as an ASD with stand option or an iMac 27" which had the same ASD monitor in it + an entire Mac + keyboard + mouse in box too. Again, the message is consumer VALUE.
These are the kinds of things that happen for some of us when a CORP goes too far towards pleasing shareholders at the (ever growing) expense of customers. We start considering OTHER options, try OTHER things and realize that our tech itches can mostly get scratched as well- or better- with other products... and/or at lower-to-much-lower prices. That "old fashioned bootcamp" PC purchase got me a gaming PC with TEN TBs of fast SSD and 32GB or RAM for LESS than only the 8TB upgrade price of Apple SSD (alone... not counting the Mac or RAM). AAA gaming??? It's already thoroughly established on PCs... as are countless other great apps NOT available for Mac.
While I did NOT expect it at all for only $20, I've owned the "temporary" buds for 2 months now and they are at least as great in my objective opinion as the $169 APP2s they replaced. I consider that shocking as an Apple guy... but ears don't lie.
5+ years ago, my household looked like an Apple store. Now there's only some Apple stuff. Hopefully in 5 more there's still at least something Apple. The trend is not their friend in this microcosm. How to "fix" it? Show me more consumer value for the money... like it seemed up to about 2015-17 or so... when the Corp margin target was >7% lower than where it is in 2024. Maybe I'm alone in such thinking?
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TBH, I don’t see durability as a factor. I don’t think durability has been a serious problem for any generation of iPhone. If durability has been an issue for past Android phones (I wouldn’t know), I’m not sure that alone would have caused large numbers of Android users to defect to iPhone (higher iPhone activations in the past), since here in the US at least, so many phone users have used subsidized plans and upgrade regularly anyway.
I think it’s mostly about price. Pressure on everyone’s wallets has been pretty significant the last few years and more are probably coming to the realization that their current phone works more than well enough. I upgrade way less frequently now than I did in the early days of the iPhone. Not so much due to price, I just concluded that my use of the phone did not warrant frequent upgrades. I recently went from an 11PM to a 15PM and I only did this because my son was in need of a better phone, so he got my old 11PM. If not for that, I would still be happily using the 11.
I agree. I also shouldn’t have to pay extra to get all of the fancy features in my car. But yet, here we are.
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No true. The iPhone XR came out with XS and XS Max. So the XS was the "Pro" model and the XR the class below it.
Oh I am not saying Apple is the only one to blame here. Samsung for instance followed that lead by Apple and did the same crap with its Galaxy line starting the following year.
I think we are just tired of Apple squeezing max $$ out of every Apple purchase. Sure, Apple needs to make money, but when one pays a premium, which might be ok, we expect fewer bugs, better privacy, replaceable batteries, and side loading. All of which Apple no longer leads the industry.
I think Tim Hardwick is in the UK. “Bosses” may be an accepted substitute for “Leads” over there.
In other news color is spelled without a “u” and center is spelled without an “e” at the end, lol.
Does this indicate that the Android upgrade rate might be remaining constant? Every 1.5 years because the software refuses to update? 😂
This is probably what happens when you treat your customers like cash dispensers and deceive them with fake software limited 'upgrades' like 80% charge limit being arbitrarily denied to those with the temerity not to buy your latest grotesque slab. Profits into the stratosphere and then, eventually, people start wising up. Unlucky.
I don’t know who “we” are, but there is competition aplenty in the smartphone market if apple products have too many bugs, not enough privacy, non-replaceable batteries and no side loading outside of the EU. Clearly over the last many years the above hasn’t hurt apple.
Its because nothing changed except for titanium, camera, chip, and button.
They got to change something BIG in order for me to upgrade.
They got to change something BIG in order for me to upgrade.
I don’t know? What happens. The company breaks record earnings, $3T valuation?
Nah, as an English person this doesn't track for me either. Well, unless Tim is a Scouser, and he's all like:
"Android, dat's boss, lar"
Actually maybe this is all intentional to create false engagement in the article. So much of the conversation in this thread is discussing the wonky title.
I guess we'll know in an hour, if a Mod locks the thread to clean up the off-topic conversation.
Or perhaps apple hardware lasts and combined with some handsets that run android are virtually given away?
The only thing that tempted me to upgrade from my 14PM was camera improvements, specifically zoom, and then I realized that I really don't take many pictures. I'll be hanging on to the 14PM come September as well. It's a great phone that easily does everything I need it to do. If it wasn't for being all in on Apple devices (iPad, MacBook, Airpods, Airtags), then I'd probably have just stayed on Android. People here who talk about how awful Android is are pretty much thinking about Android 10+ years ago. I do look at them each year and they are powerful phones with a lot of features. But I'm tied to Apple and I do love my iPhone.
You are far from alone. Your anecdote here could just as well be mine, though I go back to 1993 as an Apple user. Apple’s dismissal of AAA gaming on Mac was a big driver for me on the computer side of things. I bought lots of Mac desktops and laptops over the years. Used to Bootcamp Windows to play, then built a Windows machine for gaming. Later got into game development for work so that made Windows an obvious choice going forward. And shopping for Windows computers (pre-built or in parts) really highlights the price disparities, and that’s without even taking into account the limited (being charitable here) expandability on the Mac side. Haven’t bought a Mac of any kind since 2012.
Value for the money, indeed.
On computers, Windows came a long way in reducing the “always in your face, interrupting your flow” PITA factor I experienced in the early days so the perceived value of MacOS was diminished, to my eyes at least. I’ve never tried an Android phone so I can’t say, but if they have made similar strides in the user experience, something similar could happen to the iPhone market over time if consumers don’t perceive enough value to warrant the premium.