Android Bosses iPhone in Smartphone Activation Market Share

[Randomdude925]

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.

You may have been right a few years ago, but Android has really caught up in the things you listed. I'd say Android trades blows with iPhone for durability (and for the pro iphone this year is so much worse it's not even funny, have you seen the back glass?), and in the pixel's case has less updates and for Samsung about the same. I really think both are so competitive at this point there is no winner at all, especially with how good Pixel is at the moment . For me personally, Android is the winner because I prefer the way it looks and how I can customize it, I like the battery life, I like side loading, etc. but I could roll with either any day. I encourage you to consider the competition, it's actually great right now.

 

[Abazigal]

Also sales are dropping so it shows people are no longer willing to pay high prices.

My interpretation is that it's actually the other way around. Sales are dropping in part because the smartphone market is saturated, and people are upgrading less often (part of the reason why battery-gate was even a thing was because more people were holding onto their iPhones beyond the 2-year mark).

This is less an iPhone problem and more a result of the smartphone market being saturated as well as users holding on to their phones longer because they are getting good enough.

Thus, Apple raised their prices in response to this. The rationale is that if I am upgrading less often, a higher price is more palatable if I use my iPhone for 3-5 years compared to changing it every 2 years. Even if iPhones were cheaper, I suspect that fewer people would elect to upgrade. Smartphone innovation is generally slowing down across the board, and even folding screens haven't taken off.

Apple's other response is to continue to add value to the iPhone by way of more accessories (eg: Apple Watch, AirPods, AirTags) and services (Apple One, iCloud). So comparing hardware features in a vacuum doesn't quite tell the whole story either.

You must be an extremely light user in order to suffice with 8GB of RAM. I purchased one to test and it was beach balling just from me exporting some photos and videos. Add on top opening up a bunch of Safari tabs and leaving them open it nearly killed the MBA M2. Also what year was your Windows based work laptop released? Comparisons are only valid if they are from roughly the same generation of chips/year of release. I have an Asus i5 16GB RAM 512 SSD laptop as my travel laptop and it performs better than the M2 MBA.

My work laptop was issued to me in 2022. Spec-wise, it's an Acer Travelmate Spin laptop, with an 11th gen i7 processor, 16gb ram and 512gb storage. It also comes with a touchscreen and stylus, and the screen can be folded backwards. Screen is a 1080p display that's nothing to write home about, and battery life feels pretty average (~3 hours?). Decent selection of ports. It's also much thicker and heavier than my MBA. In all, a pretty average-feeling laptop.

As for a "light user", I guess I am as a teacher? I have multiple tabs in both safari and chrome, I use apps like calendar, mail, things, finder, office, notes, chat apps, pdf expert. iMovie once in a while. A fair amount of zoom (I remarked about being impressed by my MBA giving 9 hours of zoom on a full charge while staying cool to the touch).

In terms of SSD space are you using cloud storage? I prefer to store things locally. If you need more space in the future you will need to pay for a whole new laptop and then the overpriced SSD upgrade, since nothing can be added on post purchase.

I have files stored in OneDrive and a Samsung T5 drive, but my photos take up full space. But generally, I work with office documents and google docs that take up very little space overall.

If you're purchasing that many add ons for an iPad Pro you'll be paying much more than a 14" Macbook Pro likely, which is just ridiculous. If you will be lugging that around then its gong to be the same size as a laptop which just makes no sense to do. May as well get a Macbook Pro 14 that is more powerful.

The thing I like about my iPad is that I can detach it from my magnetic folio or keyboard when I just want the tablet portion. I have tried a couple of keyboard cases but hated how they made the iPad that much thicker and heavier. In the classroom, I like being able to walk around the classroom with iPad in hand while annotating on documents (something you can't really do with a laptop).

It's this modular aspect of the iPad that I appreciate, and what sets it apart from a PC. I commute to work with my work laptop and iPad. When I head to class, my laptop is often at my workstation hooked up to my 4k display, and I am comfortable going into class with only my iPad. That said, I still rely heavily on my Mac for resource creation. So the PC for "making", the iPad for "presenting", if that makes sense.

In terms of Apple Watches and iPhones still working great that is subjective as you may be happy with the slower performance.

I mean, my series 5 still works. It delivers notifications, Apple Pay works, fitness tracking works, audio controls work, apps like 1password work, battery health is at (checks) 86% and still gets me through a day. Only downside is that I am apparently limited to 3 widgets because of ram limitations.

I would say Apple has had more problems than ever before with its hardware and software in recent years. My iPhone 13 Pro Max periodically drops all signal from both my SIMs since iOS 17 updates. That's on top of the software making the battery drain in half a day.

Hmm, battery life and connectivity on my 13 pro max is fine, and while I encounter the odd bug now and then, nothing which makes me want to throw my phone out the window. In terms of bugs, I see more from my colleagues' Samsung phones.

The overall sense I get from your post is that you are willing to compromise and are happy with 'good enough' performance.

I will say it's more that Apple compromises in areas that don't quite impact me as negatively. You don't miss what you don't need.

I am happy to pay premiums for top products that give customer value. Take the mac Pro for instance, starting price £7199 (ridiculous). An intel i9 desktop with Nvidia RTX 4090 for £3500 destroys it. So where is the customer value in paying double for an inferior product.

The Mac Pro is admittedly a product which doesn't benefit from Apple Silicon, which was designed with power efficiency in mind, rather than raw performance. I am not sure if Apple has answer for this, other than it simply being a souped up Mac Studio. But it also strikes me as a fairly minor issue in the greater scheme of things.

 

[Beautyspin]

In general an Apple customer has multiple products and services. Because they didnt upgrade apple hardware for one year doesn’t mean they didn’t spend any money with apple.

Those are not in scope here. The discussion is only about the activations and according to the report, they are coming down. Fall in China, Loss of App store revenue due to DMA, fines in the EU and other countries are not in the scope of this article

 

[Beautyspin]

This can depend on source and what timeframe is being evaluated. For example, according to Statcounter, iOS global share was around 22.4% and Android was around 75.3% five years ago. Today, iOS share is around 28.5% and Android is around 70.8%.

The discussion is about this year. Everyone knows iOS had been gaining for the past few years and that is why their decline in this year is a worrisome issue, is what the article implies.

 

[Beautyspin]

2024 is not over. The king company that benefits from android market share is google. And google pays billions back to apple.

If you slice the lie by vendor, the results look different. And then if you look closely at revenue and/or profits it’s completely different story as well.

Google pays Apple only a percentage of search revenue (36%), not a fixed amount. As the marketshare reducecs, this will also reduce. In fact, in the EU, if the default browser is not Safari, then this comes further down. And all indicators are showing that Safari marketshare is going down in the EU. So, triple blow for Apple.

 

[Jumpthesnark]

I feel sorry for you having only experienced an Apple in the Tim Cook era. Its been terrible.

I feel sorry you misread or misunderstood what I said. I never said that I "only experienced an Apple in the Tim Cook era" as I have owned and used Apple devices since the SE/30, including a Quadra 630, a Power Mac 6500, a Power Mac G4 DA, some iMacs, a snow white iBook, a couple of MBPs, iPhones since the 3GS and none of that counts the desktops & laptops that I've used at work since 1991. What I said is that "the Macs & iPhone I own were built and purchased post Steve Jobs," because I'm not using any Apple devices more than 12 years old. I don't think my current devices are terrible at all.

Not subjective statements at all really they deliberately withhold features to charge you a premium when they should be there in the first place as standard as they used to be.

Those are completely subjective statements. What you think "should be there" is a statement of your feelings, and not an objective fact.

So you're happy for Apple to charge you £200 to upgrade from 8GB to 16GB of RAM and £400 for a 2TB SSD? These are just the base upgrades. If you go above 16GB of RAM and 2TB storage the prices verge on the insane.

Apple can charge what they want. I will buy the device I want. In the end, my employer or (for my freelance work) my clients pay for my Macs, I don't.

 

[I7guy]

Google pays Apple only a percentage of search revenue (36%), not a fixed amount. As the marketshare reducecs, this will also reduce. In fact, in the EU, if the default browser is not Safari, then this comes further down. And all indicators are showing that Safari marketshare is going down in the EU. So, triple blow for Apple.

The number is still in the billions. Now can you tell us the exact formula google uses, so we can confirm it’s based on market share rather than usage. Market share and usage are independent. I expect apples iPhone 16 is going to handily offset this repeatable q2 slump.

 

[I7guy]

Those are not in scope here. The discussion is only about the activations and according to the report, they are coming down. Fall in China, Loss of App store revenue due to DMA, fines in the EU and other countries are not in the scope of this article

You can deflect as much as you want, you’re not going to change what happens in the real world. It’s evident apple Customers spend money outside of iPhone hardware based on information quarterly earnings calls.

There is no way to spin that into a negative.

 

[Jumpthesnark]

It is important to consider that both in Germany and in the USA, the economy faces challenges. Last year, America managed to avoid a recession, but this year one is anticipated. Yesterday, it was reported at the stock exchange that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) data in the USA fell significantly below expectations, and the inflation data significantly exceeded expectations. Now, there is a risk of stagflation.

I was replying to your comment that referred to "our current recession." Again, we are not in a recession.

 

[delsoul]

My 8 year old Huawei Mate 9 has a better camera than my iPhone Pro Max 14. That’s speaks volumes about the state of things.

 

[UK-MacAddict]

I feel sorry you misread or misunderstood what I said. I never said that I "only experienced an Apple in the Tim Cook era" as I have owned and used Apple devices since the SE/30, including a Quadra 630, a Power Mac 6500, a Power Mac G4 DA, some iMacs, a snow white iBook, a couple of MBPs, iPhones since the 3GS and none of that counts the desktops & laptops that I've used at work since 1991. What I said is that "the Macs & iPhone I own were built and purchased post Steve Jobs," because I'm not using any Apple devices more than 12 years old. I don't think my current devices are terrible at all.



Those are completely subjective statements. What you think "should be there" is a statement of your feelings, and not an objective fact.



Apple can charge what they want. I will buy the device I want. In the end, my employer or (for my freelance work) my clients pay for my Macs, I don't.

I feel sorry that you did not make yourself more understood.

Technology moves forward, Apple are charging higher and higher prices for specs from more than decade ago.

Still your own money. I work so my employer pays for me Macs too.

 

[UK-MacAddict]

My interpretation is that it's actually the other way around. Sales are dropping in part because the smartphone market is saturated, and people are upgrading less often (part of the reason why battery-gate was even a thing was because more people were holding onto their iPhones beyond the 2-year mark).

This is less an iPhone problem and more a result of the smartphone market being saturated as well as users holding on to their phones longer because they are getting good enough.

Thus, Apple raised their prices in response to this. The rationale is that if I am upgrading less often, a higher price is more palatable if I use my iPhone for 3-5 years compared to changing it every 2 years. Even if iPhones were cheaper, I suspect that fewer people would elect to upgrade. Smartphone innovation is generally slowing down across the board, and even folding screens haven't taken off.

Apple's other response is to continue to add value to the iPhone by way of more accessories (eg: Apple Watch, AirPods, AirTags) and services (Apple One, iCloud). So comparing hardware features in a vacuum doesn't quite tell the whole story either.

Since purchasing the original iPhone in 2007 I upgraded every year stopping at the 13 Pro max because The price to customer satisfaction didn't add up anymore. I am sure a lot of people are like me.

Raising prices and it being more palatable because people upgrade less is terrible. That is my whole issue, raising prices but offering nothing in return to justify it.

My work laptop was issued to me in 2022. Spec-wise, it's an Acer Travelmate Spin laptop, with an 11th gen i7 processor, 16gb ram and 512gb storage. It also comes with a touchscreen and stylus, and the screen can be folded backwards. Screen is a 1080p display that's nothing to write home about, and battery life feels pretty average (~3 hours?). Decent selection of ports. It's also much thicker and heavier than my MBA. In all, a pretty average-feeling laptop.

My Asus laptop has a 13th Gen i5, 16GB RAM and 512 SSD with OLED display. Its very thin with an aluminium case but it manages around 6-7 hours. It does incorporate EVO design which supposedly makes the overall laptop experience better.

As for a "light user", I guess I am as a teacher? I have multiple tabs in both safari and chrome, I use apps like calendar, mail, things, finder, office, notes, chat apps, pdf expert. iMovie once in a while. A fair amount of zoom (I remarked about being impressed by my MBA giving 9 hours of zoom on a full charge while staying cool to the touch).

Yes this would be considered light usage, which is probably why you can get away with 8GB or RAM.

I have files stored in OneDrive and a Samsung T5 drive, but my photos take up full space. But generally, I work with office documents and google docs that take up very little space overall.

Yes, I don't like to store personal files in the cloud. If you're using Office 365 and stuff like that then you can get away with having less storage I suppose.

The thing I like about my iPad is that I can detach it from my magnetic folio or keyboard when I just want the tablet portion. I have tried a couple of keyboard cases but hated how they made the iPad that much thicker and heavier. In the classroom, I like being able to walk around the classroom with iPad in hand while annotating on documents (something you can't really do with a laptop).

It's this modular aspect of the iPad that I appreciate, and what sets it apart from a PC. I commute to work with my work laptop and iPad. When I head to class, my laptop is often at my workstation hooked up to my 4k display, and I am comfortable going into class with only my iPad. That said, I still rely heavily on my Mac for resource creation. So the PC for "making", the iPad for "presenting", if that makes sense.

This setup works for you and that is the important thing. I find the iPad annoying to work on to do anything meaningful or an extended period of time. I am a fan of the MS Surface Pro laptops though which could also be an option for you as it runs full Windows you could create on it too.

I mean, my series 5 still works. It delivers notifications, Apple Pay works, fitness tracking works, audio controls work, apps like 1password work, battery health is at (checks) 86% and still gets me through a day. Only downside is that I am apparently limited to 3 widgets because of ram limitations.

Hmm, battery life and connectivity on my 13 pro max is fine, and while I encounter the odd bug now and then, nothing which makes me want to throw my phone out the window. In terms of bugs, I see more from my colleagues' Samsung phones.

I will say it's more that Apple compromises in areas that don't quite impact me as negatively. You don't miss what you don't need.

They put decent tech in the products. Its the fragmentation of those specs to deliberately create unnecessary product fragmentation that is frustrating. Its not to the benefit of the customer and is purely price and profit driven. Poeple will say they're a business and yes they are but it drives down customer value.

The Mac Pro is admittedly a product which doesn't benefit from Apple Silicon, which was designed with power efficiency in mind, rather than raw performance. I am not sure if Apple has answer for this, other than it simply being a souped up Mac Studio. But it also strikes me as a fairly minor issue in the greater scheme of things.

If it doesn't have raw performance to match the competition then they shouldn't be pricing it at £7199 staring price. It shows that its not worth that amount in the slightest. Its worth less than the £3500 for a PC which leaves it in the dust.

 

[mrgrdn]

I was replying to your comment that referred to "our current recession." Again, we are not in a recession.

I have regarded the current situation as a given.

 

[webkit]

Absolutely you would we would still get the 15 Pro Max if no other iPhones existed. It may be priced at £999 to take into account inflation etc. Current iPhones are overpriced by about £400 as Apples profit margins are set at around 37%. Other companies like Samsung raised their prices to copy Apple. Also sales are dropping so it shows people are no longer willing to pay high prices.

Apple has had healthy margins on iPhones for a long time. Also, some of the price increases in the UK since the Jobs era have been due to things like exchange rate fluctuations (out of Apple’s control), increase in VAT percentage in the UK (out of Apple’s control), etc. Starting and upgrade iPhone pricing under Cook aren't really any worse than they were under Jobs. To add just 16GB storage on an iPhone 4 back in 2010 was £100 (around £150 adjusting for inflation). To add 128GB (which is eight times more) storage on an iPhone 15 today is just £100.

 

[Jumpthesnark]

Deleted

 

[webkit]

The discussion is about this year. Everyone knows iOS had been gaining for the past few years and that is why their decline in this year is a worrisome issue, is what the article implies.

I was responding to your comment which compared global share going back to 2009 ("From 2009 to present, Android grew by more than 67%, while iOS’s market share has shown a decline of around 5%.").

As I said, how iOS has performed can depend on the source and time frame. As an example, I used Statcounter which showed that iOS global share has actually increased versus five years ago. Android and iOS share is basically the same versus a year ago and so far this year.

 

[Jumpthesnark]

I feel sorry that you did not make yourself more understood.

Don't blame me for your misunderstanding/misreading. What I wrote was:

The Macs & iPhone I own were built and purchased post Steve Jobs.

It's very clear. I think many people in the MR forums own devices that were built and sold in the past 12 years, but that says nothing about what other devices we may have owned. Past tense. Your assumption otherwise is just that - an assumption.

If you'd like to continue beating this dead horse, that's fine. The facts are right there and I don't feel the need to keep going over them for you. Have a great day.

 

[AlexJaye]

Amazing a company that has gotten so much wrong has managed to reach a $3T evaluation.

Apple today relies on the successes and culture of the Apple from the past. Apple was built into what it is today on practices that have largely left the company, such as high-quality QA and support. Once people realize Apple does not offer them much for what it charges them, the light of Apple will diminish. Changes of this magnitude take time, of course.

Timmy needs to go.

 

[I7guy]

Apple today relies on the successes and culture of the Apple from the past.

Clearly it doesn’t.

Apple was built into what it is today on practices that have largely left the company, such as high-quality QA and support.

Apple of yesteryear had a fraction of the products and services they have today. Considering the vast infrastructure they overall have relatively few issues. People have been reporting problems since I started to participate here, that hasn’t changed.

Once people realize Apple does not offer them much for what it charges them, the light of Apple will diminish. Changes of this magnitude take time, of course.

Okay, we’ll wait for this version of “apple is doomed” to c ok me condition because sure as **** it hasn’t happened since since 2011.

Timmy needs to go.

And he will, when he is ready.

 

[Abazigal]

You may have been right a few years ago, but Android has really caught up in the things you listed. I'd say Android trades blows with iPhone for durability (and for the pro iphone this year is so much worse it's not even funny, have you seen the back glass?), and in the pixel's case has less updates and for Samsung about the same. I really think both are so competitive at this point there is no winner at all, especially with how good Pixel is at the moment . For me personally, Android is the winner because I prefer the way it looks and how I can customize it, I like the battery life, I like side loading, etc. but I could roll with either any day. I encourage you to consider the competition, it's actually great right now.

People have been saying for years that the iPhone tends to lag behind in terms of hardware specs for as long as I can remember, and I go back to my original statement - focus on experience, not specs in a vacuum.

Where the iPhone holds its own is in the whole integrated system. I will take your word for it that I can probably get a better digital assistant elsewhere, a better camera elsewhere, a better screen elsewhere, but the question is whether they all come together to form a cohesive whole.

For one, my understanding is that iPhones seem to hold their resale values better (in the US at least), which I suspect is why Apple is willing to go with their current pricing levels. The idea is that schemes like trade-in programmes and instalment plans help offset what would normally be higher prices, making them more affordable to the end user. Apple then refurbishes these 2nd hand iPhones and resells them in the grey market. In addition to making a bit of money here, Apple also grows their install base, from which they can continue to monetise via the sales of accessories, services and app sales (which in part explains why they are so defensive of their 30% cut). The ability to continue earning from consumers after the sales of the initial device is (I believe) the key reason why Apple is willing to support their devices for as long as they do in the first place.

It's pretty clever as long as Apple can keep that momentum going, and in part why I am not really worried about reportedly slowing iPhone sales. The iPhone install base continues to grow by way of the reasons I stated above, and Apple continues to earn from users even if they never get a cent from the sale of the initial device (such as a phone sold via channels like eBay).

Second, there are a couple of apps I use on my iOS devices which are not available on android (to my knowledge), and that's one of the reasons I really have no inclination to switch at this point. Titles like overcast, ivory, notability, things and mindnode are standard issue, and the one issue I have when people say that Android is more "open" and more "powerful" and more "customisable" is that none of that really helps me in getting any of my stuff done more quickly.

There's also the ecosystem (apple watch, AirPods, sharing app purchases with my iPad, airdrop, iCloud Keychain, just to name a few). Maybe I can put together an equivalent ecosystem on the Android + Windows side, but everything on the other side just feels like they are missing that one killer feature (eg: apple silicon equivalent for PCs, apps for iOS).

Tim Cook gets a lot of flak for his supposed penny-pinching ways, but I think his decision to double down on the Apple ecosystem during his tenure was absolutely the right decision.

 

[Beautyspin]

I was responding to your comment which compared global share going back to 2009 ("From 2009 to present, Android grew by more than 67%, while iOS’s market share has shown a decline of around 5%.").

As I said, how iOS has performed can depend on the source and time frame. As an example, I used Statcounter which showed that iOS global share has actually increased versus five years ago. Android and iOS share is basically the same versus a year ago and so far this year.

Yes. But this article does not say that iOS has been reducing for a long time. It would not be news anymore. It is news because it had been increasing for so long but this year it has reduced.

 

[Beautyspin]

You can deflect as much as you want, you’re not going to change what happens in the real world. It’s evident apple Customers spend money outside of iPhone hardware based on information quarterly earnings calls.

There is no way to spin that into a negative.

I am not the one deflecting. While Apple has other products, the services are mainly dependent on iPhone sales. Why do you think the others will increase while iPhone sales are reducing? Is there any basis for that? Their AI announcement could increase the interest in iPhone but that has not happened yet.

Apple's revenue could drop for the first time in almost a decade as iPhone sales slow

Apple's overall revenue and earnings per share are projected to drop year-over-year for the first time since 2016, an analyst said

qz.com

Apple's overall revenue and earnings per share are projected to drop year-over-year for the first time since 2016, an analyst said.

 

[Beautyspin]

The number is still in the billions. Now can you tell us the exact formula google uses, so we can confirm it’s based on market share rather than usage. Market share and usage are independent. I expect apples iPhone 16 is going to handily offset this repeatable q2 slump.

1. Google CEO Sundar Pichai has confirmed that the company pays Apple 36% of its Safari search revenue.

Google admits to paying Apple 36% of Safari revenue – after witness lets figure slip

Google's lead lawyer "visibly cringed" when the exact figure was accidentally revealed during the federal antitrust trial.

searchengineland.com

2. Alternative browsers report uplift after EU’s DMA choice screen mandate

Alternative browsers report uplift after EU's DMA choice screen mandate | TechCrunch

A flagship European Union digital market regulation appears to be shaking up competition in the mobile browser market. It's been a little over a month Is a flagship European Union digital market regulation shaking up competition in the mobile browser market? It's been a little over a month since...

techcrunch.com

 

[I7guy]

I am not the one deflecting. While Apple has other products, the services are mainly dependent on iPhone sales.

That’s not true. iPhone sales could stay flat and other products and services could grow.

Why do you think the others will increase while iPhone sales are reducing? Is there any basis for that?

Yes. You don’t know what products and services people might buy. You can have an opinion on this, but you can’t predict the future.

Their AI announcement could increase the interest in iPhone but that has not happened yet.

Apple's revenue could drop for the first time in almost a decade as iPhone sales slow

Apple's overall revenue and earnings per share are projected to drop year-over-year for the first time since 2016, an analyst said

qz.com

Apple's overall revenue and earnings per share are projected to drop year-over-year for the first time since 2016, an analyst said.

Sure I like a good game of speculation. I say quarter of iPhone launch is going to be a gangbuster.

 

[I7guy]

1. Google CEO Sundar Pichai has confirmed that the company pays Apple 36% of its Safari search revenue.

Google admits to paying Apple 36% of Safari revenue – after witness lets figure slip

Google's lead lawyer "visibly cringed" when the exact figure was accidentally revealed during the federal antitrust trial.

searchengineland.com

2. Alternative browsers report uplift after EU’s DMA choice screen mandate

Alternative browsers report uplift after EU's DMA choice screen mandate | TechCrunch

A flagship European Union digital market regulation appears to be shaking up competition in the mobile browser market. It's been a little over a month Is a flagship European Union digital market regulation shaking up competition in the mobile browser market? It's been a little over a month since...

techcrunch.com

Can you predict safari search traffic going forward? If so picking market winners and losers should be a snap.