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Detractors like yourself have been saying that Apple has always sold inferior hardware at marked up prices. Yet, they have somehow found profit with such devices / equipment.

Don't get me wrong, I am not blindly supporting the current Model for Apple either. I totally agree with the opinion that the iPod model will not work in this case. Personally I wish they would scrap their rigid scheduled updates, and add some spice to the iOS world with new devices, with new features and a bit more openness.

Time to start thinking differently again, take changes with some products, and keep people on their toes!

I think they could drive the competition insane if they did this.
 
many people are saying that android's success is because of the huge amount of devices the release. although this is one of the many reasons behind the success of android, but one more important reason behind it's success is that iOS has nothing SPECIAL, there are many features which android users are enjoying for years now and we dont even have any clue if apple will bring them to iOS, these features make android unique and special, apple should work on bringing something new,different and special to their OS, changing the look wont make you a winner features will. would love to feel proud of iOS again.
 
And I thought they were in this gigantic warehouse the size of Kansas!



How far off do you think it is?

To be quite honest, I have no idea. It could be very little off or it cold be a lot off. I know we can't go by internet use, because of masking. I know we can't go from shipped because of the reasons stated.

I don't know what we can go by as long as companies keep throwing out shipped, but I do know we have to come up with some way.
 
many people are saying that android's success is because of the huge amount of devices the release. although this is one of the many reasons behind the success of android, but one more important reason behind it's success is that iOS has nothing SPECIAL, there are many features which android users are enjoying for years now and we dont even have any clue if apple will bring them to iOS, these features make android unique and special, apple should work on bringing something new,different and special to their OS, changing the look wont make you a winner features will. would love to feel proud of iOS again.
What features??
 
Go look up the Apple vs Samsung trial and their shipped vs actual sales #s. SS had to actually show sales for their tablets and mobile phones to actually say that they were no threat to Apple because their sales were horrible and low. This was in direct contrast to the 10s of millions of shipped units vs the actual sale of a few million.

So yes, there are millions upon millions of android devices that never get sold and are sitting in warehouses and then shipped back and recycled.

Perhaps you could post a link since you keep making that claim?
 
The average consumer doesn't care about any of that either.

----------



Why does a consumer care about how much profit a company makes?

Why does a consumer care about market share? I don't think you have explained that one either.

According to you, there is nothing the average consumer cares about other than price. We know that Android is totally going to win that game.

By the way... do consumers care about quality?
 
No problem! To be clear my point was that Android's current market share advantage is primarily the result of cheaper phones and wider distribution. They have these advantages not because Android is open, but because Apple has chosen to milk the profits from the high end of the market.

And that point is what we don't agree upon. It is my belief that the Open Android platform is the exact cause to their being cheaper phones, wider distribution, and more variations. While Android phones do compete with iOS, more imortantly they compete with each-other on price, features, and overall performance within the world of Android OS.

In short, I feel, that the advantage is androids because that OS is open.

Apple could have very easily released the iPhone to all carriers at more price points and significantly increased their market share. At the expense of margins and profits.

I agree that this would have helped them get a stronger hold in the beginning years of Android, however it is unlikely Apple would have been able to have enough hardware variations, and price points to make everyone happy on their own.

Outside of hardware, there are limitations on the software front as well. Apple curating what can be sold on the app store does lock out quite a bit of software from iOS devices (granted this is good in some ways). Apple also limits access to changing the UI, the file system, hardware we can connect to our devices, and now even the cables themselves.

For many reasons, the Open platform allows for more variety, from which I personally believe also contributes to it's overall popularity.
 
That is because of these reasons:

1. Apple has a retail presence and the best customer satisfaction.
2. Apple has great marketing.
3. Apple was the first smartphone.

That is why people want an iphone. The iphone itself sucks.

Why are you even here when it seems like your primary purpose is to troll?
 
I am amazed at Samsung for making huge and increasing profits by just shipping smart phones. I thought companies making products made profit by selling them, not just shipping them? Has Samsung invented a new and amazing business model?

Because the other explanation for huge profits and low sales would be if Samsung made a huge profit on every smart phone it sold. But that can't be true either since Samsung only sells cheap and crappy smart phones, and those you really can't make a profit on, because they are cheap.

Maybe they make all those profits when they give away smart phones with pizzas?

It's all very confusing....
 
Again, why does Joe Consumer care about which company makes the most profit?

People buy an Android phone because it's cheap; people who do, don't really have any idea about what Android is.

People buy an iPhone because they want it.

I dunno. I'd rather be in the second group.
 
Market share does matter. Ask Windows Mobile or BlackBerry users. Apple is in no danger of single digit market share but they do have to turn this trend around soon. As it is, Android is accelerating.

I would like to see iPhone 5S, 5C, 6 with a 5" screen, Retina Mini, and thinner iPad 5 all come out this Fall and I think they will be back. Impossible you say? Samsung is doing it now with S4, S4 mini, Note 3, Note 8, NG Nexus 10. If Samsung can do it, why can't Apple?
 
Why does a consumer care about market share? I don't think you have explained that one either.

According to you, there is nothing the average consumer cares about other than price. We know that Android is totally going to win that game.

By the way... do consumers care about quality?

Developers care about marketshare.. if iPhone drops to a low percentage, some may start rethinking about support iOS, especially if the revenue isn't there.

If developers go, consumers will lose interest.

I remember when OSX in the early 2000s.. it was fairly poorly supported especially hardware-wise. When the marketshare started to rise, support was better. The same goes for software - companies that had previously abandoned Mac had returned - for example, AutoDesk.
 
Market share does matter. Ask Windows Mobile or BlackBerry users. Apple is in no danger of single digit market share but they do have to turn this trend around soon. As it is, Android is accelerating.

I would like to see iPhone 5S, 5C, 6 with a 5" screen, Retina Mini, and thinner iPad 5 all come out this Fall and I think they will be back. Impossible you say? Samsung is doing it now with S4, S4 mini, Note 3, Note 8, NG Nexus 10. If Samsung can do it, why can't Apple?

Apple is in no danger of single digit market share? Unless I'm reading the chart wrong, it seems like the current trend would have them in single digits in the first half of next year.

Incidentally, I've contributed to this. I after owning all iPhones (and only iPhones) through the 4s, I finally made the switch to the HTC One and I haven't looked back. I'm not sure Android is for everyone, but if you've been bored as heck with iOS like I was, then it's a great new world. I feel like the smart phone world has become pretty boring all around, but Android at least lets power users go a little further.
 
People buy an Android phone because it's cheap; people who do, don't really have any idea about what Android is.

People buy an iPhone because they want it.

I dunno. I'd rather be in the second group.
While there are plenty of cheap android phones, you can't take away the fact that a lot of high end android phones are sold. This chart is only factoring the OS, but if you were to compare the the sales of the Galaxy S4, S4, HTC One, Note 2, and all the other high end phones, I would assume that the sales of those phone rival or exceed Iphone sales at time. The high end android phones are still catching up to iPhones in terms of sales and public awareness. The average person who doesn't own a high end smart phone, probably would think of an iPhone as their first purchase. Can't deny though that the Galaxy S4 continues to gain mainstream success, and with all the advance features of the upcoming and future android phones, people will continue to notice. Apple will always have a strong fan base and regardless of anything, they will sell massive amounts of their iphones. Maybe this will help motivate apple to improve on their phones. Spec wise, an iphone brings the same features as a mid range android phone at this point. Functionality could be different because iPhones don't require much for their OS though.

As for the high amount of cheap android phones. It's probably the same kind of people who buy an a cheap HDTV only to end up seeing DVD's, SD streaming, SD Dish and never actually use the HD features of their HDTV. They just needed a phone and the cheap android smart phone was pretty and have overtaken the other cheap non-smart phones. Just like those people who need a new tv and bought an HDTV because it's cheap and replaced SDTV's. They have no intentions of using the HD side of the tv at all. Although there are those who do buy HDTV's to actually use the HD technology it brings.

And here in the states, all these phones are subsides anyways. So it's not like the majority of the people are paying full price for these iPhones or high end Android phones. If some stats where available as to what is the percentage of people that pay full price for these phones compared to those that buy them with $100 or $200 down, it would be interesting to say the least.
 
Shipments are one thing, sales and usage are another all together. How many different Android SKUs are there when you figure the number of different devices and carriers? They completely have the market saturated with devices... doesnt mean they are selling better!
 
And that point is what we don't agree upon. It is my belief that the Open Android platform is the exact cause to their being cheaper phones, wider distribution, and more variations. While Android phones do compete with iOS, more imortantly they compete with each-other on price, features, and overall performance within the world of Android OS.

In short, I feel, that the advantage is androids because that OS is open.



I agree that this would have helped them get a stronger hold in the beginning years of Android, however it is unlikely Apple would have been able to have enough hardware variations, and price points to make everyone happy on their own.

Outside of hardware, there are limitations on the software front as well. Apple curating what can be sold on the app store does lock out quite a bit of software from iOS devices (granted this is good in some ways). Apple also limits access to changing the UI, the file system, hardware we can connect to our devices, and now even the cables themselves.

For many reasons, the Open platform allows for more variety, from which I personally believe also contributes to it's overall popularity.

What about a closed OS prevented Apple from releasing various iPhone models at $199, $299, $399, etc. and selling them through every carrier in the world?

I'm not saying that Android wouldn't have any market share. OS customizability and hardware variety surely have a place in the market. But I think that global market share would look a whole lot more like the US market share does currently.

AT&T and Verizon are real world examples of what happens when Android doesn't have a price and distribution advantage. Despite being more open.
 
Shipments are one thing, sales and usage are another all together. How many different Android SKUs are there when you figure the number of different devices and carriers? They completely have the market saturated with devices... doesnt mean they are selling better!

Unless you're one of the wingnuts who believes that retailers have been increasingly throwing brand new unsold Android phones in the trash over the last two years, then it *does* mean they are selling better. I think you meant to say "doesn't mean any individual Android model is selling better".
 
People buy an Android phone because it's cheap; people who do, don't really have any idea about what Android is.

People buy an iPhone because they want it.

I dunno. I'd rather be in the second group.

What a baseless assumption - you couldn't force me to go back to an iphone after owning high end (and similarly priced) android phones.

Love OSX, but iOS is just.... no thanks.

The only reason to buy an iphone is the stunning design, which most people cover with revolting cases to stop them breaking every 5 seconds.
 
Unfortunately this comparison is completely off.

Apple did not have any profit margin in their PC vs Mac wars and they were in fact a true niche product.

You're kidding, right? Apple's PC division alone would be in the Fortune 500 even with their niche 10% market share and more profitable than both HP and Dell that hold the top #1 and #2 in market share.
 
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