Apple Now Has More Than 1.8 Billion Active Devices Worldwide

[dumastudetto]

I actually laughed out loud at your hilarious joke. I searched hard for sarcasm, but you are dead set deadpan if so.

I am 100% serious. Some of the reasons Apple devices hold their value so well is the quality of the software, the reliability of updates, and the robustness of security and privacy protections.

 

[BWhaler]

You've never heard of CSAM, huh?

Of course I have. Nobody has a right to privacy to traffic child pornography. Apple was doing what every other internet services provider was doing, by law. Yes their messaging sucked and yes, some technical approaches could have been improved. But at least Apple tried, and they are the only ones who did, to have scanning on device so it could be independently audited. Facebook, Google, Verizon, AT&T, Comcast, Twitter, Smap, everyone else, does it as a black box in the cloud. No way to audit it.

But the main point is right to privacy does not mean you have a right to transmit child pornography. The law, Apple, and every other internet services provider, works to support this. As they should.

 

[SFjohn]

I think you meant "these devices are marketed as privacy-forward devices." Because with Apple, we still live in a world where Zuck, China, Korea, and faceless data brokers and Google still know everything about everyone. That everyone includes Apple device owning individuals. Apple's marketing doesn't change that. That's more important to note dontcha think.

Not really, Apple let’s you decide how vulnerable you want to be to other corporations data mining. You have the opportunity to opt out of all that with Apple and still have fully functioning devices.

 

[amartinez1660]

Lest us not forget tho that when it comes to PC market share, the PC still wins with it's 6 Billion+ PCs
in landfills and garages (unplugged). /s (but true!) we need a /smart-ass tag!

So Apple can forget about PC market share, we won't be able to catch um, boys. And I know there are probably 50-100 Million iOS & macOS devices that have been "scrapped" but, seriously 5-6 Billion PCs (a guesstimate) in landfills and recycle center shelves (along with millions of DVD players and VCRs)?

I honestly think "Market Share" needs to be reset to 2012.0++ it's such joke terminology, i.e. only 10 years back.

n.b. and lets not forget every office that has 1 PC per person just sitting on a desk unused, oh and half of every hospital "practically" has a PC in room, but see that's another Market Share "misclassification."

If we could it would be nice to have (but it's too late):
Business/Government Market Share versus Home Market Share, but it's blurred too much.

But progress is progress!

This is a fair point always ignored… I would add to that all the RAM sticks laying around in households ”because I upgraded to a higher total RAM and/or faster DDR speeds but: needed the slots or needed the speeds to match or the mix-and-match wasn’t booting”; or all the cheap PSUs scrapped because for some they only last like a year; or the half assembled motherboard/cpu/ram combo because a new CPU came out with a new CPU Socket so to upgrade to that CPU a whole lot more than just swapping the CPU was needed. So much for “upgradeability“.

Source: in my younger years and when I had all the time in the world to burn me and friends would build and upgrade our own PCs, on an incredible low budget. Went through many Cyrix, Celerons and lower budget Pentiums, AMDs, Core2 Duos, etc. Some of us just stopped having time for that or found more convenient ready to go solutions with easier warranty/return/etc handling. Many others around me and shown online everywhere are still on that.
To be honest, me personally (and not saying others should) I’m ashamed of that and would gladly take those hours and waste back if I could.

 

[69Mustang]

Not really, Apple let’s you decide how vulnerable you want to be to other corporations data mining. You have the opportunity to opt out of all that with Apple and still have fully functioning devices.

You have the same opportunity to opt out of "all of that" with almost any manufacturer and still have fully functioning devices. What you're describing isn't unique to Apple. What you're describing isn't unique at all.

 

[Abazigal]

You have the same opportunity to opt out of "all of that" with almost any manufacturer and still have fully functioning devices. What you're describing isn't unique to Apple. What you're describing isn't unique at all.

Not every manufacturer makes it easy, or even possible though.

 

[69Mustang]

Not every manufacturer makes it easy, or even possible though.

That's very true. It's why I specifically stated almost any manufacturer and not every manufacturer. Regardless, the overarching point remains. It's fairly commonplace and not unique... to Apple or any manufacturer of devices. As for ease, they're all about the same. They pretty much all require multiple opt-outs in multiple locations to get the maximum amount of privacy. Apple is no harder or easier than any other manufacturer that I know.

 

[Abazigal]

That's very true. It's why I specifically stated almost any manufacturer and not every manufacturer. Regardless, the overarching point remains. It's fairly commonplace and not unique... to Apple or any manufacturer of devices. As for ease, they're all about the same. They pretty much all require multiple opt-outs in multiple locations to get the maximum amount of privacy. Apple is no harder or easier than any other manufacturer that I know.

Well, one example I can think of is using an Apple TV instead of the OS that comes preinstalled on smart TVs, since it’s no small secret that many of these manufacturers are tracking their users and selling the info for extra money.

Samsung’s smart TVs are also infamous for plastering ads across the UI.

How would I go about turning all this off?

 

[sideshowuniqueuser]

That chart is based on dollars revenue. Macs are more expensive so you can sell FAR fewer Macs and show more revenue than iPads, which is what the chart shows. In order to get the unit numbers (since Apple doesn’t report those anymore) we look to the analysts that examine the supply chain and elsewhere looking for data. They show that the iPad sells significantly better than the Mac, so 4 times as many active iPads (especially when Macs are increasing at most 20-30 million a year) is not far fetched.

Since 2011 - 2020, the lowest unit sales for the iPad per year is was still over 30 million. In the same time frame, the HIGHEST unit sales of Macs was 20.4 million. The average iPad unit sales over that time was 55 million per year.

Good point. Where are you getting the unit sales data from?

 

[SFjohn]

You have the same opportunity to opt out of "all of that" with almost any manufacturer and still have fully functioning devices. What you're describing isn't unique to Apple. What you're describing isn't unique at all.

How do you exactly opt out “all of that” on Android? Just curious. Windows, Linux I can see, but Android?

 

[69Mustang]

How do you exactly opt out “all of that” on Android? Just curious. Windows, Linux I can see, but Android?

The same way you do on Apple devices. There are overall Google privacy settings which have opt outs and Android phones and tablets ask for individual permissions on an app level. Again, just like Apple devices. This has been the case on Android for a number of years.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

Good point. Where are you getting the unit sales data from?

Just searched “iPad unit sales” and clicked one of the links on the first page. Statista is higher ranked, but I don’t pay for that, so it’s of little use

Apple Statistics (2025)

Apple is one of the most influential and recognisable brands in the world, responsible for the rise of the smartphone with the iPhone. Valued at over $2 trillion in 2021, it is also the most valuable technology company in the world. Originally known for desktop computers, Apple was one of the...

www.businessofapps.com

 

[sideshowuniqueuser]

Just searched “iPad unit sales” and clicked one of the links on the first page. Statista is higher ranked, but I don’t pay for that, so it’s of little use

Apple Statistics (2025)

Apple is one of the most influential and recognisable brands in the world, responsible for the rise of the smartphone with the iPhone. Valued at over $2 trillion in 2021, it is also the most valuable technology company in the world. Originally known for desktop computers, Apple was one of the...

www.businessofapps.com

Thanks.