Apple Now Has More Than Two Billion Active Devices Worldwide

[now i see it]

2 billion technically active but likely a few hundred million actually used.
I have a drawer containing old iPhones and a shelf with a few old unused Macs. Technically there are 9 active apple products in my name but I only use 2 of them.

 

[sam_dean]

2 billion technically active but likely a few hundred million actually used.
I have a drawer containing old iPhones and a shelf with a few old unused Macs. Technically there are 9 active apple products in my name but I only use 2 of them.

Also what is the time frame used to measure "active devices"?

Over 365 days? 30 days? 90 days?

 

[Shasterball]

Apple follows the Pareto Principle and only caters to the top ~20% of any given market.

That's why even when Apple ships near quarter billion iPhones worldwide annually vs about 1 billion Android smartphones in the same time period they are earn ~80% of all smartphone hardware profits.

I am unable to follow any of your posts on this lol

 

[sam_dean]

I am unable to follow any of your posts on this lol

I am pointing out the shipping numbers and as to why it is lower than that of Android or Intel/AMD.

What I did not mention and that I assume others would know is that devices tend to be replaced

 

[Siliconguy]

If they still call back to Apple's servers actively for a Software Update or passively to say "hello" then they're counted.

So if I light up my G4 it will still count? The 2009 mini still works too and El Capitan does ping home.

 

[sam_dean]

So if I light up my G4 it will still count? The 2009 mini still works too and El Capitan does ping home.

Over time Apple may start filtering out what they define as "active device".

I would not be surprised it is connected to what Apple defines as vintage or obsolete.

If I wanted to see percentage of macOS versions over a pre-defined time period I'd go to https://gs.statcounter.com/macos-version-market-share/desktop/worldwide

But that does not work anymore since 2019 macOS Catalina as Apple modified their macOS version identifier for privacy/security reasons.

Anything older than OS X 10.10 makes up less than 0.9885% of all Macs on the web.

 

[CarAnalogy]

I’m disappointing that the Mac sales are still low despite massive advances, but people out there have been suffering high living costs and fighting over trays of eggs so we can’t ask for much.

Sales numbers are skewed by corporate purchases. It’ll be another ten years if ever before corporations are off Windows to the degree that other options are even possible outside the C suite.

 

[svish]

Huge number!! Apple products are everywhere!

 

[Manzanito]

Curious. Isn't that Windows and/or Android territory now?

There are over 3 billion active Android devices

That’s three times as many active Android devices as active iPhones.

www.theverge.com

 

[MacClueless]

I’ll be honest, I would have thought they had 1.5B in the US alone. 2B devices seems low?

Probably right.

 

[BvizioN]

And I’ve bought and paid for about 20 of them 😩💸

Are they all active now?

 

[deevey]

Exactly. Which is why the number seemed low to me...

That would be more than 4 Apple devices currently in use for every single man, woman and child in the USA.

 

[2ilent8cho]

Apple counts a device as active as long as it has engaged with an Apple service within the past 90 days.

 

[d686546s]

Sales numbers are skewed by corporate purchases. It’ll be another ten years if ever before corporations are off Windows to the degree that other options are even possible outside the C suite.

Unless you're in a job where the advantages of Apple Silicone translate directly into higher productivity, I unfortunately don't think there's a strong reason to transition from Windows to Macs in many cases.

During Covid we went all in with SharePoint, Teams, OneDrive and the rest of the O365 suite. Sure all of that works on the Mac as well, but I'm pretty convinced that IT and finance will decide that it runs well enough on a computer that costs less than an entry level MacBook. They're even replacing our iPhones with mid-level Samsung's.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

The stingy 256GB SSD (single chip also limiting R/W bandwidth) 8GB base spec of M2 Macs along with exorbitant upgrade prices can’t be helping on the Mac side of business.

Well, plus the whole “being a Mac” thing.

 

[Shasterball]

I am pointing out the shipping numbers and as to why it is lower than that of Android or Intel/AMD.

What I did not mention and that I assume others would know is that devices tend to be replaced

But I am not comparing to Android or any other company's numbers. I am speaking about Apple's absolute numbers.

If I read an article that says there are 100 Fords on the road and my response is "I would have thought there were way more Fords," quoting Chevy numbers doesn't really add anything...

 

[Shasterball]

That would be more than 4 Apple devices currently in use for every single man, woman and child in the USA.

Nope. Don't forget about businesses, schools, universities. I can walk into a campus library and see 100 devices right there.

 

[SoldOnApple]

Steve Jobs would be proud of Apple and what Tim Cook has done with it. Apple is more successful today than even peak market penetration in the 80s.

 

[SBlue1]

I’m disappointing that the Mac sales are still low despite massive advances, but people out there have been suffering high living costs and fighting over trays of eggs so we can’t ask for much.

Well it may also be because the Macs will last you forever. I don't plan on replacing my MacBook Air M1 anytime in the next 6 to 10 years. My last Mac was the 2012 MacBook Pro which served me well for almost 10 years and now it's with my family and I guess it will be used for another 2 to 4 years.

 

[No5tromo]

I wonder if AirPods count as "active devices"

 

[CarAnalogy]

Unless you're in a job where the advantages of Apple Silicone translate directly into higher productivity, I unfortunately don't think there's a strong reason to transition from Windows to Macs in many cases.

During Covid we went all in with SharePoint, Teams, OneDrive and the rest of the O365 suite. Sure all of that works on the Mac as well, but I'm pretty convinced that IT and finance will decide that it runs well enough on a computer that costs less than an entry level MacBook. They're even replacing our iPhones with mid-level Samsung's.

It’s largely about the money and for a fleet of computers for most companies Mac pricing doesn’t make sense. Users tend to abuse the crap out of work issued laptops without even realizing they’re doing it. Also Mac users have to be their own tech support in many cases, as the corporate IT is only trained on Windows.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

Steve Jobs would be proud of Apple and what Tim Cook has done with it. Apple is more successful today than even peak market penetration in the 80s.

I think the only thing he would be bemused by, is the fact that they’re still selling Macs. Before he returned to Apple, he famously said “things” that indicated he’d expect Apple to be focused on the “next big thing”.

 

[atomic.flip]

2 billion all chained to the Apple App Store and iTunes. Impressive to say the least.

 

[deevey]

Nope. Don't forget about businesses, schools, universities. I can walk into a campus library and see 100 devices right there.

They may be owned by someone else, but that would not change the ratio of devices to people.

 

[Abazigal]

I’m disappointing that the Mac sales are still low despite massive advances, but people out there have been suffering high living costs and fighting over trays of eggs so we can’t ask for much.

It’s only been a little over 2 years since M1 was released. I imagine there are still many users on intel Macs who have no intention of upgrading anytime soon (given that they would still be good for 5 or more years), but they eventually will. I feel it’s less about the high prices and more that the upgrade cycle for Macs is simply so much longer (as it should be).