You know that for every iOS devices sold, there are 15-20 more Android devices sold, don't you? You have obviously chosen a wrong guy to provoke.
Although Apple is still doing very well in the US, it is constantly losing market share in most of the countries. On average, Apple's market share is gradually dropping into the single digit territory, which is actually a VERY RISKY sign. If Apple were able to keep pace with the same growth rate as the average industry, its sales numbers would be at least 50% higher than it is now.
This point didn’t hold water back in 2013, and it still isn’t any more relevant today.
Let’s just focus on the numbers. Apple has well over 900 million active iphone users around the world. Regardless of how many active android users there are out there, this is still a very large number in an absolute sense. More than enough to support a thriving ecosystem of apps, accessories and services.
Second, despite its smaller user base, Apple constantly rakes in more revenue through its App Store compared to Google. From this, I surmise that the key reason is that Apple has aggregated the best users. To put it more bluntly, an iphone user is on average worth more than than the average android user. That’s also why Google pays the money to Apple it does just to keep Google search default on safari, because ios is more lucrative than android despite the latter’s larger market share.
This is important because it stands to reason that iphone users have the disposable income to spend on accessories such as the Apple Watch and AirPods, as well as subscribe to the myriad of services that Apple offers (and then some). This in turn leads to a virtuous cycle where Apple’s wearables line prove profitable enough to justify continued R&D in the long term.
This also explains the shift in Apple’s product strategy. Growth has clearly peaked, so they are pivoting from selling iPhones to selling to people with iPhones. And I think they will see success in this regard.
That said, you do raise a valid point in that there are many developing countries where an iphone is simply out of reach of its citizens, due to the lack of purchasing power. I see this as an opportunity, though the solution wouldn’t be to lower prices, but perhaps to offer some sort of independent wearable solution (for instance, a standalone Apple Watch could make for a cheaper alternative to an iphone).
Overall, I wouldn’t be too worried about the apparent low market share of the iphone. Think usage share, not raw market share numbers.
