Apple Reports Q4 2010 Profit of $4.31 Billion on $20.34 Billion Revenue, Best Quarter Ever

[xIGmanIx]

people seem to ignore that ios is fragmented across multiple devices and hardware, so they are not exactly immune either. Besides, both should be closing the gap.

- iphone
- ipad
- ipod
- touch

also, to me it gets old when your always hearing from the CEO attempting to bash other companies. It just comes off childish, and again i prefer to hear about what your product does, not what the other one doesn't. Jobs is exhausting, plus profit for apple means absolutely zero guaranteed returns as a consumer.

stock is over valued, but great for folks that have major shares at lower prices $200

And people who make that argument clearly know nothing about programing.
You do know that the API and the OS handles most of the mess. The program does not have to deal with it so that is a crap argument.

 

[benhollberg]

It doesn't show the question where Steve was asked his stance on Flash at this point. Jobs replied: Oh, yea Flash, we love flash memory here at Apple.

It kinda made me laugh.

 

[linux2mac]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/532.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0.5 Mobile/8B117 Safari/6531.22.7)

I am trying to figure out how Apple is doomed and will be out of business like Amiga ( this was pointed out to me in several threads by Apple haters) with these whopping financial figures. Way to go SJ!!

 

[parapup]

It's not new. Windows is Android, and Mac OS is iOS. Both windows and android can be installed on a wide variety of hardware, while Mac OS and iOS can't (Hackintoshes don't count). Developing software for windows IS more complicated than it is for Mac OS for the same reason. In fact, developing windows itself is more complicated. There is no way for Microsoft or any of the people who program for windows to test their software on all the possible hardware configurations that windows will be run on, this problem being more apparent for games. The same cannot be said for Mac OS and iOS. Both come on a limited selection of hardware, making the testing process significantly simpler.

No, development effort for any reasonable OS platform (Windows, Android, Mac included) is in the same ballpark. There may be an incremental testing effort for more diverse platforms but it's way too overblown if you are stating it as being a problem - it's not.

Developing for Windows isn't any more complicated than Linux or Mac - that's for a competent programmer though. There are well defined APIs, the Operating System was invented exactly for the purpose of hiding the lower level complexities and differences and presenting a uniform way for user space programs to get work done.

And you do not need to test your software on all variations of hardware that Windows runs on - that would be insane. If you know what you are doing, you test against OS versions at the most - XP, Vista and 7. And if the OS vendor is any good the developer should have minimal trouble running his app properly on all platforms.

And the mobile space is way too limited in what Apps can do anyways, at least compared to the desktop. So it should be even more easier.

Speaking of Android specifically - it's Java, it has very well designed APIs and the SDK provides an emulator which can simulate varying types of hardware - different screen sizes and resolutions, Wifi only, Wifi+3G, Accelerometer vs no Accelerometer etc. So for 95+% of the apps - they just code it and test it on one real device and run it through the emulator if they are paranoid.

For the more complex ones - get a BETA out there and collect feedback - no need to test yourself. The testing coverage you get will be unbeaten by anything you can do for the iOS devices.

 

[daneoni]

- iphone
- ipad
- ipod
- touch

There's no iOS for iPod (nano isn't an iOS device), iPhone and iPod Touch pretty much run identical iOS versions. The only real difference across the board is iPad and even thats mostly to do with UI scaling. Core OS framework is still identical to the others. All in all devs have to support iOS 3 and iOS 4. The End.

Android 1.6, 2.0, 2.1 & 2.2, then there's variation between individual devices -custom UI's, custom market places, custom processors etc

 

[Rodimus Prime]

There's no iOS for iPod (nano isn't an iOS device), iPhone and iPod Touch pretty much run identical iOS versions. The only real difference across the board is iPad and even thats mostly to do with UI scaling. Core OS framework is still identical to the others. All in all devs have to support iOS 3 and iOS 4. The End.

Android 1.6, 2.0, 2.1 & 2.2, then there's variation between individual devices -custom UI's, custom market places, custom processors etc

Umm might like to point out to you that the devs do not have to deal with the custom UI's. Those UI's have nothing to do with how an app runs.

Really 1.6 vs 2.x is like dealing with 3.x vs 4.x on iOS. SO yet again you are showing huge amounts of not having a clue and standard "spitting out crap you see online with no understanding what you are talking about"

I see way to much of that here from people who have zero clue how to program much less develop software

 

[parapup]

There's no iOS for iPod (nano isn't an iOS device), iPhone and iPod Touch pretty much run identical iOS versions. The only real difference across the board is iPad and even thats mostly to do with UI scaling. Core OS framework is still identical to the others. All in all devs have to support iOS 3 and iOS 4. The End.

Android 1.6, 2.0, 2.1 & 2.2, then there's variation between individual devices -custom UI's, custom market places, custom processors etc

Have you ever developed for Android? You define at build time what minimum version you intend to support - 1.6 or 2.1 etc. and rest of it is automatic. If you know what you are doing it just works for 1.6 and 2.2 alike.

There are no custom processors as much as iPhone 3GS and A4 are custom different ones. Even if there are it's hell lot easy for Android - it's Java. (See Google TV). Custom market places - not relevant, there is only one APK you need to copy to all of the market places or even upload it to your webserver and pass the link around. Device variations - see Windows, see APIs, see OS theory - non issues.

In other words, lot of people talk about Android, fragmentation, developer difficulty, blah - without really understanding the ground reality.

 

[Master Chief]

Very good earnings, but this shows people here that I was right all the time; The iPad isn't selling like hot cakes. It might outnumber the Mac sales alright, but it sure isn't outselling the iPhone and/or iPod with little over 1 million a month. That's a fact.

 

[Bernard SG]

Very good earnings, but this shows people here that I was right all the time; The iPad isn't selling like hot cakes. It might outnumber the Mac sales alright, but it sure isn't outselling the iPhone and/or iPod with little over 1 million a month. That's a fact.

7.5 million in 2 quarters, that's huge! Analyst overblew their forecasts but the actual number is still phenomenal.

 

[Peterg2]

The reduced margins I can appreciate as being a concern (although somewhat expected). The question with the low - by analysts expectations - Ipad sales is how much this was due to supply constraints or whether, in my mind, the whole Ipad/tablet experience is overblown. iPhone results are stellar - whichever way you put it - as there are clearly supply constraints there.

So is the Ipad and the whole tablet phenomenon with all these manufacturers scrambling to emulate, something which is a fiction to the extent that it is - while going to be popular - not a massive game-changer in the word of computing?

 

[Mattsasa]

I don't believe it's coming to Verizon until the next gen but it will be worth a hell of a lot more than 2-5 million.

As for Apple's 14% share vs. 30-35%, I'll take it (as an AAPL holder). Remember, that 30-35% is split among what, a dozen or more companies?

iPhone 4 will be on the verizon network, in January febuaryish

 

[mozumder]

iPhone 4 will be on the verizon network, in January febuaryish

Of 2012.

 

[saving107]

iPhone 4 will be on the verizon network, in January febuaryish

Junish/julyish

 

[*LTD*]

Very good earnings, but this shows people here that I was right all the time; The iPad isn't selling like hot cakes. It might outnumber the Mac sales alright, but it sure isn't outselling the iPhone and/or iPod with little over 1 million a month. That's a fact.

Over 7 million in the span of two quarters. That's hotcakes for something like the iPad. It took the first-gen iPhone a helluva lot longer than that to sell that many units.

 

[Mattsasa]

Junish/julyish

For Iphone 5 maybe, but apple will release, iPhone 4 on verizon earlier to make more money

 

[yodaxl7]

It is likely that they will say that iPads were supply limited...

For some reason, Apple didn't realize how popular the iPad would be. So, at launch, they were pleasantly surprised. So, they ramp production from 1 million per month to 2 million. Plus, they wanted to have decent supply sent to other countries as well. So, supplies were constrainted.

I do think that the next quarter will be totally different. They have ramped production to 3 million per month. Plus, they have widen their distributions here in US (target,walmart, att and verizon, all best buys). I suspect during the holidays, Apple should be able to sell twice what they just did. I say 8 million iPad in the 1st qtr of apple's next fiscal year.

 

[yodaxl7]

7.5 million in 2 quarters, that's huge! Analyst overblew their forecasts but the actual number is still phenomenal.

Yeh! That's 1.25 million iPad per month over 6 months = 7.5 million units. They sold 3 million in 80 days. Next qtr will be the test, since they got plenty to sell now. No supply problem.

 

[yodaxl7]

Have you ever developed for Android? You define at build time what minimum version you intend to support - 1.6 or 2.1 etc. and rest of it is automatic. If you know what you are doing it just works for 1.6 and 2.2 alike.

There are no custom processors as much as iPhone 3GS and A4 are custom different ones. Even if there are it's hell lot easy for Android - it's Java. (See Google TV). Custom market places - not relevant, there is only one APK you need to copy to all of the market places or even upload it to your webserver and pass the link around. Device variations - see Windows, see APIs, see OS theory - non issues.

In other words, lot of people talk about Android, fragmentation, developer difficulty, blah - without really understanding the ground reality.

It's all your intent and how complicated application you are designing. Those users who have older android phones won't able to use apps that were designed for 2.0 and up. Plus, android 2.2 is the only version that is optimized and competitive with the ios.

 

[StackUnderflow]

Wouldn't it be great if AAPL profits translated into US jobs? Real, livable wage jobs, not McGenius Bar jobs.

 

[Willis]

It looks like next quarter or at the very latest in the quarter after that Apple will overtake Microsoft in revenue. This year so far it is $62bn for Microsoft and $57bn for Apple.

FYI, Apples Fiscal year has now ended. Next quarter is Q1 2011 so if Apple are to overtake Microsoft, it will happen sometime next year if not the next. I'm not sure if Microsoft have they're Q4 or Q1 next.

 

[dru`]

Even if there are it's hell lot easy for Android - it's Java. (See Google TV).

Android is *NOT* Java. See Oracle's lawsuit against Google over this point. Google use their own VM and a subset of what is available to real Java developers.

 

[Rodimus Prime]

Android is *NOT* Java. See Oracle's lawsuit against Google over this point. Google use their own VM and a subset of what is available to real Java developers.

While not exactly Java it has so much over lap with it that if you know Java it would be very easy to jump in to developing for android.

 

[finnns2000]

Wouldn't it be great if AAPL profits translated into US jobs? Real, livable wage jobs, not McGenius Bar jobs.

Yeah, the salaries there are absolute bunk. I would frequently laugh at my checks.

 

[gnasher729]

Very good earnings, but this shows people here that I was right all the time; The iPad isn't selling like hot cakes. It might outnumber the Mac sales alright, but it sure isn't outselling the iPhone and/or iPod with little over 1 million a month. That's a fact.

iPad looks like it will be selling at least 12 million in the year of its introduction, that is 9 months since around April. That beats the highest expectations at the time of introduction, including Apple's. 4.2 million per quarter is not "little over 1 million a month". The iPad _is_ selling like hotcakes, that's a fact. iPhone and iPods are selling even more, that is also a fact, but it doesn't take anything away from the overwhelming success of the iPad. What it didn't do is beat the expectations of some "analysts" who apparently were not very good at estimating sales. (Remember that this is an analyst's job, _estimating_ how a business is doing, so any difference between their "analysis" and reality is the analyst's fault).

Apple DID miss an estimate: the analysts' estimates for iPad sales. these analysts aren't just "anybody with a blog": they're trained professionals who rose at their respective companies based on their performance. At those companies they collectively influence billions of dollars of trades in AAPL based on their analyses of what can be expected from the company. Their beliefs shaped the stock's price last quarter, and last month, and last week, and yesterday. How they modify their expectations based on today's information--good and bad--will help shape the stock's price tomorrow. It's how performance compared to their estimates, not apple's, that matter in this case.

You misunderstand the role of analysts. Their job is _estimating_ Apple's revenue and profit. So unless Apple has been intentionally feeding them wrong information (which we have no reason to believe), any difference between estimated and actual sales is their fault.

And AAPL doesn't go down because it doesn't meet analyst expectations; it goes down because the share price went up more than it should have because of incorrect analyst estimates; Apple releasing real numbers means reality takes over once every three months.

 

[zacman]

It's all your intent and how complicated application you are designing. Those users who have older android phones won't able to use apps that were designed for 2.0 and up.

And? Apps developed for iOS4 that require multitasking don't run on the iPhone 3G even IF iOS 4 is installed on it. That's even much worse because as a developer you rely on a certain feature set that comes with each OS version.

With iOS you don't only have to check the iOS version but also if the device actually supports some special API (and I'm not speaking about stuff like GPS, etc.). That's hell of a nightmare.