Apple Set to Become First $4 Trillion Company

[9081094]

It is often said that one's strength is also very often their weakness. I guess it's also a matter of perspective.

For me at least, the chief reason why the iPad is working so well for me is precisely because it doesn't run a "real modern OS", whatever that means. For the stuff I do on it at least, I find I am still better served with it running iOS with native apps optimised for touch and direct input (apps which, might I highlight, are not available on Android or Windows).

And for the stuff that I can't really get done on an ipad, that's where my MBA or my iMac comes in.

This feels like one of those complaints that get amplified on forums like Macrumours because of the demographic of its members, but then you look outside and realise that all the cries for the iPad to run macOS don't seem representative of what the rest of Apple's user base really want out of their device.


I fail to see how this invalidates my own experiences with Apple products in any way. They continue to work great for me year after year after year and if you can spam the forums with proclamations of how Apple is doomed because of this or that, am I not allowed to counteract that narrative with one of my own?

Maybe you are right in that android / windows devices have better specs, and perhaps that is the real magic behind Apple products. That these seemingly anaemic paper specs come together to create an experience that is more than the sum of its parts (thanks in part to Apple's ability to optimise both the hardware and software for each other), and allow Apple to more than hold their own against what the competition has to offer.

Like if Apple launches the next iPhone SE and it still goes on to do respectably well in terms of sales, shouldn't we be trying to better understand just why this is the case, rather than simply dismiss outright just because it doesn't have 120hz refresh rate?


We will see.

You seem very convinced - sure, the S24/25 has more ram, faster processor (on paper), better camera (on paper), full multitasking, better AI etc, and yet something invariably ends up falling short when said product is released and sales don't necessarily match up, doesn't it?

Samsung apparently hasn't been doing very well this financial year. Let's see if the S25 will help reverse its fortunes (or not).


I am speaking based on the experience of the windows laptop issued to me for work. Like I wasn't expecting it to match that of my MBA, but goodness, I find it downright unusable.

Especially for you 😊:

 

[surferfb]

It hasn’t. If apple hadn’t been long term planning it would have floundered. You may not like apple and that is your prerogative, but the above post is just silly. A company the size of apple puts profits first, has no innovation or long term planning, milking users and overpaying shareholders? Okay it’s your opinion, but I disagree.

It seems that lots of MacRumors posters wish Apple was still the scrappy underdog making products for a subset of nerds who have good design taste. If Apple does anything that doesn’t align with what they think Steve would have done it’s because big bad Tim only cares about the ROI.

 

[I7guy]

Probably
It's massively in the interest of Apple marketing to have the largest number of "users" they can plausibly come up with

It’s massively in the interest of every company selling products and services to count their customers to the best of their ability.

I also wonder about old devices -- I have about 15 former devices and accessories I can't get off my Apple ID / iCloud, no matter what I've tried over and over on the website or on a Mac/iPhone -- the devices just won't remove.

I would think apple would be smart about this. I have an iPhone 4, even though it boots and is tied to my id is it active?

AirPods are trickier. They have the sales transaction, but unless you pair them with a device they won’t know how they are used.

 

[I7guy]

Especially for you 😊:

I’m not sure if the point of that video. My family, a bunch of them, were lifelong android users and a few years ago the entire kit and kaboddle switched to iPhone.

They didn’t make a YouTube video on it, but they should have.

 

[turbineseaplane]

It seems that lots of MacRumors posters wish Apple was still the scrappy underdog making products for a subset of nerds who have good design taste.

That is exactly the market positioning and mindset that created the drive that built what you see now.

The way Tim is doing it now ... is not

It will eventually have repercussions

 

[9081094]

Probably
It's massively in the interest of Apple marketing to have the largest number of "users" they can plausibly come up with

If those numbers are so big and growing, how come Apple’s iOS share fell from 23% worldwide last year to 16% this year (worldwide)

 

[I7guy]

That is exactly the market positioning and mindset that created the drive that built what you see now.

The way Tim is doing it now ... is not

CEOs have to adapt the company and Tim Cook has done a brilliant job of it. The Steve era has long long passed and apple has been in a new era of management. Tim has been leading apple for almost 15 years. And while there have been bumps along the way, the stewardship has been stellar.

It will eventually have repercussions

Okay timeframe?

 

[9081094]

I’m not sure if the point of that video. My family, a bunch of them, were lifelong android users and a few years ago the entire kit and kaboddle switched to iPhone.

They didn’t make a YouTube video on it, but they should have.

It’s still not to late to make one… I might give it a thumbsup 🤭

 

[I7guy]

If those numbers are so big and growing, how come Apple’s iOS share fell from 23% worldwide last year to 16% this year (worldwide)

View attachment 2466501

As a shareholder diversified revenue is more important than the percentage of iPhone sales.With over two billion devices there are plenty of opportunities for services and other hardware revenue.

It’s been many years since iPhone units were counted. What do the revenue numbers look like in the price range that apple sells their iPhone.

I’ll wait patiently while those figures are gathered.

 

[9081094]

CEOs have to adapt the company and Tim Cook has done a brilliant job of it. The Steve era has long long passed and apple has been in a new era of management. Tim has been leading apple for almost 15 years. And while there have been bumps along the way, the stewardship has been stellar.

Okay timeframe?

I’m sure you will see something happening with iPhone sales going down in their next quarterly earnings. Especially in China.

But no worries, they’ve sold probably some more Apple polishing clothes to keep that installed base growing 😜

 

[I7guy]

I’m sure you will see something happening with iPhone sales going down in their next quarterly earnings. Especially in China.

View attachment 2466506

Is a quarter to quarter swing very important to you? To me it’s the trend and not the specific quarter. But to each their own.

 

[9081094]

Is a quarter to quarter swing very important to you? To me it’s the trend and not the specific quarter. But to each their own.

Well if you look at the 2 year time frame, it went from 22% in 2022 to 16% in 2024.

I hope they soon come up with some new watchbands or iPhone socks for their growing user base.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Well if you look at the 2 year time frame, it went from 22% in 2022 to 16% in 2024.

I hope they soon come up with some new watchbands or iPhone socks for their growing user base.

Speaking of the Watch.... it has become so stale that they make nothing even remotely interesting that might tempt me (as a multi-year Garmin user). I see it at the Apple Store and it's just like .. "oh .. those .... meh... same old thing again with a new number attached this year"

It's so mystifying to me that they won't pump out some creative form factor attempts for something that is a wrist accessory

Everything is just a tiny iteration on the same big boring rectangle

 

[9081094]

It’s been many years since iPhone units were counted. What do the revenue numbers look like in the price range that apple sells their iPhone.

You know why they stopped providing you the units sold? Because their numbers went down.

Instead of that they’re now using the growing user base which include your iPhone 4. Every time you put it on, it’s pinging to Apple.

 

[I7guy]

Well if you look at the 2 year time frame, it went from 22% in 2022 to 16% in 2024.

I hope they soon come up with some new watchbands or iPhone socks for their growing user base.

The socks will be a success.

 

[I7guy]

You know why they stopped providing you the units sold? Because their numbers went down.

Because the competition didn’t either.

Instead of that they’re now using the growing user base which include your iPhone 4. Every time you put it on, it’s pinging to Apple.

So an active device is what’s turned on. Makes sense.

 

[9081094]

Speaking of the Watch.... it has become so stale that they make nothing even remotely interesting that might tempt me (as a multi-year Garmin user). I see it at the Apple Store and it's just like .. "oh .. those .... meh... same old thing again with a new number attached this year"

It's so mystifying to me that they won't pump out some creative form factor attempts for something that is a wrist accessory

Everything is just a tiny iteration on the same big boring rectangle

At least they could solve the battery problem. It can’t hold a day and night. It’s worst in class. Even Chinese copies sold on Temu at € 10 give you a longer battery life.

 

[I7guy]

At least they could solve the battery problem. It can’t hold a day and night. It’s worst in class. Even Chinese copies sold on Temu at € 10 give you a longer battery life.

And even the temu watches are accurate twice a day.

 

[9081094]

The socks will be a success.
View attachment 2466508

I would be starting a bit concerned if I was you. Warren buffet the head of Berkshire Hathaway has sold almost all his shares in Apple. I think he might know some inside information.

 

[9081094]

The socks will be a success.
View attachment 2466508

And still they haven’t managed to get a decent Siri. What a shame for such a rich company. When did they upgrade their productivity suit that comes with every device sold? Pages, keynote, numbers, iMovie etc? There is neglect on so many fronts from Apple that it’s a disgrace for a company owning more money than a big bank. They care about their customers?

 

[I7guy]

I would be starting a bit concerned if I was you. Warren buffet the head of Berkshire Hathaway has sold almost all his shares in Apple. I think he might know some inside information.

I’ll take my chances. Given this news Warren is regretting those actions.

 

[I7guy]

And still they haven’t managed to get a decent Siri. What a shame for such a rich company. When did they upgrade their productivity suit that comes with every device sold? Pages, keynote, numbers, iMovie etc? There is neglect on so many fronts from Apple that it’s a disgrace for a company owning more money than a big bank. They care about their customers?

You’re stuck in 2010 where iPhone sales were THE metric. This is 2024.

 

[surferfb]

I would be starting a bit concerned if I was you. Warren buffet the head of Berkshire Hathaway has sold almost all his shares in Apple. I think he might know some inside information.

He did not sell “almost all his shares”. He cut their Apple stake by 25%, but Apple remained Berkshire Hathaway’s largest holding as of the last reporting period that ended on Sept 30th.

 

[citysnaps]

A small correction: 2 billion active units. I did some searching and there seems to be 1.5 billion iPhone users. But then there is other hardware as well.

Are you active user if all you have are AirPods?

Thanx for the heads-up - appreciate it.

 

[turbineseaplane]

He did not sell “almost all his shares”. He cut their Apple stake by 25%, but Apple remained Berkshire Hathaway’s largest holding as of the last reporting period that ended on Sept 30th.

Good correction

It is a fair and notable point, however, that he's reducing their exposure on this investment by such a large percentage and reversing their long trend of being fully all in on Apple future growth

It's an expression of at least some form of the sentiment on the Berkshire side

If, conversely, they'd upped their stake by an additional 25% -- I'm sure we'd be correctly commenting on what that would indicate about their feelings on Apple for the future.