Apple Slips to Fifth in Global Mobile Phone Share as ZTE Surges

[0815]

up to now the iPhone sales number pattern was pretty predictable. Lots of sales in the quarter the new iPhone is released, still lots of them the next quarter - after that more and more people rather wait for the new model. This compared to other companies that constantly release new models -> other companies have a more steady sales curve where as iPhone sales slow the closer it gets to the (one) new model.

guess this year that trend will be screwed with an unusual peak starting february .... maybe apple should stick with 'cdma' phone in february and '3G' phone in june to smoothen the sales curves

 

[Steve121178]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZTE

 

[Lesser Evets]

86% growth is no small amount.

 

[Steve121178]

guess this year that trend will be screwed with an unusual peak starting february .... maybe apple should stick with 'cdma' phone in february and '3G' phone in june to smoothen the sales curves

That won't make any difference globally.

 

[pinchez]

ZTE make the very cheap and popular Blade Android phone aka Orange San Francisco. This phone as been available for under £100 on pay as you go in the UK for quite a while and is easily unlocked and well supported by the moding community. It's quite a nice little phone with a decent spec that originally came with an OLED screen.

 

[dethmaShine]

Hi, I saw this on engadget. According to the data, ZTE was higher than Apple in 2009 as well.
What am I missing?

 

[Stella]

What difference does it make that Apple have slipped in global rankings?

Apple still sold a sh?t load of iPhones and still will next year.

 

[JeffDM]

And a relatively expensive phone.

It's not a feature phone, but it's possible to get an iPhone for the price I paid for a feature phone a few years ago.

I didn't even realise they made handsets - I thought ZTE were a telecom hardware manufacturer.

I hadn't heard of them before, but if you have a Chinese company mainly serving their home market, it's still possible to be a relative unknown to the outside world.

3 phones

and it's not like all the android phones out there are all that different. it's the same 2-3 designs

I'd really like to see the insides before siding with that. If they all use a handful of reference designs, then OK, but they don't all appear to be the same.

Technically 4 phones and tonnes of carriers.

I'm not on board with calling the 32GB and 16GB models different, one chip is different, and every other component is identical between capacities. The number is probably going to be 3 or 5, depending on whether you count a different memory chip as a new model.

 

[Iconoclysm]

3 phones

and it's not like all the android phones out there are all that different. it's the same 2-3 designs

Android is on multiple tiers of phones, from cheap and free to expensive. Bringing Android into this at all isn't really relevent considering we're just talking about hardware.

 

[iPhoneCollector]

i wonder if ZTE makes a fake iphone.

 

[mlomeli]

OK we all know that Apple makes only one phone, no need to post this in every iPhone news!!!

Then why have this topic...I was simply stating an obvious look how 1 phone, compared to several others, by different companies, is doing...per this report.

Go back to bed...

 

[Steve121178]

What difference does it make that Apple have slipped in global rankings?

Apple still sold a sh?t load of iPhones and still will next year.

I'd wager a lot of people will have their heads turned by some very nice Android phones that will be announced at the Mobile World Congress.

It's a bit naive to assume the next iPhone will sell in the same quantity as previous models when the competition is going to be extremely fierce during 2011 onwards...

 

[NightFox]

I think MacRumors need to explain exactly what global means when they post these news articles to avoid further confusion.

Maybe they mean 'global' as in 'World Series'

 

[Stella]

I'd wager a lot of people will have their heads turned by some very nice Android phones that will be announced at the Mobile World Congress.

It's a bit naive to assume the next iPhone will sell in the same quantity as previous models when the competition is going to be extremely fierce during
2011 onwards...

Yes, I very much expect there will be some very nice Android phones out.. and some nice non-Android smartphones too.

If I was a gambler, I'd place a nice wager that the iPhone will still sell well next year too. I don't see iPhone sales to start tumble ( OK - tumble too strong a word!) soon.. iPhone has a lot of traction. Not forgetting the smartphone market is booming too.

Maybe they mean 'global' as in 'World Series'

 

[Gemütlichkeit]

Yeah nokia and samsung and the rest of the lot all make phones that are FREE when you sign up. They also have dozens of models where apple only is offering two right now. 3GS and 4

 

[Oletros]

Yeah nokia and samsung and the rest of the lot all make phones that are FREE when you sign up.

Uh? Try to buy a Galaxy S, Desire, Nexus S, N8 for free. Here in Spain, iPhone 4 and the former are moreless the same price.

 

[dgree03]

The crazy thing about this is Apple sells two models. The 3Gs and 4. They are both a higher priced smart phone vs the 100s of dumb phones included in these figures. They are never sold as BOGOs and never given away. And the are in the top five in world sales.

This will change soon as more carriers start competing, expect buy one get one for iphones.

 

[Stella]

Yeah nokia and samsung and the rest of the lot all make phones that are FREE when you sign up. They also have dozens of models where apple only is offering two right now. 3GS and 4

That is up to the carrier - the manufacturer still get their $$$. These phones are not free - the customer will still pay for the phone via their monthly contract rate. This argument has been bought up time and time again - IMO, its not really a valid point.

a "Free" phone is just a way that carriers attract new customers...

 

[k995]

This, considering they make only 1 phone...

Not really 2010 was 3g/3gs and 4g with several different memery configurations.

And this doesnt matter, if apple can make more profit with dozens of different phones they would do it.

 

[nylonsteel]

nokia still makes phone?
zte are manufactered on planet zetan

 

[Popeye206]

I'd wager a lot of people will have their heads turned by some very nice Android phones that will be announced at the Mobile World Congress.

It's a bit naive to assume the next iPhone will sell in the same quantity as previous models when the competition is going to be extremely fierce during 2011 onwards...

Naive? No... I don't think so. The iPhone is still the one EVERYONE compares too. I think just the opposite. Android has the problem of being diluted in the market. Hit and miss hardware. Lots of choices (which can be good) but I'm sure when the average consumer shops, they look, touch and feel many smart phones, then look to the iPhone to compare.

As long as Apple continues to make the iPhone a well made and great designed smart phone, it will sell like crazy.

Besides, the cell phone market is fluid. You don't buy one phone for life and at some point you need to upgrade or replace your phone. HTC customer today, iPhone tomorrow... or some variation of that.

 

[roadbloc]

Ignorant Americans don't know who ZTE are.

 

[OllyW]

They are never sold as BOGOs and never given away. And the are in the top five in world sales.

They are given away free in some countries.

 

[Dr McKay]

I'm not on board with calling the 32GB and 16GB models different, one chip is different, and every other component is identical between capacities. The number is probably going to be 3 or 5, depending on whether you count a different memory chip as a new model.

I meant to say that there are still iPhones, 3G's, 3GS's and 4's out there making up that marketshare, as for 1 carrier, do people honestly believe AT&T is the only carrier in the World? I mean the iPhone is on 5 carriers in the UK.

Ive looked at the list and there appears to be at least 30 different carriers for europe alone.

 

[WildCowboy]

How can you call ZTE a surge when Apple "surged" more?

ZTE wasn't in the top five last quarter, while Apple took fourth. That's what I meant by a ZTE surge...comparing 3Q 2010 to 4Q 2010.

Yes, Apple had larger growth than ZTE when comparing 4Q 2010 to 4Q 2009 and when looking at full-year 2010 to full-year 2009, but most of the interest is undoubtedly on Apple's performance since it entered the global top five, which is only the past two quarters.