Apple Trailed Samsung in Holiday Quarter With an Estimated 68.4M iPhones Shipped

[torana355]

This is the issue android do great phones but there is no ecosystem on android...the tablets and smart watches are poor in comparison.

That's a fair statement. I have an LG urbane smart watch and it very laggy, im thinking about getting the new galaxy watch as it's the best Android has to offer. Don't even get me started on Android tablets..

It's a pity because alot of the current Android phones are fantastic and imo are better then the current iPhones in most cases.

 

[The Game 161]

That's a fair statement. I have an LG urbane smart watch and it very laggy, im thinking about getting the new galaxy watch as it's the best Android has to offer. Don't even get me started on Android tablets..

Yeah galaxy watch is the best option i feel for Android.

Don’t get me wrong it does the basics well with notifications but when it comes to apps and overall design/fitness it’s not at the Apple Watch level.

The Apple Watch might well be apple’s best product with how it works.

 

[torana355]

Yeah galaxy watch is the best option i feel for Android.

Don’t get me wrong it does the basics well with notifications but when it comes to apps and overall design/fitness it’s not at the Apple Watch level.

The Apple Watch might well be apple’s best product with how it works.

I much prefer the design of the galaxy watch but yes the fitness and third party apps are severely lacking.

 

[Abazigal]

Yes, the Apple brand has become quite the Status symbol. Ive lost count of the amount of times I hear people who have zero idea about technology try to tell me that Apple make the best products even in cases where it simply isn't true. Many people buy Apple products due to the Apple logo the days.

I will say that for iPhone users, Apple does make the best products for them based on what they value and prioritise.

A perfect example are AirPods, they have comparably horrible sound quality compared to most of the competition with no noise isolation and they look ridiculous, yet people buy them in droves. Its not to say that Apple does not make great products, they have made many products that are great over the years, the iPod, the first iPhone the 2015 MBP and the list goes on. They also have the selling point of the well integrated Ecosystem.

And maybe you should be asking yourself why, rather than why not.

I have been using Airpods since the day they were released. Sound quality is average, yes, but the convenience and comfort they afford is unparalleled.

I have three pairs of headphones now collecting dust on my shelf. I think the Airpods are the quintessential anti-tech product. Tech enthusiasts look at the sound quality and dismiss it entirely, without considering that sound quality isn’t the sole factor by which headphones are judged.

The Airpods is Apple saying “I am betting that the seamlessness of the Airpods is worth every other feature combined”, and that they sold as many units as they did is the consumer voting with their wallets and telling Apple that they ultimately made the right call with regards to which features to prioritise.

My point is if Apple released the Samsung S9 and Samsung released the iPhone X do you really think the amount of units sold and profit would be reversed? The answer is no, they wouldn't Brand name is so important even if Apple does indeed make some great products.

And that iPhone X released by Samsung would have been slowed down by Touchwiz and lacking the integration with the Apple ecosystem, the custom processors and many other technologies specific to Apple.

Of course all other things equal, a stronger brand name is more desirable, but I am saying that that brand name doesn’t exist in a vacuum.

 

[mrex]

i have never understood those comparison between apple and samsung. apple makes iphone and only apple makes them. samsung makes android phones, but samsung is not only android manufacturer. samsung has alot pressure and competitors from other android manufacturers, apple has no competitor from ios manufacturers because there is none.

it is amazing that samsung can not only compete and win all other android manufacturers but also apple.

i cant even imagine what kind of excellent phone it would be if samsung did ios phones.

 

[Gilligan's last elephant]

In addition, how many of those cheap smartphones which Samsung sells do you think Samsung will end up supporting? The 5s still in my drawer still got updated to iOS 12. Samsung can't even ensure their flagship phones get the latest OS on time.

Many of the changes to Android OS are often things which Samsung introduced themselves. And OS updates are not necessary to get important changes/fixes made as the core apps are updated via tha Play Store independent of the OS level.

 

[Gilligan's last elephant]

I have been using Airpods since the day they were released. Sound quality is average, yes, but the convenience and comfort they afford is unparalleled.

I have three pairs of headphones now collecting dust on my shelf. I think the Airpods are the quintessential anti-tech product. Tech enthusiasts look at the sound quality and dismiss it entirely, without considering that sound quality isn’t the sole factor by which headphones are judged.

The Airpods is Apple saying “I am betting that the seamlessness of the Airpods is worth every other feature combined”, and that they sold as many units as they did is the consumer voting with their wallets and telling Apple that they ultimately made the right call with regards to which features to prioritise.


.

Sound quality, comfort and convenience are definately the main considerations for headphones. Especially the convenience of not needing to charge and having a universal plug to connect to all manner of devices, especially 20+ year old quality audio gear.

 

[Abazigal]

Sound quality, comfort and convenience are definately the main considerations for headphones. Especially the convenience of not needing to charge and having a universal plug to connect to all manner of devices, especially 20+ year old quality audio gear.

For me, being tethered to my iphone or ipad via a cable is the real inconvenience.

 

[I7guy]

Yes, the Apple brand has become quite the Status symbol. Ive lost count of the amount of times I hear people who have zero idea about technology try to tell me that Apple make the best products even in cases where it simply isn't true...

Your opinion is not really relevant here about which products are "objectively" better. People think the way they think and have a "subjective" view as to why they may prefer one product over an another.
[doublepost=1549208555][/doublepost]

Repeat after me, im a consumer I don't give a crap about how much money a company makes. I'm not a shareholder, i want as little profit margin and as much value as possible!! What is it with Apple die-hards actually wanting to be charged a huge mark-up and seeing it as a sense of pride.

Nice straw-man. But you did say a post or two above that Samsung sells more phones than Apple, alluding to the market share is best "argument".

 

[torana355]

Your opinion is not really relevant here about which products are "objectively" better. People think the way they think and have a "subjective" view as to why they may prefer one product over an another.
[doublepost=1549208555][/doublepost]
Nice straw-man. But you did say a post or two above that Samsung sells more phones than Apple, alluding to the market share is best "argument".

Oh yes, i know you love to bring out the old its subjective line but you need to realise there are alot of characteristics of electronic products that are actually measurable. You can say a $1000 car is "better" than a $30,000 car all day long and say its subjective but we all know its really not true
[doublepost=1549234470][/doublepost]

I will say that for iPhone users, Apple does make the best products for them based on what they value and prioritise.



And maybe you should be asking yourself why, rather than why not.

I have been using Airpods since the day they were released. Sound quality is average, yes, but the convenience and comfort they afford is unparalleled.

I have three pairs of headphones now collecting dust on my shelf. I think the Airpods are the quintessential anti-tech product. Tech enthusiasts look at the sound quality and dismiss it entirely, without considering that sound quality isn’t the sole factor by which headphones are judged.

The Airpods is Apple saying “I am betting that the seamlessness of the Airpods is worth every other feature combined”, and that they sold as many units as they did is the consumer voting with their wallets and telling Apple that they ultimately made the right call with regards to which features to prioritise.


And that iPhone X released by Samsung would have been slowed down by Touchwiz and lacking the integration with the Apple ecosystem, the custom processors and many other technologies specific to Apple.

Of course all other things equal, a stronger brand name is more desirable, but I am saying that that brand name doesn’t exist in a vacuum.

I think we need to agree to disagree. Once again, the reason so many purchased the Airpods is because they wanted headphones with an Apple logo to go with their iPhone with the Apple logo and for the ease of connectivity with the W1 chip which is the Airpods only special feature imo. Answer this question honestly, did you even actually research or try any other bluetooth headphones before buying the Airpods? Because if you actually did you would know there are MUCH better options out there with superior comfort and sound quality.

 

[I7guy]

Oh yes, i know you love to bring out the old its subjective line but you need to realise there are alot of characteristics of electronic products that are actually measurable. You can say a $1000 car is "better" than a $30,000 car all day long and say its subjective but we all know its really not true

Well no. You have to determine which characteristics of electronic products carry more weight to the individual. And that is subjective. Using your example the $1000 car has 4wd, while the $30,000 car has rwd and one is to use the vehicle in deep snow and the 4wd is able to go the distance while the $30,000 car just spins it's wheels. You can't say objectively the $30,000 is "better".

So no, "we", the "royal we", disagrees with the post premise.

 

[torana355]

Well no. You have to determine which characteristics of electronic products carry more weight to the individual. And that is subjective. Using your example the $1000 car has 4wd, while the $30,000 car has rwd and one is to use the vehicle in deep snow and the 4wd is able to go the distance while the $30,000 car just spins it's wheels. You can't say objectively the $30,000 is "better".

So no, "we", the "royal we", disagrees with the post premise.

While i completely agree with your example and see your point i think you have completely missed my point. My point is not everything is actually subjective, While the colour choice of your new macbook pro is completely subjective, the actual technical specs are not, things like CPU performance are indeed objective. The same goes for the Airpods, the frequency response on Airpods is not as good as a lot of the competition. The same goes for the noise isolation. These are things that are OBJECTIVE and measurable.

 

[I7guy]

While i completely agree with your example and see your point i think you have completely missed my point. My point is not everything is actually subjective, While the colour choice of your new macbook pro is completely subjective, the actual technical specs are not, things like CPU performance are indeed objective. The same goes for the Airpods, the frequency response on Airpods is not as good as a lot of the competition. The same goes for the noise isolation. These are things that are OBJECTIVE and measurable.

I unconditionally agree with your point. But my point, which you acknowledged, is when the package is put together and one is deciding between this product or that product, certain things may stand out for an individual and those certain things may vary and be different for each individual.

For example back to mobile phones, oled is a superior display technology to lcd, but people have their own opinions as to why they might want to buy a phone with lcd and not oled.

 

[torana355]

I unconditionally agree with your point. But my point, which you acknowledged, is when the package is put together and one is deciding between this product or that product, certain things may stand out for an individual and those certain things may vary and be different for each individual.

For example back to mobile phones, oled is a superior display technology to lcd, but people have their own opinions as to why they might want to buy a phone with lcd and not oled.

As i say the W1 chip is awesome, it's the killer feature on the airpods but imo the actual sound is more important than connectivity on any headphone, and you are right my viewpoint is subjective.

 

[Abazigal]

Oh yes, i know you love to bring out the old its subjective line but you need to realise there are alot of characteristics of electronic products that are actually measurable. You can say a $1000 car is "better" than a $30,000 car all day long and say its subjective but we all know its really not true

Not every which matters can be measured, just as not everything which can be measured, matters.

The A7 chip had fewer, faster cores compared to snapdragon processors, and Android is no closer to nearing that gap today.

Touch ID set the gold standard for fingerprint tech, even if you technically want to argue that it wasn’t the first phone with said feature. Likewise, claiming that many android phones also sport face recognition doesn’t do justice to the sheer engineering and effort which went into perfecting Face ID. For example, my local banking app supports authentication via Face ID, but not equivalent facial recognition features from android phones.

iPhones have smaller batteries, but make up for this with more efficient processors and software.

How do you even go about putting a value on the iOS App Store getting apps first or exclusively, or having a one-stop solution in the form of the Apple Store?

You will find that many of the advantages of an Apple device cannot easily be distilled into a numerical number, but it doesn’t mean that benefit doesn’t exist.

Likewise, I find that Android devices tend to boast larger numbers on paper (like more ram or more megapixels), but I find that those tend to not translate into a better user experience in actual usage. What’s the point of having 5 different ways of unlocking your device if none of them are particularly secure to begin with?

I think we need to agree to disagree. Once again, the reason so many purchased the Airpods is because they wanted headphones with an Apple logo to go with their iPhone with the Apple logo and for the ease of connectivity with the W1 chip which is the Airpods only special feature imo. Answer this question honestly, did you even actually research or try any other bluetooth headphones before buying the Airpods? Because if you actually did you would know there are MUCH better options out there with superior comfort and sound quality.

Here are the headphones I owned prior to getting the airpods.

Because I wear spectacles, over-the-ear headphones tend to be more uncomfortable because they press against my ears (and the spectacle frames). In-ear headphones tend to have these rubber tips which get uncomfortable after a while. The AirPods are the first pair of headphones that I could wear for hours on end without feeling any sort of discomfort whatsoever. They are light, easy to keep and take out, and don’t have the occasional connection issues I experienced with my previous pair.

Like I said earlier, I have ultimately decided to prioritise comfort and convenience over absolute sound quality, and more than 2 years later, I don’t regret that decision.

 

[torana355]

Here are the headphones I owned prior to getting the airpods.

Because I wear spectacles, over-the-ear headphones tend to be more uncomfortable because they press against my ears (and the spectacle frames). In-ear headphones tend to have these rubber tips which get uncomfortable after a while. The AirPods are the first pair of headphones that I could wear for hours on end without feeling any sort of discomfort whatsoever. They are light, easy to keep and take out, and don’t have the occasional connection issues I experienced with my previous pair.

Like I said earlier, I have ultimately decided to prioritise comfort and convenience over absolute sound quality, and more than 2 years later, I don’t regret that decision.

It seems your use case is quite specific to you, if IEM style headphones are uncomfortable for you then i can understand your decision. However the original subject is why people in general buy Apple products, my argument was that the brand name is a major factor these days. I see it everyday, people who are not tech savy but buy Apple products based on brand name alone. These people are the majority, people like me and you who actually understand the specifications and features well on macrumors are a minority. The majority of people do not buy Apple products because the are "better" they buy them because they are "cool" to own.

 

[Abazigal]

It seems your use case is quite specific to you, if IEM style headphones are uncomfortable for you then i can understand your decision. However the original subject is why people in general buy Apple products, my argument was that the brand name is a major factor these days. I see it everyday, people who are not tech savy but buy Apple products based on brand name alone. These people are the majority, people like me and you who actually understand the specifications and features well on macrumors are a minority. The majority of people do not buy Apple products because the are "better" they buy them because they are "cool" to own.

I understand where you are coming from. There is an ongoing joke that Apple could slap their logo on a pile of dung and people would be queuing up for buy one.

I disagree with this notion. This isn’t like the old days when Apple led a flock of loyal followers who would eagerly lap up anything they release. Today, Apple caters to an audience. For most people, the relationship is purely transactional.

Maybe some people did buy an Apple product initially based on hype or marketing, but for them to keep coming back year after year after year? There has to be something legitimately good about the product. I don’t need to be tech savvy or know the specs for something to work well for me.

So in summary, maybe the brand got them to try it out, but it’s the quality of the product which makes them stay and return for more. These two are not mutually exclusive. Apple does deliver quality products which in turn builds up users’ trust in not only their brand, but also in future products that they will release.

 

[torana355]

I understand where you are coming from. There is an ongoing joke that Apple could slap their logo on a pile of dung and people would be queuing up for buy one.

I disagree with this notion. This isn’t like the old days when Apple led a flock of loyal followers who would eagerly lap up anything they release. Today, Apple caters to an audience. For most people, the relationship is purely transactional.

Maybe some people did buy an Apple product initially based on hype or marketing, but for them to keep coming back year after year after year? There has to be something legitimately good about the product. I don’t need to be tech savvy or know the specs for something to work well for me.

So in summary, maybe the brand got them to try it out, but it’s the quality of the product which makes them stay and return for more. These two are not mutually exclusive. Apple does deliver quality products which in turn builds up users’ trust in not only their brand, but also in future products that they will release.

Of course, like i said before Apple DO make good products, there is no doubting it. I have owned a lot of Apple gear over the years and there is a lot to love about what they do. However, my opinion on why Apple is able to sell so many iPhones and at such a high margins compared to the competition has a lot to do with the fantastic name they have made for themselves over the years. They are a status symbol and the fashionable brand to buy. However they really don't always make the best products on the market. You chuck an Apple logo on a Oneplus phone and it would sell nearly identical numbers to the iPhone XS, you know i'm right.

 

[Gilligan's last elephant]

I understand where you are coming from. There is an ongoing joke that Apple could slap their logo on a pile of dung and people would be queuing up for buy one.

I disagree with this notion. This isn’t like the old days when Apple led a flock of loyal followers who would eagerly lap up anything they release. Today, Apple caters to an audience. For most people, the relationship is purely transactional.

Maybe some people did buy an Apple product initially based on hype or marketing, but for them to keep coming back year after year after year? There has to be something legitimately good about the product. I don’t need to be tech savvy or know the specs for something to work well for me.

So in summary, maybe the brand got them to try it out, but it’s the quality of the product which makes them stay and return for more. These two are not mutually exclusive. Apple does deliver quality products which in turn builds up users’ trust in not only their brand, but also in future products that they will release.

Very entertaining

 

[Shanghaichica]

That's a fair statement. I have an LG urbane smart watch and it very laggy, im thinking about getting the new galaxy watch as it's the best Android has to offer. Don't even get me started on Android tablets..

It's a pity because alot of the current Android phones are fantastic and imo are better then the current iPhones in most cases.

Totally agree. Many android phones are better than the current iphone. What Apple has going for it is that it has a more complete picture.
[doublepost=1549282723][/doublepost]

Sound quality, comfort and convenience are definately the main considerations for headphones. Especially the convenience of not needing to charge and having a universal plug to connect to all manner of devices, especially 20+ year old quality audio gear.

Not everyone cares about sound quality which is why you can buy £5 headphones and why a lot of people just use whatever headphones come in the box with their phone.

 

[Gilligan's last elephant]

Not everyone cares about sound quality which is why you can buy £5 headphones and why a lot of people just use whatever headphones come in the box with their phone.

But those people won't be considering headphone. The reply was about people's considerations when looking to buy headphones

 

[Abazigal]

But those people won't be considering headphone. The reply was about people's considerations when looking to buy headphones

So what’s the point again?

You could say that about just about every purchase anyone makes.

There are, right this second, millions of people spending money on things that I wouldn’t buy. Things that I could easily find an almost unlimited number of “better things to spend the money on”.

Perhaps I could take the time to tell them all that they should be buying something else that they don’t actually want, but I do. However, I think I’ll stuck to just understanding that they probably have different tastes, personal circumstances, disposable income etc to me and therefore it’s probably best for them to actually just buy the thing that they decided upon with those factors taken into account.

I don’t begrudge someone’s decision to spend $1000 on a pair of Shure IEMs, and I don’t see why anyone should take issues with my decision to use Airpods, drawbacks and all.

 

[Gilligan's last elephant]

So what’s the point again?

You could say that about just about every purchase anyone makes.

There are, right this second, millions of people spending money on things that I wouldn’t buy. Things that I could easily find an almost unlimited number of “better things to spend the money on”.

Perhaps I could take the time to tell them all that they should be buying something else that they don’t actually want, but I do. However, I think I’ll stuck to just understanding that they probably have different tastes, personal circumstances, disposable income etc to me and therefore it’s probably best for them to actually just buy the thing that they decided upon with those factors taken into account.

I don’t begrudge someone’s decision to spend $1000 on a pair of Shure IEMs, and I don’t see why anyone should take issues with my decision to use Airpods, drawbacks and all.

The point being that people who use supplied headphones won't be considering what to buy. That was my reply to another poster.

 

[SashJ]

If Apple does not come up with something to replace the iphones sales volume decline, they could end up like Altria. Higher earnings for years, based on raising prices on the remaining addicted people, but with declining product sales volume. It's taken years for Altria to feel the pinch, but it is happening now and it's showing in their stock price.

With the amount of money Apple has available to them to purchase any company or technology. I highly doubt that will ver happen. Apple could easily make a few big purchases and switch things up.

 

[Abazigal]

Very entertaining

I find I can no longer differentiate between genuine compliments and sarcasm on the Internet.