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Apple's Global Smartphone Share Slips as Chinese Rivals Surge

citysnaps said:
That's funny. I suspect the overwhelming majority of Apple customers are not techies who hang out on tech forums. And couldn't care less about most of the items above; such as having a file system, side loading, etc, etc.

Apple knows who their market is. As evidenced by their 1+ Billion active and *repeat* customers.
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Just because we don’t care enough doesn’t mean they should gatekeep those features. Most of those things can only serve to improve the usability of the phones. See how long and how much effort it took them to give up Lightning for USB-C on iPhones and iPads for example. And see how much they skimped on RAM on the iPads.

Ultimately the question of whether it’s worth paying the Apple tax comes into play. And outside of the base Mac Mini (without any upgrades), the answer has been quite consistently no.
 
I7guy said:
And 52% weren’t iPhone. That’s diversified.
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Agreed. While 48% is a lot for one product in a company that size, they are diversified.

We'll see what it looks like once Google is blocked from paying Apple to be the default search engine. I suspect that number will grow quite a bit.
 
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unchecked said:
Just because we don’t care enough doesn’t mean they should gatekeep those features. Most of those things can only serve to improve the usability of the phones. See how long and how much effort it took them to give up Lightning for USB-C on iPhones and iPads for example. And see how much they skimped on RAM on the iPads.

Ultimately the question of whether it’s worth paying the Apple tax comes into play. And outside of the base Mac Mini (without any upgrades), the answer has been quite consistently no.
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We? I think you missed my point. People on this forum, who are into tech, might care.

The average non-tech person (barbers, mail carriers, dentists, car salespeople, grade school teachers, architects, house painter, secretaries, gardeners, police officers... and a few hundred others categories of non-tech people likely have no idea what a side-load (just as one example) is.
 
WarmWinterHat said:
That's a good point.
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And Macs, for how much some of us love them, I think are still below 10% of their total revenue

This company is in big trouble if something serious happens to the iPhone

I think this is why Tim is so so so cautious with all the moves in that lineup
 
Hope this'll prompt apple to get back at innovating, at least in the same way they used to.

Also, consumers want more luxuries these days.
For example 120hz displays; it's pretty ridiculous to have a premium costing device with a 60hz screen.
Thankfully all rumors seem to suggest the regular 17 will be 120hz (finally).
 
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d5aqoëp said:
Things missing on Apple side which Androids do well

1. Missing access to file system. It's incredibly hard to move a file to/from an iOS device to a PC. Apple makes you jump through hoops for this simple thing
2. Still not allowing sideloading ipa files except EU. Let user take full responsibility for it but have some safeguards in place like Android.
3. No foldable phones
4. Better screens comparable to top Androids like S24 Ultra
5. Still stuck on 60hz refresh rate on basic iPhones.
6. No HD-Audio/ATMOS support in iOS/TVOS yet. No passthrough
7. Still limiting USB-C speed and power on iPhones so majority of external SSDs are incompatible.
8. Poor Cellular and Wifi performance compared to top Androids.
9. Stale 5 yr old designs for most of their devices compared to Chinese Androids.
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I use my iPhone for banking, so I appreciate the Walled Garden. I don't want Chinese malware on my phone at all, and pretending that a 17 year-old is genius enough to know whether he's downloaded spyware or not is ridiculous.

A billion people use iPhone and another two billion use Android. Or something like that. Obviously, one not is astronomically superior to the other. You can make a long, long list of things that both platforms do just fine, which is what 99.999% of us care about. Phone, camera, email, web browsing, using productive apps to order food, airline tickets and taxis.
 
Every time I hear ”Apple Intelligence”, I cringe because it’s literally ChatGPT 3.5 tech in 2025. Yikes!
 
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awisdom said:
Apple Intelligence is the beginning of the long death of Apple. Mark my words. Apple is done.
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I find all types of AI stuff boring. It's not just the AI but in terms of raw SOC performance.... Qualcomm, Huawei and even Mediatek have caught up and surpassed Appl'e iPhone SOC this year. Apple lags behind in screen tech, camera tech, wifi tech and are also falling behind in terms of GPU speeds. I managed to get hold of OnePlus 13 and holy s*** !! That phone destroys my 16 Pro Max in Cellular reception, cellular speeds and wifi speeds. 16 Pro Max's wifi and cellular reception is just a joke at this moment. Really got me pissed that Apple chose to get SD X72 instead of X75 or X80 cellular modem from Qualcomm. Now they are almost 2 year behind in terms of latest 5G modem on the market.
 
d5aqoëp said:
I find all types of AI stuff boring. It's not just the AI but in terms of raw SOC performance.... Qualcomm, Huawei and even Mediatek have caught up and surpassed Appl'e iPhone SOC this year. Apple lags behind in screen tech, camera tech, wifi tech and are also falling behind in terms of GPU speeds. I managed to get hold of OnePlus 13 and holy s*** !! That phone destroys my 16 Pro Max in Cellular reception, cellular speeds and wifi speeds. 16 Pro Max's wifi and cellular reception is just a joke at this moment. Really got me pissed that Apple chose to get SD X72 instead of X75 or X80 cellular modem from Qualcomm. Now they are almost 2 year behind in terms of latest 5G modem on the market.
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I keep hearing this about Qualcomm passing apple soc with no proof except anecdotal.
 
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d5aqoëp said:
Things missing on Apple side which Androids do well

1. Missing access to file system. It's incredibly hard to move a file to/from an iOS device to a PC. Apple makes you jump through hoops for this simple thing
2. Still not allowing sideloading ipa files except EU. Let user take full responsibility for it but have some safeguards in place like Android.
3. No foldable phones
4. Better screens comparable to top Androids like S24 Ultra
5. Still stuck on 60hz refresh rate on basic iPhones.
6. No HD-Audio/ATMOS support in iOS/TVOS yet. No passthrough
7. Still limiting USB-C speed and power on iPhones so majority of external SSDs are incompatible.
8. Poor Cellular and Wifi performance compared to top Androids.
9. Stale 5 yr old designs for most of their devices compared to Chinese Androids.
Click to expand...
What about the vice versa list?
 
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d5aqoëp said:
I find all types of AI stuff boring. It's not just the AI but in terms of raw SOC performance.... Qualcomm, Huawei and even Mediatek have caught up and surpassed Appl'e iPhone SOC this year. Apple lags behind in screen tech, camera tech, wifi tech and are also falling behind in terms of GPU speeds. I managed to get hold of OnePlus 13 and holy s*** !! That phone destroys my 16 Pro Max in Cellular reception, cellular speeds and wifi speeds. 16 Pro Max's wifi and cellular reception is just a joke at this moment. Really got me pissed that Apple chose to get SD X72 instead of X75 or X80 cellular modem from Qualcomm. Now they are almost 2 year behind in terms of latest 5G modem on the market.
Click to expand...

There is likely a single-digit percentage of people that care about the SOC of phones, and even less that care about modem speeds.

Then you have people like me that keep 5g disabled because I don't need it and it saves battery.
 
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WarmWinterHat said:
Then you have people like me that keep 5g disabled because I don't need it and it saves battery.
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^This! I have reception hard limited to 4G/LTE. It's more than fast enough and if you sit in areas with low signal strength for longer times it doesn't eat battery like cookies...
 
d5aqoëp said:
Things missing on Apple side which Androids do well

1. Missing access to file system. It's incredibly hard to move a file to/from an iOS device to a PC. Apple makes you jump through hoops for this simple thing
2. Still not allowing sideloading ipa files except EU. Let user take full responsibility for it but have some safeguards in place like Android.
3. No foldable phones
4. Better screens comparable to top Androids like S24 Ultra
5. Still stuck on 60hz refresh rate on basic iPhones.
6. No HD-Audio/ATMOS support in iOS/TVOS yet. No passthrough
7. Still limiting USB-C speed and power on iPhones so majority of external SSDs are incompatible.
8. Poor Cellular and Wifi performance compared to top Androids.
9. Stale 5 yr old designs for most of their devices compared to Chinese Androids.
Click to expand...
Yet none of these are things that actually move the needle for the average consumer. You have to get out of the bubble thinking everyone is a tech nerd like us on this site. Apple caters to the masses and nothing on this list would drive their users to a competitor.
 
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McWetty said:
iPhones are boring. It’s just a tool now. The smaller scrappier companies willing to take chances are going to garner more interest. It can’t always be about pleasing the stock holders.
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I think apathy is settling in now with Apple, as the tiny incremental upgrades have turned a lot of people away. Their phone still works and looks the same as the new one. Who cares about a half mm thinner bezel or a teeny tiny camera improvement?
 
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Xade said:
I think apathy is settling in now with Apple, as the tiny incremental upgrades have turned a lot of people away. Their phone still works and looks the same as the new one. Who cares about a half mm thinner bezel or a teeny tiny camera improvement?
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I think with some people but not all people and maybe not the majority. I like hearing about new apple products and even buy them when the value to price ratio is in my favor.
 
McWetty said:
iPhones are boring. It’s just a tool now. The smaller scrappier companies willing to take chances are going to garner more interest. It can’t always be about pleasing the stock holders.
Click to expand...
I think that with phones anyway, I have an Oppo phone, that is coming up to 4 years old and still works fine. It allows me to use the few apps I use, browse, make calls, send text. I can even take some photos and videos and the quclity is pretty good.
I don't see any reason to spend silly amounts of money on a new phone, when/if my phone goes belly up, I will no doubt buy another Oppo.
A friend says I should get an Iphone so it integrates with my Mac, but to be honest, I don't want a phone to integrate qwith my computer.
 
BladeRunner95 said:
Try searching Google for “iPhone won’t charge past %” or “iPhone battery declines whilst charging”. You’ll see the ‘issue’ isn’t limited.

I use my phone a lot for streaming music though, so users who don’t use the phone much may never encounter the charge cycle limit.

There’s so many other techniques too - battery health declines rapidly on newer phones now to prompt users to upgrade. Other things like the software introduced screen flicker as the phone comes on, etc etc. it’s disappointing from a brand that charges a premium price.

I’m a huge Apple fan, and have items from almost all their product lines, but I’m done with the brand now sadly.

Apple are pushing hard with these tricks to make up for the sales decline in China basically.
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You’re not alone, I hear you!
 
I7guy said:
I think with some people but not all people and maybe not the majority. I like hearing about new apple products and even buy them when the value to price ratio is in my favor.
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In my experience with iphone users in the US is they are the least tech savy people I have met overall and they have no clue about anything at all hardware related to an iphone. Zero. The only thing they know about iphone hardware is what the current model number is and that's literally it.
 
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progx said:
Since the Chinese government is kind of forcing their citizens to buy on their “endorsed” phones, I’m not surprised they continue to decline.
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Why not just accept that Chinese people are much more technology focused than US or EU citizens? They want the latest and the greatest at an affordable price.

Apple isn’t able to compete on technology and price in China.

When there wasn’t a ban on Chinese phones the landscape would look very different everywhere and not in favor of Apple.
 
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