iOS and Android Capture Combined 98.4% Share of Smartphone Market

[bladerunner2000]

I miss the real keyboards from Blackberry. Had many prior to their shift. There is no experience close to typing on one of their keyboards.

I'd consider the Priv if it weren't $850 in Canada, and a 5.5" device.

I miss my Nokia E71. That thing was the best to type on. I've currently (still) got an HTC One S from 2012. I use SwiftKey to type on it... it's pretty awesome too, but not as accurate as tactile.

Prices of phones are insane. I'd like to get a Sony Z5C but its like $500 USD... to Canadian thats about as much as the Blackberry... ouch.

 

[Sill]

I miss my Nokia E71. That thing was the best to type on. I've currently (still) got an HTC One S from 2012. I use SwiftKey to type on it... it's pretty awesome too, but not as accurate as tactile.

Prices of phones are insane. I'd like to get a Sony Z5C but its like $500 USD... to Canadian thats about as much as the Blackberry... ouch.

Are you ripping on BlackBerry?

 

[bladerunner2000]

Are you ripping on BlackBerry?

 

[Sill]

 

[CFreymarc]

Macrumors users care about Apple's profit.

There are those of us with AAPL in our portfolio.

 

[igorsky]

You said consumers should care about profits, and I'm guessing when your electric bill, gas bill, cell bill, interest rate etc goes up, you aren't cheering the companies on because they are making a good profit.

I was referring to this particular topic, namely Android's market share vs iOS profits, and how those profits affect iOS users. Obviously I don't think consumers need to care about utility companies or the Dunkin' Donuts around the corner.

 

[callea]

Wait, weren't iPhone sales 75million in Q4 2015? Source: https://www.macrumors.com/2016/01/26/q1-2016-results/

?

 

[igorsky]

They have the same relevance to this thread as your mention of profit since this is a thread about market share.
[doublepost=1455823040][/doublepost]
Never (hyperbole) in the history of the world has this statement been true. There's no corollary between profit and quality products. Tons of examples exist to show evidence to the contrary of your quote.

Seems like you're supporting my posts, but I can't be certain. So I'll just assume that you are
[doublepost=1455829978][/doublepost]

Moreover, any posts claiming this is good for R&D must know nothing about Apple, since they're infamous for spending so little on it.

Even now, with recent huge rises in that budget (apparently related to offshoot ideas like car engineering), it's still less than 4% of revenue, far less proportionally than most companies spend.

Apple spends over $2 billion a year on R&D. Not sure why you view this is a little number. To me it shows that they're very good at it if they can develop category-leading products by spending proportionately so much less than the competition.

 

[Nunyabinez]

It was in reply to the article which is about market share.



Again, this thread is in reply to the article which isn't about profit, it's about market share.

Yeah, that fact wasn't lost on me. If someone posted an article on Kim Kardashian I would also ask the question of why are people so fixated on something that is so irrelevant.

This article should be called "Apple losing at a game that it wasn't even playing."

 

[Mildredop]

Yeah, that fact wasn't lost on me. If someone posted an article on Kim Kardashian I would also ask the question of why are people so fixated on something that is so irrelevant.

This article should be called "Apple losing at a game that it wasn't even playing."

I see your point now.

 

[Nunyabinez]

I am always amazed at apple fans bragging about profits. Do they really celebrate being overcharged? Do they really understand the correlation between the two?

You are amazed because you seem to be unable to differentiate between discussions of Apple the company and the products that Apple creates.

Of course all of us would like to get Apple products cheaply, but we are not celebrating Apple's ability to get money out of us. We recognize that Apple the company has a strategy that does not involve trying to make products as cheap as possible so that they can capture market share. They have decided that they are interested in creating high value, high dollar products for people who can appreciate the quality difference and are willing to pay a premium for that difference. And while both strategies are designed to make money, Apple's strategy in this area has proven vastly superior.

It just pisses us off when someone points out that they are losing the marketshare game that they aren't trying to win. I'm sure there are lots more Ford Focuses on the road than Teslas, but to make that out as a failing for Tesla is asinine as they are competing in a different way and Tesla would consider themselves quite successful.

 

[Tiger8]

I might have agreed with you had Apple not introduced their financing option.

Very valid, but I doubt many folks want to stay in a constant state of financing; I still think people will hold on to their phones longer (and see monthly savings), especially if Apple doesn't 'blow them away' with their next gen phone.

Americans are hanging on to their cars longer and enjoying the savings after they pay them off, why wouldn't they do the same with their phone? For a family of four, you are taking about $100 monthly savings, that's $1,200 a year.

 

[Michael Scrip]

Wow, I'm surprise apple share is SO low. Yes, yes, I know apple phones are so much more expensive - that is outside the US.

Sure... Apple's share is low when you consider Android is 1,000 companies combined.

But Apple is the #2 smartphone OEM by volume and the #1 smartphone OEM by profit.

Neither of those numbers are "low"

 

[jujufreeze]

Haven't you heard? Apple is doomed.
[doublepost=1455816864][/doublepost]

More profits equals more money to make better products for consumers. So consumers aren't wrong for caring about profits.

Not to rain on your parade, but praising the profitability of a company that charges a price point $650 for the iphone 6s at 16 gigabyte --> $750 for 64Gb -->$850 for 128Gb to still offering a 5400 rpm hard drive in supposedly premium products isn't translating into better products for consumers. It's just highway robbery to line their pockets.

 

[PalmiNio]

Sure... Apple's share is low when you consider Android is 1,000 companies combined.

But Apple is the #2 smartphone OEM by volume and the #1 smartphone OEM by profit.

Neither of those numbers are "low"

Profits are hard thing to calculate since Samung produce their own components for their own mobiles but the revenue on those components are directed to other companies within Samsungs.

So one can never calculate the true profit on Samusng mobile.

 

[jamezr]

You are amazed because you seem to be unable to differentiate between discussions of Apple the company and the products that Apple creates.

Of course all of us would like to get Apple products cheaply, but we are not celebrating Apple's ability to get money out of us. We recognize that Apple the company has a strategy that does not involve trying to make products as cheap as possible so that they can capture market share. They have decided that they are interested in creating high value, high dollar products for people who can appreciate the quality difference and are willing to pay a premium for that difference. And while both strategies are designed to make money, Apple's strategy in this area has proven vastly superior.

It just pisses us off when someone points out that they are losing the marketshare game that they aren't trying to win. I'm sure there are lots more Ford Focuses on the road than Teslas, but to make that out as a failing for Tesla is asinine as they are competing in a different way and Tesla would consider themselves quite successful.

I agree with you. They have great products and they are premium. Apple is in the business of making money and they do it quite well. So.....why brag about insane profits? Why advertise that you are overpaying for something? Why is the fact that Apple has 200 BILLION dollars in cash reserves a bragging point? What does that mean to you in a way that denotes pride or bragging rights? How does that cash hoard reward you in any form of fashion? Do you own stock? If so good...then bad because you will never see that cash reserve returned to you.
Apple invests in R&D? Yes but they are among the lowest spenders in this area. This has been pointed out numerous times in this thread.
So again why is profit in the insane amount Apple has a bragging point for you?

 

[Michael Scrip]

Profits are hard thing to calculate since Samung produce their own components for their own mobiles but the revenue on those components are directed to other companies within Samsungs.

So one can never calculate the true profit on Samusng mobile.

I agree that it might be difficult to calculate Samsung's profits... but I wasn't talking about Samsung.

Some quarters Apple makes more profit than every other company in the world.

So it's safe to say that Samsung Mobile does not have that spot

The earlier comment said Apple's market share is "so low"

I pointed to areas where Apple is not low. I never mentioned Samsung.

 

[DEMinSoCAL]

I think Microsoft's only chance is to create a launcher for Android and integrate all services.

iOS and Android are just so far ahead, it's not even worth pushing your own ecosystem anymore.

I dabble in Windows phones (just for the sake of trying) and it's just pathetic the app selection compared to iOS and Android. I mean, who in their right mind would spend $650 on a new Windows Phone and not even be able to do your banking on it? Nobody writes apps for Windows phone. The ones that are there are mostly "work-alike" apps from 3rd parties.

MS needs to put a reward for developers or companies to write good apps.

 

[igorsky]

Not to rain on your parade, but praising the profitability of a company that charges a price point $650 for the iphone 6s at 16 gigabyte --> $750 for 64Gb -->$850 for 128Gb to still offering a 5400 rpm hard drive in supposedly premium products isn't translating into better products for consumers. It's just highway robbery to line their pockets.

The iPhone 6S and Macbook Pro are consistently rated as the best products in their respective categories. Let's agree to disagree.

 

[Michael Scrip]

I dabble in Windows phones (just for the sake of trying) and it's just pathetic the app selection compared to iOS and Android. I mean, who in their right mind would spend $650 on a new Windows Phone and not even be able to do your banking on it? Nobody writes apps for Windows phone. The ones that are there are mostly "work-alike" apps from 3rd parties.

MS needs to put a reward for developers or companies to write good apps.

They tried that before.

It obviously didn't work.

There's little incentive for a company to spend time and money making apps for Windows Phone when there are 2 billion total Android phones and iPhones out in the world. The developers obviously have their priorities.

So Microsoft would have to pay developers a TON of money to divert attention from Android and iOS.

Would that be money well spent?

It didn't work before. And there are even MORE iPhones and Android phone out in the world today.

 

[jujufreeze]

The iPhone 6S and Macbook Pro are consistently rated as the best products in their respective categories. Let's agree to disagree.

Oh I don't disagree. I own a 6s+ and think it's one of the finest phones on the market. Offering antiquated 16 gigabyte and 5400 rpm memory/drives with ludicrously priced upgrades however isn't necessary to make good phones/computers.

 

[DEMinSoCAL]

I feel bad for Microsoft here.

Their OS is decidedly different and original in look and feel from the other 2.

I wouldn't feel bad for them...only pity them for bad marketing. They either have crap phones or high-end phones priced like iPhone and Samsung. Not much to choose from in-between. No one in their right mind is going to pay the same as an iPhone and only be able to load on crap apps and be limited with what you can do with it? Can't bank, rent movies from redbox, stream movies from most major providers...the list goes on and on...sell the Lumia 950XL for $199 and get people interested and curious...
[doublepost=1455834842][/doublepost]

They tried that before.

It obviously didn't work.

There's little incentive for a company to spend time and money making apps for Windows Phone when there are 2 billion total Android phones and iPhones out in the world. The developers obviously have their priorities.

So Microsoft would have to pay developers a TON of money to divert attention from Android and iOS.

Would that be money well spent?

It didn't work before. And there are even MORE iPhones and Android phone out in the world today.

I wouldn't see developers DIVERTING attention from Androis and iOS, but more likely INCREASE staffing by hiring Windows programmers. That's what the extra money would pay for. Nothing out of the pockets of the companies, and in return they get free apps and more users.

 

[AppleScruff1]

There are those of us with AAPL in our portfolio.

I'm willing to bet that the majority of users here who brag about Apple's profits aren't shareholders.
[doublepost=1455835219][/doublepost]

You are amazed because you seem to be unable to differentiate between discussions of Apple the company and the products that Apple creates.

Of course all of us would like to get Apple products cheaply, but we are not celebrating Apple's ability to get money out of us. We recognize that Apple the company has a strategy that does not involve trying to make products as cheap as possible so that they can capture market share. They have decided that they are interested in creating high value, high dollar products for people who can appreciate the quality difference and are willing to pay a premium for that difference. And while both strategies are designed to make money, Apple's strategy in this area has proven vastly superior.

It just pisses us off when someone points out that they are losing the marketshare game that they aren't trying to win. I'm sure there are lots more Ford Focuses on the road than Teslas, but to make that out as a failing for Tesla is asinine as they are competing in a different way and Tesla would consider themselves quite successful.

Apple makes products as cheaply as possible to generate as much profit as possible. Hence paying $100 for a storage upgrade that costs $5.

 

[Michael Scrip]

I wouldn't see developers DIVERTING attention from Androis and iOS, but more likely INCREASE staffing by hiring Windows programmers. That's what the extra money would pay for. Nothing out of the pockets of the companies, and in return they get free apps and more users.

How much is a developers' yearly salary? Or two developers?

And that's just for one company that might only produce a couple apps.

How much money should Microsoft dump into this?

It doesn't change the fact that there are 2 billion Android and iOS devices on the market that ALREADY have those apps.

It would be a losing battle. In fact... Microsoft tried this over two years ago. It didn't work.

 

[Col4bin]

I have been around the OS license games and it is amazing how much performance is compromised for some licensee that gets cheap on their hardware build. The Samsung Galaxy line is an example of that.

Gotta love Samsung's crap TouchWiz bloatware. Many other OEM's are no different (LE, HTC, Sony, etc.) The only real value OS and closest comparison to iOS is Google Nexus running pure stock Android. I have an iPhone 6+ and a Nexus 6, and love them both equally. Only leg up iPhone has over my Nexus is a much better camera.