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iOS and Android Combine for 96.3% Smartphone Market Share in Fourth Quarter

I recently changed jobs. I had an apple iPhone in my old job, had to give it up. New company supplied me an Android phone, and you know what? They're essentially the same in terms of functionality, performance and all my apps on iPhone work on Android.

The only reason I can see why you would purchase an Apple iPhone over an Android one is if you have a Mac and you like to sync your phone and laptop together.
 
sammnz said:
I recently changed jobs. I had an apple iPhone in my old job, had to give it up. New company supplied me an Android phone, and you know what? They're essentially the same in terms of functionality, performance and all my apps on iPhone work on Android.

The only reason I can see why you would purchase an Apple iPhone over an Android one is if you have a Mac and you like to sync your phone and laptop together.
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Or you are a glutton for punishment. It seems like iOS 8 bugs will never go away. My iPhone 6 is as flakey as a box of frosted flakes.

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Max(IT) said:
In powering crappy cheap smartphones ? Yes.
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Too bad Apple doesn't have cheap smartphones...they would be crappy, too. You get what you pay for. There are plenty of high quality, expensive Android phones on the market, but your $49 bargain basement android phone will be junk.

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Max(IT) said:
Do you realize Windows phone has about 500k apps in its store ?
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And most are crap. I'm not just saying it having no experience. Quality apps are a true FIND. Many of the popular social media apps are provided by 3rd parties instead of the actual entity.

At this stage of the game, I don't see Windows Phone succeeding. Lousy hardware (only budget phones being released, with no new high-tech phones), and an OS that has a real problem utilizing high-resolution, big screens, and a lousy selection of apps.
 
dmylrea said:
Too bad Apple doesn't have cheap smartphones...they would be crappy, too. You get what you pay for. There are plenty of high quality, expensive Android phones on the market, but your $49 bargain basement Android phone will be junk.
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And that's the reason Android has 75%+ market share... all those junk phones sold in around the world. Millions a day.

Yet people say Android is "winning" simply because they have more market share.

More "junk" market share... amirite? :D
 
hotpotato123 said:
Err, you being an Apple user presumably, you realise that the lower marketshare higher profit comes by price-gouging people like you who have sufficient disposable income not to care about the higher cost of the iPhone.
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The iPhone costs just as much as any flagship phone. The almighty Note 4 retails for $750 for goodness sake. The HTC One Google Play edition was even as high as $700. I'm not even being a fanboy. The Apple tax doesn't exist.

Also, by definition Apple is going to have higher profits vs market share because they only sell high end phones, which make the highest margins throughout the industry. Companies don't make money from the budget phones, but they represent most of the marketshare because more people can afford them.

One Plus has continued to use the invite system for the OnePlus One because they literally make almost no money their phone to achieve the $300 price tag and they'd lose money if they produced too many.

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uberzephyr said:
You do realize that an unsubsidized Galaxy S5 costs $600 and an iPhone 6 costs $650, right? I don't consider that extra $50 "gouging" when you factor in App availability, improved security, ecosystem integration, and resale value.
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Or, that a galaxy note 4 retails for $750 like the 6 Plus. To buy cash from AT&T, it's $825. Gosh, that darn mythical creature called the Apple Tax that no one has proven to exist.
 
TechZeke said:
The iPhone costs just as much as any flagship phone. The almighty Note 4 retails for $750 for goodness sake. The HTC One Google Play edition was even as high as $700. I'm not even being a fanboy. The Apple tax doesn't exist.

Also, by definition Apple is going to have higher profits vs market share because they only sell high end phones, which make the highest margins throughout the industry. Companies don't make money from the budget phones, but they represent most of the marketshare because more people can afford them.

One Plus has continued to use the invite system for the OnePlus One because they literally make almost no money their phone to achieve the $300 price tag and they'd lose money if they produced too many.
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Not quite a proper comparison since Apple only has ONE iPhone model (not counting SIZE difference). Just because Apple says the iPhone 6 (or 5 or 4) is $699 doesn't mean it's worth it. IT'S THE ONLY CHOICE and they can price it how ever they want. It's already known that Apple makes like 50% profit from the iPhone. Considering Apple spoon-feeds it's loyal customers only one flavor at a high fixed price, it could definitely be considered by some as price gouging.
 
TechZeke said:
The iPhone costs just as much as any flagship phone. The almighty Note 4 retails for $750 for goodness sake. The HTC One Google Play edition was even as high as $700. I'm not even being a fanboy. The Apple tax doesn't exist.

Also, by definition Apple is going to have higher profits vs market share because they only sell high end phones, which make the highest margins throughout the industry. Companies don't make money from the budget phones, but they represent most of the marketshare because more people can afford them.

One Plus has continued to use the invite system for the OnePlus One because they literally make almost no money their phone to achieve the $300 price tag and they'd lose money if they produced too many.
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My Verizon Note 4 cost $699 and has 32GB out the box. Unless you like 16GB the cost bumps up to $850 for the iPhone.
 
My old business school marketing professor always was preaching about "market share without profits is meaningless".

Only people I see with Androids are the misers who won't spend a buck on anything. Doesn't make sense to make commercial software for the Android platform.

Worldwide, this is certainly the case as people in China and India are not used to paying for software.
 
cylack said:
My old business school marketing professor always was preaching about "market share without profits is meaningless".

Only people I see with Androids are the misers who won't spend a buck on anything. Doesn't make sense to make commercial software for the Android platform.

Worldwide, this is certainly the case as people in China and India are not used to paying for software.
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Absolute garbage.
 
cdm283813 said:
My Verizon Note 4 cost $699 and has 32GB out the box. Unless you like 16GB the cost bumps up to $850 for the iPhone.
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A Note 4 from AT&T is $825. When first released T-Mobile was selling it for $750, but is now selling for $650. Also, for $850, I get 64GB out of the box. Then again, most android phones drop from retail price fairly quickly, and it's much easier to get a nice deal, so i'll give you that.

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dmylrea said:
Not quite a proper comparison since Apple only has ONE iPhone model (not counting SIZE difference). Just because Apple says the iPhone 6 (or 5 or 4) is $699 doesn't mean it's worth it. IT'S THE ONLY CHOICE and they can price it how ever they want. It's already known that Apple makes like 50% profit from the iPhone. Considering Apple spoon-feeds it's loyal customers only one flavor at a high fixed price, it could definitely be considered by some as price gouging.
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Not really. Performance wise, iPhones compete or defeat $700 android flagships and the iPhone's camera is consider one of the best among high-end smartphones. You are paying the same price as everyone else for a high-end smartphone. If Apple's making 50% profit, so is samsung, HTC, or any other high end flagship phone maker. One iPhone model has nothing to do with it. OnePlus is selling the OPO at $300 and literally almost makes no money, which is why they still use the invite system.
 
TechZeke said:
A Note 4 from AT&T is $825. When first released T-Mobile was selling it for $750, but is now selling for $650. Also, for $850, I get 64GB out of the box. Then again, most android phones drop from retail price fairly quickly, and it's much easier to get a nice deal, so i'll give you that.

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Well I did not include my 64GB sd card which I brought over from my Note 3. And just yesterday a 128GB sd card was on sale at best buy for $79. By black Friday those same cards will be $40 to $50.
Sd cards are the gift that keeps on giving.
 
djtech42 said:
Surprised at the Android market share percentage and the fact that iOS actually went down :confused:
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It will be interesting to see Apple's outcome this time next year. With so many people upgrading how will the "S" models sale if the screens and body do not change? How many "non geeks" will notice a difference between a triple core processor and 2GB of ram on something that already runs smooth? Apple better do something amazing with that camera because I just don't see 8 megapixels cutting it any longer. What other hardware features can Apple bring to the table?
I still believe Apple should have held back the iPhone Plus model until 2016. Gives customers something to look forward to. And I don't believe people want the phone to get bigger; it's already taller than a phone with a 5.7" display.
 
Pretty impressive numbers for Android. In 2014 they've sold 200M+ unit compared to 2013, while Apple added less than 40M more. I would have thought that with the iPhone6 the trend would change a little bit.
 
sammnz said:
The only reason I can see why you would purchase an Apple iPhone over an Android one is if you have a Mac and you like to sync your phone and laptop together.
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Well, there are other factors as well. Quality, for example. Many of the various android phone makers have released models with very shoddy internal components. Even if you knew that you could perform the same functions using the same or similar apps on both platforms, if you felt more confident that one would last a lot longer, it is a very valid reason to opt for that platform. Another valid reason is upgradeability. Every new update to Android brings with it new features. And software us updated to take advantage of those new features. But if you are dependent on your third party device maker to get around to supporting the new version of Android, well.... good luck.
 
kingofwale said:
as an consumer, there's nothing more I want than for Apple to charge us more and more for every product they sold than anybody else out there. Heck, who cares if I personally pay more, as long as Apple gets it's profit up there....

waiiit a second!
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as an employee, there's nothing you want more than for the boss to pay you (and your friends and your parents) more and more for every hour/day you work, more than minimum wage, more than anyone else will pay you for your work. Heck, who cares if the boss has a bigger payroll, as long as you get your income up there...

waiiit a second!
 
you could also have the headline 'Android and Windows Phone dominate marketshare'. Android is dominating globally. Really unfair to put Apple in there.
 
ElTorro said:
Pretty impressive numbers for Android. In 2014 they've sold 200M+ unit compared to 2013, while Apple added less than 40M more. I would have thought that with the iPhone6 the trend would change a little bit.
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Android, which is made up of 60+ companies, went from 800 million phones to over a billion in one year.

Apple, a single company, went from 153 million phones to 193 million in one year.

Something tells me Apple is very happy with their results.
 
hotpotato123 said:
Err, you being an Apple user presumably, you realise that the lower marketshare higher profit comes by price-gouging people like you who have sufficient disposable income not to care about the higher cost of the iPhone.
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Which makes my Apple stock highly valuable.

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Mousse said:
If you are an Apple stock holder then I would understand why this would make you happy. That's a great return on your investment.

But...if you're only an iPhone owner, then this should be bad news for you. Until Apple started shifting from computers to consumer products, I had never know anyone who was happy about being fleeced. Those who are rich, well, it doesn't matter does it? $600-$800 is less than what some spend for a meal at a swanky restaurant. It's nothing to them.

As someone who works for a living, the iPhone is not a good value. It's on the wrong side of the diminishing returns column. For some the little bit of improvement is worth the extra money. More power to them.:cool:
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If it's not a good value then don't buy it. I use my phone for work and makes my job more efficient and easy. I make more money because I have an iPhone and yes, I have Apple stock.
 
dwd3885 said:
you could also have the headline 'Android and Windows Phone dominate marketshare'. Android is dominating globally. Really unfair to put Apple in there.
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Not fair??? Apple chooses not to put out cheap budget models or models with decent specs at half the cost of a typical flagship. Apple rather make big profits off a device that cost only $200 to make.
Not everyone needs a $650 to $1000 phone. I bought a $10 (no contract) Motorola E off slickdeals and it's powerful enough for basic needs. The only reason I bought it was because it has a decent gps chip and can be used as a media player. I call it the Android iPod touch. I'm still kicking myself for not buying 4 more at that cost but I did not want Walmart to cancel the order. And before that I bought a $50 LG L90 that my son is currently using. I have Ptel on that and with 2 cent texts and no data; $10 last over 2 months.
Apple will never catch up to Android in raw numbers because OEM's would take a hit on the cost. Motorola loses money if I don't activate that $10 Moto E. Apple would never do.
 
nikko1423 said:
Can someone tell me why Windows imagines itself having a chance? lol
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Given its a little company called Microsoft, I think they can afford to dable in this space and give users a device for thier ecosystem.
 
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