iPhone Captured 31% of Smartphone Sales in the U.S. Ahead of Holiday Season

[kdarling]

Apple had the first smartphone. That means they had 100℅ of that market.

Of course they were not first. Smartphones were already selling at over 100 million a year by the time Apple got involved.

In fact, the primary reason why Apple scrambled to put out a smartphone at the time, was because they saw how quickly the smartphone market was growing. They correctly understood that their iPod market was soon going to be really threatened by all those combo phones+music players.

Btw, the debut of the iPhone barely affected the overall smartphone sales trajectory. What DID cause a huge burst in sales, was when affordable and available Android phones finally hit the market:

Of course, that likely wouldn't have happened quite the same way, without Apple making more people aware of the desirability of owning a smartphone.

 

[npmacuser5]

I think Kyocera, Palm, and RIM would disagree with you...

I had the 6035, Palm Treo and several versions of Blackberry years before the first iPhone was introduced. The iPhone was a market changer and a truly revolutionary and market expanding product for sure, but the market was there without it.

Yes, Blackberry 1999, picture attached:

 

[TigerWoodsIV]

Apple had the first smartphone. That means they had 100℅ of that market.

How old are you? When it came out, Blackberry was huge and people didn't know if they wanted virtual keyboards.

 

[Mildredop]

iPhones have come such a long way in just the last few years. When I moved to Android in 2010 it was like a massive breath of fresh air. I tried the iPhone 7 and it was much better but I just wish Apple would iron-out the last few niggles I have with the iPhone and I'd gladly come back. Here's my list:

1. Reinstate the headphone jack. I get that wireless is the future, but let the Airpods tempt me over in time, don't just force it.

2. Stop these pop-ups that stop me doing what I was doing and insist on my immediate attention (Battery low, can't find any wifi networks to join, wifi password has changed etc.).

3. Let me select default apps like Google Maps etc.

4. When someone calls, a pop-up would be fine. I don't need the entire screen to change so I have to stop what I'm doing (like following sat nav).

5. Allow me to arrange icons as I want and allow widgets (proper widgets, not the odd thing the latest iOS has).

6. Ditch the physical mute switch. It's soooo 2007.
[doublepost=1484155040][/doublepost]

Apple had the first smartphone. That means they had 100℅ of that market.

Ironic that your username is "macfacts".

 

[mac_in_tosh]

Apple had the first smartphone. That means they had 100℅ of that market.

Apple may have re-invented the smartphone, but they weren't the first to have one.

 

[genovelle]

Apple had the first smartphone. That means they had 100℅ of that market.

Not accurate at all. I had a Treo smart phone that had data, apps, texting, and phone calls. It was just terrible.

 

[69Mustang]

Are some people here that ignorant? Apple is going up against numerous OEMs and yet they still hold 2nd place.
If these were split into separate OEMs apple would be #1 in most.

That report is going to be coming out shortly. Apple will be #1 in the 2nd most. Samsung will be #1. So I guessing the next caveat will be "Let's only count high end phones."

Yeah... With close to 1,300 Android brands and 24,000 distinct Android devices, with many coming into being the last couple years, Apple's share is outstanding. And, certainly from a percentage of profits perspective.

Apple's marketshare is outstanding. There's no doubt about it. Android has every corner of the market covered. iOS' marketshare is testimony to it's popularity considering it doesn't serve every corner of the market.

 

[Juicy Box]

But objectively, the newest phones are the best phones they've ever released. Go ahead and compare a 7+ to a 3GS. Have fun with that.

Are you referring to potential performance? Obviously this is a silly way to compare. Technology is going to advance over time. I am referring to Apple products relative to the competition, but also some things that could be compared directly from one Apple product to another.

You could compare OS stability, balance of ease of use and functionality, overall satisfaction, resale value and other things. Although some of these things are subjective, which is why I said it was my opinion.

You mentioned older iPhones so compare iPhone design uniqueness. The 4s, which is my personal favorite design, has a design that was unlike any other phone out there, not just iPhone. Now, take the 6, 6s, and 7, it looks like many other phones, the uniqueness of the iPhone is gone.

There are many other examples I could name. Look at the Mac OS for example, I personally think that the final release of Mac OS 10.6 was much more stable, and offered a better experience than what has been offered over the last few years.

My point is that I wouldn't put too much stock in overall market share, Windows had a huge market share for years, and still does, it doesn't necessarily mean that it is better.

 

[RedOrchestra]

I just wish Apple would iron-out the last few niggles I have with the iPhone and I'd gladly come back.

Yeah, no ... the ecosystem is just so thankful that Apple allows them to set their own wallpaper ... they're good to go.

 

[truthertech]

You're very, very wrong.
[doublepost=1484153098][/doublepost]

Are you guys serious?

Before the iPhone, nokia, RIM, and other WP licensees used to sell millions of smartphones.

Apple never had 50% of the market, let alone 100%.

You aren't going to convince someone who is just trolling Apple. They know they are making up things. In this case, they are trying to take the sting away from the positive news by jumping on the forum and flipping the truth to a lie that Apple's share has fallen 70%. A few seconds after they read their post, the momentary satisfaction evaporates and leaves them feeling sad again that they can't afford Apple products and there are hundreds of millions of people who are going to happily buy Apple products this year.

 

[manu chao]

The most interesting thing I found from this article is that Windows mobile OS usage is still about 400% higher in Europe and AU than in the US. I had no idea it was so popular over there and down under.

It looks like it is losing market share across the board, but it is still interesting.

Nokia was the biggest brand in Europe pre-smartphone. Since Nokia switched exclusively to Windows Phone (from their own Symbian), Windows Phone got a big leg up in Europe thanks to enough people sticking with the Nokia brand. What you see today are the remnants of that.

 

[bbeagle]

Apple had the first smartphone. That means they had 100℅ of that market.

No they didn't. Apple had the first widely available TOUCHSCREEN only (no keyboard) smartphone.

There were PLENTY of smartphones available before the iPhone.

 

[Juicy Box]

Nokia was the biggest brand in Europe pre-smartphone. Since Nokia switched exclusively to Windows Phone (from their own Symbian), Windows Phone got a big leg up in Europe thanks to enough people sticking with the Nokia brand. What you see today are the remnants of that.

Thanks, this make sense. I didn't realize that they were still that relevant for smart phones in Europe. Well maybe this makes sense for northern Europe.

I guess brand loyalty only carried them so far.

 

[Jim Lahey]

Ha. Love this place. Makes me feel way smarter than I really am

 

[Glideslope]

It's no wonder financial institutions in Germany aren't in any rush to sign up with Apple Pay ... no one's buying iPhones.

In all honesty, Apple Pay is likely the most minuscule issue for German Financial Institutions today.

 

[Apple 26.2]

It's no wonder financial institutions in Germany aren't in any rush to sign up with Apple Pay ... no one's buying iPhones.

In fairness, not many places accept credit cards either :/

 

[theluggage]

It's no wonder financial institutions in Germany aren't in any rush to sign up with Apple Pay

...or because everybody in Europe has been paying in seconds with Chip & PIN cards for the last 10 years and now, increasingly, with contactless cards, so having to faff about with an iPhone app isn't such a huge advantage.

Only in the good old USA are Chip & PIN seen as the other two horsemen of the apocalypse...

That said - I've been in meetings with academics from around the world and its usually wall-to-wall MacBooks apart from the continental Europeans who do seem to like their PCs. I think Apple stuff is even more expensive in mainland Europe than it is in the UK.

 

[Zaft]

Keep in mind a lot of Samsung users probably went to Apple after the exploding battery issue so these numbers are higher than they would normally be otherwise.

Actually it turns out most just switched to a different samsung phone like the S7E.

http://www.androidcentral.com/survey-samsung-users-stay-loyal-after-note-7-recall

 

[manu chao]

Interesting that both Great Britain and Australia have a larger Nov16 quarter penetration for iOS than the United States!

I wonder why France and Germany are both less than half the penetration of Great Britain? Is this a cultural thing? Is it to do with the number of Apple Stores? Whatever, it represents a market worth going for.

The UK has a greater affinity to American brands than continental Europe. Apple also has currently 38 stores in the UK vs 14 in Germany and 21 in France. The iOS market share also shows some correlation with the Mac market share, Apple has been comparatively weak in Germany for a long, long time, compared with the UK or also Switzerland (which has 4 Apple Stores while having only about a tenth of the population of Germany). There is some correlation with average incomes as well, poorer Southern European countries tend to sport lower Apple market share numbers than richer Northern countries.

 

[2010mini]

So what are these numbers again?


View attachment 683016

Android is suppose to hold a bigger market share than iOS. There are MORE manufactures offering devices running Android than iOS. I think you are confusing manufacture vs manufacture sale numbers and all devices together running specific software.

The article was comparing sales by MANUFACTURE not software.

 

[spacemnspiff]

With Apple's motto - We’re not about the cheapest, we’re not about the most, we’re about the best, they didn't target the quantity, but quality. I guess with quality, quantity follows quality. And it shows.

 

[RedOrchestra]

The article was comparing sales by MANUFACTURE not software.

I know.

 

[KdParker]

Of course they were not first. Smartphones were already selling at over 100 million a year by the time Apple got involved.

In fact, the primary reason why Apple scrambled to put out a smartphone at the time, was because they saw how quickly the smartphone market was growing. They correctly understood that their iPod market was soon going to be really threatened by all those combo phones+music players.

Btw, the debut of the iPhone barely affected the overall smartphone sales trajectory. What DID cause a huge burst in sales, was when affordable and available Android phones finally hit the market:

View attachment 683021

Of course, that likely wouldn't have happened quite the same way, without Apple making more people aware of the desirability of owning a smartphone.

But calling those early android phones smart phones is a stretch. The cheapo phones were awful to work with and also had way to many problems.

 

[nt5672]

it is amazing to me how it has become a two OS race at this point. MS has taken a better direction since the CEO change, but it sure is not showing up in phone sales.

Yep, the iPhone is an amazing device. The problem is that Apple thinks that everything should be treated like an iPhone at this point. In other words that the iPhone or its bigger cousin the iPad is all that should exists or that people need. This is bad for the industry and bad long term for Apple because it opens the door to someone else. Lets hope that someone else gets to market soon lest we have to all move to Windows for real computers.

 

[dannyyankou]

Imagine if they didn't explode... http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...new-iPhone-7-explodes-shop-worker-s-hand.html

"The phone appeared to be on charge just before it exploded."

We can imply what happened here based on the countless stories of third party non-MFi certified chargers failing.