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iPhone Market Share Expected to Hit 68% in the United States by 2017
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Why can't people read? I did not say that iPhone were the fist smartphone, nor did I say that it was the first touchscreen.
My point is that iPhone definitely changed the face of the smartphone industry. Is that so hard to understand?
And it was not about being "cool". People thought their Blackberrys were so damn "cool" before the iPhone came along.
Again, why can't people read? I did not say that iPhone were the fist smartphone, nor did I say that it was the first touchscreen. Also, I did not say I never heard of those phones. Really you're going to insult me with the "adult never hearing of…" comment? Not appreciated.
Thanks for pulling that chart. But lets be honest from all we've read, even just here at MR, we know market share can be spun on any given day. Is that chart global or regional? Also what type of numbers at attached to that chart? How many units did they launch with? BB was considered very successful. And market share doesn't always translate to the most successful, or highest profile phone. We know this by now looking at iOS, Android, and it's competitors.
My point was BB was the "cool" phone before iPhone (and Android) phones came along. In the US everyone was all about BB. While those other phones existed, they were hardly seen. I worked in top media/entertainment companies and with many high profile advertising and PR firms. It was all about the BB for personal and business use. I hardly ever saw, say the Nokia 9300 (Symbian), other other iterations.
My other point is that iPhone definitely changed the face of the smartphone industry. It was a new blend of tech; new approach to user experience; it was a new way to deal with the carriers, and Most every tech site and guru seem to agree with this. Is that so hard to understand?
You can get bothered by that throw away line "no real smartphones" if you want, but IMO it's silly. It's subjective. He and others have a POV that different than yours. Yes, there were phones before iPhone but in the authors POV, iPhone opened the masses eye to smartphones. That's not a stretch to understand. We can also say Android, which came out shortly after, helped change the landscape too. iPhones, their tech/experience, and their advertising brought a huge amount of exposure to the smartphone market. For example, teens and the elderly didn't care about smartphones. Similar to how the iPod changed the face of portable/digital music. Get it?
Also as you're a "device engineer for 20 years", obviously you'd be focused in a way that the average person is not. So don't take it so personally and let that little line get under your skin. It's nothing.
Umm, we're on an Apple-related site discussing iPhone. So yes, this is about Apple. If you can give other companies their due, why not Apple?
Sorry! Nor did I appreciate "Dude, way to spin history."
Nobody's trying to deny Apple its due. As you say, can't people read? It's not a negative to state that "real" smartphones existed before Apple entered the market.
Having been a handheld device developer at carriers since the '90s, I know a bit about smartphone history and decisions that went on in the background. I made some of them myself. There are also others here who know a lot about consumer devices and where they were heading.
We just don't think that history (and a lot of our work) should be tossed down the memory hole by bloggers. It's bad enough that so many people mistakenly think that Android was targeted at Blackberry, when it was so clearly meant to combat Windows Mobile instead... all because of a really dumb article that was later retracted.
As Mark Twain said, a Falsehood (or on the Internet, clickbait) can go halfway around the world in the amount of time it takes Truth to put on its pants
Cheers!
Since the carriers are moving away from phone subsidies, are people now willing to pay $600+ for an iPhone when a comparable phone can be had for half the price?
Financing in general isn't as common. It's not nonexistent, however. Outside finance has filled market demand where carriers have not. Indeed, I believe Apple itself finances handsets in India.
That's a ridiculous argument. Even if 20% of users went in to change their user agent, it still doesn't explain the HUGE gap in web usage between iOS and android.
Firstly, you have to ascertain where the web traffic data is taken from. If those web traffic is just from US centric sites, then obviously the result is skewed since installed base of ios devices outnumbered androids. Go and analyse chinese/korean sites and you will get completely different results.
Secondly, sometimes it is not Android user who went and change user-agent. Some phones came with browsers with "desktop" agent enabled by default. Some browsers even have "ipad" user agent as default (adding to false positive for ios)
Thirdly, many people without a blazing fast data connection (or limited data) uses server compressed pages browsers like Opera mini or ucweb on android. I have 4G connection and I still use Opera Mini for assessing certain sites.
Sorry! Nor did I appreciate "Dude, way to spin history."
Nobody's trying to deny Apple its due. As you say, can't people read? It's not a negative to state that "real" smartphones existed before Apple entered the market.
Having been a handheld device developer at carriers since the '90s, I know a bit about smartphone history and decisions that went on in the background. I made some of them myself. There are also others here who know a lot about consumer devices and where they were heading.
We just don't think that history (and a lot of our work) should be tossed down the memory hole by bloggers. It's bad enough that so many people mistakenly think that Android was targeted at Blackberry, when it was so clearly meant to combat Windows Mobile instead... all because of a really dumb article that was later retracted.
As Mark Twain said, a Falsehood (or on the Internet, clickbait) can go halfway around the world in the amount of time it takes Truth to put on its pants
Cheers!
I don't think my "dude" was anywhere near as insulting as your "adult" comment.
And thanks for missing my points again, and adding a useless quote. I take the time to address and clarify. Why did I bother.
It seems because you developer you took that one little line very personally.
Cheers, to you too!
I bet it is way higher than 20% , especially from users that actually browse the web.
You're right. I apologize for the comment.
It's just really suspicious when someone claims that the only smartphone around was the Blackberry, and that there were no touchscreen smartphones, when quite the opposite was true for both cases.
However, it's understandable that someone might have only seen one type within their own field. What kind of media were you in?
Thanks!
When doing technical analysis and projections it is really wise to step back from your model and test it from a high level. The reality of Apple from a global perspective is that they are likely to suffer the same fate with iPhone as they did in the 80's with personal computing. Developing both the hardware and the software has cost them dearly in the last 4 years just like it did in the personal computer wars decades ago. Android smartphone market share is skyrocketing while iOS is in full retreat. We as North Americans do not see this because we are blinded by excellent Apple marketing and a willingness to pay premiums for products that are perceived to be premium.
Android's market share of new phones sold just hit 81%, while iOS fell to just 12.4%: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-57...inates-81-percent-of-world-smartphone-market/
Here is the trend over the last 5 years...
http://www.tech-thoughts.net/2013/0...e-trends-by-country-q2-2013.html#.UrJFU_RDu0g
You will be hard pressed to find an industry where one single player, Android, is crushing the competition at the pace seen in the smartphone industry. I think North Americans are blind to this because the true cost of Apple phones is buried in long term contracts. Said differently, it is impossible to get a $99 iPhone in most countries. So people outside North America are making better quality/price decisions and 81% of them (perhaps 90%+ if we could exclude North Americans) are choosing the Android platform. As the data suggests, it is incredibly difficult to argue with majorities.
As the long term contracts continues to go the way of the do do bird, so too will Apple's market share in North America. Short of major changes that are long over due - bigger screens / 30% price reductions / more free apps - they appear to be doomed to the same fate as their personal computer offerings in the 1980's.
Cheers.
Android's market share of new phones sold just hit 81%, while iOS fell to just 12.4%: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-57...inates-81-percent-of-world-smartphone-market/
Here is the trend over the last 5 years...
http://www.tech-thoughts.net/2013/0...e-trends-by-country-q2-2013.html#.UrJFU_RDu0g
You will be hard pressed to find an industry where one single player, Android, is crushing the competition at the pace seen in the smartphone industry. I think North Americans are blind to this because the true cost of Apple phones is buried in long term contracts. Said differently, it is impossible to get a $99 iPhone in most countries. So people outside North America are making better quality/price decisions and 81% of them (perhaps 90%+ if we could exclude North Americans) are choosing the Android platform. As the data suggests, it is incredibly difficult to argue with majorities.
As the long term contracts continues to go the way of the do do bird, so too will Apple's market share in North America. Short of major changes that are long over due - bigger screens / 30% price reductions / more free apps - they appear to be doomed to the same fate as their personal computer offerings in the 1980's.
Cheers.
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But there are reasons to think that market share won't matter as much as it did in the Windows/Mac era:
1) What we know as Android is actually an amalgamation of different versions and variations. Most consumers buying feature phones with Android don't even know they're on Android.
2) Actual usage and ecommerce stats paint a very different picture than just simple market share figures. Particularly the case for tablets.
3) Most software is cross platform so it really doesn't matter whether one is on iOS or Android. This is probably the most significant point. As long as iOS stays relevant, developers will always release an iOS version. Despite lower market share, iOS apps still on general bring in much more revenue than their Android counterparts. This simple fact alone will ensure that iOS remains popular.
Rebuttal to each point:
1) Does this change anything? Most would argue pure Android is better than any of the cross breeds out there. So the fact that Samsungs and the like are adding things it's actually taking away from the OS experience more so than adding to it.
2) Can you elaborate? If 8.1 out of 10 people are buying one item, while 1.4 people are buying another, over time this can only lead to one majority. Particularly when 8.1 is rising and the 1.4 is falling as quickly as they have been this past year.
3) I disagree. Consumers will decide what remains popular while developers will always chase profit margins. While apple exists and can charge for apps developers will be there. As the # of iPhones sold continues to fall off, so will the developers as they chase profits elsewhere. Again, consumers will decide.
What are "feature phones with Android", and where are they sold?
If a phone has Android, and it allows downloading Android apps, then it's a smartphone.
Perhaps from Wikipedia, which has been overrun with fanboy rewrites.
I just noticed that the entry for "feature phone" has been rewritten by someone with zero knowledge of history, claiming that it's a term for cheaper or non-flagship smartphones.
Gaaaaaaaaah. No.
lol TIL cheap android phones are feature phones
what does that make the iphone 2g, 3g, and 3gs?
what does that make the iphone 2g, 3g, and 3gs?
Funny when most of those smartphones are more powerful than high end smartphones from 2010