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As I already wrote in the thread - I'm not the one who celebrates marketshare OR profits. As a user - I just care about the products I use and if they meet my needs and that there is support when I need it. I'm willing to bet that (in general) that's what most of the general public cares about. Outside of these forums - go ask people on the street if they care about how much money Apple is making or how much marketshare Android has. No - they'll talk about how they like their particular phone (or if they don't like it). $ or marketshare won't even come into the conversation.

We're talking about people on this forum.
 
We're talking about people on this forum.

Given that the same people tend to post in these threads - I'm going to go out on a pretty small limb that the majority of MR don't care either. It's a select group. Perhaps a vocal group. But not a majority.
 
Given that the same people tend to post in these threads - I'm going to go out on a pretty small limb that the majority of MR don't care either. It's a select group. Perhaps a vocal group. But not a majority.

This is true, but I guess I'm talking about the relevant members of this forum who have an opinion about marketshare vs profits. The ones who don't really have nothing to do with the argument, just like people outside of these forums don't. That was the whole crux of the argument. Why someone should be championing profit vs marketshare or vice versa. To the people who actually have an opinion about it, I don't see how marketshare could be construed as more important, especially since the argument used by the "anti-profits" is that they're just making money off you so why should i be so happy about that?

Well...you're just another number for them so why should you be happy about that? I'm not speaking specifically to you, just in general.
 
This is true, but I guess I'm talking about the relevant members of this forum who have an opinion about marketshare vs profits. The ones who don't really have nothing to do with the argument, just like people outside of these forums don't. That was the whole crux of the argument. Why someone should be championing profit vs marketshare or vice versa. To the people who actually have an opinion about it, I don't see how marketshare could be construed as more important, especially since the argument used by the "anti-profits" is that they're just making money off you so why should i be so happy about that?

Well...you're just another number for them so why should you be happy about that? I'm not speaking specifically to you, just in general.

Well that was my point as well. Ultimately - who cares. I can understand those that care "enough" because it means a healthy bottom line so that the products they enjoy will be supported, etc. The big picture. But these daily/month analyst reports/surveys/linkbait are nothing to get excited about/cheer about.

I love my car - but I don't care about marketshare or profits of the company I bought from. I was passionate about the decision I made and couldn't be happier. But why pay attention to marketshare/profits? Can I get my car serviced? Does it run the way I want and have the features I want?

I imagine it's because people have "personal" connections with their phones. Which I also find silly. My phone is a device. A tool.
 
So all Apple's iPhone future will rely on customer loyalty,what an amazing realization; but in order for that loyalty be maintained there should be something else and better coming?
What is it? What are the killer features that will maintain the loyalty?
What other smartphone makers using Android or any other OS will give the market that Apple will not? Please specify features, not philosophical marketing BS.
 
I haven't actually held the HTC One, but in the pics I've seen, it looks stunning.

Your point about iOS is lost on far too many people. It's the crappy Android OS that brings down devices like the One. I'd even take a Windows phone over an Android any day. Android simply looks and feels unfinished.

I was an iPhone user for four years and I used to believe statements like this that were bandied around Apple forums by people who had never used an Android. One well known site used to post pictures of Android screens from its early development days back in 2001 and show comparison photos with the iPhone. That made me think Android was so crude and ugly. But the truth is, once you actually hold and use a phone like the HTC One, which I own, you realize all the things you said about Android really apply to the iPhone - it's IOS is dated and ugly and unpolished.

With an Android phone you'll quickly discover how a notifications screen was meant to work. Widgets are indispensable. Drop a widget on a screen, it automatically resizes itself. You can customize the lockscreen by adding apps you use frequently, notification alerts, weather, etc. In fact, if you don't like the way Android looks, no problem.

The screen of the HTC One, the stereo sound its speakers produce are way ahead of the iPhone. As is its OS.
 
If this happens, it wouldn't surprise me a bit. A former colleague of mine recently switched from Android to iPhone, and when I asked him what he thought, he grinned widely and said, "it's soooo much better." I'm sure it pained him to say that because until then, he was a borderline Apple hater.

your friend sounds really creepy. ditch them before they murder you and start wearing your skin.
 
Is the threat Android Or SamsungAndroid?

It certainly looks like Samsung is copying Apple's business plan. In the US, they are opening kiosks in many, many Best Buy stores. This is to emulate the Apple store, where a customer can bring a phone in and either exchange it or get it repaired. This seems to be very high in customer preferences as part of the Apple Eco System. The majority of Android sales will be Samsung with their huge marketing and advertising budgets. They will be bringing out higher level cases, made out of aluminum or liquid metal in the Note 3 and they certainly have noticed the criticism of the S4 "plastic feel" by a bevy or reviewers. They will adjust and bring out a case to compete with the Iphone. They are first getting market share, then they will upgrade the quality of their product. Their Samsung Eco System is starting to build. This is the Android threat to Apple.
 
This report has Windows Phone growth slowing. Given that it's been increasing lately, and that Microsoft already has a 7% tablet marketshare, I don't see Windows Phone gaining just 3% in 5 years.

If anything, I believe that WP will eat into Android, which is what will allow iOS to retake the throne.
 
This is of course assuming that Samsung doesn't go towards their own OS.

Seriously doubt it when Android's app market is so large.

Samsung may customize future versions of Android even more, but that's probably the extent they'll go.




However I find the problem with Android is that the experience is inconsistent. Some manufacturers put out good ROMs with good stability while others just pump out a phone and dump it. So there are good Android phones and bad ones too - unfortunately it's not consistent.
 
So ios gains every new smart phone user for the next 4 years?

This is ridiculous! The chart shows "Non-smartphone" users dropping from 32% to 12%, and ios gaining this 20%. So, they're saying that everyone who moves to a smart phone over the next 4 years will choose ios??? And Android gains zero percent of these converts???
 
If this happens, it wouldn't surprise me a bit. A former colleague of mine recently switched from Android to iPhone, and when I asked him what he thought, he grinned widely and said, "it's soooo much better." I'm sure it pained him to say that because until then, he was a borderline Apple hater.

It is amazing how many "friends" or "relatives" of Macrumors members do things like that.
 
Apple could possibly surpass Android in US marketshare. That's entirely possible.

Worldwide no way. Android just has too many phones that are way cheaper than the cheapest iPhone that Apple offers and it will likely remain that way unless they do give in and decide to launch some cheaper iPhone that's $250-300 unsubsidized.
 
I am thinking like an "average person". First impressions matter. And the moment a regular user walks into a store and is more impressed by the hardware of an Android vs iPhone (and the difference there is shrinking) or what neat stuff you can do with home or welcome screen (where iOS is already falling behind), or the app selection (where the difference is shrinking)- then you will see a real difference in sales.

I love my iPhone, but I realize that the brand is pretty much coasting on existing popularity ("I need to get one because my friend has one!") - but that bubble won't last forever. All empires fall eventually. Just as Microsoft.

I would have to disagree and say you're still commenting on more of what a tech nerd/person would say when walking into a cell vendor and deciding what to purchase.

At my store for every 1 person who buys the GS3 based off of features like customization, or OS version, there are at least 10-15 more who buy it because "their friends have one" or "somebody they know said it was the best phone". The average person doesn't care very much for customization aside from being able to change the background on their homescreen. They want it because everyone else has one. The only tech feature that the average person seems to care about is the camera and the iPhone still has one of the best cameras.

I rarely have anyone come in wanting to switch to another OS because they are bored with what they have. That mentality doesn't really exist outside the internet except with us "techy" people. When the average person switches, it's usually because the phone that have doesn't function properly or keeps giving them problems. As long as the device works, most people are fine.

Since the iPhone has a good reputation of "just working", it's not at all farfetched to believe its US marketshare will continue to grow since Android has much less of a price advantage here for those who are on one of top 4 carriers. Worldwide, Apple will probably continue to lose marketshare and never catch up because their products are just too expensive.
 
I hope it is true. The assumption Android Smart Phone market will stay stagnant at 34% through out the study period bothers me.
 
It is amazing how many "friends" or "relatives" of Macrumors members do things like that.

Equally amazing how so many macrumors members know "so many people" that switched from iPhone to android.
 
Let me know when the Phandroids are done tossing ****** over this article. I can see them now with their veins bulging and a pronounced tremble as they rage over this one.
 
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