Over 100 Million iPhones Now in Use in U.S., Nearly Two-Thirds Are iPhone 6 or Later

[nsayer]

I have plenty of Apple products yet I am the first to criticise Apple for some of it's practices and what I consider to be some poor products. I absolutely defend the right of others to criticise also.

I am staggered that Americans would seek to stifle criticism and debate or is your democracy nothing more than a veneer? What on earth is the point of a forum that is self-congratulatory, what purpose does it serve? Surely we all benefit if we keep these companies on their commercial toes.

This isn't about stifling criticism or reasonable debate. It's about stifling useless un-backed contrarianism and snarky trolling.

To answer the grand-parent, this site attracts trolls because trolls are jealous of success. And Apple is successful - that much is undebatable, other than by the trolls.

 

[nsayer]

I'm still rocking the 4S.

How does iOS 9 work on it? Not trolling - curious.

 

[VulchR]

How does iOS 9 work on it? Not trolling - curious.

I am doing the same. For the first time I am starting to have some problems with my 4S, which has worked pretty much flawlessly until now. I have had problems with installing the new versions of iOS and lots of lag and freezing. Honestly I think most of it arises from apps updating after each release of iOS. The Office apps are a huge chunk and if one adds them to the queue, you get days and days of the device struggling to update everything. Once everything settles, my 4S still works fine. That being said, I seen a new iPhone in my future after I pay off Christmas...

 

[jnpy!$4g3cwk]

Article Link: Over 100 Million iPhones Now in Use in U.S., Nearly Two-Thirds Are iPhone 6 or Later

I agree with many previous posters that there is no way 50 Million 4's, 4S's, and 5's disappeared that quickly. They just are not on contract. As part of a T-Mobile family group, all of the phones in my group are off-contract. OTOH, if they reworded it to say 5S instead of 6, it would be true. 2/3 of all iPhones are now 64-bit models. I wonder what fraction of Android phones are running 64-bit Android?

 

[Michael Scrip]

I agree with many previous posters that there is no way 50 Million 4's, 4S's, and 5's disappeared that quickly.

Quickly?

According to the chart... there were 50 million 4, 4S and 5 in September 2013.

But that was TWO YEARS AGO.

And you'll notice that they taper off gradually each quarter... not drop off quickly as you say. There were fewer and fewer 4, 4S and 5 in service over time as people eventually upgraded to 5S, 6 and 6S.

You say there is no way this can happen... while I'd be shocked if it didn't happen.

People upgrade phones every single day in the US. A lot can change after two or three years in the iPhone game.

 

[jnpy!$4g3cwk]

Quickly?

According to the chart... there were 50 million 4, 4S and 5 in September 2013.

But that was TWO YEARS AGO.

In my phone group, one phone is 5 years old, and another, 6 1/2 years old. They still work. Overseas roaming in fact (GSM of course). As I pointed out before, all these phones are family-owned, and, I am betting customer-owned phones are undercounted in the chart.

And you'll notice that they taper off gradually each quarter... not drop off quickly as you say. There were fewer and fewer 4, 4S and 5 in service over time as people eventually upgraded to 5S, 6 and 6S.

You say there is no way this can happen... while I'd be shocked if it didn't happen.

People upgrade phones every single day in the US. A lot can change after two or three years in the iPhone game.

Sure, my newish -- old to you -- 5S, is both very fast-- > 100X the large computers I used decades ago, and, "slow" compared to a 6S.

Regardless, the fact is that the iPhone world is dominated by 64-bit phones. No reason why new apps under development would require 32-bit arm binaries. Does Apple require 32-bit binaries? I'm not sure-- I know new apps require 64-bit binaries, but, I'm not sure if they would object to a 64-bit only app.

 

[maxsix]

Sadly it's the poor overworked humans that toil inside the wretched Foxconn labor camp... oops "factory" that pay the price.

 

[Michael Scrip]

In my phone group, one phone is 5 years old, and another, 6 1/2 years old. They still work. Overseas roaming in fact (GSM of course). As I pointed out before, all these phones are family-owned, and, I am betting customer-owned phones are undercounted in the chart.

Well in the US... people tend to upgrade at around the two-year mark. Contracts made it silly NOT to upgrade since you're paying for the phone each month anyway.

Also... the iPhone 5 was only available for one year. Remember the 5C took over its spot the next year. So with a fewer number of iPhone 5 in the US... their use was only gonna get smaller after a couple or few years.

Same for the 4S and 4. At one time each of them were the flagship top selling iPhone... but they were replaced by the next year's model as the top selling phone.

You may keep phones for 5 years or more... but that does not decribe the typical US iPhone user.

Sure, my newish -- old to you -- 5S, is both very fast-- > 100X the large computers I used decades ago, and, "slow" compared to a 6S.

Regardless, the fact is that the iPhone world is dominated by 64-bit phones. No reason why new apps under development would require 32-bit arm binaries. Does Apple require 32-bit binaries? I'm not sure-- I know new apps require 64-bit binaries, but, I'm not sure if they would object to a 64-bit only app.

I purposely didn't quote your 32/64 bit topic as I have nothing to say about it.

Hope someone else can contribute.

 

[nsayer]

Sadly it's the poor overworked humans that toil inside the wretched Foxconn labor camp... oops "factory" that pay the price.

So what do we do about it?

I'm fairly confident that labor remains a significant part of the cost of an iPhone, which means that Apple is highly incentivized to reduce the amount of labor required as much as possible.

If you pay the workers more, then the products will cost more. And then some pool of workers in some other part of the world will offer to assemble them for less, because it still represents a huge amount of income for them compared to their compatriots.

And this is where the cries for a minimum wage begin. But realize that a minimum wage is inflationary. The wage costs get passed upwards in the price of goods and suddenly everyone needs a raise to pay for everything, and then we're back in the same relative boat as before, except that the people at the very bottom of the pay scale are squeezed out as unemployable.

So at the end of the day, the question is, is it better to be underpaid or unemployed?

 

[nsayer]

Regardless, the fact is that the iPhone world is dominated by 64-bit phones. No reason why new apps under development would require 32-bit arm binaries. Does Apple require 32-bit binaries? I'm not sure-- I know new apps require 64-bit binaries, but, I'm not sure if they would object to a 64-bit only app.

I'd be surprised if Xcode didn't make some equivalent of fat binaries, and that the .ipa files in your iTunes folder probably have all that stuff (64 bit vs 32 bit and perhaps other variation differences too, like for different levels of hardware support, or iPad vs iPhone, retina vs not...). I suspect during that little pause after a download is completed, the phone unpacks all that and throws away the stuff it can't use.

 

[jnpy!$4g3cwk]

I'd be surprised if Xcode didn't make some equivalent of fat binaries, and that the .ipa files in your iTunes folder probably have all that stuff (64 bit vs 32 bit and perhaps other variation differences too, like for different levels of hardware support, or iPad vs iPhone, retina vs not...). I suspect during that little pause after a download is completed, the phone unpacks all that and throws away the stuff it can't use.

You are correct that Xcode can handle it all automatically. But, the other side is that the fat binaries are, well, fatter than they would be if only 64-bit code is included. No sense in managing a bunch of 32-bit code if it is no longer needed. And if the statistics behind that chart are correct, the 32-bit armv7 part is no longer needed.

 

[NMSUballa]

How does iOS 9 work on it? Not trolling - curious.

iOS 9 was completely terrible on it. 9.1 has been lightyears better. There were so many bugs for the 4s.

 

[jnpy!$4g3cwk]

And this is where the cries for a minimum wage begin. But realize that a minimum wage is inflationary.

I'm with you up to this point, but, it isn't that simple. Imagine a company in which worker wages are 1/2 the total value added, and, the company bosses salary is 1/2 the total value added. The employees, and, the boss, spend all of their money on consumer goods. Now suppose the boss decides he has enough money and works for free. His former salary can double the wages of all the workers. They can spend twice as much.

The same amount of income is received, the same amount goes out in wages and salaries, and, it is all spent on consumer goods. What is inflationary about that?

That is just a Gedankenexperiment, but, more pragmatically, it is quite possible to flatten the wage/salary structure. We know this because it used to be flatter in the U.S. than it is today. All it requires is for workers to get paid more and owners/top managers to get paid less.

So at the end of the day, the question is, is it better to be underpaid or unemployed?

Different question entirely. We know, from experience throughout the world, that widespread unemployment is very dangerous.

EDIT: P.S. If this is going to be an extended conversation, it should move to PRSI.

 

[nsayer]

That is just a Gedankenexperiment,

In the same vein as the Kobayashi Maru - designed to force an unavoidable conclusion and otherwise divorced from the real world.

Different question entirely.

Not at all. Raise the minimum wage, and it will price low-experience or low-ability workers out of the job pool. Instead of being underpaid, they will be unemployed.

If you really think the minimum wage is a good idea, then I think we should stop pussyfooting around and make it $100/hour. Work that Gedankenexperiment out and then realize that the gross effects are still seen at the margins.

 

[MacBram]

Is it odd?

The 5 is a year older than the 5C. So the 5 would be out-of-service quicker than the 5C.

Also, the 5C replaced the 5 in the lineup, alongside the debut of the 5S; whereas, the 5S is still sold today as the low end. The 4S and 5S were sold multiple years (and I believe you can still buy new 4S in some markets); I believe the 5C was sold for a couple of years; I believe the 5 was only available one year. So, no matter how you cut it, there should be less of the 5 out there anything since the 4S.

 

[Michael Scrip]

Also, the 5C replaced the 5 in the lineup, alongside the debut of the 5S; whereas, the 5S is still sold today as the low end. The 4S and 5S were sold multiple years (and I believe you can still buy new 4S in some markets); I believe the 5C was sold for a couple of years; I believe the 5 was only available one year. So, no matter how you cut it, there should be less of the 5 out there anything since the 4S.

Yep... I addressed that in another comment saying "the iPhone 5 was only available for one year. Remember the 5C took over its spot the next year."

Meaning... the iPhone 5 should have rolled down to the mid-tier spot in the iPhone lineup the next year. But instead... the 5 was removed and the 5C became the mid-tier iPhone.

So yes... this chart should have less red on it than any other color.

 

[jnpy!$4g3cwk]

If you really think the minimum wage is a good idea, then I think we should stop pussyfooting around and make it $100/hour. Work that Gedankenexperiment out and then realize that the gross effects are still seen at the margins.

I have no problem with arithmetic, thank you. If median worker income is, say, $30/hr, then $100/hr minimum wage is not arithmetically possible. But, a minimum of $10/hr and a max of $50/hr is arithmetically possible. The level of inequality that currently exists in the U.S. is not written in stone. We know it is possible to flatten the wage structure, because, it was flatter in the past. See you in PRSI.

In the meantime, I wish Apple would set the minimum flash to 32GB.

 

[I7guy]

Talking minimum wage and fat binaries in the same thread?

 

[bobob]

I wish Apple would set the minimum flash to 32GB.

Why would you want to force Apple customers who need minimal onboard memory to purchase more than they need?

 

[nsayer]

I have no problem with arithmetic, thank you. If median worker income is, say, $30/hr, then $100/hr minimum wage is not arithmetically possible. But, a minimum of $10/hr and a max of $50/hr is arithmetically possible. The level of inequality that currently exists in the U.S. is not written in stone. We know it is possible to flatten the wage structure, because, it was flatter in the past. See you in PRSI.

You're not arguing for a minimum wage, you're arguing, effectively, for a maximum wage. That is socialism. Tell Bernie I didn't say "hi," and see YOU at the voting booth.