Total iPod Touch Sales Estimated at Over 45 Million

[cvaldes]

If the iPhone ever goes to more than one carrier in the US, l wonder whether the Touch will gradually fade in popularity?

Nah, just look at the Total Cost of Ownership. For a smartphone, it ranges between $1800-2600 over a two-year contract. You can get an iPod touch for about $200.

Let's not forget that the demographics of the iPod touch skew much younger (13-24) than the iPhone (25-49). Those youngsters simply don't have the financial resources to afford pricey postpaid contracts and data plans, unless mommy and daddy are willing to foot the bill.

Any way you do the math, the TCO is far lower for the iPod touch. Remember that iPod touch sales continue to be strong overseas, where most of the iPhone markets have dropped carrier exclusivity many months ago (even over a year ago).

The way the iPod touch would fade is if the carriers would offer smartphone contracts at $25 per month and give the device away for free. That's not going to happen. The iPhone's Bill Of Materials cost is nearly $190 and a carrier like AT&T is likely paying a subsidy of $350-400 per handset.

What's really odd is that with the exception of the Microsoft Zune HD (which is only sold in the United States), there is no credible competitor to the iPod touch. It appears that other companies are willing to concede this market to Apple.

 

[HLdan]

Good catch. That is deceptive, misleading information.

It's not a good catch, because the guy you're quoting is completely wrong. Jobs said that the iPod Touch is "outselling" the Nintendo and the PSP combined which is true. More units out in the wild is not the same as outpacing sales.

 

[Ruahrc]

Hold on a cotton picking minute. Didn't Steve Jobs say there were more iOS devices than DS and PSP together?
There have been 133 million DS' sold, even without the PSP sales (59 million) his claim was total unadultered BS.

+1. I was going to say the same thing. The claim that iOS is the #1 handheld gaming platform is totally bogus. DS and PSP have sold way more than iOS devices Sure iOS may be selling more apps/games but $0.99 tic-tac-toe apps people play a few times total shouldn't be counted in the same category as a full-length retail release on DS or PSP

 

[motulist]

Don't forget, this number includes all the zillion free iPod Touches that Apple gives away for free when people buy laptops in august and september. I have a Touch only because of that. I didn't buy my laptop so I could get a free Touch, and I wouldn't have bought a Touch if I didn't get it for free. However, I must say, the moment I got the Touch it instantly became an integral part of my life that I use constantly. I had no clue how instantly and deeply this device would become part of my daily life. It's so incredibly useful that it's hard to imagine going back to not having an iDevice now.

 

[Cinematographer]

Hold on a cotton picking minute. Didn't Steve Jobs say there were more iOS devices than DS and PSP together?
There have been 133 million DS' sold, even without the PSP sales (59 million) his claim was total unadultered BS.

You got that wrong.

In the Apple Special Event podcast, around minute 31:00, Steve Jobs says:

"The iPod touch outsells Nintendo and Sony portable game players combined. […] It's got over 50% market share for portable game players for both US and worldwide."

Obviously he's talking about current quarters, not about total units shipped.

The claim that iOS is the #1 handheld gaming platform is totally bogus.

That would be bogus indeed, if he said that. But he didn't.

I totally agree that a lot of the iPod touches sold will never be used as gaming devices. But since they could be used this way, I guess it's ok to count them.

 

[SlamJam12]

If the iPhone ever goes to more than one carrier in the US, l wonder whether the Touch will gradually fade in popularity?

Nah, as long as people buying an iPhone have to pay a monthly recurring charge and/or sign a contract, the iPod Touch will be highly successful.

The new iPod Touch can do a lot more. It has Facetime and is capable of making phone calls via Skype, etc.

 

[cvaldes]

Don't forget, this number includes all the zillion free iPod Touches that Apple gives away for free when people buy laptops in august and september.

It's a very small percentage.

The U.S.-only promotion is really just about a month of Q4 2010 which is forecasted to move 3.8 million Macs worldwide, of which 2 million are notebooks. Since international sales make up for over half and assuming that half of the notebook purchased domestically don't qualify for the return-to-school promotion (either outside of the window or ineligible notebook), we're realistically talking about 300-500 thousand iPod touches.

Sales in previous Q4s have been lower, so let's say 1.2 million iPod touches have been given away as part of the promotion. That's really 2.67% of the 45 million.

 

[HLdan]

+1. I was going to say the same thing. The claim that iOS is the #1 handheld gaming platform is totally bogus. DS and PSP have sold way more than iOS devices Sure iOS may be selling more apps/games but $0.99 tic-tac-toe apps people play a few times total shouldn't be counted in the same category as a full-length retail release on DS or PSP

Are some of you guys getting paid for spreading misinformation? For heavens sake, go watch the media event again, or did you watch it at all? Jobs didn't say anything about iOS being the #1 handheld gaming platform. How could it? iOS is a newly named platform. He also didn't say that the iPod Touch has sold more, he said it's "outselling" the PSP and the Nintendo DS and you should check that out because that's true. Also the iPod Touch 50% market share worldwide.
Good try though, but you should check your facts first.

 

[longball11]

Are some of you guys getting paid for spreading misinformation? For heavens sake, go watch the media event again, or did you watch it at all? Jobs didn't say anything about iOS being the #1 handheld gaming platform. How could it? iOS is a newly named platform. He also didn't say that the iPod Touch has sold more, he said it's "outselling" the PSP and the Nintendo DS and you should check that out because that's true. Also the iPod Touch 50% market share worldwide.
Good try though, but you should check your facts first.

nope. you are getting paid for the wrong reasons. IT IS misleading like someone said earlier because there no specifics as to how the iPod Touch is the best selling gaming handheld. How is it outselling? Is this a quarter or the whole year? No specifics were given. There are multiplatform games made for these handheld devices and those games are being outsold on the nintendo handheld than the other two. Therefore, it is misleading.

 

[stangmmx]

This is great news, especially if you're a shareholder of either $AAPL or $CRUS

 

[ten-oak-druid]

LMAO!

I wrote this:

Good luck selling more after that itunes' icon debacle.

Look at the responses:

Such a low opinion you must have of iTunes users. We're not so fickle (despite the abnormally large number of whining comments on here).

Anyway, I shall buy a Touch and then flog it when the HTC HD7 and/or Zune 7(or whatever) is released. I like my tech so never really remain loyal to one particular brand.

ahh another post about a totally silly issue...i mean my pops, getting up in years, can't stand changes but never muttered a thing about the icon...the amount of time spent on drivel like this makes me jump back into my studies, and hope the level of comments gets to good technical/informational levels..once again.

Dude, step into reality for once. Nobody cares about that icon outside of the world of anal geeks such as MR and other tech forums. The average consumer (which represents most of Apple's customers) is just gonna say, "Hey look, new icon for iTunes", launch the app and get work done. They're not posting on forums bitching about some stupid icon as if they have no life. If you think an iTunes icon is gonna stop people from buying one the most amazing devices (iPod Touch) on the market, you're just plain wrong.

In the words of Gob Bluth: Come on!

On a more serious note: I was considering getting one but now I see they do not come with a GPS. I had hoped to use skype and see if I could turn the ipod into a phone for my purposes. But I'm thinking there are more features I might miss. For now, I'll stick with my 7 year old motorola "non-smart" phone a little longer while I see what fits my needs.

 

[Lesser Evets]

WHY WOULD ANYONE... want to own a scaled down iPad??
HUH?

Actually, I own one, and they are good. Now with the cameras, retina display, and stuff they will be quite impressive for a $230 mini-computer. No doubt the iPT will sell quite well for years to come.

 

[SockRolid]

iPod touch sales will stay strong

... Any way you do the math, the TCO is far lower for the iPod touch. ...

Exactly. And that's one reason why FaceTime is wi-fi only for now. No carrier contracts, and no monthly pay-as-you-go data fees.

... It appears that other companies are willing to concede this market to Apple. ...

One reason is that Apple gets the best component pricing. They buy millions of screens, flash RAM chips, etc. so they get volume discounts. No other device could possibly sell as well in the iPod touch category, so nobody else could get the same component pricing, so they would either need to raise their devices' retail price or sell them at a loss, and everyone knows it. So they don't even bother trying. With the exception of Microsoft, who are willing to throw money at a problem no matter how hopeless the situation is. (Maybe KIN shows that they aren't totally brain-dead and will kill failed products before they cause even more problems.)

But the biggest reason why there aren't any real iPod touch competitors, even after 3 years, is because of iTunes and the Apple infrastructure. Apple has worked on iTunes since before the original iPod 1.0 back in 2001. It's the reason iPod was successful and it has been the not-so-secret weapon behind the success of iPhone and iPad as well (especially now that there's an App Store). Nobody has been able to create a worthy iTunes competitor.

And that's the real killer. Even if someone were able to make a product with similar build quality at a lower price, the experience wouldn't be as good for users. iTunes, as huge and feature-laden as it is now, is simply unbeatable. And iPod touch + iTunes is an experience that nobody can clone.

 

[SockRolid]

The question that Samsung didn't ask is...

WHY WOULD ANYONE... want to own a scaled down iPad??
HUH? ...

The Galaxy Tab is precisely the wrong size. Slightly too big to fit in a pocket, slightly too small to replace your TV when you watch videos. And if you buy a Tab, you'll be locked into your cell carrier. That's right. As I was saying about Apple's great component pricing, Apple can sell iPad at a reasonable price. Unsubsidized. Samsung can't, so they need to get kickbacks from the cell carriers. So much for that AdDroid (not a typo) "freedom."

Here's what I mean about "precisely the wrong size." Just try using a Tab as a phone!

http://www.tipb.com/images/stories/2010/09/samsung-galaxy-tab-12-400x300.jpg

 

[Ruahrc]

That would be bogus indeed, if he said that. But he didn't.

I totally agree that a lot of the iPod touches sold will never be used as gaming devices. But since they could be used this way, I guess it's ok to count them.

Maybe I didn't get the wording exactly right, but I still argue that since the iPod touch and iPhone are the only 2 iOS gaming devices, saying the iOS gaming platform and referring to the devices specifically are saying the same thing.

However, you need to start about 10 seconds earlier at 30:50 on his previous slide when he says

[the ipod touch] has become the #1 portable game player in the world

Which is just simply not true. By any metric, it's just not true.

Later on, as you mention, he says it has over 50% market share in the world for portable gaming. Again, how can this be true if it has only sold 45 million, compared to a total of almost 200 million combined for the DS and PSP? Even if you lump in every iphone ever sold (which SJ repeatedly and specifically refers to the iPod touch alone in his presentation, which makes the argument even worse), the number is probably around 75-100 million, which still doesn't account for half of the total number of "portable gaming devices" out there. The numbers just don't add up.

Later on he claims that 1.5 billion games and entertainment apps are downloaded to the iPod touch alone, which may be the "metric" they're using to rate their device, but I still argue that fart apps do not count as legitimate "gaming" downloads, especially when you compare them to retail released games on the DS or PSP. And I guarantee that there are many, many more apps on the level of fart apps or tic-tac-toe than there are actual gaming experiences like GTA:CW.

 

[stingerman]

iPod Touch Everywhere

I'm seeing the iPod Touch everywhere... Subways, restaurants, bars... The workers all seem to have one, they pull it out and check their email, etc on the local wireless....

 

[Cinematographer]

Which is just simply not true. By any metric, it's just not true. […] Later on, as you mention, he says it has over 50% market share in the world for portable gaming. Again, how can this be true if it has only sold 45 million, compared to a total of almost 200 million combined for the DS and PSP? […]

Well we can only guess about the metric they are using. If they counted downloads it were indeed misleading. Obviously, as you calculated in your post, they are talking about total units shipped neither.

My guess is they are talking about units shipped in the last quarter. Sadly enough, Apple does not brake down the iPod numbers any further. Are the Nintendo and Sony numbers publicitly available?

According to Technologizer, Nintendo sold 3.15 million DS units and Sony 1.2 million PSP units in the last quarter. Has Apple beaten that number? - We don't know. But it could be. To achieve that, 52% of the iPods sold in the last quarter had to be iPod touches. Steve Jobs said that the iPod touch surpassed the Nano as the most successful iPod. So although we won't get the exact numbers, I have to say: the statement could indeed be true.

 

[HLdan]

Maybe I didn't get the wording exactly right, but I still argue that since the iPod touch and iPhone are the only 2 iOS gaming devices, saying the iOS gaming platform and referring to the devices specifically are saying the same thing.

However, you need to start about 10 seconds earlier at 30:50 on his previous slide when he says



Which is just simply not true. By any metric, it's just not true.

Later on, as you mention, he says it has over 50% market share in the world for portable gaming. Again, how can this be true if it has only sold 45 million, compared to a total of almost 200 million combined for the DS and PSP? Even if you lump in every iphone ever sold (which SJ repeatedly and specifically refers to the iPod touch alone in his presentation, which makes the argument even worse), the number is probably around 75-100 million, which still doesn't account for half of the total number of "portable gaming devices" out there. The numbers just don't add up.

Later on he claims that 1.5 billion games and entertainment apps are downloaded to the iPod touch alone, which may be the "metric" they're using to rate their device, but I still argue that fart apps do not count as legitimate "gaming" downloads, especially when you compare them to retail released games on the DS or PSP. And I guarantee that there are many, many more apps on the level of fart apps or tic-tac-toe than there are actual gaming experiences like GTA:CW.

You keep saying "not true" on everything you quoted about what Jobs said. Do you have any proof that it's not true? Please post your facts to prove him wrong. And please, if you're gonna saying something is not true, don't follow along saying, "It's PROBABLY AROUND xxxx-million".

 

[Ruahrc]

You keep saying "not true" on everything you quoted about what Jobs said. Do you have any proof that it's not true? Please post your facts to prove him wrong. And please, if you're gonna saying something is not true, don't follow along saying, "It's PROBABLY AROUND xxxx-million".

My facts and proof are right in the post, did you read it? This article which the thread is based upon claims 45 million iPod touches sold. Wikipedia is showing over 130 million DS and over 60 million PSP sold. Add it up, and there is no way iPod touch has >50% marketshare. That's 45 million vs. about 200 million or more like 20%. The source for the DS numbers are straight from Nintendo themselves.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo_DS_sales
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_Portable

The 75 million number comes from SJ himself, in his January presentation talking about the iPad (see the link for a SS of the presentation slide). He said 75 million people already knew how to use the iPad (taking this to mean 75 million users own an iPhone or iPT). Factor in some very optimistic sales figures since then and you can see where 75-100 million is a reasonable guess.

http://theappleblog.com/2010/01/28/ipod-touch-now-outselling-iphone/

None of this even brings into play regular cell phones (if people playing fart apps on the iPT is "portable gaming", so is people playing solitare on their "dumb" cellphones), Droid, etc.

Even giving SJ the benefit of the doubt (where you are including iPhone in the numbers too even though SJ specifically was talking only about the iPT in the presentation) there is no way the iPT has >50% marketshare in portable gaming.

I don't hate Apple, or the iPT (I own a 2G one). But I about fell out of my chair when I watched the keynote by SJ seeing him make these very, very bold claims.

 

[Corbin052198]

I own a Nintendo DS Lite (Christmas 2008), DSi (Christmas 2009), and iPod Touch 1G (hand-me-down iPod). Even though it's not all that new and crazy cool, it's still rocking hard with iOS 3.1.3 jailbroken.

To be honest, I doubt the 3DS will damage iPod Touch sales much, if any. And unless Sony does something amazing with the PSP in the next 2 years, wave PSP goodbye in the mobile gaming market.

 

[ten-oak-druid]

Some numbers:

1. Apple To Surpass 100 Million iOS Devices Sold This Month
Jun 7, 2010
http://techcrunch.com/2010/06/07/ios/

"... Jobs also had a bit stat to throw out there: later this month, Apple will surpass 100 million iOS devices sold...."


2. Apple iPod touch Comprises 37.7 Percent of All iOS Devices Sold
September 6th, 2010
http://www.intomobile.com/2010/09/06/apple-ipod-touch-37-7-percent-ios-devices-sold/

"...We know that there were 59.6 million iPhones sold through June (from SEC filings)

We also know that 3.2 million iPads were sold.

If we assume about 8 million iPhones and 4 million iPads were sold during August and July, the total number of iPod touch sold is 45.2 million.

That is 37.7% of total units...."

 

[ten-oak-druid]

Its not about total sales to date. If you look at current sales and sales trends, where would you want to invest?

iPhone OS grabs US game market share from PSP & DS
By Chris Davies on Wednesday, Mar 24th 2010

"...In 2008, iPhone OS apparently comprised 1-percent of the video game market in the US, when judged by revenue; that rose to 5-percent in 2009. It reflects a growing shift away from home console gaming to mobile gaming: console game software revenue fell eight points to 71-percent, while spending on portable games software rose four points to 24-percent.

As for the shift in portable games consoles, it was the PSP which saw the biggest decline in the same period. iPhone OS-based game spending increased to take 19-percent of the US portable market, with the Nintendo DS dropping five points to 70-percent and the PSP almost halving to 11-percent. Considering the relative prices of iPhone OS games compared to regular games, it’s an even more impressive shift. ..."

 

[tokyopunk]

Good luck selling more after that itunes' icon debacle.

what exactly does an icon design affect hardware sales? Explain that to me cause as a marketing major, I really want to know

 

[tokyopunk]

If the iPhone ever goes to more than one carrier in the US, l wonder whether the Touch will gradually fade in popularity?

I truly don't think so. You seem to have a shallow view of the touch. Not everyone wants an iphone

 

[tokyopunk]

ahh another post about a totally silly issue...i mean my pops, getting up in years, can't stand changes but never muttered a thing about the icon...the amount of time spent on drivel like this makes me jump back into my studies, and hope the level of comments gets to good technical/informational levels..once again.

amen