U.S. iPhone Sales Overtake Android Sales by Slim Margin in Q4 2014 with iPhone 6 and 6 Plus Launch

[jayducharme]

With a range of devices available at different price points in both contract and pre-pay Apple was able to take advantage of a weaker Android offering at the premium end of the market.

This is an important point and I wish analysts would focus more on it: Apple chooses to play in the premium market only. Lumping Apple in with every smartphone (or tablet or computer) manufacturer doesn't really show the true picture. In that light, the fact that they were able to slightly best all Android manufacturers is pretty impressive.

Every year Apple sells more iPhones than the previous year. It will be interesting to see what happens when they don't!

I think that's why they came out with the Apple Watch.

 

[Technarchy]

Impressive numbers.

Now wait to next quarter to see if it is a trend or just a seasonal spike

The holiday season always represents "a spike".

It's actually a trend.

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Apparently you're unaware of the reality of market demographics, in which higher income, more educated buyers have largely avoided Kindle-sized screens on smartphones.

That's why the iPhone 6 it outselling the iPhone 6 Plus several times over. What Apple has done with the iPhone 6 Plus is create the electronic equivalent of $200+ basketball sneakers -- not something aimed at an educated, affluent audience.

And the 6+ was damn near impossible to get...

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It still irritates me that we refer to Android Sales as though they mean anything.

People have to lump android together to make it sound more imposing and impressive.

Most android device maker sales numbers are laughable compared to Apple.

 

[Apple Trees]

The holiday season always represents "a spike".

It's actually a trend.

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And the 6+ was damn near impossible to get...

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People have to lump android together to make it sound more imposing and impressive.

Most android device maker sales numbers are laughable compared to Apple.

Agreed. They're so laughable that the manufacturers are too embarrassed to even report them. Notice even Samsung stopped reporting sales once their decline began.

 

[bobob]

I see no evidence that he was wrong.

That there is a strong market for stupid-big screens is not evidence that such screens are better than 3.5" screens -- just as the popularity of 48 oz. Coke Big Gulps at 7/11 is not evidence that 8 and 12 oz. servings of Coca Cola are too small.

3.5" is a great size for a phone. However, modern iPhones are essentially pocket computers.

I love the 5.5" screen on my 6+ which I hardly ever use as a phone anymore.

 

[Phil A.]

I switched back from Android to an iPhone 6 after skipping the 5 and 5s, but for me it wasn't the screen size that was the main driver but a couple of other things:
1) The integrated services (Apple Pay / Apple Health / HomeKit) which just made me think that Apple is the better long term option
2) Handoff and Continuity
3) Aesthetics - I just think the iPhone 6 feels nicer to use than the current crop of Android phones

 

[KdParker]

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And why would Android sales not mean anything?

As for holiday shopping season, Apple releases the new iPhones just a few months before it, so a lot of people wait to get them for Christmas. So yes, holiday season is a huge boom for Apple sales compared to the rest of the competitors.

Samsung release the edge too...Right before the holidays.

 

[jaison13]

apple will only outsell "andriod" one quarter every year, if that. it's now 2 models vs about 50 or so. apple updates once per year and really only once every 2 years because every other year you get an S model. same phone some upgraded guts.

i'm pretty sure apple outsells each individual android phone every quarter. i'm just guessing but i'd think the only one even close would be the samsung galaxy line.

i kinda wish apple would start losing in a big way so they start upping their game!!! since they are selling so well every update is still behind what other companies are doing. i'm jealous of a lot of the features i see on friends andriod phones. i'm really jealous of the surface tablets. they are lightyears ahead of the ipad and even the new "pro" model will be inferior by far!!! the pro mode; will be nothing more than a bigger ipad with faster proccessor. the only rumor that even slightly peaked my interest was about a pen. but unless it has wacom quality drivers it will be just another poor pen like the bamboo, jot, or jaja. a pro model should run osx not ios. it should have more storage, more ports, more battery life. if it's 12" make it a tad thicker and load it up!!! enough battery for 10-12 hours of intense work!! would love to see a set of macro buttons like on the side of a wacom slate. each one app programable. lightning and usb ports for external drives or screens. but i already know that the ipad pro is going to severly under perform my dreams and even my low end expectations. it will be nothing more than a bigger ipad with fasters chips.

 

[DakotaGuy]

Agreed. They're so laughable that the manufacturers are too embarrassed to even report them. Notice even Samsung stopped reporting sales once their decline began.

Maybe they will pull out of the market. Imagine not having Samsung as competition. That would be an Apple fans dream come true.

 

[jaymc]

Android still had an 80% global market share in 2014 per numbers published a few days ago by Strategy Analytics. iOS was something like 15%. For most of the world, cheap phones are almost a miracle.

I don't understand why we can't celebrate how life changing Android is for people who may never have dreamed of owning a computer of any kind, and now can have one in their pocket. If we could take a step back and see the world with a little bit of perspective, cheap phones (and their owners) wouldn't be the target of so many insults here.

Think possibly talking about the iPhone 5C?

 

[AlecZ]

That's amazing when you consider how expensive these things are compared to all those cheap or "free" Android phones.

 

[Mr. Buzzcut]

Apple doesn't have to crush Android, but I'm sure their plan is to take enough marketshare it drives the big players out of the market because they can't make a profit on phones.

If the big players were to pull out Apple could reduce development expenses, lengthen product cycles and increase prices. This would drive profits to unprecedented levels. There would be a lot of happy people on these forums if Apple could drive the big players out of the market and own it all.

If you didn't like the iPhone a few smaller alternatives would exist, but if Apple really wants to own it all they must drive the big competition out of the market.

That sounds horrible. Who would be happy about that? So Apple fans want a product that is the best of zero alternatives? What a joyous bunch.

 

[subjonas]

And Steve Jobs said that 3.5" was the perfect screen size

3.5" is the perfect screen size for what should be purely considered a smartphone, emphasis on PHONE, which are traditionally one-handed devices. The issue is that people don't want pure smartphones anymore. They want phablets, or somewhere in between. So I think technically Steve was right. It's just that people want to compromise the PHONE part, whereas Steve didn't. Comes down to definitions. One thing we can probably agree is he was more about ideals than he was about giving people what they wanted.

 

[manu chao]

This is true of every manufacturer. It's called the holiday shopping season.

Yes, but the spike is much more pronounced for Apple than for other manufacturers. Overall, iPhones are seen more of a treat that gift to others or yourself whereas Android phones are more seen as a commodity (this is of course a simplification but there is some truth to it). And one doesn't have to break it down as Apple vs the rest, I am sure that more expensive phones in general see a bigger spike in the holiday quarter.

 

[Michael Scrip]

This is true of every manufacturer. It's called the holiday shopping season.

Correct.

And Apple is one of those manufacturers.

We were talking about Apple.

 

[thekeyring]

Ah... understood. I didn't mean to pick on your post specifically. It just eats at me a little bit - that some Apple fans bask in any negative news about Android.

I agree. Though to look at this post as a blow against Android is clutching at straws slightly - Android market share is very high.

 

[technosix]

Just because lots of people buy them doesn't mean huge phone screens are not ridiculously big. Given the choice between 18 billion dollars profit in a quarter and building phones with screens that are ridiculously big, or making less profit building phones with nicely sized screens, Tim Cook went for the profit. Steve Jobs might have gone for the nice screen. Or maybe not.

I have always believed in Tim Cook, recent financials prove his true expertise is broad based critical thinking resulting in terrific decisions. A company the size of Apple is subject to many challenges when changing CEO'S, Tim Cook has cleared all the hurdles and while not perfect, he's done a very commendable job.

Going forward he's bound to help Apple become a bit more nimble and able to respond to market dynamics faster than when he first took over. He's also had time to get his point across to those who report to him, a change that I'm sure was a very daunting task.

Especially given the massive egos that his underlings possess.

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That's amazing when you consider how expensive these things are compared to all those cheap or "free" Android phones.

Apple's massive reserves allow them lots of latitude, I'm not surprised, they should be able to do well.

 

[MuppetGate]

apple will only outsell "andriod" one quarter every year, if that. it's now 2 models vs about 50 or so. apple updates once per year and really only once every 2 years because every other year you get an S model. same phone some upgraded guts.

i'm pretty sure apple outsells each individual android phone every quarter. i'm just guessing but i'd think the only one even close would be the samsung galaxy line.

i kinda wish apple would start losing in a big way so they start upping their game!!! since they are selling so well every update is still behind what other companies are doing. i'm jealous of a lot of the features i see on friends andriod phones. i'm really jealous of the surface tablets. they are lightyears ahead of the ipad and even the new "pro" model will be inferior by far!!! the pro mode; will be nothing more than a bigger ipad with faster proccessor. the only rumor that even slightly peaked my interest was about a pen. but unless it has wacom quality drivers it will be just another poor pen like the bamboo, jot, or jaja. a pro model should run osx not ios. it should have more storage, more ports, more battery life. if it's 12" make it a tad thicker and load it up!!! enough battery for 10-12 hours of intense work!! would love to see a set of macro buttons like on the side of a wacom slate. each one app programable. lightning and usb ports for external drives or screens. but i already know that the ipad pro is going to severly under perform my dreams and even my low end expectations. it will be nothing more than a bigger ipad with fasters chips.

Then the simple answer is to switch to another platform. I'm amazed at the number of people who can't seem to figure this out.

Here's another hint for you: If your shoes hurt, take them off.

 

[31 Flavas]

I see no evidence that he was wrong.

That there is a strong market for stupid-big screens is not evidence that such screens are better than 3.5" screens -- just as the popularity of 48 oz. Coke Big Gulps at 7/11 is not evidence that 8 and 12 oz. servings of Coca Cola are too small.

Wasn't this quote back in 2008 or 2009 which is a lifetime ago and in the early years of the iPhone? I'm pretty sure some of said 10 years ago that 512MB of RAM is enough and now we have laptops with 16GB. Or back in the days of the tube TVs, people said 40" was gigantic and now we have 80" TVs.

My impression is that reason why that line keeps getting repeated is because it's offensive to their technical sensibilities. But, it certainly does seem to get much more mention that other "offensive" comments such as how "Blu-ray is a bag of hurt".

I think I rather use to be like that. Apple's one button mouse was a gross and ridiculous over simplification; Since I was used to using the right mouse button in Windows for option menus, copy and paste, and such.

But now that I have more experience with assisting people and customers with computers, I see the 'wisdom' in the design of a one button mouse. Now, just to be clear, I always use a 2-button mouse for myself -- or enable right click functions when using someone else's Mac. But I can understand why Apple would still stand beside it today. As well as why Steve Jobs would state 3.5" is "perfect".

Technophile sensibilities are delicate. Statements like "Blu-ray is bad" hurt and offend such people, especially when they're true.

 

[AppleScruff1]

I didn't read the thread. Are numbers and market share important now?

 

[31 Flavas]

I didn't read the thread. Are numbers and market share important now?

They're incredibly important, I mean, how would someone rebuke Apple otherwise. -- i.e. "*eyeroll* Yea, yea, I get that you really like your iPhone, but no true scottsman would use an iPhone. And it isn't just me, XX MILLIONS more choose Android and total Android market share is XX% more."

 

[ksuyen]

If we could take a step back and see the world with a little bit of perspective, cheap phones (and their owners) wouldn't be the target of so many insults here.

They wouldn't be the target of iPhone either. Honestly I am happy where Apple at right now. I wouldn't like it otherwise, where Apple is on the top of share market while missing their profits (and quality) year after year. Can you imagine a world where 80% of phone owners using iPhone? A scary and dull world I'd say.

 

[fmaxwell]

And the 6+ was damn near impossible to get...

Sounds just like every $200+ pair of Nike basketball sneakers when they first come out. Constrain supply to create a market frenzy.

 

[fmaxwell]

3.5" is a great size for a phone. However, modern iPhones are essentially pocket computers.

I love the 5.5" screen on my 6+ which I hardly ever use as a phone anymore.

When I want a mobile computer, I have an iPad Air with an unlimited data plan. I don't need a 5.5" screen to on my phone to check email or text messages. Big screens are not very useful when I use my phone as a camera or calculator. I don't need a big screen to check prices or specs on products while shopping, or to look up phone numbers, business hours, and addresses.

To me, all that the huge screen would do is make the phone unwieldy.

 

[samcraig]

When I want a mobile computer, I have an iPad Air with an unlimited data plan. I don't need a 5.5" screen to on my phone to check email or text messages. Big screens are not very useful when I use my phone as a camera or calculator. I don't need a big screen to check prices or specs on products while shopping, or to look up phone numbers, business hours, and addresses.

To me, all that the huge screen would do is make the phone unwieldy.

The readability on newer and larger devices (for me and many others) is an important factor. Maybe for you it isn't. But I could never go back to a 3.5" - 4" screen now that I've had a 5" screen for over a year.

 

[bobob]

3.5" is a great size for a phone. However, modern iPhones are essentially pocket computers.

I love the 5.5" screen on my 6+ which I hardly ever use as a phone anymore.

When I want a mobile computer, I have an iPad Air with an unlimited data plan. I don't need a 5.5" screen to on my phone to check email or text messages. Big screens are not very useful when I use my phone as a camera or calculator. I don't need a big screen to check prices or specs on products while shopping, or to look up phone numbers, business hours, and addresses.

To me, all that the huge screen would do is make the phone unwieldy.

As I said, 3.5" is a great size for a phone.