Why does the iPhone sell less in Europe?

[Daveoc64]

A few reasons that apply to the market as a whole, rather than the iPhone:

• People make fewer voice calls in Europe than in the US, so the idea of spending so much on a phone has always seemed alien
• Having much smaller countries meant that people never needed to spend money on "long distance", and in most cases "long distance" didn't apply to the mobile market anyway, so costs were lower here to start with
• Family plans don't really exist here, so the expenditure on a phone contract becomes an individual charge, rather than one for the whole family
• People don't pay to receive calls or messages, so they consequently need lower allowances
• People here do seem to be more "value aware". There are Android phones or Windows phones that can do most things an iPhone can. How it looks or the brand do not matter

Many of these points refer to historically lower costs in Europe - I'm really just trying to say that for people over here a smartphone represents a significant increase in expenditure over a regular phone, compared to the US market where bills have traditionally been higher because of the way the market is structured.

Subsidies seem like a red herring to me, purely because they do still exist in Europe, and if you're comparing like for like, they usually work out cheaper than the equivalent US plans.

 

[falconeight]

Subsidised phones are still very popular in the UK, but our packages are quite competitive compared to some of the other European countries.

I saw a deal the other day with a free 16GB iPhone 5 for £31 per month on a 2 year contract. That works out at just $38.50 per month (plus tax), which is quite reasonable as it also comes with genuine unlimited data.

Still not cheap enough for my friend who just picked up a free Galaxy S3 at only £20 per month.

I don't know about England I have no experience. I know in mainland Europe they are different. I have seen androids for 1 euro on a prepaid plan. You will never see a iPhone like that. So its easy to see why someone would pic up a low end android than a dumb phone or any other phone.

Here is a picture of a typical price difference. I love my iPhone but I would either have to import from the States or go WP8.

 

[vistadude]

I think for ages phones in america came laced with bloatware and features cut by the carriers, whereas in Europe, buying a prepaid or on contract phone is not that different from unlocked ones. So maybe their android phones don't suck as much as the ones you buy here with At&t navigator and verizon ringtones So android and windows phone are much better phones then what we have here in the states.

If all android phones didn't have bloatware, i would guess people would buy more android phones and less and less iphones.

 

[Merkie]

Two reasons.

First reason:
In the US, the iPhone 5 costs $199 with a contract. You can save $199 if you get a "free" phone.

In the EU, you can save much more if you get a cheaper phone (almost always Android). Monthly rates are often lower with cheaper phones and the price you have to pay up front is also lower. You can save much more money if you buy a cheap Android phone instead of an iPhone the EU than in the US (more like $400 than $200).

Ofcourse I'm generalizing here, "the EU" is not one country and there are big differences between countries in the EU.

Second reason:
Spain, Portugal, Greece and Italy are bankrupt and the economy is terrible, people just can't afford an iPhone. I think if you look at Scandinavian countries, Germany, The Netherlands and the UK that the iPhone market share is a lot higher.

 

[clukas]

Actually you can get an iPhone subsidy if you want. You can even get the latest iPhone free, and you can't get that in the USA.

http://m.vodafone.co.uk/mobile/phones_and_plans/iphone/paym/VFTST163541

Yep. I got my iPhone 5 free and pay £30 a month for 24 months and get a massive allowance inc. unlimited data. There are lots of subsidised deals in Europe which require you to enter a contract, but buying an iPhone outside a contract is very expensive. Most people I know simply enter contracts, as there are many good deals of you search around wisely.

 

[Lucille Carter]

Why does the iPhone sell alot less in Europe? The latest reports actually show iOS is losing marketshare in Europe while gaining marketshare in the US. But why? (Don't troll and say because Europeans are smarter than Americans, and now iOS sucks.)

It is about COST! The iPhone is not cheap and costs even more in the European countries. A LOT more.

 

[whooleytoo]

Odd, most people I know here get subsidised iPhones (anything from free, to about 200 euros). I only know a few people who've bought them outright, though it does seem to be becoming more popular to do so - buy your phone without subsidy, then go on a cheap PAYG option.

 

[LaunchpadBS]

It's a LOT more expensive!

 

[0111587]

$1000-$1600 in Iceland for iPhone5 when Samsung4 is priced at $800

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

from what I have read, most of the iPhone sales in Europe are from the UK. This might be because of cost of course. An iPhone here is not massively expensive these days, especially in comparison to rival flagship models. elsewhere in Europe though I do believe there is quite a premium and with a recession spanning many of the countries, people buy the cheapest option. Saying all this, Apple's IpHone sales have risen over the past couple of months and the market share has upped.

 

[Plutonius]

Because of the price.

 

[DGPMaluco]

As an european, in my opinion, people is more rational about hteir purchases than for example americans, and by rational I am not being desrespectful but just saying that people is less impulsive with ther purchases and usually think a couple of times before purchasing their products.
Therefore, and being the iPhone one of the best smartphones on the market (at least considering quality of materials and build quality, about iOS things get more leveled with other OS like Android) it comes with a relative high price tag leading people to rationally question its purchase.
About the option of getting a subsidized phone, the carrier market is a bit different too.
In Europe, unlike in the USA, most of the people has a rechargeable plan, where usually customers pay in advance a small amount like 10 or 12 euro and is able to use that value to future communications. Usually this allows a more effective cost control, and adding to that, these plans allow you to have (almost) ilimited voice calls to people on the same carrier (or using the same plan).
I guess it's just a question of having 2 very different societies, which is easily verified for example in the car market.
In the USA usually we see big, high powered cars, with relatively high gas consumption, where in Europe we have rather small cars, more power efficient and gas saving with lower consuptions but rather effective!

Exactly.. I pay about 8euros with taxes included a month and have unlimited text for other vodafone users, free calls to other vodafone users in the same plan as me and about 160mb a month... Why would I pay for a monthly plan here in Portugal when those plans are really bad.. You pay less 200 euros and pay a lot more in the end... And you still need to pay about 500 euros...

 

[neverhadanewton]

It's all down to money which many people in Europe don't have much of at the moment. Android is just cheaper on and off contract...

Also Apple has less of a retail presence in a lot of European countries (apart from the UK where the iPhone is very popular still).

 

[Fandroid98]

Wow

$1000-$1600 in Iceland for iPhone5 when Samsung4 is priced at $800

That's ridiculously overpriced!
I'd never pay more than $800 for a phone in general.. Why is it so expensive in Iceland?

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Two reasons.

First reason:
In the US, the iPhone 5 costs $199 with a contract. You can save $199 if you get a "free" phone.

In the EU, you can save much more if you get a cheaper phone (almost always Android). Monthly rates are often lower with cheaper phones and the price you have to pay up front is also lower. You can save much more money if you buy a cheap Android phone instead of an iPhone the EU than in the US (more like $400 than $200).

Ofcourse I'm generalizing here, "the EU" is not one country and there are big differences between countries in the EU.

Second reason:
Spain, Portugal, Greece and Italy are bankrupt and the economy is terrible, people just can't afford an iPhone. I think if you look at Scandinavian countries, Germany, The Netherlands and the UK that the iPhone market share is a lot higher.

Personally I just consider them all part of the "EU" I generalize them too. UK Germany Spain, same stuff.
However I would bet the UK still has many iPhone sales, while in Spain I am pretty sure Android has around 80 percent marketshare or so.

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I don't know about England I have no experience. I know in mainland Europe they are different. I have seen androids for 1 euro on a prepaid plan. You will never see a iPhone like that. So its easy to see why someone would pic up a low end android than a dumb phone or any other phone.

Here is a picture of a typical price difference. I love my iPhone but I would either have to import from the States or go WP8.

So I am guessing some Europeans that would go iPhone sometimes go WP8 because it offers an iOS like experience at a lower price?
And yeah, $800+ for a 16 gig iPhone 5? I'd be using a Nexus 4 or Galaxy s4 too.

----------

Wait, your user name is fandroid98 and you want to know why iOS is losing popularity, but you don't want any trollish answers?

Fandroid is just a title... I don't like Android that much. I actually use a mac.

 

[Plx32]

It's not only about price !

It's also because the iPhone 5 is not LTE compatible over here in Europe (does not work with the 800 Mhz and 2600 Mhz frequencies).

I bet the iPhone 5 wouldn't have sold well in the US if it didn't have LTE...

 

[ross1998]

One reason would be they make a lot less on average in Europe than USA. My cousin is teacher at university in Ukraine and he makes 275 dollars a month average.

 

[WyM9]

In my opinion, one of the main cause is the price, ans the fact that Apple don't want operator to make money on the iPhone.

A simple exemple in France:

A 12 month contract, all illimited, 2go internet at 46€/month

iPhone 5 is at 469€
Samsung gs4 is at 269€

So a total of 1021€ for iPhone 5 compare to 821€ for gs4 + 1 year plan…

So people who really want an iPhone (like i do) get one from the Apple store at 679€ and add a plan at 20€, that's 919€ for one year…

Still a lot, but a bit less than with a contract.
A gs4 is cheapper and you can have it for just 269€…

People makes some choice…

 

[blkjedi954]

iPhone's on contracts are not much different in price compared to the S4 and HTC One.

It may be due to the fact the iPhone has become stale?

Thats why i jumped over to the HTC One.

What's stale is your trolling. Also, reports indicate that HTC One will be obsolete before you know it. And goodluck updating your OS, as we all know, "An'Droid doesn't'" do updates often. And what's compatible for one phone, with Android, IS NOT necessarily compatible with another phone. Fragmentation and lack of support. Here is an example you'll love. Research it before you comment:

Nova 3, one of the most impressive game ever, is incompatible with the Galaxy S4!!! What the hell is anybody supposed to do with THAT ecosystem?? Buy one phone and cross your fingers and hope that the app you want is compatible with the latest Android phone!!! No Thank you!!! I'll stick with a coherent system. You're welcome!

 

[muy picante]

I see no point in upgrading os'es - if everthing works as it should, why bother? besides, Apple usually restricts older phones to have all features of new iOs version - usually marketing decision, so we might say, that what's compatible for one phone, with iOS, IS NOT necessarily compatible with another phone, unless you jailbreak games on phone? leave it for kids.

 

[TC03]

As an european, in my opinion, people is more rational about hteir purchases than for example americans, and by rational I am not being desrespectful but just saying that people is less impulsive with ther purchases and usually think a couple of times before purchasing their products.
Therefore, and being the iPhone one of the best smartphones on the market (at least considering quality of materials and build quality, about iOS things get more leveled with other OS like Android) it comes with a relative high price tag leading people to rationally question its purchase.
About the option of getting a subsidized phone, the carrier market is a bit different too.
In Europe, unlike in the USA, most of the people has a rechargeable plan, where usually customers pay in advance a small amount like 10 or 12 euro and is able to use that value to future communications. Usually this allows a more effective cost control, and adding to that, these plans allow you to have (almost) ilimited voice calls to people on the same carrier (or using the same plan).
I guess it's just a question of having 2 very different societies, which is easily verified for example in the car market.
In the USA usually we see big, high powered cars, with relatively high gas consumption, where in Europe we have rather small cars, more power efficient and gas saving with lower consuptions but rather effective!

Pfffffff. You truly believe this? It's nonsense, you're letting stereotypes fool you!

The answer is simple. In the US, you either buy a phone for $0 or an iPhone for $199. The difference is $199.

In Europe you get a free Samsung Galaxy S3 mini or an iPhone for about $499. The difference is $499.

In practice, iPhones are much, much more expensive than in the US as compared to other phones!

The upside is that in Europe, monthly fees are much lower (say $40 on average), people in the US will easily pay $80 or $100 a month. That's the cultutural/historical aspect.

However, I don't think it will take US companies too long to figure out that people will happily reduce their monthly costs by 50% if that would mean you would have to buy your phone seperately. Within 5 years, the US will be the same as Europe.

 

[IFRIT]

What's stale is your trolling. Also, reports indicate that HTC One will be obsolete before you know it. And goodluck updating your OS, as we all know, "An'Droid doesn't'" do updates often. And what's compatible for one phone, with Android, IS NOT necessarily compatible with another phone. Fragmentation and lack of support. Here is an example you'll love. Research it before you comment:

Nova 3, one of the most impressive game ever, is incompatible with the Galaxy S4!!! What the hell is anybody supposed to do with THAT ecosystem?? Buy one phone and cross your fingers and hope that the app you want is compatible with the latest Android phone!!! No Thank you!!! I'll stick with a coherent system. You're welcome!

Your post gives me a headache trying to read it. You mean like Apple intentionally leaving out features for older phones, yeah that sure sounds like a 100% coherent non-defragmented system to me..

 

[617aircav]

Pfffffff. You truly believe this? It's nonsense, you're letting stereotypes fool you!

The answer is simple. In the US, you either buy a phone for $0 or an iPhone for $199. The difference is $199.

In Europe you get a free Samsung Galaxy S3 mini or an iPhone for about $499. The difference is $499.

In practice, iPhones are much, much more expensive than in the US as compared to other phones!

The upside is that in Europe, monthly fees are much lower (say $40 on average), people in the US will easily pay $80 or $100 a month. That's the cultutural/historical aspect.

However, I don't think it will take US companies too long to figure out that people will happily reduce their monthly costs by 50% if that would mean you would have to buy your phone seperately. Within 5 years, the US will be the same as Europe.

In Europe you can get the latest iPhone for free on contract, in America that's impossible.

 

[TC03]

In Europe you can get the latest iPhone for free on contract, in America that's impossible.

In Europe there is more than one way to offer a phone. Whenever an iPhone is 'free' on contract, the monthly fee is usually much, much higher than with a contract without a phone. I think a rough estimate would be that a free iPhone 5 would cost you €60 per month, wheras the same contract without any phone at all would cost you €30 per month.

It doesn't really matter how they cover up the costs (either monthly fee or one time payment), in practice you'll have to bleed a lot more in order to get an iPhone 5.

People usually want a phone that's capable of Whatsapp, Facebook, mail, navigation and some games, a cheap Android phone is perfectly capable of doing so, leaving not much reason to pay €400 extra just to get a smoother user experience.

 

[617aircav]

In Europe there is more than one way to offer a phone. Whenever an iPhone is 'free' on contract, the monthly fee is usually much, much higher than with a contract without a phone. I think a rough estimate would be that a free iPhone 5 would cost you €60 per month, wheras the same contract without any phone at all would cost you €30 per month.

It doesn't really matter how they cover up the costs (either monthly fee or one time payment), in practice you'll have to bleed a lot more in order to get an iPhone 5.

People usually want a phone that's capable of Whatsapp, Facebook, mail, navigation and some games, a cheap Android phone is perfectly capable of doing so, leaving not much reason to pay €400 extra just to get a smoother user experience.

On Vodafone UK the iPhone 5 is free on contract if you pay $65 (42 pounds) a month. The HTC is also free for the same cost. Same for the s4.

 

[TC03]

On Vodafone UK the iPhone 5 is free on contract if you pay $65 (42 pounds) a month. The HTC is also free for the same cost. Same for the s4.

Ok, but the UK is one of Apple's strongest markets in Europe. Second, the UK is relatively cheap when it comes subsidies and the monhtly costs.

In the rest of Europe, I think my point remains.