“Apple sold a record-breaking 9 million new iPhones over the weekend, smashing expectations of 5 million to 7 million with its launch of new models that some analysts had yawned over,” Aaron Pressman reports for Yahoo Finance. “Once again, it seems the skeptics missed the company’s ability to drive sales and capitalize on its industry-leading customer loyalty with just a few key improvements.”
“Doubters had said the new iPhones, unveiled on September 10, lacked compelling fresh features in a market saturated with cheaper phones running Google’s Android software. But they missed the positives of Apple’s focus on making big improvements to key features that matter most to users. Also, they failed to note that Apple’s high customer satisfaction ratings have created a cycle of increasing sales from repeat buyers,” Pressman reports. “Apple said 200 million existing iOS users have already updated to the latest version, which has a simpler and more colorful appearance. It also adds a free online music service called iTunes Radio, which could be a real threat to Pandora.”
“Some analysts may have been misled by the history of the personal-computing market, where Apple’s Macintosh was eventually overtaken by cheaper, “good enough” Windows models, says Ben Thompson, author of the Stratechery blog. That market was dominated by corporate IT departments that cared little about the user experience, he says,” Pressman reports. “And Apple’s strong customer satisfaction levels cannot be discounted. A survey by the Yankee Group in April found that 91% of current U.S. iPhone owners planned to buy another iPhone. Only 76% of U.S. Android phone owners planned to remain with the brand. If these preferences hold true, Apple could overtake Android in the U.S. by 2015, according to the research firm’s projections.”
Read more in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Arline M.” for the heads up.]
Related articles:
Obviously, mighty Apple hasn’t lost it’s mojo – September 23, 2013
Apple proves critics wrong with blowout iPhone sales of the new iPhone 5S and 5C – September 23, 2013
Apple destroys smartphone sales record: First weekend iPhone sales top nine million units – September 23, 2013
Where are the trolls. Come out into the sun. Hard when it is so bright and sunny in Cupertino right now. Better wait for a cloudy day.
Yes, now that’s a very good point. They were out in force, even on this ole site claiming Timmy’s head. Well, who’s head is laughing now? Come on you trolly trolls. Come on out. Wheres ya hidin’?
Jay Morrison, iMaki and MacFreek are quivering in their moms basement wondering what just hit them. Samsung checks started bouncing this morning and they are back eating Cheetos as their main food group.
Don’t know about the other two, but I suspect Jay Morrison is still wrestling with how to “blame” this on Tim Cook.
Don’t forget the Joker
And x
@Grigori
Brilliant! 🙂
(He’ll probably attempt it, though.)
And Toddy. I hate that creapy little know-it-all shit.
Rocky Balboa would like to be this boring.
Apple takes down Blackberry: company sold today for $4.7B.
Apple sells 9B iPhones in 3 days, savages expectations.
So let’s give Mr. Troll a 10-count after that one-two punch.
Less than the sales numbers for iPhones in three days. But who is counting?
That’s 9 million iPhones sold, not 9 billion.
All these doubters forget the most important thing: Apple keeps giving people the best of what they want. The best operating system, the easiest to use, an easy and secure app system where apps just work without lots of configuring, etc., the best camera on any smartphone, etc. etc.
All these doubters consistently underestimate how it’s the little things, like a great camera and simplicity of use, that gains devoted customers who won’t switch just because the price is a little less for a competitor. And it’s the little things that companies like Samsung can’t understand why they’re such a big deal, but that’s what people value.
Right, I should have said 9M units, or $5.2B > $4.7B.
I suspect the resident TROLLS are Video Conferencing each other to plan a massive counterattack on MDN…….it’s taking hours to finish the plan because their Android POS keeps locking up….LOL
Most analysts are clueless about Apple, because they focus on the overall industry. Apple strives to go against industry expectations at every opportunity. Apple IS the trend setter.
Also, they fail to realize that the iPhone 5s is targeting iPhone 4s owners (with expiring contracts), not current iPhone 5 owners. For iPhone 4s owners, the iPhone 5s (and even the iPhone 5c) is a significant upgrade in every way, with “compelling fresh features.” And both the iPhone 5s and 5c target customers who are new to iPhone, and for that group, even the iPhone 4s would be a significant upgrade. 🙂
Apple is solely focused on the end-user and making great products for them. Apple doesn’t “strive to go against industry expectations” because they can’t control industry expectations. Remain true to the customer and the device will sell well. Everything else is a distraction.
Yup. +1
What you say is true and is the same thing that had to be said when the 4S came out and wasn’t a radical departure from the 4. It doesn’t make sense to change the basic form of the iPhone more often than every two years.
——RM
When you focus on quality and simplicity you eventually come to a product which is neither broken nor needs to be fixed. Porsche understands this with the 911. Changed only three times in its evolution it is still very similar to the original and doesn’t need to be redesigned. I still want a 911 after all these years! Simplicity and focus from the beginning on form and quality makes a lasting product instead of a consumable plastic cheap large screened piece of trash!
Ah yes: evolution not revolution.
My old Porsche 911SC whale-tail still looks good after all these years, as did my Apple 145b laptop before it went to a museum recently.
Both items are still in working order and visually pleasing, even if the latest iterations are light years better under the skin.
The “third” choice in the lineup is the old but still classy “glass” iPhone 4s. I wonder how many they sold in the same 3-day period? If that number is added to the 9 million plus, how close did Apple get to 10 million new iPhones (of any type) sold in ALL markets?
My daughter can’t upgrade until February. After she saw my 5s she was wondering if she should wait for the iPhone 6.
“Apple could overtake Android in the U.S. by 2015”
Utterly wrong-headed, as usual.
Apple, a company, versus software. Really, there is no such thing as “Android”. There is an immense number of incompatible versions of Android and Android derivations. Counting them as one thing is illogical and fundamentally inappropriate.
Anyway — let’s at least change that to “Apple could overtake all the rest of the industry added together in the U.S. by 2015”
But even then – overtake in what? The marketshare zombie. As we all know, Apple already leads the whole of the rest of the industry in what matters to any business… profits.
You can stop with the FUD slinging now, Shame-us. How much money did ScamShame pay you? Apparently they gave you a high quality Korean-English translator: “Ching Ching, Samsung is better Chig Ching”. Get back to your violin lessons and leave us alone.
Can you read English?
Please re-read what I wrote. The whole thing.
I’m slamming the very concept that there is any such thing as “Android” – as a single “brand” or even a single software platform. How the heck do you interpret that as supporting ScamShame?
Is Seamus the ancient Korean word for “Samsung Shill”? I think so!
I’m saying
– It’s wrong-headed in that there is no such thing as “Android” to overtake
– And even if you change that to “the rest of the industry”, Apple ALREADY leads in the metric that matters – profit.
I.e. I’m saying “Apple is the winner — NOW”.
If you still think that equals being a supporter of Shameless Copier, I think you need to go back to school and practice your English comprehension.
AB,
Friendly fire once is an accident. Twice is… well, let’s just say you didn’t identify your target before unloading an entire magazine. You’re just a little too quick on the trigger. Maybe you should lay off coffee for a while. Or amphetamines.
I’m agreeing with Seamus. I think you are reading your expectations of what he as to say into his post. He’s EXACTLY right. Apple doesn’t care about market share. Apple cares about profits, and at that they are exceedlingly excellent. They get there by caring about the user experience, and not by worrying about Samsung.
Thanks, Lou.
I think
1. Either he read my first two sentences, thought I was saying Apple would never catch Andrcrap, and went into frothing rant mode, without reading further.
or
2. He read the whole thing and really can’t understand anything more than a basic noun, verb, object sentence.
Not sure which.
Andrew – Which is it? Do you get it now?
So ready to defend your choice, that you didn’t even understand what Seamus wrote. He is actually bashing Android, but in your overzealousness to defend your ideals, you did not comprehend what was written.
That is also the same reason why Linux is not popular on the desktop. Many people say that “20xx is the year of Linux”, but how can that be if it is way to fragmented? And this is not anti-Linux FUD, it’s the truth.
Making it even, add the iPads and iPad minis. Count them as ios devises and should be closer to comparing to android
“And mediocre sales of the cheaper-priced 5C model show Apple still has no answer for the faster-growing low end of the smartphone market.” No you fsckwit: Apple DOES have an answer for the lowend, its to LEAVE IT TO THE BOTTOM-FEEDERS.
These were the same numbnuts who, before the iPad came out, were beating Apple over the head for not having a cheap-ass POS netbook like HP and Dell. How’d that work out for all concerned??
Yup. +1
What makes Apple unique is the ability to look and understand the fundamentals of a problem. People wanted to be productive on-the-go so PC companies made ultra portable laptops (netbooks). Apple looked at the problem, the market and the user, and came to the party with the iPad.
@1Racer: Well stated.
Exactly. Apple correctly deduced that a new form factor, and concomitant user interface, were the solution.
I think we can conclude, by now, that that problem has been solved.
“Doubters had said the new iPhones, unveiled on September 10, lacked compelling fresh features in a market saturated with cheaper phones running Google’s Android software.”
They have said this EVERY YEAR since 2008.
DOES NOT MATTER APPLE IS WAY AHEAD AND ALWAYS HAS BEEN.
But I can’t answer an iPhone with barbecue sauce on my fingers.
There’s an app for that.
Yes you can, I did that over the weekend while eating ribs. Had to wipe the phone off afterwards but iThumb worked great. And I didn’t even put down the rib I was eating. 🙂
Not suggested though……
Mmmmmm, ribs.
use the other thumb if you can find it
Go away.
another thing analysts did not get was the fact that the cruddy experience with the “good enough” windows machines made batches of rich poo laden soil for the apple experience to grow out of . I have never met an apple user that gave up in frustration and went to windows. not counting those weird users who like to watch the specs go through the roof on overcooked and overclocked machines ,the apple experience to most former pc users is similar to a cow being let out after a winter in the barn you get what you pay for with mac products. notice the windows tablet advert they never show a side angle because frankly its embarrassing. the only ones disappointed with the new phone are the shorts and scalpers trying to grab cheap shares by paying these shills to foment doubt.
Well I have a macbook pro .. it is good for regular tasks.. but I have to use alienware (win) to play high end games.
You are forgetting the iPhone 5S biggest advantage!
It is snappier.
YES!
oh did Android over take Apple already?
or is the author saying Apple could obliterate Android by 2015.
Troll.
“500 dollars? Fully subsidized? With a plan? I said that is the most expensive phone in the world. And it doesn’t appeal to business customers because it doesn’t have a keyboard. Which makes it not a very good email machine.” the prescient mr b
look, i’m gonna have to agree with mr. b. there’s no keyboard. seriously, no keyboard. what a joke. get some vision, people or just fold already and give back the money to the shareholders. sheesh. ms solomé
Agreed. Phones are trending to more be have more buttons. Someone ought to put out a smartphone with a pullout keyboard so we can stay in the 2004 forever. That is what technology is all about. That and then superglue an iPod Nano with an FM tuner to it.
hey! your sarcasm is better than mine. stop it!
“lacked compelling fresh features”
Well, I guess if you are a fucking retard (I forget the name of the cursing cop that scolds everyone for foul language, but fuck fuckity fuck fuck fuck), the iPhone 5S lacked compelling new features. I’m still waiting to read a review that actually tests the new features and finds them lacking. That I could at least understand. Instead, the arguments seem to be that Apple didn’t change the form the factor, therefore they are not innovative. Same thing they said about the 4 to 4S transition and 3G to 3GS transition. It was worthless commentary then and it is worthless commentary now. Fucktards, all.
Pot meet kettle. Only retards like you would spread BS FUD about Apple like that. You managed to be more retarded than Bill Gates autistic head! I bet you sat with him on the short bus to Tard School.
Jeezus, are you related to Andrew Black? What’s with you guys? The own-goal numbers are way high today.
FWIW, which is nothing, because apparently you can’t read, CMFJ was criticizing reviewers who blast the iPhone without having actually used it. And, now you blast him without having read or understood his post.
Read it again, offer him an apology, and LAY OFF THE AMPHETAMINES before you shoot your own goldfish for looking at you funny.
“before you shoot your own goldfish for looking at you funny”
Har-har! Great!
2015? Piss off. The Android numbers are meaningless, completely fragmented. Half of them were given away at 2 for 1 deals. Forget Android.
Andrew Black – Dresden is saying something similar to me, albeit more briefly. Do you get it now. Andrew? Are you there? (crickets chirping)
Posters beware: lots of friendly-fire casualties today…..
There’s FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt, an ancient method of propaganda), then there’s REALITY.
No big surprise that reality stepped in and stepped ON all the anti-Apple FUD mongerers. That’s been consistently happening since 1984 when Apple released the Mac. It will consistently happen on into the future. Thank you Apple.