“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.]
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