“It’s an article of faith in the Church of Market Share that Android is nearing a tipping point where its market share lead will inevitably turn into a developer share lead, too,” John Gruber writes for Daring Fireball.
“There’s no question in my mind that the most appealing thing about Android as a platform is its overall market share. The more Android devices that are out there, in use, the more appealing the platform is for developers,” Gruber writes. “But to think that market share alone is a primary motivation for all or even most of the developers who’ve turned the iOS App Store into a phenomenon is to miss the forest for the trees. It’s looking at the market from the viewpoint of a spreadsheet, reducing everybody and everything to numbers.”
Gruber writes, “The truth is, the average Android user is not the same as the average iPhone user. iPhone users surf the web more, they’re more willing to buy software, they’re more willing to install and use apps. Some of these stats aren’t even close. What I see as the fundamental flaw in the Church of Market Share doctrine is the assumption that users are users… You can say that it’s elitist or arrogant to argue that iOS users are better customers than Android users. But you can also say that it’s the truth.”
“With about only 5 percent of the total handsets sold, Apple is earning two-thirds of the handset industry’s total profits,” Gruber writes. “Those who favor market share as a primary metric look at Apple and see its position as fragile — subject to the whims of a sliver of the overall market. I see it the other way around. Market share in and of itself has little value. A company with deep pockets and a willingness to spend can buy market share by selling products at or even below cost. You can cheat your way to market share. I say “cheat” because that’s not sustainable as a long-term strategy. A fire can’t keep burning without fuel, and profits are the fuel for business.”
Read more in the full article – highly recommended – here.
MacDailyNews Note: Gruber originally published this article on January 9, 2012, but it’s just as valid today as it will be next year and the year after that.
Like tablet users, personal computer users, vehicle owners, restaurant patrons, etc., smartphone users are not created equal. Some are worth having and others are not. Some even cost you money.
As we wrote last November: Android can have the Hee Haw demographic. Apple doesn’t want it or need it; it’s far more trouble than it’s worth.
When you read the hit-whorish headlines proclaiming that “Samsung is winning,” just ignore them; they’re written by idiots for idiots. Flooding the market with derivative plastic crap via Buy One, Get X Number Free promos is not winning. Selling units to the most desirable customers who spend billions within your ecosystems while reaping the lion’s share of the industry’s profits is winning.
The fact is that the smartphone profit picture looks like market share flipped upside-down. That’s the picture that shows who’s really winning.
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