“Apple could see more than 600 million users by the end of 2013, up from 500 million currently, according to Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Hubert,” Lance Whitney reports for CNET.
“Following growth of an estimated 55 percent in 2012, Apple’s current tally of 500 million users ranks second only to the number of people on Facebook,” Whitney reports. “Each of those accounts spent on average $329 last year, leading to free cash flow of $95 per person, much higher than the free cash flow captured by such tech players as Facebook, Amazon, and eBay.”
Read more in the full article here.
“With Apple also scoring well in iCloud/iTunes Match adoption and user loyalty, the company is primed to take further advantage of its massive ecosystem with new services,” Eric Slivka reports for MacRumors. “Huberty outlines three possibilities for these new services: 1. Mobile payments; 2. Streaming music; 3. Ad exchange.”
“Apple CEO Tim Cook has been playing up the potential of services, repeatedly referring to the ‘magic’ happening at the interaction of hardware, software, and services,” Slivka reports. “At his D11 interview last week, Cook touted iMessage, the iTunes Store, and FaceTime as examples of how Apple’s services are tying Apple’s ecosystem together, and acknowledged that the company is working hard on improvements to its services.”
Read more in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “TheloniousMac” for the heads up.]
That’s where the future lies.
That’s not a small number by any means. The iTunes user base is a solid foundation to build a lot of extra services on. Apple keeping older devices updated with the latest OS really keeps older devices in the game for extra services if those services aren’t too hardware dependent. That’s why I don’t see Apple disappearing overnight due to iPhones not having larger displays or the absolute latest whiz-bang features. I think having a cohesive user base is more important for Apple and consumers.
Amazon doesn’t capture anything…