“On Sept. 10, Apple is expected to release new iPhones as well as iOS 7. That Apple will make billions is a foregone conclusion — but the devices will nonetheless face intense pressure and tough scrutiny,” Michael Endler reports for InformationWeek.
“There’s good reason. To an extent, Apple can afford for the iPhone to trail Android in market share,” Endler reports. “But research firm IDC said Android accounted for almost 80% of smartphone shipments in the most recent quarter, which means Apple’s not just trailing — it’s getting killed.”
MacDailyNews Take: No, Apple is not getting killed – in anything that matters. Endler needs to step out of the Church of Market Share, clear his head, and get some perspective.
Endler reports, “Despite the doom and gloom, several reports indicate that Apple continues to win the smartphone battles that matter, and that it’s well-positioned, with the upcoming releases, to improve its few weak points.”
MacDailyNews Take: There you go, Mike!
Much more in the full article – recommended – here.
I want Tim to bring iOS and the Apple magic to as many people in as many places and markets as is humanly possible.
And speaking as an aspiring developer… yes.
Maybe this is the year that we are going to be told by Timmy that we no longer need to “be patient” because they finally started doing their job using the vast cash and resources of the world’s most valuable company to release more than ONE product or service at a time like some tiny little company like Dell or Blackberry have to do.
I’m willing to bet that Apple uses such a tiny amount of its wealth and resources as to be barely negligible. I think the reasons it takes Apple so long to release services is that they must use a very small pool of employees. I’d heard at one point that Apple had to borrow team members from the OSX division to work on iOS 7. That’s almost unbelievable for a company of Apple’s wealth to need to do something like that if the rumor is true. Maybe once the new campus is up and running we’ll see a lot more productivity from Apple.
BMW – Lexus – Ferrari – Apple
What do the above have in common – Quality –
To bring iOS or any of the above to as many as possible would require very low cost equipment – Which none of the above will manufacture …..
While a nice idea, I just don’t think it is reality ……
The pause before the release of the next iPhone again. Oh, and the talking heads that think the people are as clueless as they are and all those Apple iPhone users that were holding off have given up and bought that Samsung phone.
Clueless again. The huge untapped China Mobile market that Samsung dominates because the iPhone isn’t there yet. Have you counting those in too? Cash that check from Samsung yet?
Market share does not matter when money is not being made.
Rikerd, you should be making lots of money as an analyst. You obviously have WAY more idea of what is important than most of them do! 🙂
Thanks, informed guessing is a difficult job… /s
I bet you that 80% figure includes countries where the iPhone is not available.
The article is quite clear that Apple makes more money than any other phone manufacturers, and that Samsung is the only Android manufacturer making any profit.
You seemed to sum it up well in a sentence but apparently you do not understand how Wall Street operates.
There are many, many shareholders who are getting rich by investing in companies that do not make much money but have high market share.
I’ll name a few. Tesla, LinkedIn, Netflix, Amazon, Priceline, Zillow.
So, although your summation seems sensible, the results don’t always pan out that way. Market share almost always seems to outweigh profits on Wall Street. You’ll hear far more said about Apple’s chance of imminent collapse than any of those far less-profitable stocks.
I don’t see how! iOS7 will be met with mixed reviews and the usual knee-jerk resistance typical of most paradigm shifts. The 4S was a lame improvement over the 4. It was A big mistake! Older iPhones will also run iOS7, so that can’t be the selling point of a 5S, can it? If Apple tries to use color choices as a prime selling point, I will be even more skeptical about its future. The best thing Apple can do right now is put a retina display on the iMac Mini and unleash an iPhone 6 with larger screen. But alas, it’s looking like the same stale hardware with an iOS7 wrapper that will also work on current iPhones and Mac Mini! iOS7 appears to be the selling point cuz nothing else in the rumor mill suggests anything but a yawner Sep 10 special event!
IMaki, now I KNOW you’re a fucking idiot!
Put a Retina Screen on a Mac Mini? Put iOS 7 on a Mac Mini?
Dimwit, anyone who knows anything at all about Apple products knows that the Mac Mini is a small computer designed to use anything as a screen, and it does not use iOS, it uses OS X. Mine is plugged into my 40″ Bravia.
Just piss off back to 4Chan, and try to impress the script-kiddies on there with your ‘superior intellect’.
I gotta get me some of this Samsung money?
Spouting crap like this is sooo easy.
iMaki you are one lucky guy.
The 4s was a big mistake? Are you kidding me?
This is only believable as sarcasm. It is sarcasm, right? Anyone? Bueller?
Henceforth! It will be known as, “Bad InformationWeek”. 😎
Such insight. We are not worthy.
Meant retina display on the iPad Mini, not Mac Mini. Larger iPhone screen size is the future! It’s 2% Phone, 98% Everything Else that needs a larger viewing area! Hello? Do u hear me, Timmy-bots?
“The 4S was a lame improvement over the 4. It was A big mistake! ” – Huh?
“Larger iPhone screen size is the future!” – What?
IMaki – no. More like Wacky bacci.
The5c is the smartest thing Apple has done in years. And market-share DOES matter. Anyone who thinks otherwise is a fool. Ask Blackberry, ask Palm, ask Microsoft, ask Nokia, askApple.
If Apple did not act like it has, it would have been a repeat of the Windows era. The 5c is maybe a couple of years too late, bit better late than never.
Marketshare ALONE does not matter. And “marketshare” alone is what many of these people go on (and on, and on) about. I’d much rather have 10% of the marketshare and 70% of the profits than 80% of the marketshare and 30% of the profits.
You say that market share doesn’t matter yet there must be about a dozen articles a day along with graphs showing how both the iPhone and iPad are losing heavily to Android devices from here to China.
Apple’s loss of market share ALONE must mean something special to someone or those articles wouldn’t exist. All the reports from market research groups like Canalys always emphasize market share, never profit share. Profit share doesn’t seem to be important to anyone or the reports would certainly cover it. Am I right? Why publish dozens of reports over something that doesn’t matter.
No one said market-share ALONE. Only that it MATTERS. It matters big time. As far as profits go, we are seeing Samsung catch up, and the Google Play Store catch up. If market-share is ever severely diminished, so will developers, profits, etc. WE ALREADY SAW THIS PLAY OUT IN THE WINDOWS ERA. These are just basic fundamentals. People need to stop listening to morons like Gruber from Darling Fireball,
Market share matters to those who don’t know any better. Those companies you mentioned didn’t just lose market share, they LOST CUSTOMERS. Apple is not losing customers. As more and more companies flood the market with devices EVERYONE’S share of the market gets smaller. Android’s share goes up because those cheap craptastic phones are made by OEMs that can’t write their own OS, so they grab whatever is available. First was Symbian, now it’s Android, and in the future it will be AnotherOS.
A report was just out that three times as many Samsung customers switch to iPhone than they do the other way around. Look in any market where Apple competes (non prepaid market), and iPhone is almost always the number one phone on that carrier. Apple has yet to offer a phone for the prepaid market, but just as with the iPod, I’m sure once they do, it’ll easily surpass most others.
Actually, the InformationWeek article cites that study extensively, as well as another study from the same agency. The point of the article is actually that market share is just about the only meaningful metric in which Apple loses. Most of the article explains that Apple gains more users from Android than it loses to Android, that Apple achieves the best hardware margins, boasts the most complete ecosystem and enjoys the most loyalty from both customers and developers. It then explains that the iPhone’s only real flaw is a lack of activity in emerging markets, which is where Android gets most of its market share (but almost none of its money). The article concludes that with the iPhone 5C and the potential of the Chinese market, Apple is well-positioned to answer doubts raised by its ostensibly poor market share. For the most part, the article agrees with all of you who say “Apple’s market share doesn’t tell the important story.”
Soon we will hear iPhone 5c cannibation . iPhone 5s production problem .
On Sept. 10th, when Apple announces iPhone 5s, is it just announced and available a short time later or when Apple announces will it be available for purchase that day?
Typically, they announce a ship date just a week or two in the future. Unlike SameDung, who will announce its “Gear” on September 3 and not ship until next March.
I thought most of the smartphone industry was in agreement that the iPhone is no longer the smartphone consumers are interested in. They say that most consumers are looking for smartphones with at least 4.5″ displays, quad-core processors and 12 MP cameras. The iPhone has none of that type of hardware. It’s being claimed that Android smartphones are the leaders in hardware and the iPhone is lagging well behind.
I still believe the iPhone will be in demand even if it doesn’t have the latest and greatest hardware. It’s still a very well-constructed smartphone. I think as long as Apple has good services for iOS users and there are plenty of developers on the platform, the iPhone will continue to sell rather well.
Let’s beat this market myth to death yet again.
Market share does not matter at all as long as your company is still selling products, making a profit and can continue to produce new products. As long as your product can stand in a class by itself (or with few others), then your company will fine. This applies to EVERY industry.
Look at any industry and there will mass market widgets for people who aren’t really interested, and then there will be finely crafted widgets appreciated by the people who buy them and are willing to pay more for the same type of product.
People who are stuck in the market share mode, don’t understand the finer details of running a business.
Examples are given, Blackberry, WinMo, Symbian etc. But what about Dell… didn’t they have the largest marketshare at one point in time? Where’s Compaq? They had a significant share of the market, etc. For every “see, look here” there are ten “but what about there’s”.
Analysts need something tangible to grab onto to justify their thinking. Market share is a seemingly obvious metric to gauge the health of a company, but it’s absolutely not.
iOS has stickiness, quality, experience, service, etc. that those others can’t compete with. Apple is not losing customers, they’re gaining more and more everyday and taking them from competitors.
So if Apples sells a bunch of cheap plastic craps does that mean the playing field is even?
Apple has never been about market share, it’s been about not making shit. Stick to the plan.
Coulda, woulda, shoulda.
apple can have more than tripe market share if apple sells iphone 5s half the price . mr.market wants this ?