“Apple sold about 14 million iPhones to former Android owners in the last quarter — and that’s a sign of good times ahead, according to Apple chief Tim Cook,” Liam Tung reports for ZDNet.
“Despite a strong US dollar that’s likely to dampen tech sales over the holiday season, Cook told analysts at Apple’s Q4 earnings update on Tuesday he’s confident the company can beat the record-breaking 74.5 million units sold during the Christmas period last year,” Tung reports. “‘We believe that iPhone will grow in Q1 and we base that on what we are seeing from an [Android] switcher point of view,’ Cook said.”
“The reason Cook’s confident Apple can beat last year’s Q1 sales is that Apple saw record levels of former Android owners making the switch to an iPhone. These “Android switchers” accounted for 30 percent of iPhone sales in the last quarter, buying 14.4 million handsets,” Tung reports. “‘That number is the largest that we’ve ever recorded since we began measuring it three or so years ago,’ said Cook. Some of these switchers would have been helped to make the transition by Apple’s ‘Move to iOS’ app for Android devices.”
MacDailyNews Take: Apple’s new 4.7-inch iPhone 6s and 5.5-inch iPhone 6s PlusThe Android settlers are coming to a sad realization. They made the wrong choice. Time for them to rectify their shortsighted, immoral mistake.
I don’t know which is worse: Samsung’s slavish copying or that there are tens of millions of dullards and/or morally-crippled consumers who would buy such obvious knockoffs. What kind of person rewards thieves, especially such obvious ones? What kind of person hands over their money to make sure that crime pays? What’s wrong with you people, exactly?
It makes me sad that there are outfits like Samsung Electronics on the planet, as I was with Microsoft before them. People who work for Samsung Electronics should be ashamed. It makes me even sadder to see people supporting blatant criminals, whether it be blindly or, worse, knowingly. To those people I say: Get some morals, will you, or how about at least acquiring a modicum of taste?
What you’re doing is supporting criminal activity. It’s like you’re buying knockoff Coach handbags, but you’re paying pretty much the Coach price! Not too smart, eh? Oh, sure, you might have “saved” a bit upfront on your fake iPhone (maybe you got one of those Buy One Get One or More Free deals), but you’re paying the same data rates – after a couple years, you’ve pretty much paid the same anyway! So, in the end, you’re saving little or nothing while:
a) depriving the company who basically inspired your inferior, fragmented product;
b) depriving yourself of the real deal and the real experience, and;
c) rewarding the criminal, encouraging them to steal even more.
Not a lot of sense being made in any aspect of your toting around that Android phone, is there? Oh, right it’s “open.” Smirk. And, yes, every one of us with the real thing knows that you’re carrying around a half-assed fake, you tasteless wonder.
It is interesting how a lot of people think the Samsung camera is better than the iPhone just because it makes a better click sound. I actually heard someone say that the other day when taking pictures with both an iPhone and a Samsung. If they really new about the actual photo quality they would praise the iPhone.
I have a theory that people who like the PC and Samsung color temperature actually see differently than people who prefer the warmer, truer colors of the iPhone / Mac. I perceive the Samsung color temperature to be akin to fluorescent lights with a weird greenish, blueish tint to everything on its newest edge and note phones. The blacks are much deeper and way better contrast on the iPhone. It’s not even close when you look at the reds. The Samsung just can’t do red like the iPhone.
If not then lighten up dude. Equating the buying of a Samsung phone to a moral and ethical dilemma for most people is laughable. Many people don’t follow tech news — have no idea of the lengths that Samsung has gone to try stay apace with Apple. They just want a phone that works — okay. They probably don’t understand the difference, and the Samsung and other Android phones work just fine with them.
I’ve owned an Apple computer since 1985, and have owned stock since 2001. Apple is my favorite company, with my favorite products, and I follow Apple’s story every day — but other people may like something different. To each his own. They paid their money for it — castigating them for being immoral (in today’s diatribe) or stupid (in previous diatribes) is pompous, in my humble opinion.
Get over yourself, dude. We’re talking about a friggin’ phone, for pete’s sake.
I agree that MDN sometimes has a tendency to pass extremely harsh judgement on the Android users.
While there are many rabit fandroids who deserve MDN’s judgement, most others really don’t. Outside of our geeky tech blogosphere, vast majority of people has very little clue about the differences. It certainly doesn’t help when the little they hear about the differences is through the filter of rabid fans on either side, and their platform wars. This tells them that each platform is likely equally good and that the factors to consider are others (size of screen, colour of the device, price). For most around the world, smartphone is a smartphone; not because they are stupid idiots; because they can’t afford the time to research properly for a $400 (on average) purchase. Using their criteria for other purchases (TV, laptop, car, microwave, etc), they end up buying an Android having a hard time justifying spending $300 more on an iPhone of similar size, specs and colour.
These are precisely the people who eventually migrate to the iPhone. As someone had already said before: Android has a very valid purpose for its existance: it trains future iPhone users.
14M? NOT exactly true.
Because it is not 30% of ALL iPhone sales, but only from those upgrading a SMARTPHONE, whether that be Android, Windows, BB or Apple. Not included in the calculation are upgrades from a feature phones and first time phone buyers.
Now it is easy to understand why all those are not included – the percentages look bigger that way.
Take into account how many switched from Apple to Android and you will see that any meaningful numbers are way lower than 30%. LOL.
If 25% of ALL iPhone buyers are first time Smartphone buyers and knowing the Apple/Android market share – it is easy to calculate that not even 4% of Android users would switch to iPhone and that over 96% of them would stay with Android. That is how things look from Android’s corner.
Sorry, you are wrong, nathillian. Just because a phone is not a smartphone in this day and age, does not disqualify it from being Android.
In fact, in 2013, Judge Lucy Koh required Samsung to reveal the product mix of Android phones it manufactured during the penalty phase of the Apple v. Samsung patent infringement lawsuit. When, under protest, Samsung revealed that among all the Android phones they shipped only 30% were smartphones, 40% were designated more limited “feature” phones, and another 30% were what could best be described as “dumb” phones with only basic camera, texting, and rudimentary e-mail services. Yet, nathillian, every single one at that time, was running Google’s Android OS.
Apple iPhones are counted as competing against Android and somehow, every Android sold is counted as a smartphone, and Samsung allowed everyone to conclude that they were shipping all smartphones, when, as it was exposed by the Apple suit discovery, only 30% of the largest competitor’s product line were actually smartphones, and the other 70% were not even competitive!
Now, add that many “no-name” manufacturers of Android phones don’t even have a smartphone in their product line-up, selling only feature phones and the low-end basic phones, and it becomes obvious that Apple has been competing against a “paper-tiger” of statistical non-existent Android smartphones, because EVERY Android feature phone and basic dumb phone was lumped in by the statisticians as an Android smartphone, and Google was happy to go along with the fiction.
I heard what Tim Actually said. . . and Mac Observer is parsing what he said too closely. . . as are you. My point is that according to every organization that counts phones, every Android phone is a “smartphone” and they are not, by any stretch of the imagination. The evidence before is that 70% of all Android phones are either feature phones or dumb basic phones, despite that they are counted as “smartphones” by default.
It is interesting how a lot of people think the Samsung camera is better than the iPhone just because it makes a better click sound. I actually heard someone say that the other day when taking pictures with both an iPhone and a Samsung. If they really new about the actual photo quality they would praise the iPhone.
After reading that sorry-ass rambling patronizing monologue from the “MDN take”, I bought a Samsung Galaxy Edge, just to spite MDN.
Buy 2 and double spite us all. Hahaha
Then your ridiculous reactivity saddled you with an inferior knockoff at a premium price. Your loss.
You have to complete your spite with MDN. Go out and buy a few SamsungStupid Watch and a shirt that says “I love Samsung” LOL
A sorry-ass piece of shit phone for a sorry-ass troll. Sounds like you just schooled yourself.
I have a theory that people who like the PC and Samsung color temperature actually see differently than people who prefer the warmer, truer colors of the iPhone / Mac. I perceive the Samsung color temperature to be akin to fluorescent lights with a weird greenish, blueish tint to everything on its newest edge and note phones. The blacks are much deeper and way better contrast on the iPhone. It’s not even close when you look at the reds. The Samsung just can’t do red like the iPhone.
Agree entirely on your take of Samsung screen colors. Just horrible. Interesting theory re: how other people see color.
SteveJack
Can only believe you’re trying to be funny…
If not then lighten up dude. Equating the buying of a Samsung phone to a moral and ethical dilemma for most people is laughable. Many people don’t follow tech news — have no idea of the lengths that Samsung has gone to try stay apace with Apple. They just want a phone that works — okay. They probably don’t understand the difference, and the Samsung and other Android phones work just fine with them.
I’ve owned an Apple computer since 1985, and have owned stock since 2001. Apple is my favorite company, with my favorite products, and I follow Apple’s story every day — but other people may like something different. To each his own. They paid their money for it — castigating them for being immoral (in today’s diatribe) or stupid (in previous diatribes) is pompous, in my humble opinion.
Get over yourself, dude. We’re talking about a friggin’ phone, for pete’s sake.
I agree that MDN sometimes has a tendency to pass extremely harsh judgement on the Android users.
While there are many rabit fandroids who deserve MDN’s judgement, most others really don’t. Outside of our geeky tech blogosphere, vast majority of people has very little clue about the differences. It certainly doesn’t help when the little they hear about the differences is through the filter of rabid fans on either side, and their platform wars. This tells them that each platform is likely equally good and that the factors to consider are others (size of screen, colour of the device, price). For most around the world, smartphone is a smartphone; not because they are stupid idiots; because they can’t afford the time to research properly for a $400 (on average) purchase. Using their criteria for other purchases (TV, laptop, car, microwave, etc), they end up buying an Android having a hard time justifying spending $300 more on an iPhone of similar size, specs and colour.
These are precisely the people who eventually migrate to the iPhone. As someone had already said before: Android has a very valid purpose for its existance: it trains future iPhone users.
Remember when every Mac user was an automatic target for scorn and ridicule?
90% of the vitriol demonstrated here is amply justified payback.
14M? NOT exactly true.
Because it is not 30% of ALL iPhone sales, but only from those upgrading a SMARTPHONE, whether that be Android, Windows, BB or Apple. Not included in the calculation are upgrades from a feature phones and first time phone buyers.
Now it is easy to understand why all those are not included – the percentages look bigger that way.
Take into account how many switched from Apple to Android and you will see that any meaningful numbers are way lower than 30%. LOL.
http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/what-tim-cook-really-said-about-android-switchers
If 25% of ALL iPhone buyers are first time Smartphone buyers and knowing the Apple/Android market share – it is easy to calculate that not even 4% of Android users would switch to iPhone and that over 96% of them would stay with Android. That is how things look from Android’s corner.
Sorry, you are wrong, nathillian. Just because a phone is not a smartphone in this day and age, does not disqualify it from being Android.
In fact, in 2013, Judge Lucy Koh required Samsung to reveal the product mix of Android phones it manufactured during the penalty phase of the Apple v. Samsung patent infringement lawsuit. When, under protest, Samsung revealed that among all the Android phones they shipped only 30% were smartphones, 40% were designated more limited “feature” phones, and another 30% were what could best be described as “dumb” phones with only basic camera, texting, and rudimentary e-mail services. Yet, nathillian, every single one at that time, was running Google’s Android OS.
Apple iPhones are counted as competing against Android and somehow, every Android sold is counted as a smartphone, and Samsung allowed everyone to conclude that they were shipping all smartphones, when, as it was exposed by the Apple suit discovery, only 30% of the largest competitor’s product line were actually smartphones, and the other 70% were not even competitive!
Now, add that many “no-name” manufacturers of Android phones don’t even have a smartphone in their product line-up, selling only feature phones and the low-end basic phones, and it becomes obvious that Apple has been competing against a “paper-tiger” of statistical non-existent Android smartphones, because EVERY Android feature phone and basic dumb phone was lumped in by the statisticians as an Android smartphone, and Google was happy to go along with the fiction.
Really – Well you only need to hear what Tim actually said:
http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/what-tim-cook-really-said-about-android-switchers
I heard what Tim Actually said. . . and Mac Observer is parsing what he said too closely. . . as are you. My point is that according to every organization that counts phones, every Android phone is a “smartphone” and they are not, by any stretch of the imagination. The evidence before is that 70% of all Android phones are either feature phones or dumb basic phones, despite that they are counted as “smartphones” by default.