“More U.S. consumers are buying iPhones from third-party retailers instead of directly from Apple Inc., according to a new report, a shift that could cut into the tech giant’s wide profit margins,” Daisuke Wakabayashi and Jack Nicas report for Dow Jones Business News.
“Consumer Intelligence Research Partners said 11% of U.S. iPhone buyers purchased phones directly from Apple in 2015, down from 16% two years earlier. Over the same period, the share of U.S. iPhones bought at stores and websites operated by wireless carriers rose to 76% from 65%,” Wakabayashi and Nicas report. “The remaining phones were purchased from other retailers, such as Best Buy Co.”
“But the impact on Apple’s bottom line likely has been slight, analysts said. Apple sold roughly 50% more iPhones world-wide in 2015, compared with 2013, suggesting that the number of phones bought directly from Apple increased, though not as fast as the number bought elsewhere,” Wakabayashi and Nicas report. “Moreover, some analysts said that overall Apple benefits from the wider distribution of its devices.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Where do you buy your iPhones, directly from Apple or elsewhere?
Direct from Apple – I like that experience better. you know… the fan fair!
Last year I bought my iPhone outright from AT+T. What I wasn’t expecting, since I bought it outright, was the iPhone being locked. I had to go through an extremely long and tedious process to get them to unlock it. Never again. Next time I will buy from Apple where I know it will be unlocked from the get go.
I always buy direct from Apple and run it on a dirt cheap tariff rather than being bled dry by a “cheaper” telecoms supplier.
I’ve always bought from Apple, but this year I needed to access my AT&T password which I never used nor did I know I had so I had to make a trip to AT&T. Hated the experience, woulda rather purchased from Apple directly.
Direct from Apple. It’s simply an all around better experience.
because one can get thief and lost coverage. phone companies will not cover a phone that doe not come from their inventory. stupid, but there it is.
True, but how many months has it been since you’ve last had your phone stolen or lost it?
And how much does the insurance cost per month?
Most people never use the coverage so that is pure profit for the phone company
For accidental coverage I would just rather get AppleCare+, you get a longer base warranty and the deductible can sometimes be lower as well.
I get a discount from AT&T on my service, my accessories purchases and FREE insurance on my iPhones. But only if the iPhone is purchased through AT&T.
All Carriers have discounts for many large employers or groups you belong too. (AARP etc.) Ask your carrier to show you the available discounts for such things. Prove you are a member, or employed by one of them… discount. Apple can’t beat that.
I get 50% off ALL accessories, unless it’s from Apple. 20% off my service, and free insurance.
All cause I asked about the discounts. *Everyone* should ask their carriers about them.
Just reread my post..
“Apple can’t beat that.”
That was really about the insurance only… (was supposed to be at the end of the first part.. hate that we STILL can’t edit on here)
It doesn’t matter where you buy the iPhone, you can get those discounts with the carrier anyway.
My current iPhone was bought from AT&T for 2 reasons: I wanted to sign up for the AT&T next program (Apple store could only do the standard 2 year plan) plus this was about 5 months into the product cycle so stock of phones at the AT&T store was plenty.
Once I made it clear to the sales guy that I only wanted the iPhone and he understood that I knew exactly what I wanted, the process was very easy and he complimented me only my knowledge of the service.
My next iPhone will be bought from Apple since I want to use the Apple program instead. This will give me an unlocked phone that I can use in any country with a 3rd party SIM card. Plus it will give me the option to upgrade my phone every year and switch carrier whenever I like. Frankly that is likely to happen since the difference from upgrading every 2 years will be only be that you don’t get to keep the phone after you upgrade.
One of the reasons why less people are buying from Apple is that carriers are now providing very good deals in an attempt to beat Apple’s program. So some customers are going to go for that rather than have the advantages of an unlocked phone. Carriers are desperately trying to keep their customer base.
Finally consumers are beginning to get the upper hand in the US mobile market. Great to see but it took Apple to break the hold the carriers had.
It doesn’t really matter as the carriers have to buy from Apple – The still make plenty of money – If you dig deep into the fine print and hidden charges the Apple upgrade plan is the cheapest if you replace every 12 months.
Honest questions: what reason would one have to buy a new phone every 12 months? Why not skip “S” years?
If you replace your iPhone every 12 months, then you’re effectively selling your old one for just 50% of it’s purchase price.
While it’s obviously convenient to just walk into an Apple store and walk out with the next model, you’re paying quite a lot for that convenience compared to how much you could get for that one year old iPhone by selling it elsewhere.
So if we buy iPhones from Apple, they win and if we buy iPhones from the telcos, Apple still wins?
“Moreover, some analysts said that overall Apple benefits from the wider distribution of its devices.”
Oh my…
I have only owned three iPhones. I bought a 3G from Apple Sydney on launch day on a 12mth plan that meant I owned the unlocked phone at the end of the plan. A friend gave me her 4S when she upgraded and I bought the iPhone 6 from Apple nearly 2 years ago. The 4S is in the UK with a local sim and I will take the 6 as well. I gave the 3G to a friend who lost his phone last year.
The 6 will probably last me a few more years… I change network providers from time to time – they are all dishonest.
From carrier for two reasons. (May change though later)
My mother bought her 5 from Apple, and up until the 5S I did from Apple as well.
Well… Apple screwed up her plan and the iPhone. (Left Apple with a non working iPhone, expensive iPod, and had to run to AT&T to get everything fixed) she almost lost her unlimited plan..
For me, AT&T started offering a cheaper deal for me. And as someone pointed out, will not replace a lost/stolen iPhone unless it’s purchased through them.
I did buy my iPad Air 2 from Apple, cause AT&T wouldn’t order me the 128gb iPad… Period. Bought at Apple and then took it to AT&T to add it to me plan. Got $100 credit at AT&T towards my bill for me complaining about not being able to purchase an iPad at AT&T, unless I wanted the lowest storage capacity and not space grey.
Last iPhone I bought through Apple, AT&T still made me come in to switch it. For some reason they would t let me do it unless I came in.
Price and service.
I’ll go with the company that offers both.
Apple is going to make a lot of money with me as a lifelong customer, but paying retail is almost a mortal sin.
I always buy from Apple so that I have an unlocked phone. I can then use whichever carrier I want on a SIM only deal. As I frequently travel abroad, it’s very convenient to be able to buy a local SIM card and avoid high data roaming charges. Even if I didn’t travel, the SIM only deals available here are far better than the bundled deals from carriers.
Third-party retailers are selling so many iPhones that they are starting to outsell Apple Stores.
That’s a good thing. Why does the story try to make it sound like a bad thing?
We’ve bought all ours through Verison. Probably 6 total over the years.