Apple will need to sell X amount of iOS devices to keep their mobile ecosystem healthy.
Install base drives developers to make content for your ecosystem. Content is why iOS devices are a huge cash cow for Apple. It's a feedback loop:
More devices sold --> developers produce more content --> consumers wanting the best content buy more devices --> developers wanting the largest audience produce more content.
Apple is undoubtedly going to produce beautiful hardware. But their smartphone market share worldwide is under 20% and shrinking every quarter. Developers are going to look to Android and their 65% install base first.
But if you're a Chinese or Indian developer, it's a slam dunk. And there are some really talented developers outside of North America and Europe.If you're a US or maybe even European developer, developing first for Android is not as a slam dunk decision as the world wide market share numbers would indicate.
You have to look at the market share numbers a little deeper. Android leads IOS, no doubt, but a lot of the 65% market share comes from an Android surge in China.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/appsblog/2012/aug/16/android-winning-apps-china-smartphone
If you're a US or maybe even European developer, developing first for Android is not as a slam dunk decision as the world wide market share numbers would indicate.
But if you're a Chinese or Indian developer, it's a slam dunk. And there are some really talented developers outside of North America and Europe.
Actually, it's interesting you bring up Europe because Apple is getting shellacked in most EU nations.
I think its only NA that has had really high iOS market share until recently.
Europe has been majority Android for a while.
If that's the case, then unless they start losing massive market share in NA, they'll probably dominate profits for a while longer unless the App markets outside the NA become more profitable or the carriers start pushing back on the subsidies Apple gets (more the 2nd than the first).
It really depends on how you define dominance.
I think idividual Apple products, IE iPhone 4s or iPhone 5, iPad2, iPad 3 outsell any single Android device by a pretty large amount, and Apple is definatley making more money on the ecosystem (iTunes).
Android has a bigger marketshare, but at the cost of it's vendors fighting each other. This is a +/- for Android. It gives options, but it also creates differences that some people hate. Take HTC Sense. It sucks. I won't buy another HTC phone as long as they keep using it.
Nokia and RIM once had control over the market, and now they are gone because they bank on closed source that hampered innovation. IMHO, Apple is in the same boat and is about to be push out of the phone market once Android take off.It really depends on how you define dominance.
I think idividual Apple products, IE iPhone 4s or iPhone 5, iPad2, iPad 3 outsell any single Android device by a pretty large amount, and Apple is definatley making more money on the ecosystem (iTunes).
Android has a bigger marketshare, but at the cost of it's vendors fighting each other. This is a +/- for Android. It gives options, but it also creates differences that some people hate. Take HTC Sense. It sucks. I won't buy another HTC phone as long as they keep using it.
Yowza, didn't even know they were making one, thanks for pointing that out.S3 mini
They already have, ie: iPhone 5, 4S, and 4. And, it would surely cut into their profit margin if they make more phone for the same amount of market share...perhaps even less market share in the near future.apple is going to be fine for a long time to come. they can always start releasing more than one phone to compete more effectively--four and five inch screens to offer something for everyone
Pulling numbers from memory (which is a little scatty so give me some wiggleroom) the UK has the lowest Android market share (I think it was about 50/50) going all the way to Spain where it is Android with about 85% of the market.
*pre iPhone5 numbers*
Edit: ooops wildly optimistic with those UK iOS numbers. LINK :$
Nokia and RIM once had control over the market, and now they are gone because they bank on closed source that hampered innovation. IMHO, Apple is in the same boat and is about to be push out of the phone market once Android take off.
A 4 month old Samsung Galaxy S3 gave the iPhone5 a jab, and in a month the newer/faster Note 2 speed and larger size will dole out a left hook, and then the S3 mini will send iPhone5 staggering back into the corner with an upper cut. And, there are other Android phones as well as MS are waiting in line to jump into the ring with the Apple champ.
IMHO, Apple days of glory is about to become history.
Nokia and RIM once had control over the market, and now they are gone because they bank on closed source that hampered innovation. IMHO, Apple is in the same boat and is about to be push out of the phone market once Android take off.
A 4 month old Samsung Galaxy S3 gave the iPhone5 a jab, and in a month the newer/faster Note 2 speed and larger size will dole out a left hook, and then the S3 mini will send iPhone5 staggering back into the corner with an upper cut. And, there are other Android phones as well as MS are waiting in line to jump into the ring with the Apple champ.
IMHO, Apple days of glory is about to become history.
That's funny!
The loyal will keep buying iPhones. Slowly others will sway away from the herd. It's up to Apple to innovate not litigate to keep the herd a respectable size!
Apple's problem is they they can't appeal to as many segments of the market as android can. Even something like the size of the phone, they JUST introduced a larger phone and it's only 4 inches.
I wish Jobs were still alive today to see his company's market share dwindling every year. Now they're going to pin this all on Tim (even though some of the recent mistakes are Steve's fault).
Old data that only show sales up to the second quarter of 2012, that doesn't show the iPhone sales after the Galaxy S3 came out into the market, and certainly doesn't have the iPhone 5 sales.Seriously?!? Dumb phones are fewer and fewer. Low end Android phones are taking over the traditional dumb phone market. The size of the smart phone market is growing every year. Sell through numbers of Apple's iPhone have increased year over year. Apple's iOS ecosystem is also incredibly strong which will help sustain them.
I'm not saying Apple shouldn't be concerned about Android but you seem to think it is a foregone conclusion that Apple will become irrelevant. That is absolutely ludicrous.
If anyone is "following the herd" it would be those buying Android. This term would be more appropriately applied to Android considering the market share size and how there is a very large contingent of blindly devoted Android proponents...at least as much as on the iOS side of things.
Yeah. Apple is doomed I tell you. Their market share keeps dwindling every single year.
I mean, take a look at the chart below. It clearly shows how the shrinking market share is affecting Apple.
Apple is doomed I tell you! Doomed!
Old data that only show sales up to the second quarter of 2012, that doesn't show the iPhone sales after the Galaxy S3 came out into the market, and certainly doesn't have the iPhone 5 sales.
I'm saying that Apple may not do as well as it has in the past, starting with September of 2012, because the iPhone 5 upgrade is a small incremental over that of the 4S and isn't that much better than competitor Androids.Data for the most recent quarter (which ended less than a week ago) hasn't been released yet. Also we know that iPhone 5 sales were at leas 5 million as that's the only information Apple has released so far.
I'm not really sure what point you were trying to make though.