Apple's iPhones Were the Best-Selling Tech Product of 2017 (usatoday.com) 88
An anonymous reader quotes USA Today:
Once again, the iPhone was the best-selling tech product of 2017, selling more units than the No. 2 through No. 5 products combined. According to Daniel Ives, an analyst with GBH Insights, who compiled the chart for USA TODAY, Apple will sell 223 million iPhones in 2017, up from 211 million phones the previous year... Apple took a risk in introducing three new iPhones for 2017...but all in all, Apple sold more iPhones total, although fewer than the peak year of 2015, when it moved 230 million units. (That was the year of the iPhone 6...)
The global market share for smartphones is dominated by Google's Android system, which owns 85%, compared to 15% for Apple's iOS, according to researcher IDC. But the iPhone is the most popular smartphone brand, having opened a huge gap compared to No. 2 Samsung's Galaxy phones at 33 million. However Samsung, which has a broader portfolio of phones, sells more overall. Indeed, in 2016, Samsung shipped over 320 million phones, most lower-priced phones sold outside the United States, like the J3, On8 and A9 lines.
Apple's strong performance through September earned CEO Tim Cook a $9.3 million bonus on top of his $3.06 million salary -- plus vesting of $89.2 million more in Apple stock. Here's the complete list of the five best-selling tech products of 2017:
The global market share for smartphones is dominated by Google's Android system, which owns 85%, compared to 15% for Apple's iOS, according to researcher IDC. But the iPhone is the most popular smartphone brand, having opened a huge gap compared to No. 2 Samsung's Galaxy phones at 33 million. However Samsung, which has a broader portfolio of phones, sells more overall. Indeed, in 2016, Samsung shipped over 320 million phones, most lower-priced phones sold outside the United States, like the J3, On8 and A9 lines.
Apple's strong performance through September earned CEO Tim Cook a $9.3 million bonus on top of his $3.06 million salary -- plus vesting of $89.2 million more in Apple stock. Here's the complete list of the five best-selling tech products of 2017:
- Apple iPhones: 223 million
- Samsung Galaxy S8 and Note 8 smartphones: 33 million
- Amazon Echo Dot connected speakers: 24 million
- Apple Watch: 20 million
- Nintendo Switch video game console: 15 million
Even a price point of $1000 didn't stop them (Score:1)
Where are people getting the money to buy these every year?
Re:Even a price point of $1000 didn't stop them (Score:5, Informative)
Where are people getting the money to buy these every year?
They aren't. They're buying them on financing (which is being offered at 0% APR, iirc) and then paying them off over the next two years -- just like when they used to buy them with a contract extension, only without the carrier subsidy for the device cost.
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kids nowadays don't buy cars, they buy "phones"
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Which is kind of sad because the kids who could afford cars were richer then than the kids who can buy phones today.
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Where are people getting the money to buy these every year?
They aren't. They're buying them on financing (which is being offered at 0% APR, iirc) and then paying them off over the next two years -- just like when they used to buy them with a contract extension, only without the carrier subsidy for the device cost.
It's still cheaper than it used to be. And those of us who don't run out and buy a new phone every two years are saving a hell of a lot more money without the device payment.
So? (Score:5, Insightful)
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If you actually want to make an app that can run on all the Android "market share" then you're going to be stuck using some really antique shit like API 12 or whatever. Even worse, the people that use Android phones that old don't buy apps, so you're stuck going add supported only. Android is shit. This is an objective fact.
Re: So? (Score:1)
So much fragmentation in the apple world.
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Yeah, and this "Apple iPhones" is bullshit. If you don't cherry pick Samsung's models, Samsung alone sells a lot [statista.com] of phones.
Re: So? (Score:1)
My question is why do you care who "wins"? Do you worship at the altar of corporatism? Your life must be really really sad. I'm sorry for people like you. It may be time to log off friend.
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Re:So? (Score:4, Insightful)
Android isn't an electronic device, it's an operating system that electronic devices use. When you are looking at which PC manufacturers sold the most computers, you don't lump all the ones that run Windows into one category and say Windows PCs win. Why would you do the same with Android?
It's not even as if those 85% of phones run the same operating system. Sure it's some version of Android that's been hacked about by the manufacturer and they're only using it because they get it for next to nothing off Google.None of these manufacturers are subscribing to the ideals of Open Source, they use Android because only Google has the financial resources to maintain an operating system to compete with iOS.
Also, you do not want Android to win. Android and iOS are only as good as they are because of the competition that the other provides. The day that Apple is forced out of the Smartphone market is the day that Android stops getting better.
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You kind of have to lump Android smart phones together because they are eating each others lunch, which reduce their individual numbers because it is a much more competitive market, still not competitive enough but it is getting there. Apple is it's own carefully constructed PR=B$ market, not that it is awful but they have their market niche that they have crafted and are keeping alive. Interesting thought in numbers, how much larger would Apple's market be if the dropped their prices, would it grow or shri
Re:So? (Score:4, Informative)
Here's a tip - people are smarter than you think.
If Apple products were all flash and no substance, they wouldn't sell. People would buy it once, sees it sucks, and refuse to buy another. This happens extremely often, and these days, many people don't even buy one if something sucks. (See movies - after the first showing, you get the general idea of how a movie ranks. Rotten Tomatoes and other sites do nothing but aggregate both reviewers and audiences, and sometimes there can be poorly reviewed movies that resonate with audiences, and movies with great reviews but poor audience reviews).
So if Apple really sold garbage, they wouldn't be where they are today - there's only so much RDF and fanboyism out there.
No, Apple did not sell the 5C or the 5S this year - the iPhone SE replaced both in 2016. Some carriers might have offered them for sale as free with plan, but that's a carrier getting rid of recycled units. Same with the 6 and 6S and associated Plus mdoels - they were replaced with the 7 introduced last year and Apple stopped selling them. Again, carriers might sell them as free with plan to clear existing stock. Though in general, sales of the current model (like the 7) drop off sharply after the new year as people get to the middle of the cycle and prefer to wait for the new unit. But even at a carrier store, sales of the "old models" generally fall flat - people want the latest and greatest, and carriers have to push the old models for free just to get any movement on them.
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They are a premium product but the price in no way justifies the premium. Much like Miele prices are over the top, they are premium, but the price does not justify the premium. I still buy Miele, they are reliable, that reliability not quite justified by the price but, there is no product really in-between, so they can charge more. Pretty much same as Apple, they could charge less but they charge more based upon effective marketing. Other products are much cheaper but they are build much cheaper. There are
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When you are looking at which PC manufacturers sold the most computers, you don't lump all the ones that run Windows into one category and say Windows PCs win.
You say that as if there aren't sites devoted to trying to determine the market share between Windows and Mac OS.
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Android isn't an electronic device, it's an operating system that electronic devices use. When you are looking at which PC manufacturers sold the most computers, you don't lump all the ones that run Windows into one category and say Windows PCs win. Why would you do the same with Android?
Good point! So it was Apple with 223 million phones over multiple versions, and Samsung with 320 million phones over multiple versions.
Undiebunched fanboids incoming!!! (Score:1)
Let the kvetching about replacable batteries and walled gardens commence!
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You don't think that Apple might be selling more phones because of the removable battery and walled garden? And also slowing down old phones to make you buy another.
One of the reasons us wild animals are wary of moving to the farm is because we think the farmer might have an ulterior motive for feeding you farm animals up.
To Make You (Score:2)
And also slowing down old phones to make you buy another.
Which is cheaper: $29 battery replacement, or new iPhone.
HMMMMM.
Meanwhile on Android instead of slowing down the phones or offering cheap battery replacements, you just get to have a phone that has half the battery life after a few years. Sounds VASTLY MORE AWESOME.
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My old S5 and my current V20 both have user replaceable batteries.
The $29 offer is for the phones they've been throttling, and only to the end of the year
https://www.apple.com/batterie... [apple.com]
Your battery is designed to retain up to 80% of its original capacity at 500 complete charge cycles. The one-year warranty includes service coverage for a defective battery. If it is out of warranty, Apple offers a battery service for $79, plus $6.95 shipping, subject to local tax.
And you have to either send it in or make an appointment and bring it in
https://support.apple.com/ipho... [apple.com]
Plus they don't promote that service. And they didn't tell the people whose phones they throttled that it would fix it to try to nudge the non technical ones into replacing the phone, which Apple users do more frequentl
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How many iPhone users are the sort of people who say "I looked at the iFixit video, and I'm comfortable doing it myself or I know a store that will do it. I know about LiIon battery life and Apple's throttling policy and I know I can avoid that by replacing the battery" and how many are people who buy and iPhone because "it just works" and replace it because "it got slow".
Tell the truth now.
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I'l wager a guess and say that it's less than 1 in 10000.
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Exactly. I've looked at videos on battery replacement on sealed and it looks like you're going to crack the screen the first time you do it.
Actually I spend quite a lot of time in Taiwan these days so I could probably find someone who'd know how to do it and would do it cheaply while I waited and practised my aggressively bad Mandarin. Hell I could probably score the parts for another whole iPhone if I had to. But for most people - especially people who buy iPhones - it's not like that.
You need to read your links (Score:2)
The $29 offer is for the phones they've been throttling
So in other words the other models all work the same as Android phones where the actual battery life you get each day gets worse.
So then what is the problem with Apple offering this plan only for the phones with the "flaw", unless the flaw is actually a better idea from the start and you just refuse to admit it.
And you have to either send it in or make an appointment and bring it in
Or buy a battery online... but taking it in takes about an hour and you
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Americans now take an average of 29 months to upgrade their cell phone
That's Apple *and* Samsung
Yeah, and later on the say the average for Apple alone is 22 months and Apple are offering a subscription model to reduce this to 15 months
Originally, Munster thought the program would reduce the average iPhone user's upgrade time frame from 22 months to only 15 months. But that 15 month time frame would mean iPhone users would be upgrading their phones 14 months earlier than the average American, based on Citigroup's new data. And with Apple's iPhone sales currently slowing, that quick upgrade time seems even more unlikely.
You can see there that the time for the average American is 29 months, and the time for Apple users is 22. They tried the subscription model to reduce it and then, I'm sure coincidentally, decided to throttle old iPhones to make them slower. Of course iPhones have an odd bug which causes them to shut down when it is cold that other cell phones don't seem to have. However
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It's about $358 now as I pointed out in my encyclical on gluttony, of which you are probably guilty.
https://slashdot.org/comments.... [slashdot.org]
It's a got a Snapdragon 820 which is enough for me since I'm not into mobile games. The camera is pretty OK.
Basically it's a phone based on a year old Qualcomm reference platform with a removable battery. Which is what I wanted.
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Lies, Damn Lies, and Sales Figures... (Score:5, Insightful)
You can't even say it's done that way to turn it into a pro-Apple fluff piece because there's no way that those 223m iPhones Apple shipped can't end up with them having the most popular individual product of 2017 (almost certainly the iPhone 8) when broken down to that level.
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I've been firmly in the Android camp for years too (since Froyo), but I think that likely depends a great deal on your circle of acquaintances. I work in IT and civil engineering but spend a lot of my spare time doing photography, visiting galleries, and mixing with people more on the artistic/creative end of the spectrum. There's a fair bit of overlap between the two groups (quite a few in STEM fi
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we work with both the Apple and Android security teams and there's no way any of us would trust important data to an Android phone.
Why not? In detail, if you could.
I'm a member of the Android security platform team. My perception is that Apple is ahead in a few areas and Android in a few others, but that overall up-to-date Android devices are about as secure as up-to-date Apple devices. It's worth pointing out that the iPhone was popped in several mobile hacking competitions this year, but neither the Pixel nor Pixel 2 were.
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It's quite entertaining how, every year, theses articles about how Apple sells so many more phones than everybody else just keep coming out, yet Apple's share of the phone market just keeps shrinking. BTW, looks like stormy weather for Apple in 18Q1. I guess the diehards all shot their wads.
Apple Watch? (Score:1)
I think the real news here is that the Apple Watch made the list. Who the heck buys those things?
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I wasn't aware that Apple watch was so popular with Slashdot users.
Count all Samsung phones,Numbers are just wrong (Score:5, Informative)
Amazing (Score:2)
Isn't it amazng that a product that is complained about so much here still sells so well? Apple must do something good. But what is it?
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Vendor lock-in + Stockhold Syndrome.
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Maybe, just maybe it's because Apple stuff usually works well, is supported for a very long time and is nice?
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