iPod touch represents 38% of iOS devices sold by Apple

Posted:
in iPod + iTunes + AppleTV edited January 2014
Of the 120 million iOS devices sold by Apple, 37.7 percent of those were the iPod touch -- a share that has decreased since the iPad launched, according to a new analysis.



Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs revealed last week that just over 120 million iOS devices have been shipped since the iPhone first launched in 2007. asymco took those numbers and subtracted the 59.6 million iPhones that were sold through June, and the 3.2 million iPad sales that were announced last quarter.



The site assumed that 8 million iPhones and 4 million iPads were sold in August and July, which would leave the remaining share of 45.2 million units to the iPod touch. Out of the 120 million iOS devices, that would represent 37.7 percent.



The site calculated in April that 41 percent of iOS units sold were the iPod touch, which shows that the introduction of the iPad, along with international expansion of the iPhone, has reduced the overall share of the device. However, the iPod touch in the last year has also become the best-selling iPod in the company's lineup, Jobs revealed last week.



Last week, Jobs also made comments about the success of the iPod touch as a game playing device. He claimed that the hardware has more than a 50 percent market share for portable game players in both the U.S. and worldwide.



"It's become the number one portable game player in the world," Jobs said. "It's amazing. The iPod touch outsells Nintendo and Sony portable game players combined. It's been amazing."







But as noted by Philip Elmer-DeWitt at Fortune, those figures have been called into question. Nintendo has sold 125 million of its Nintendo DS portable system, while Sony's PSP has shipped more than 62 million.



As for more recent sales, it is estimated that Nintendo sold 3.15 million of the DS last quarter, while Sony is said to have sold 1.2 million PSPs. Apple, however, does not reveal specific iPod touch sales, but last quarter the company sold a total of 9.41 million iPods.



Jobs' comments would suggest that of those 9.41 million iPods, Apple sold more than 4.35 million, or the total combined number of Nintendo DS and Sony PSP sales from last quarter. Analyst Gene Munster has estimated that Apple actually sold more than 6.8 million of the iPod touch last quarter.



Of course, iPod touch sales could go even higher after Apple last week introduced the biggest change to its portable media player yet. The new fourth-generation device includes the same Retina Display, A4 processor and gyroscope as the iPhone 4, and also adds a rear camera for picture taking, and a forward-facing camera for FaceTime video calls over Wi-Fi.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 37
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    Of course, iPod touch sales could go even higher after Apple last week introduced the biggest change to its portable media player yet. The new fourth-generation device includes the same Retina Display, A4 processor and gyroscope as the iPhone 4, and also adds a rear camera for picture taking, and a forward-facing camera for FaceTime video calls over Wi-Fi.





    The new Touch looks great. But I was very surprised that they kept the old form factor. I expected the new one to look like a skinny iP4.



    Anybody else surprised that Apple used the older styling instead of the cool new look?
  • Reply 2 of 37
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Newtron View Post


    The new Touch looks great. But I was very surprised that they kept the old form factor. I expected the new one to look like a skinny iP4.



    Anybody else surprised that Apple used the older styling instead of the cool new look?



    Yes, I was also surprised.
  • Reply 3 of 37
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Newtron View Post


    The new Touch looks great. But I was very surprised that they kept the old form factor. I expected the new one to look like a skinny iP4.



    Anybody else surprised that Apple used the older styling instead of the cool new look?



    As much as I like the new look of the iP4, I just think it's not quiet possible to make the new iPod touch so slim and light using the iP4 design. They had to make choices and they went for ultimate slimness.
  • Reply 4 of 37
    matrix07matrix07 Posts: 1,993member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by monstrosity View Post


    Yes, I was also surprised.



    I prefer the old design but also surprised they keep it considering one of the major advantage of the new design is you can place IP4 (both vertically & horizontally) on tabletop when facetiming.
  • Reply 5 of 37
    wigginwiggin Posts: 2,265member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Newtron View Post


    The new Touch looks great. But I was very surprised that they kept the old form factor. I expected the new one to look like a skinny iP4.



    Anybody else surprised that Apple used the older styling instead of the cool new look?



    Perhaps the iPhone case is more expensive? Since the touch doesn't need the external cell phone antenna, and assuming the iPhone design with the glass front and back is more expensive, then it would make sense to stick with the older design.



    But I would have like to see it adopt the new design, especially if it would have meant the touch would be a bit thicker and have room for a real camera instead of the one they put in with this revision (which is lame enough to prevent me from buying one and just wait for the next iteration or for a non-ATT iPhone).
  • Reply 6 of 37
    I have this feeling that this iPod touch generation will be such a grand hit that Apple will think they've been hit by a high speed train...
  • Reply 7 of 37
    aizmovaizmov Posts: 989member
    I hope this means more DS and PSP iOS-ports.
  • Reply 8 of 37
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    Of the 120 million iOS devices sold by Apple, 37.7 percent of those were the iPod touch -- a share that has decreased since the iPad launched, according to a new analysis.





    Share decreased? What is he trying to say? is this guy smoking something?



    If I have a 100% of something, then I introduce a new product, I sell 3, now my share decreases because I have something new, unless I sell 0 of my new product, then my share does not decrease..



    Dumb reporting...
  • Reply 9 of 37
    addaboxaddabox Posts: 12,665member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by procapital View Post


    Share decreased? What is he trying to say? is this guy smoking something?



    If I have a 100% of something, then I introduce a new product, I sell 3, now my share decreases because I have something new, unless I sell 0 of my new product, then my share does not decrease..



    Dumb reporting...



    Share is being used to mean percentage, which is fair.



    Say I sell 100 iOS devices, of which 30 are Touches. 30% of my iOS sales are Touches. Now I also sell 50 iPads, for 150 iOS devices total. My 30 Touches now represent 20% of total iOS sales, a decreased share.



    OK?
  • Reply 10 of 37
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by procapital View Post


    Share decreased? What is he trying to say? is this guy smoking something?



    If I have a 100% of something, then I introduce a new product, I sell 3, now my share decreases because I have something new, unless I sell 0 of my new product, then my share does not decrease..



    Dumb reporting...



    ...they are looking at all iOS devices and reporting on the apparent shift of iPod Touch purchases to iPads - but yes it is a questionable speculation as you would have to be reasonably assured that all those 80 year-old grandmas buying iPads would have bought iPod Touches instead.
  • Reply 11 of 37
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by monstrosity View Post


    Yes, I was also surprised.



    Differentiation. I think that's a give-away
  • Reply 12 of 37
    addaboxaddabox Posts: 12,665member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by LewysBlackmore View Post


    ...they are looking at all iOS devices and reporting on the apparent shift of iPod Touch purchases to iPads - but yes it is a questionable speculation as you would have to be reasonably assured that all those 80 year-old grandmas buying iPads would have bought iPod Touches instead.



    Well, no, see above. All you need is some idea of Touch sales as a percentage of total iOS sales prior to the launch of the iPad, then factor in iPad sales and rework your percentages. You don't need to know anything about purchasing plans or possible cannibalization of sales.



    You can even assume that Touch sales increased during the the ramp-up of iPad sales, but unless you assume that that increase at least matched those sales you still get a decreasing share for the Touch in the total iOS market, unsurprisingly.
  • Reply 13 of 37
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by LuisDias View Post


    I have this feeling that this iPod touch generation will be such a grand hit that Apple will think they've been hit by a high speed train...



    By that time, Apple would be busy in making another device.
  • Reply 14 of 37
    flaneurflaneur Posts: 4,526member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Newtron View Post


    The new Touch looks great. But I was very surprised that they kept the old form factor. I expected the new one to look like a skinny iP4.



    Anybody else surprised that Apple used the older styling instead of the cool new look?



    This is an attempt to derail the topic into an argument over form and aesthetics, prefaced by a pretense of liking it, followed by a typical Newtron/Blackintosh jab at the product, in order to elicit other whiners who know better how to design than Apple, followed by the numerous realists who now have to defend the product.



    The topic is about sales and numbers. Of course they're not going to put flat glass on the back. This is the mass-market FaceTime device for kids, and it starts at $229. You can drop it on the floor. It's still a work of art, but it's not the family Leica, i.e., the iPhone.



    Let's not let "Newtron" hijack another thread.



    When FaceTime on the touch kicks in, we are going to see some very big numbers.
  • Reply 15 of 37
    What I had been hoping was that Apple would separate the Touch a little from the iPhone by bringing out a larger screen. I like the Touch I own from a couple of generations ago. Great for gaming, convenient form factor, handy for quick note taking, etc. But as a browser, well, it's not so great.



    Still, I suppose that it's not such a bad scenario still using the Touch as I have been and a few months from now buying a second-gen iPad. The iPad will be handy for browsing when I'm puttering around the house and its portable enough for me to use in some situations where I'm now using the Touch, like when out on visits.



    If there is a complaint re the iPad, it's that it's heavy for extended use. That will change in time as Apple engineers progressively more weight out of the product.



    Seems to me that if Apple has kept the Touch in its iPhone-like state at the price-point it is slotted in, we're not likely to see a model slide in between the Touch and the iPad. As competition ramps up, I anticipate the iPad coming down somewhat in price in response. As such the gap between the Touch and iPad in pricing is likely to narrow.



    There's no incentive for Apple to release a 7" iPad. Looks like other companies right now are going to offer 7" devices costing more than the 9.7" iPad. That works dramatically in Apple's favour, especially if Version 2 of the next iPad is lighter.



    I could easily imagine lots of folks owning both a Touch/iPhone along with an iPad. Two devices better for specific scenarios as opposed to a 7" device that is not as good as either at certain scenarios. If a basic Touch plus an iPad checks in at roughly the same price as some other manufacturer's 7" tablet, going with the Apple tandem is a no-brainer. The Touch is so convenient sitting in one's pocket that it would be quite easy to take along both.



    By pricing the iPad as aggressively as Apple has, the company has effectively shut the door on the competition. Working in combination with a rather impressive Touch, Apple has a lot of bases covered.
  • Reply 16 of 37
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Newtron View Post


    The new Touch looks great. But I was very surprised that they kept the old form factor. I expected the new one to look like a skinny iP4.



    Anybody else surprised that Apple used the older styling instead of the cool new look?



    The design distinction was deliberate. They want to have two distinct hand held lines.
  • Reply 17 of 37
    sheffsheff Posts: 1,407member
    Awesome. Always knew that Touches represented a much more significant share of devices then they got media exposure for. 38% is a huge chunk and is no fringe product. Somewhat explains why this recent update was an actual update instead of lackluster crap we got last update cycle.



    I feel like the only reason why the % is going down is because the iPad is growing, not because the iPhone is becoming a bigger chunk of the sales. I think the whole idea of having no contract/ no cell radio iPhone was a genius idea and it really helps apple gain new iPhone subs later down the road.
  • Reply 18 of 37
    asdasdasdasd Posts: 5,686member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by sheff View Post


    Awesome. Always knew that Touches represented a much more significant share of devices then they got media exposure for. 38% is a huge chunk and is no fringe product. Somewhat explains why this recent update was an actual update instead of lackluster crap we got last update cycle.



    I feel like the only reason why the % is going down is because the iPad is growing, not because the iPhone is becoming a bigger chunk of the sales. I think the whole idea of having no contract/ no cell radio iPhone was a genius idea and it really helps apple gain new iPhone subs later down the road.



    yeah. I think that the iPod touches prior to the launch of the iPad must have been 50% of the iOS device market.



    Let people counting iPhones against Android phones in terms of OS share take note. Android phones need to more than double the iPhone sales per quarter to keep pace with iPods, iPhones and iPads.



    ( And Apple. WOuldnt do any harm to breakout these figures).
  • Reply 19 of 37
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by procapital View Post


    Share decreased? What is he trying to say? is this guy smoking something?




    He's saying that prior to the introduction of the iPad, the iTouch had a larger piece of the pie at Apple. As of now, the Touch's market share in the iOS market has decreased.
  • Reply 20 of 37
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Flaneur View Post


    This is an attempt to derail the topic into an argument over form and aesthetics, prefaced by a pretense of liking it, followed by a typical Newtron/Blackintosh jab at the product, in order to elicit other whiners who know better how to design than Apple, followed by the numerous realists who now have to defend the product.



    The topic is about sales and numbers. Of course they're not going to put flat glass on the back. This is the mass-market FaceTime device for kids, and it starts at $229. You can drop it on the floor. It's still a work of art, but it's not the family Leica, i.e., the iPhone.



    Let's not let "Newtron" hijack another thread.



    When FaceTime on the touch kicks in, we are going to see some very big numbers.



    <Plonk>
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