Apple's iPhone is most-desired smartphone in emerging markets, passing Samsung
While many customers in emerging markets may not be able to afford an iPhone, they'd still prefer it over competing devices running Google's Android, including handsets from Apple rival Samsung, a recent survey reveals.
Consumers in Brazil, China, India, Nigeria and Vietnam were polled by Upstream and Ovum about their smartphone of choice, and the results show that Apple is the most desired brand among consumers, with a 32 percent share. Samsung came in second with 29 percent, followed by Nokia in third with 13 percent.
The results of the survey, highlighted this week by Bloomberg, show that Samsung was topped from the top spot by Apple in 2013. It also indicates that although many customers in those markets cannot afford an iPhone, they would prefer to buy one if they could.
The numbers are a big change from 2012, when 32 percent of customers said they would prefer to own a Samsung phone, while just 21 percent of those surveyed said they wanted Apple's iPhone.
Still, low-cost devices running Google's Android remain the default choice for many, with the survey revealing Android devices were three times more popular in terms of actual usage than handsets running Apple's iOS platform.
Apple has taken particular interest in emerging markets, particularly China, Brazil and India, in recent years, with the belief that most future smartphone growth will come from developing nations. That helped lead speculation that Apple might develop a new low-cost smartphone to address the low end of the market, but the company instead last year released the iPhone 5c, which turned out to be a mid-range handset still out of the price range of many customers.
And while Android leads in market share, Apple's control of the high end of the smartphone market makes it dominant in profit share, with recent statistics showing the Cupertino, Calif., company earned 87.4 percent of global handset profits in the December quarter. Samsung came in second place with 32.2 percent of profits, and the two leaders exceeded 100 percent share as other companies actually saw losses in the quarter.
Consumers in Brazil, China, India, Nigeria and Vietnam were polled by Upstream and Ovum about their smartphone of choice, and the results show that Apple is the most desired brand among consumers, with a 32 percent share. Samsung came in second with 29 percent, followed by Nokia in third with 13 percent.
The results of the survey, highlighted this week by Bloomberg, show that Samsung was topped from the top spot by Apple in 2013. It also indicates that although many customers in those markets cannot afford an iPhone, they would prefer to buy one if they could.
Consumer desire for Samsung phones in emerging markets fell 32% to 29% in 2013, while Apple surged from 21% to 32%.
The numbers are a big change from 2012, when 32 percent of customers said they would prefer to own a Samsung phone, while just 21 percent of those surveyed said they wanted Apple's iPhone.
Still, low-cost devices running Google's Android remain the default choice for many, with the survey revealing Android devices were three times more popular in terms of actual usage than handsets running Apple's iOS platform.
Apple has taken particular interest in emerging markets, particularly China, Brazil and India, in recent years, with the belief that most future smartphone growth will come from developing nations. That helped lead speculation that Apple might develop a new low-cost smartphone to address the low end of the market, but the company instead last year released the iPhone 5c, which turned out to be a mid-range handset still out of the price range of many customers.
And while Android leads in market share, Apple's control of the high end of the smartphone market makes it dominant in profit share, with recent statistics showing the Cupertino, Calif., company earned 87.4 percent of global handset profits in the December quarter. Samsung came in second place with 32.2 percent of profits, and the two leaders exceeded 100 percent share as other companies actually saw losses in the quarter.
Comments
That's Apple's challenge. Finding a way to make a phone that has most of the regular iPhone features but has a price that more people can afford... while at the same time not cannibalizing the top end and not hurting margins too severely.
iPhones have always been the most desirable.
The only problem is that they are expensive.
So people who can't afford them have to buy a cheap Android.
This increases the Android sales percentage (not profit, just sales) and delirious owners of Samsung Galaxies and its brethren think that all that percentage belongs to their particular models.
This creates headlines like "Android trashes iOS and the lord God Almighty himself", and makes analysts all gooey.
These analysts then criticise Apple for poor iPhones (even though iPhones are the most selling phones, earning the most profit per unit shipped).
The analysts secretly use iPhone to get their work done.
Story since 2007.
True, with the exception being the tech heads who need to root, flash, side load their phones.
classical issue for any luxury goods brand ... They know how to manage this ....
Even within the US, if you look at iPhone vs Android adoption rates, the iPhone penetration rates are directly proportional to the level of affluence of an area
classical issue for any luxury goods brand ... They know how to manage this ....
They know how to manage this?
Please elaborate.
They demonstrated that they care about the value of the Apple brand (probably Apple's most valuable asset), and hired top level executives coming from fashion industry....
The verdict has been clear: if you can afford an iPhone, that's the ultimate smartphone you can get, no matter where you live. People who can't afford an iPhone goes for an Android instead.
Not really
For me it's either an iPhone or a mobile phone, believe me it's true! they are people who think like this
They demonstrated that they care about the value of the Apple brand, and hired top level executives coming from fashion industry....
Yup... hiring someone from the fashion industry really shows me that Apple knows how to manage the lower end.
Apple can go downmarket only to a very limited extent. Unlike the IPod, where Apple can differentiate the major features across the product line, with iPhones, they all have to have the same iOS across iPhone models. Even their attempt to differentiate 5s and 5c by feature list didn't result in the desired product sales breakdown. (Although, I expect once 5c is a year or two old and Apple kicks down the price, it will become a monster product for the youth market.)
Apple can go downmarket only to a very limited extent. Unlike the IPod, where Apple can differentiate the major features across the product line, with iPhones, they all have to have the same iOS across iPhone models. Even their attempt to differentiate 5s and 5c by feature list didn't result in the desired product sales breakdown. (Although, I expect once 5c is a year or two old and Apple kicks down the price, it will become a monster product for the youth market.)
Price is what we are talking about.
The 5s / 5c feature comparison doesn't even enter into the equation... until, as you say, the 5c has 100-150 bucks lopped off the retail price.
I really do wonder, though, if the 5c will stick around. At this point Apple has to be pondering the question of whether price alone would move the 5c in the numbers they were hoping to get the first time.
People who can't afford an iPhone want an iPhone! (but are forced to buy a phone
walkingrunning Android)They might desire it, but can they afford it? I see Apple as more of a First-World product. These third world countries probably desire clean water too. iPhones seem to be unlikely as a first purchase.
As if this is news. I think that many of us have known for a long time that people want iOS, being able to afford it is another matter.
you do understand that this shows that 68% do not "desire" an iPhone regardless of cost
You do realize this is in EMERGING markets only like the title of the article stated? Or the fact that the word Samsung was there made you ignore it:
"Apple's iPhone is most-desired smartphone in emerging markets"
you do understand that this shows that 68% do not "desire" an iPhone regardless of cost
You do understand that Apple's penetration of "emerging" markets is much lower than 32%... right?
They know how to manage this?
Please elaborate.
The biggest thing in the iPhones way was Apple's bullheaded way of locking into one carrier for 4-5 years. Meanwhile ScamScum copied them and sprayed their garbage over all carriers like a dog taking a leak on a bush. I didn't get an iPhone until it was on carriers other then AT&T and was already in the iOS infrastructure with an iPod touch after it was first introduced.
Or it was their greatest accomplishment. They basically broke the mold of carrier-handset support
Today...
- you get your updates directly from Apple... my iPhone 4s got iOS7.1... how many carrier managed 2.5 year old android phones got 4.4 delivered to them?
- The carrier does not control the content or function of the phone at anypoint.
- VM, Email, Text were Apple apps
- Apple sets the price across all carriers.
These were nonexistent in 2006 for carriers AND consumers.
If they tried to build a phone for every carrier, and met every carriers requirement, iPhone would never have succeeded. Apple read the market right, went to the big US phone companies, got Cingular /ATT to capitulate, Got European buy in, and then spent 4 years building scarcity demand, proving to carriers that the dial-tone/data-pip was a commodity, and that people want to buy THAT phone, instead of 'whatever phone has the features you can sell me at the highest possible margin.'
Specific to this article, it made an iPhone 'something I want when the [price, network, contract] barriers are broken down.' That's key in a consumer driven buy cycle.