Research data suggests Apple iPhone marketshare dropping beyond seasonal averages

Posted:
in iPhone
Research data released on Thursday further reinforces the belief that Apple's smartphone marketshare is eroding not just in international markets, but in the U.S. as well.




Gartner claims that 344 million smartphones were sold to end users in the second quarter of 2016, a growth of 4.3 percent from the second quarter of 2015. Five of the top 10 vendors grew in that period, with BBK Communications, Huawei, Oppo, Samsung, and Xiaomi expanding.

All mature markets, including the U.S, but omitting Japan showed a 4.9 percent decline in smartphone sales in the same time period. Developing markets made up for the drop, with sales growing by 9.9 percent.

The decline of Apple and others is attributed to seasonal considerations, with Apple generally releasing new models of the iPhone in September.

As a result, Apple's sales marketshare overall has fallen to 12.9 percent of the worldwide take, as compared to 14.6 percent in the second quarter of 2015. Samsung is on a different update periodicity than Apple is, with release of new premium models and a bevy of inexpensive devices forcing an increase in sales marketshare for the Korean manufacturer from 21.8 percent to 22.3 percent.




Gartner's data suggests that sales in Greater China fell by 26 percent, offset somewhat by growth in Africa and Eastern Europe of 95 percent over the year-ago quarter.

The analyst firm points to features absent in the iPhone line for sales performance. Specifically noted by Gartner as features that would bolster sales and arrest the Apple sales skid are anti-shake cameras for selfies, and rapid charge technologies.

As a result of the sales drop, iOS has lost mindshare overall worldwide, according to the research data. Android commands 86.2 percent of the worldwide marketshare now, with Apple holding 14.6 percent. Android's worldwide dominance is held mostly by mid- to low-end smartphones.




The report says nothing about profits gleaned by the companies involved, though. Apple was said to generate 92 percent of global smartphone profits in the end of 2015 with only 14.5 percent of the total sales. Samsung gathered around 14 percent of global profits at the time, with the rest of the companies taking a loss to cover Apple and Samsung's exceeding 100 percent mathematically.

A Gartner competitor had similar conclusions on Tuesday, stating that the response to the iPhone 6s was "lackluster" in international markets like China.

Apple's financial results from the Chinese market pointed to similar conclusions. Revenue from Greater China was revealed to be $8.85 billion, a decrease of 33 percent from the same quarter last year. However, when compared to two years ago, Apple CEO Tim Cook states that iPhone unit sales are up 47 percent.

As with the last several years, a Apple device sale spike is expected in September with the release of the "iPhone 7" family, possibly featuring a new camera system, more application RAM, the sought-after fast charging capability, an increase in base storage, and the omission of the analog headphone jack.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 50
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    Gartner, eh? Let me know when they recover from their coma.
    mwhitemagman1979Deelronlollivercalipscooter63redgeminipalatifbppalominetallest skil
  • Reply 2 of 50
    igorskyigorsky Posts: 752member
    Wait so Apple is really doomed this time? I'm just amazed that this company is still in business after all the times it's been doomed.
    edited August 2016 baconstanglollivercaliredgeminipalatifbpjahbladeintrepidfosterboopthesnootbadmonk
  • Reply 3 of 50
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    igorsky said:
    Wait so Apple is really doomed this time? I'm just amazed that this company is still in business after all the times it's been doomed.
    Who gets all that cash when Apple goes bankrupt tomorrow?
    slprescottlollivercaliredgeminipalatifbpjahbladeintrepidfosterbadmonk
  • Reply 4 of 50
    cnocbuicnocbui Posts: 3,613member
    lkrupp said:
    igorsky said:
    Wait so Apple is really doomed this time? I'm just amazed that this company is still in business after all the times it's been doomed.
    Who gets all that cash when Apple goes bankrupt tomorrow?
    The taxman.
    badmonk
  • Reply 5 of 50
    rogifan_newrogifan_new Posts: 4,297member
    Mobile phones are boring now. They're good enough for what most people use them for so people don't feel the need to upgrade as frequently.
    dasanman69jahblade
  • Reply 6 of 50
    brucemcbrucemc Posts: 1,541member
    Beyond the fact that the numbers presented for anyone other than Apple are just guesstimates, there are a few reasons why it also may be true:
    - The usual large iPhone 6 sales surge.  Compare Apple to competitors on a 2 year or longer basis, and then comment again.
    - Apple devices last longer, and are used longer, than smartphones from other companies.  Thus as market saturates there may be more shipments of devices whose useful lifespan is less.  These reports are for shipments, not installed base.  Don't know if anyone can measure this, but I know many families where a new iPhone is purchased every year or two, and then it passes down to family members and is useful for many years.

    Apple is the best positioned company, in the most valuable market of all time, to maintain and grow in this market.  
    jmey267Deelronpatchythepiratelolliverroundaboutnowpropodredgeminipapalominebadmonk
  • Reply 7 of 50
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    Troll bait.
    magman1979cali
  • Reply 8 of 50
    rogifan_newrogifan_new Posts: 4,297member
    sog35 said:
    These guys are idiots.

    Compare iPhone5s sales versus iPhone6s.  There is strong growth over 2 years. Compare 3, 4, and 5 year growth. All strong.

    The one year comparison is 'weak' because iPhone6 was a super cycle. Pent up demand for multiple years and tens of millions of early upgraders from iPhone 5s.  So of course 6s sales won't beat it. 

    Ridiculous idiots.
    Except according to Tim Cook on numerous earnings calls the percentage of users on a 6/6 Plus was around 30%. He was using that data to argue that there was still a lot of upgrade potential with the 6S. Considering how well the SE has done (Cook said it was doing better than they expected) I think an argument could be made that people are waiting for an iPhone that has a bigger screen but the overall size of the device is smaller. There are rumors Apple is doing away with the physical home button. Once that happens it's possible the top and bottom bezels on the phone can shrink making the overall device smaller.
    calidasanman69redgeminipabadmonk
  • Reply 9 of 50
    mike1mike1 Posts: 3,275member
    Yep. Everybody I know said they didn't buy an iPhone because it didn't have an anti-shake for selfie feature and it charges too damn slowly. /s
    What a crock of manure.
    baconstangmagman1979Deelronlollivercaliredgeminipa
  • Reply 10 of 50
    baconstangbaconstang Posts: 1,103member
    Why didn't the headline just say...   "DOOMED!!!".        again
    lolliverpscooter63redgeminipa
  • Reply 11 of 50
    maestro64maestro64 Posts: 5,043member
    igorsky said:
    Wait so Apple is really doomed this time? I'm just amazed that this company is still in business after all the times it's been doomed.

    Here the interesting part, look at the stock it keeps going up, it is stuck at 109 because it needs some amount of moment to break through the 110 number, once through it will got to 120 at the next resistance point. These guys keep coming out saying Apple is dropping market share but the market is reacting the other way, the market does not believe these reports.
    badmonk
  • Reply 12 of 50
    eriamjheriamjh Posts: 1,631member
    Apple still has 90+% of the profits.
    baconstanglollivercalipscooter63badmonk
  • Reply 13 of 50
    maestro64maestro64 Posts: 5,043member
    sog35 said:
    These guys are idiots.

    Compare iPhone5s sales versus iPhone6s.  There is strong growth over 2 years. Compare 3, 4, and 5 year growth. All strong.

    The one year comparison is 'weak' because iPhone6 was a super cycle. Pent up demand for multiple years and tens of millions of early upgraders from iPhone 5s.  So of course 6s sales won't beat it. 

    Ridiculous idiots.
    Except according to Tim Cook on numerous earnings calls the percentage of users on a 6/6 Plus was around 30%. He was using that data to argue that there was still a lot of upgrade potential with the 6S. Considering how well the SE has done (Cook said it was doing better than they expected) I think an argument could be made that people are waiting for an iPhone that has a bigger screen but the overall size of the device is smaller. There are rumors Apple is doing away with the physical home button. Once that happens it's possible the top and bottom bezels on the phone can shrink making the overall device smaller.

    Actually reading between the lines has that most of apple customer are no on the bigger phones, there has been data since the first larger phones hit the marker that only about 40% of the users in the world like the larger phone which only 10% to 15% liking the 5+ inch phones. Cooks point was the majority of their user are on the smaller phones and the 5SE demand it high because of this so there will be lots of people upgrading to the 5SE in the coming year. Apple presented Data in the past that backup the fact they only about 40% of they user are on the larger phones.
    baconstangbadmonk
  • Reply 14 of 50
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    lkrupp said:
    igorsky said:
    Wait so Apple is really doomed this time? I'm just amazed that this company is still in business after all the times it's been doomed.
    Who gets all that cash when Apple goes bankrupt tomorrow?
    Michael Dell?
    palomine
  • Reply 15 of 50
    maestro64maestro64 Posts: 5,043member
    lkrupp said:
    igorsky said:
    Wait so Apple is really doomed this time? I'm just amazed that this company is still in business after all the times it's been doomed.
    Who gets all that cash when Apple goes bankrupt tomorrow?


    no one since they are all in the race to the bottom. Apple gets all the profits since they are the only one not selling a phone in single digit profit margins. All the rest are fighting out for the market share trophy, which stands upon a mountain of debt.

    In the past profits were split amount lots of players and there were a few guys in the race to the bottom and go out of business, Today only Apple makes profits and everyone else looses money. They will never gain it back since they already showed their customer the phone is only worth $100 compared to Apple at $600. Think about it, if you bough something for years for $1 and then all of the sudden the company who sold their product for $10 goes way and you never bought from him, and company you bought from raised his price to $10 but has 10 other competitors still at $1, how long will the new $10 company be around and would you buy from him.

    This is the danger of under valuing your product which Apple has never done. They never have to raise the price and convince consumers to pay more.

    patchythepirateDeelronlolliverkevin keecalilatifbpbadmonk
  • Reply 16 of 50
    Mobile phones are boring now. They're good enough for what most people use them for so people don't feel the need to upgrade as frequently.
    Yes You are correct. To me, when the iphone 4 came out, I got that and overall felt it was the biggest jump in smartphones since the original iphone. when the 5 came out, I was like ehhh. I now have a 6+, and loved the jump in size, but, I really don't feel a need to upgrade this year practically speaking. It does everything I need it to do and more. The internals and camera upgrades I hear of don't do much for me.
  • Reply 17 of 50
    nhtnht Posts: 4,522member
    One reason we're off the 2 year upgrade cycle is because it used to be if you didn't get a new phone you were wasting money since AT&T was just pocketing the subsidy.

    Now, we're replacing them as needed.  Which could be every 3-4 years.  Our main uses are youtube, iMessage, email, phone calls and a couple fitness apps.
    nolamacguy
  • Reply 18 of 50

    This is the same kind of bullshit "data" we had to deal with in the 1990s when Macs were %25 of consumer desktops and these BS artists were claiming Windows had %97 marketshare-- in part by not counting most mac sales.

    All, and I mean effing ALL of these android numbers are simply MADE UP.

    Only Apple reports actual sales.  The rest are mostly feature phone sales.


    Why does Apple Insider print known false anti-apple propaganda as fact?

    This has been going on for decades now.  There is no excuse.
    caliredgeminipapalominetallest skil
  • Reply 19 of 50
    Obviously Apple isn't in any trouble, yet. However, they could be, soon.

    Why? It's all a matter of scale. Currently for each iPhone sold there's 5 Androids getting the hands of the population. A basic Android device is an amazing product, not crap.
    What happens is even if the majority of those users barely use their phones for anything other than ocasional browsing, email, facebook and some free games, they are the valuable users of tomorrow.

    Besides, let's not fool ourselves into thinking that the average cheap Android phone doesn't satisfy the needs of the average population, even the average iOS user. The iPhone is overkill for the vast majority of buyers, that's why the 16GB version still sells. 7 or 8 out of 10 iPhones being sold all have 16 GB of storage. That says a lot about Apple and users overall.

    There's a balance here. Obviously Apple's problems aren't related with engineering talent and innovation:
    - The team that made their storage solutions are the best, but the issue with the company are the bean counters that think that 16 GB is good enough on a flagship.

    So, iPhone sales are dropping in the double digits. Fact.
    Also, iPad sales are still dropping. Fact.
    And Mac sales are also dropping. Fact.

    It's my opinion (worthless) that the main reason for this is that devices are lasting longer. That is great, because it adds value to them. If an user sees value, they will come back. However, 7 or 8 out of those iOS users have less than 32 GB on their devices. That's how many frustrating users? Will they come back? I know my position, and I know that my position by itself is worthless. But I read. I see. I watch. I hear. People are pissed off and frustrated. People realized that, more than ever, the obvious money-grabs are impacting the experience.

    So, as companies find ways to profit from all users and the Android ecosystem and userbase just keeps growing exponentially faster than iOS, it may come to a point when iOS isn't first class citizen. When that happens, and without growth, there's no turning back. It already is a one horse race in the vast majority of markets.

    Again, let's hope people at Apple aren't foolish to think that anyone buying a 200$ Moto G with a Micro-SD card will be buying crap, because if they do, they are finished soon.

    As I see it, there's only one way to make iOS a pillar:
    - Sacrifice some of the aura (that, at this point, shouldn't exist);
    - Stop being pathetic bean counters so high end sales don't suffer (Why so little RAM? What about storage? What about TN panels on Airs? What about non-SSD options on Macs? What about not updating your machines, even if the improvements are minor?);
    - Apologize, beg, crawl and target the pro and edu market again.
    - Actually focus on the 80 % of the population that doesn't buy any Apple product.

    The first 3 will decide if Apple is a valuable company for decades to come, but the last one will keep being more than a niche-company.
    Like it or not, those 80% will always matter more and be more relevant than the 20%.

    Also:
    -
    Remember when Apple used to actually be aggressive and corner the market on key components?
    - Remember when Apple was willing to pay intel to be first in line to receive new processors, because their users were worth it?
    - Remember when Apple used to introduce insane products that were used to bring tech prices down so they could adapt them and implement them trough the product line?
    - Remember when Apple pushed forward on high PPI screens, storage sizes on mobile and so on?

    Now it's the opposite. It's all about profit margin per device today, at all costs. And it is biting them in the ass. It's hurting their overall profits TODAY because their sales are dropping like a stone. And their sales are also dropping because most of their products is subpar and inferior.

    Overall, an Air is subpar. A 16 GB iPhone is subpar. A 1 yo 13" rMBP is subpar. a 2YO 15" rMBP is subpar. Any Mac with a HDD is trash. Any 3 YO nMP is subpar. What are they investing on? They dumped Aperture, iWeb, iWork is subpar compared with 09 version. There's almost no pro Mac market yet.

    90% of their products are subpar, at this time.

    And all of those talking about they making the majority of profits... Not anymore. And their key competitors (Samsung Electronics, Google, Facebook, MS) are only getting more successful. Heck, Samsung Mobile profits are 3 or 4 quarters away to surpass Apple's iPhone. Samsung Electronics is already close to Apple overall.

    http://bgr.com/2016/07/07/samsung-earnings-q2-2016-pre-announcement/

    And after this... They released the Phone that is being praised by pretty much any respectable news publication as the best big phone on the market, if not the best phone ever. Why? Samsung learned, experimented and wasn't pathetically conservative. 64 GB standard. Useful features like waterproof. A top Notch screen superior on every metric. Same for camera. They have no issues producing dozens of millions of them.

    But can they make 60 % net profit per each note? No, but it's paying off alright and Apple is the one with their profits going down.

    Value. Scale. Balance.
    edited August 2016 ksecentropysdasanman69
  • Reply 20 of 50

    eriamjh said:
    Apple still has 90+% of the profits.
    More like %110 I think.  Many of these "competitors" are running at a loss on their phone divisions.   Android is a total losing scene for google, they have lost Billions.  How much has Microsoft lost?  Can we amortize the Nokia acquisition?  The loss per phone for that %0.6 market share has to be astounding. $100k per phone?


    patchythepiratelatifbp
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