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I always enjoy Ben Thompson's insights, and I think he may have something here. But does anyone really feel comfortable that this strategy is going to keep them

I always enjoy Ben Thompson's insights, and I think he may have something here. But does anyone really feel comfortable that this strategy is going to keep them at the top?

paulie_a 8y ago
They are not on top in phones or computers. Android devices outsell iPhones by a significant margin and for computers, apple basically owns an insignificant portion of the market.
- mav3rick 8y ago
  It doesn't matter what the market share is. As long as their margins are hefty and iOS remains the OS where consumers are willing to pay for apps etc. You don't need market share, if your margins are sky high.
  - Tepix 8y ago
    They do need a significant market share (which they clearly have at >1 billion active devices) to make it worthwhile for content creators to target their platforms and users.
    - deleted 8y ago
      [deleted]
  - mav3rick 8y ago
    True but they don't have to be the majority as the op suggested.
- redbergy 8y ago
  So insignificant that it's one of the most valuable companies in the world on the back of those two product categories. By the way they are on top where it matters – profit and customer satisfaction.
  - paulie_a 8y ago
    I am not exactly sure what the market share is for iPhones, but Android is much larger. For computers, they are a tiny portion. If they cracked 10 percent I would be shocked. That is awesome they are profitable. But yes they do have an insignificant user base for computers. A reasonable but nowhere near dominating position for phones. Apple is always going to be a relatively small player regardless of market cap in the tech world. The last couple decades have proven that
    - JumpCrisscross 8y ago
      Apple’s genius is focusing on profit share over market share. They make a minority of phones but capture the majority of the industry’s profits. That lets them expend more in R&D, more on top people, et cetera.
    - rootusrootus 8y ago
      Apple is absolutely dominating phones. When the competition is copying your design choices unnecessarily, you are essentially dominating the market. That Android has dominated the $50-150 smartphone market is pretty meaningless. Those customers don't have much business value.
      - paulie_a 8y ago
        Having 19 percent of the smartphone market isn't dominating. The Samsung s8 and pixel 2 xl pretty much beat the iPhone x on most features at a lower price point. Higher ppi, battery size. And I think it doesn't even have USB c.
- dijit 8y ago
  You're being downvoted because you're not quite right. When we talk about the android ecosystem for application developers, it's right to talk about total activated units. When you talk about "sales" you can only compare handset manufacturers because total sales going to one _android_ manufacturer isn't happening, therefore it becomes apples (heh) to oranges. Apple has only recently been overtaken in handset production (not sales) https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/aug/01/huawei-beats-apple-smartphone-manufacturer-samsung-iphone https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/aug/01/huawei-be... Apple's sales are slowing down faster than others. Speaking only for myself the "bravery" in removing the headphone jack (which everyone seems to have copied) and lack of a small option are what prevents me upgrading. I imagine others have similar qualms and it's really not worth upgrading for many.
twoodfin 8y ago
Isn’t it the only strategy to keep them at the top? Unit sales in the smartphone market have clearly plateaued for everyone, not just Apple. Future revenue growth is going to depend either on winning over somebody else’s customers or deepening your engagement with your own so they’ll find more reasons to spend more money on your products. It isn’t really in Apple’s DNA to try to win over the low end of the market, so there’s limits to how far they could take the first strategy. The second is effectively limitless: Does anyone think personal devices can’t keep getting better / more useful / more desirable?
mikejb 8y ago
I don't think it will keep them at the top, but I think they're exploring different avenues to diversify their revenue. They're nowhere near it, but they also don't want to get anywhere close to Alphabets' revenue distribution.

I always enjoy Ben Thompson's insights, and I think he may have something here. But does anyone really feel comfortable that this strategy is going to keep them at the top?

paulie_a 8y ago

They are not on top in phones or computers. Android devices outsell iPhones by a significant margin and for computers, apple basically owns an insignificant portion of the market.

mav3rick 8y ago
It doesn't matter what the market share is. As long as their margins are hefty and iOS remains the OS where consumers are willing to pay for apps etc. You don't need market share, if your margins are sky high.
- Tepix 8y ago
  They do need a significant market share (which they clearly have at >1 billion active devices) to make it worthwhile for content creators to target their platforms and users.
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]
- mav3rick 8y ago
  True but they don't have to be the majority as the op suggested.
redbergy 8y ago
So insignificant that it's one of the most valuable companies in the world on the back of those two product categories. By the way they are on top where it matters – profit and customer satisfaction.
- paulie_a 8y ago
  I am not exactly sure what the market share is for iPhones, but Android is much larger. For computers, they are a tiny portion. If they cracked 10 percent I would be shocked. That is awesome they are profitable. But yes they do have an insignificant user base for computers. A reasonable but nowhere near dominating position for phones. Apple is always going to be a relatively small player regardless of market cap in the tech world. The last couple decades have proven that
  - JumpCrisscross 8y ago
    Apple’s genius is focusing on profit share over market share. They make a minority of phones but capture the majority of the industry’s profits. That lets them expend more in R&D, more on top people, et cetera.
  - rootusrootus 8y ago
    Apple is absolutely dominating phones. When the competition is copying your design choices unnecessarily, you are essentially dominating the market. That Android has dominated the $50-150 smartphone market is pretty meaningless. Those customers don't have much business value.
    - paulie_a 8y ago
      Having 19 percent of the smartphone market isn't dominating. The Samsung s8 and pixel 2 xl pretty much beat the iPhone x on most features at a lower price point. Higher ppi, battery size. And I think it doesn't even have USB c.
dijit 8y ago
You're being downvoted because you're not quite right. When we talk about the android ecosystem for application developers, it's right to talk about total activated units. When you talk about "sales" you can only compare handset manufacturers because total sales going to one _android_ manufacturer isn't happening, therefore it becomes apples (heh) to oranges. Apple has only recently been overtaken in handset production (not sales) https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/aug/01/huawei-beats-apple-smartphone-manufacturer-samsung-iphone https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/aug/01/huawei-be... Apple's sales are slowing down faster than others. Speaking only for myself the "bravery" in removing the headphone jack (which everyone seems to have copied) and lack of a small option are what prevents me upgrading. I imagine others have similar qualms and it's really not worth upgrading for many.

twoodfin 8y ago

Isn’t it the only strategy to keep them at the top? Unit sales in the smartphone market have clearly plateaued for everyone, not just Apple. Future revenue growth is going to depend either on winning over somebody else’s customers or deepening your engagement with your own so they’ll find more reasons to spend more money on your products. It isn’t really in Apple’s DNA to try to win over the low end of the market, so there’s limits to how far they could take the first strategy. The second is effectively limitless: Does anyone think personal devices can’t keep getting better / more useful / more desirable?

mikejb 8y ago

I don't think it will keep them at the top, but I think they're exploring different avenues to diversify their revenue. They're nowhere near it, but they also don't want to get anywhere close to Alphabets' revenue distribution.