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Good info. Still I think that they're not making a lot of money and the market's contracting too. Looks a bit like the situation with laptops about 10 years ago

by dep_b 7y ago

Good info. Still I think that they're not making a lot of money and the market's contracting too. Looks a bit like the situation with laptops about 10 years ago. They were dirt cheap and abundant. --- edit --- https://appleinsider.com/articles/19/12/19/apple-earned-66-of-the-entire-smartphone-markets-profits-in-2019 https://appleinsider.com/articles/19/12/19/apple-earned-66-o... 66% to Apple, 17% to Samsung and the rest is fighting for the scraps. Which is actually better than a while ago where Apple + Samsung > 100% because the rest was losing money. Already quite a few brands have left the market.

eloff 7y ago
When people ask me if they should buy Apple, I tell them it's overpriced for the hardware you get. Your linked article proves my point quite nicely. But then I follow that up with the value is in the software, if you like/are familiar with Apple software, then buy Apple despite the cost. I prefer Android and Linux, so I avoid Apple products for myself.
- dep_b 7y ago
  > it's overpriced for the hardware you get. That's only a problem when you view a product as just a bunch of discrete parts' summed value. A MacBook Pro is a macOS dongle that also happens to be one of the - if not the - best ultrabooks you can get.
- jandrese 7y ago
  Some of it is the price premium, but Apple also enjoys some efficiencies that the Android clone makers don't. The more efficient iOS and smaller variation in hardware over their more limited number of models means they can lower costs while still putting out a top shelf product. Tight control of the supply chain from top to bottom pays dividends over the years.
  - eloff 7y ago
    Yes, that's a good point. Their scale, vertical integration, and low number of distinct models do likely give them a margin advantage.
  - taobility 7y ago
    Are you living in the dream California? There are lots of places out of California they can't afford iPhone, or can't afford any phone more than $200, and that's the reality world. So, let Apple make money from those rich consumers, and let Chinese manufactures to make money from the other non-rich consumers.
    - rstupek 7y ago
      I think the point is the Chinese manufacturers are making minuscule amounts from non-rich consumers. Most of the money is being made by Apple
- lotsofpulp 7y ago
  The value is the fact that anyone can click on anything in iOS and not have to worry about malware or anything other than restarting the phone. Yes, the functionality may be limited, but my mom was never going to use the extra functions.
- Spellman 7y ago
  Indeed. Familiarity with the environment, features, and such is the biggest selling point when I give recommendations. Plus, iOS across all your devices tends to "just work" way better than trying to stitch together things across environments via 3rd party apps or web widgets. So if you're already in the iOS ecosystem, just keep extending it. Of course, the opposite is sorta true too. If you're heavily invested in Android, Android devices will tend to work well together. But with a bit more manual massaging sometimes. Windows actually had the best across device seemless integrations out of all the offerings. Too bad they didn't make enough market share to make a dent.
- balls187 7y ago
  What would be a comparable Android phone to Apple's flagship model--not specs, but build quality? I'd love to take a look at non-apple options.
criddell 7y ago
Does Huawei need to make money to survive?
- igravious 7y ago
  October 16, 2019: “ Huawei announced on Tuesday its revenue hit 611 billion yuan, approximately $86 billion, for the third quarter, a jump of 24.4% over the same period last year. In a statement short on numbers, the company also said its net profit margin for the period was 8.7%. The company added its smartphone business had shipped 185 million units over the three quarters for the year to date, an increase of 26% year on year. On 5G, the company said it had signed 60 commercial contracts and shipped over 400,000 5G Massive MIMO antennas. ” https://www.zdnet.com/article/huawei-revenue-up-by-almost-one-quarter-for-third-quarter/ https://www.zdnet.com/article/huawei-revenue-up-by-almost-on...
  - criddell 7y ago
    Do you know what accounting standards those numbers are based on? I suspect they could run large losses for a long time because their value to China isn't entirely contained in their P&L statement.

by dep_b 7y ago

eloff 7y ago

When people ask me if they should buy Apple, I tell them it's overpriced for the hardware you get. Your linked article proves my point quite nicely. But then I follow that up with the value is in the software, if you like/are familiar with Apple software, then buy Apple despite the cost. I prefer Android and Linux, so I avoid Apple products for myself.

dep_b 7y ago
> it's overpriced for the hardware you get. That's only a problem when you view a product as just a bunch of discrete parts' summed value. A MacBook Pro is a macOS dongle that also happens to be one of the - if not the - best ultrabooks you can get.
jandrese 7y ago
Some of it is the price premium, but Apple also enjoys some efficiencies that the Android clone makers don't. The more efficient iOS and smaller variation in hardware over their more limited number of models means they can lower costs while still putting out a top shelf product. Tight control of the supply chain from top to bottom pays dividends over the years.
- eloff 7y ago
  Yes, that's a good point. Their scale, vertical integration, and low number of distinct models do likely give them a margin advantage.
- taobility 7y ago
  Are you living in the dream California? There are lots of places out of California they can't afford iPhone, or can't afford any phone more than $200, and that's the reality world. So, let Apple make money from those rich consumers, and let Chinese manufactures to make money from the other non-rich consumers.
  - rstupek 7y ago
    I think the point is the Chinese manufacturers are making minuscule amounts from non-rich consumers. Most of the money is being made by Apple
lotsofpulp 7y ago
The value is the fact that anyone can click on anything in iOS and not have to worry about malware or anything other than restarting the phone. Yes, the functionality may be limited, but my mom was never going to use the extra functions.
Spellman 7y ago
Indeed. Familiarity with the environment, features, and such is the biggest selling point when I give recommendations. Plus, iOS across all your devices tends to "just work" way better than trying to stitch together things across environments via 3rd party apps or web widgets. So if you're already in the iOS ecosystem, just keep extending it. Of course, the opposite is sorta true too. If you're heavily invested in Android, Android devices will tend to work well together. But with a bit more manual massaging sometimes. Windows actually had the best across device seemless integrations out of all the offerings. Too bad they didn't make enough market share to make a dent.
balls187 7y ago
What would be a comparable Android phone to Apple's flagship model--not specs, but build quality? I'd love to take a look at non-apple options.

criddell 7y ago

Does Huawei need to make money to survive?

igravious 7y ago
October 16, 2019: “ Huawei announced on Tuesday its revenue hit 611 billion yuan, approximately $86 billion, for the third quarter, a jump of 24.4% over the same period last year. In a statement short on numbers, the company also said its net profit margin for the period was 8.7%. The company added its smartphone business had shipped 185 million units over the three quarters for the year to date, an increase of 26% year on year. On 5G, the company said it had signed 60 commercial contracts and shipped over 400,000 5G Massive MIMO antennas. ” https://www.zdnet.com/article/huawei-revenue-up-by-almost-one-quarter-for-third-quarter/ https://www.zdnet.com/article/huawei-revenue-up-by-almost-on...
- criddell 7y ago
  Do you know what accounting standards those numbers are based on? I suspect they could run large losses for a long time because their value to China isn't entirely contained in their P&L statement.