More than half of smartphones in the US are now made by Apple, surpassing Android devices. This gives the iPhone manufacturer an advantage over its rival as it expands into industries like finance and healthcare.
According to figures from Counterpoint Research, the iPhone first reached the 50% milestone in the quarter ending in June, marking its greatest share since its 2007 launch. The remaining 150 gadgets ran on Google’s Android operating system, with Samsung and Lenovo leading the pack.
Apple Overtakes Android in the US
Operating systems never undergo considerable change, much like religions. However, the trend has constantly been from Android to iOS over the last four years. This is a significant accomplishment that might be imitated in other developed nations.
The figures are based on the “active installed base” of smartphones, which Apple’s chief financial officer Luca Maestri referred to as “the motor for our company” during earnings call in July. Compared to new phone shipments, which vary from quarter to quarter and have already shown Apple’s resurgence, this is a bigger and more significant category.
The number of people who have been brought into Apple’s ecosystem by the used phone market, as well as those who still use iPhones from previous generations, is referred to as the active installed base. Ben Wood, an analyst at CCS Insight, said that they are not witnessing a big year where Apple increases its market share by 10% or 15%, but rather a slow burn where they covertly take more market share every year.
A year after the release of the iPhone, in 2008, Android-powered smartphones first entered the market. According to NPD Group, the iOS installed base was surpassed in 2010. Apple never achieved a market share of more than 50% in the prior three years since Nokia, Motorola, Windows, and BlackBerry outsold them all in terms of sales.
Tim Cook and Apple
The achievement shows Apple has never been in a more competitive position as chief executive Tim Cook gets ready to introduce the iPhone 14 on Wednesday, despite frequent criticism that the company has lost its innovative edge.
In recent years, the group’s autumn keynote presentation has focused considerably more on improvements to current technology than on the infamous “one more thing” new introductions made famous by firm founder Steve Jobs.
At its first live event since the start of Covid-19, Apple is anticipated to reveal the new iPhones in Cupertino, California. Analysts anticipate improved cameras, a narrower “notch” in the display where sensors are housed, as well as a more robust Apple Watch. With a market capitalization of $2.5 trillion under Cook, Apple has become the most valuable business in the world thanks to the disruptive iPhone, which gave rise to entire sectors.
Wood said that Cook has used the resources that Jobs handed him to create an empire. Because everyone who purchases an iPhone, whether it be a second-hand, third-hand, or fourth-hand model, is likely to make a financial contribution to Apple by using Apple Pay, purchasing apps, or paying for iCloud. And nobody else has been able to reproduce that model.
Leaving Android for iOS
To capitalize on the saturation of the iPhone market, Cook has expanded into television, advertising, payments, movies, and the fitness and health industries. By 2020, there will have been more than 1 billion iPhones installed worldwide.
As a result, the company generates a variety of “services” revenue that continuously increases by double digits and generates profit margins above 70%, which is twice as profitable as its hardware sector. In the June quarter, 860 million individuals paid for this variety of services, which is about twice as many as Netflix and Disney-Plus customers combined.
Analysts noted that Apple had lots of space to grow its market share given how Android continues to dominate in the rest of the world, mostly due to its variety and lower price. Cook recently claimed that the company had achieved a record for switchers i.e. consumers who switched from Android to iOS—during the June quarter.
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