Live data from Hacker News

Apple Captures 75% of Global Handset Market Operating Profit in Q2 2021

counterpointresearch.com

121–130 of 265 posts

Re: Apple Captures 75% of Global Handset Market Operating Profit in Q2 2021

#121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why would you need iMessages? I don't find it more useful than old school sms messaging. If you want secure messaging perhaps whatsup or signal are better options anyway.

In the United States iMessage is almost the default messenger. I don't know anybody that uses WhatsApp, Telegram, or Signal. iMessage requires no extra setup its already there by default when you buy an iPhone. Asking somebody non-techy to switch messaging apps just isn't going to happen. With iMessage you can send high resolution photos and videos, which may seem like not a big deal. But it is. Sending a message bet…

> Asking somebody non-techy to switch messaging apps just isn't going to happen.

It's happening everywhere in the world apart from the USA so that's clearly not where the blockage is. It has more to do with iMessage having a critical mass of users in the USA.

> I can airdrop a 1GB+ file instantly to any Apple device. How do I transfer a 1GB file to somebody on Android or on a PC? Upload to google drive? then re-download it thru the App? That takes minutes and 5+ steps.

Apple competitors have technology which are similar to airdrop notably Huawei and there are plenty of apps offering solutions to this issue. I like airdrop but generally speaking Android sharing options are superior to iOS. It is easier to send anything towards any apps on Android which makes your point about the 5+ steps kind of moot in my opinion.

> iMessage/Apple products are about convenience and ease of use. Apple is the best in both of those categories.

iMessage is mostly about captive markets and network effect. Then again, I like my iphone. It's well made and it somewhat works as a status symbol which I have nothing against. I just don't try to pretend that Apple wins by being the best.

Re: Apple Captures 75% of Global Handset Market Operating Profit in Q2 2021

#122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This also likely doesn't account for post-sale profit, ie. other manufacturers might have spyware/"sponsored content" baked into the OS to recoup some margin.

This is seems in the right ballpark. Vertical integration means not only that Apple has sufficient control to make a “luxury” product (I use quotes bc the iPhone doesn’t really fit into the “luxury” category as it’s conventionally understood), but that it can build a value proposition around the notion that customers who buy into the apple ecosystem know their data isn’t going anywhere else. This sort of concern seem…

> Say what you want about Apple, but there’s no question that they go above and beyond their competitors when it comes to their users’ privacy.

that's not what Snowden's leaks showed us. Apple inc. is a very willing participant in all sorts of shady NSA projects. in fact, you could even argue that the reason that Apple and other SV monopolies have evaded being broken up is exactly because of their full participation in these programs; programs that have deeply undemocratic rules (e.g. FISA courts are the reason Snowden still cannot return to his homeland). similarly, the Crypto AG news was unfortunately ‘forgotten' by the media in no time. it further showed us the extreme lengths the NSA, CIA, etc. will go to in order to dominate and exploit the working class in the US and abroad (as well as the media's role in helping us quickly forget about it with new ‘news' headlines).

> The spat playing out in the news between Cook and Zuck might seem like posturing on both sides, but I think Apple’s argument is genuine. They believe that people should be able to pay more for more control over their data.

shaming undereducated working class people for not being able to buy the more expensive iGizmo is the height of hypocrisy. encryption and zero knowledge systems should be the norm, not a 'luxury' good/service (the etymological root of which is 'excess' btw).

> Phones aren’t people, but they are devices we have intimate relationships with, and they are demonstrating increasing levels of sentience and intersubjective-like responsiveness.

> I know this sounds far-fetched, but it makes sense when you recall that the shift to AI is not a 0-to-perfect AGI but a more gradual shift through which machines will appear more sentient as they develop.

genuine question: do you seriously believe what you write here?

Re: Apple Captures 75% of Global Handset Market Operating Profit in Q2 2021

#123
post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Believe it or not, but "stock Android" has been tried about 10 times. It failed. Only techies care. Regular users want a ton of features. Edit: Sales numbers tell you all you need to know about "stock Android" success :-)

Regular users don't actually know anything about the difference. They look at how many megapixels the camera has and the resolution of the screen and things like that, because they're numbers you can compare. Regular users don't know what "stock Android" is . And then they come home with a phone full of bloatware and complain about it after. Nobody actually buys the phone for the bloatware. These companies are wastin…

> There is no reason every Android phone on the market shouldn't come with the option of stock Android.

Umm...there is a very solid reason: support costs. Nobody wants to double the support matrix.

Re: Apple Captures 75% of Global Handset Market Operating Profit in Q2 2021

#124
post #18

...with only a 13% share of units. That is, all other vendors together sold 87% of units, but earned only a combined 25% of industry-wide profit. The vast majority of those other vendors are companies headquartered in Asian countries with a long history of promoting market share, access to information, and knowledge transfer at the expense of short-term profit. They might be making less money willingly to grow/mainta…

I wonder if that 13% of units might actually account for 75% of mobile computing power. Apple’s budget iPhone SE has over 41% higher single core performance than Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S21. And the vast majority of Android sales worldwide are not flagship devices.

Re: Apple Captures 75% of Global Handset Market Operating Profit in Q2 2021

#125
post #93
post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Believe it or not, but "stock Android" has been tried about 10 times. It failed. Only techies care. Regular users want a ton of features. Edit: Sales numbers tell you all you need to know about "stock Android" success :-)

Most regular users want as many features as they can get, for a reasonable price point. And Samsung is king in that market – their A series phones have a huge sales volume. Some users can afford real premium phones. And Samsung's offerings mostly just kinda suck software wise, even when the hardware is decent. Techies know this and have a huge variety of stock Android alternatives to choose from (which, somehow, cont…

> Google Pixel phones just work, unlike Samsung's

Everything I've heard about Pixels tells me you're not right. They have a ton of bugs, besides the mediocre to bad hardware.

And Samsung moves more premium phones (aka S-series) each year than all Pixel phones ever sold.

You probably live in the US, but Pixel phones are also almost impossible to get outside the US (though things are getting slightly better) and their market share where they're available is minuscule in whichever market segment you're looking.

Outside of the US Chinese phones, besides Samsung A-series, dominate. And in many countries flagship Chinese models are sold more than Apple phones. And BTW, if you thought Samsung adds bloatware, you should see what Xiaomi or Huawei add :-))

Regular users don't care about bloatware. It's a techie fetish.

I've been around the block a ton of time and this discussion is so old and boring it's not even worth having. "Big binaries suck" -> Electron apps winning everywhere. "Lean operating systems" -> Windows never budging on the desktop and Android, which is kind of a mobile device pig winning the mobile battle.

It's actually somewhat rare that techie (early adopter) interests align with regular user (late adopter or laggard) interests.

Re: Apple Captures 75% of Global Handset Market Operating Profit in Q2 2021

#126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the United States iMessage is almost the default messenger. I don't know anybody that uses WhatsApp, Telegram, or Signal. iMessage requires no extra setup its already there by default when you buy an iPhone. Asking somebody non-techy to switch messaging apps just isn't going to happen. With iMessage you can send high resolution photos and videos, which may seem like not a big deal. But it is. Sending a message bet…

> Asking somebody non-techy to switch messaging apps just isn't going to happen. It's happening everywhere in the world apart from the USA so that's clearly not where the blockage is. It has more to do with iMessage having a critical mass of users in the USA. > I can airdrop a 1GB+ file instantly to any Apple device. How do I transfer a 1GB file to somebody on Android or on a PC? Upload to google drive? then re-downl…

>It's happening everywhere in the world apart from the USA so that's clearly not where the blockage is. It has more to do with iMessage having a critical mass of users in the USA.

Outside of the USA people are "switching" messaging Apps? Or just continuing to use what they have always used?

>Apple competitors have technology which are similar to airdrop notably Huawei.

Nobody uses Huawei here in the US so that point is moot.

>and there are plenty of apps offering solutions to this issue. I like airdrop but generally speaking Android sharing options are superior to iOS.

What are these Android sharing options that are superior to iOS? Do they have to be installed? iOS has Airdrop built in requiring no installation or configuration. If they have to be installed they are automatically not superior.

>It is easier to send anything towards any apps on Android which makes your point about the 5+ steps kind of moot in my opinion.

No it isn't? I have used both Samsung and Apple devices for 10+ years. It is always easier to share between iOS devices and Macs.

Re: Apple Captures 75% of Global Handset Market Operating Profit in Q2 2021

#127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why would you need iMessages? I don't find it more useful than old school sms messaging. If you want secure messaging perhaps whatsup or signal are better options anyway.

It's much, much faster than sms. Many of my friends refuse to get whatsapp let alone signal.

I to refuse to use other messaging apps but I find it hard to blame apple for creating a messaging app that people love/like enough to refuse using competing messaging apps. That's not lack of competition or lock in. That's just user preference, I prefer to keep it all in the same place. I don't need the extra feature of speed. Texting is async to me so speed it never noticeable. So I don't really care if you SMS me or iMessage me.

Re: Apple Captures 75% of Global Handset Market Operating Profit in Q2 2021

#128

I think one of the smartest things Apple did was open physical stores and not depend on carrier stores and Best Buy. I've often wondered why their competitors don't do the same thing? Why isn't there a Samsung store a block away from every Apple store? Having a physical location for purchases, repairs, and support is why I always recommend Apple devices when somebody who isn't super technical asks me what to buy. Mic…

You say Microsoft was half-hearted, but their stores came closest to demoing the premium devices of the Windows ecosystem, whereas Samsung stores were actually pretty lame. I'm not surprised Samsung stopped their build-out.

Re: Apple Captures 75% of Global Handset Market Operating Profit in Q2 2021

#129

I think one of the smartest things Apple did was open physical stores and not depend on carrier stores and Best Buy. I've often wondered why their competitors don't do the same thing? Why isn't there a Samsung store a block away from every Apple store? Having a physical location for purchases, repairs, and support is why I always recommend Apple devices when somebody who isn't super technical asks me what to buy. Mic…

You say Microsoft was half-hearted, but their stores came closest to demoing the premium devices of the Windows ecosystem, whereas Samsung stores were actually pretty lame. I'm not surprised Samsung stopped their build-out.

> their stores came closest to demoing the premium devices of the Windows ecosystem

That's true, but it was still a half-hearted effort.

Re: Apple Captures 75% of Global Handset Market Operating Profit in Q2 2021

#130
post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How many people are happily buying those really cheap phones, though? I've known a few, who bought a couple per year(!) because the hardware kept failing, but it seems like most people are buying in the iPhone SE range and the younger kids end up getting a hand-me-down when their parents upgrade (and since an iPhone is 6+ years of service, that's plenty).

As Apple only sell about 25% of handsets, as discussed in the article, most people are buying Android handsets. I know lots of people who have bought a cheap Android handset and used it happily for a few years, myself among them. Most Apple owners I know keep the phones until they die, so don't have hand-me-downs. Obviously it depends greatly on the wealth of people as to how eager they are to upgrade their phone.

I know most people buy Android, but at least here in the U.S. that rarely seems like it’s much cheaper – comparable quality devices, and a fair number of people getting the phone their carrier subsidizes (usually the previous generation iPhone or Samsung flagship) so the cost is buried in their monthly charge.
Post reply on HN