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Apple Reports Fourth Quarter Results

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Re: Apple Reports Fourth Quarter Results

#351

Post by _hypx »

spaceman_2020 wrote: post #30
ckastner wrote: post #3

Annual revenue of $394 billion, more than a billion a day. Not the first company to do it, though. Exxon did it in the 2000s when oil was up to $140, and I think Walmart did it, too.

Their numbers seem utterly unreal to me. How on earth do you sell $205 billion worth of just a single product (iPhone) every year? This is simply the greatest business to have ever been created. I can't imagine anything else ever topping it. The margins AND the volume are both insane.

Every new stage of technology development does this. People marveled at the wealth that oil created. Steam engines and coal stunned people by how much stuff they could carrier or quantities of steel they could make. Hell, even hunter-gatherer societies were amazed by the huge populations and cities that agriculture provided. Any future technology will be equally unbelievable, and I daresay even more profitable than what Apple is achieving.

Re: Apple Reports Fourth Quarter Results

#352

Post by Maursault »

gnicholas wrote: post #314
samatman wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I remember when I got my first Retina laptop screen, it was nice but I quickly just got used to it. Then, I found myself using the earlier machine, without the high DPI. That learned me. It was hard to imagine all the work I'd done staring through a screen door at those pixels. Similarly, I've been using the M1 MPB since I got it. I only remember that it never makes noise when I'm reminded of it, such as in this conv…

I thought my M2 MBA was making noise today, but it turned out it was the neighbor's HVAC unit. With my Intel MBP, I wouldn't have been able to even hear the neighbor's HVAC through our closed windows. Life is good!

> it turned out it was the neighbor's HVAC unit

The problem is everywhere. The HVAC industry really cheaps-out on rubber grommets.

Re: Apple Reports Fourth Quarter Results

#353

Post by scarface74 »

smoldesu wrote: post #93
duped wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Almost every adult in the developed world needs a smart phone. They replace these devices about every 2-3 years. Apple makes one of the best in class of these devices, and has successfully designed one such that it's hard to switch to a competitor (rather it's easier to stay in the ecosystem). They've convinced about a billion people on the planet that the iPhone is the best device for them, so if you split that into…

iPhones make money, but services make more. The App Store alone made over 80 billion dollars in estimated revenue last year, just by existing. That's without accounting for Apple One, Apple Fitness, Apple Arcade, AppleTV Plus, or iCloud. Apple simply makes $80 billion annually for writing a payment processor everyone else has to use. Services are one thing, but playing both the gatekeeper and competitor to a number o…

> iPhones make money, but services make more.

The results are there big as day. This is obviously isn’t true.

> The App Store alone made over 80 billion dollars in estimated revenue last year, just by existing

Apple accounts for revenue as all of the money it takes in for the App Store before distributing 70%-85% to app makers.

> for all I care. The App Store is a fundamental de-facto monopoly on software distribution

Good thing we have a real judge who has said just the opposite in the Epic vs Apple trial. The judge thought it was foolish to claim that someone had a legal “monopoly” on their own platform. That’s just like saying Sony has a monopoly on the PlayStation

Re: Apple Reports Fourth Quarter Results

#354

Post by _hypx »

dumpsterdiver wrote: post #301
tshaddox wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Apple makes one of the best in class of these devices, and has successfully designed one such that it's hard to switch to a competitor (rather it's easier to stay in the ecosystem). I wonder how many years it will take before I can convince some people that I actually just prefer Apple's phones to competing phones and that I'm not actually brainwashed or forced by Apple to never leave. But that's exactly what a bra…

I tried Android years ago when I bought an abominable B&N Nook Color, and it became clear very quickly that there was no plan to keep the device updated with security patches, etc. Not only that, but the OS had been grotesquely hobbled in an attempt to keep you within B&N's sad walled garden. I understand there are flagship devices that don't have this problem, and maybe this is unfair of me, but I came to expect tha…

The Nook was a failure because B&N does not have the resources to maintain their own platform. Samsung is probably the only real competitor to Apple here.

However, in the long run, it is likely that open platforms will win. Eventually, the Android ecosystem will get to a point where such software updates stop being a challenge. Then you can just buy a generic Android phone and nearly everything will work. Probably it becomes similar to buying a Windows PC.

Re: Apple Reports Fourth Quarter Results

#355

Post by grogenaut »

tbrock wrote: post #242
tcmart14 wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I switched to my first iPhone last year and for me the determining factor was not feeling I had to constantly be on the upgrade path. I've has my iPhone SE (2020) and haven't been happier with a phone. A taken care of iPhone can theoretically last 7-8 years since that is how long an iPhone generally gets OS and security updates. Android is getting better on flagship phones, but still not as good. By some none flagshi…

On android you’d be lucky to get more than a single OS update that added new features or functionality.

I've got a Moto 5G stylus, it was $280 on prime day, $450 normal. It'll get 3-5 more years of os updates. Battery lasts 2-3 days for me. It's so cheap I don't get insurance (would lose money in like 8 months) or care. I broke the screen 4 days in because I'm a dummy, but a replacement was on ebay for $40 shipped next day. I fixed it myself. No Multi-$K tool fixtures. I used an ios for other reasons. They're basically they same just slightly different. But I have an easily adequately powerful phone for 1/4 of an iphone and I don't even care if I break it or lose it, next day shipping replace or walk in purchase in a store.

So basically there are GREAT midline phones. I'm not coding on my phone, I m reading slack and email and taking photos.

Re: Apple Reports Fourth Quarter Results

#356

Post by asdff »

seti0Cha wrote: post #305
JohnJamesRambo wrote: post #238

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I find it more depressing than anything else. The amount of those sales that was actually needed instead of upgraded for vanity is quite small. Imagine all the wasted resources and e waste so someone can have a different model number that is one higher for their phone, so they can feel better than their friends and spend more time looking at their phone. Our largest company is based on profiting from human greed and…

Status seeking is a fundamental motivation for people and catering to it has always been a source of wealth. In the past it was gold, silver, gems, ivory, beaver pelts, or purple dye. Now at least it's a device that performs a function.

On the other hand if you had a hunk of gold, in 20 or 200 years that's still a valuable hunk of gold. Buying an iPhone for the status symbol is like buying a hunk of gold, and every six months you chisel off a huge chunk of it and lob it into the ocean to simulate depreciation on technology.

Re: Apple Reports Fourth Quarter Results

#357

Post by Aloha »

tshaddox wrote: post #126
duped wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Almost every adult in the developed world needs a smart phone. They replace these devices about every 2-3 years. Apple makes one of the best in class of these devices, and has successfully designed one such that it's hard to switch to a competitor (rather it's easier to stay in the ecosystem). They've convinced about a billion people on the planet that the iPhone is the best device for them, so if you split that into…

> Apple makes one of the best in class of these devices, and has successfully designed one such that it's hard to switch to a competitor (rather it's easier to stay in the ecosystem). I wonder how many years it will take before I can convince some people that I actually just prefer Apple's phones to competing phones and that I'm not actually brainwashed or forced by Apple to never leave. But that's exactly what a bra…

Based on the stridency android users tell me how "they're sorry for me" I fear never.

I didnt want a religious war, I just want to use my phone in peace without hearing how you feel about my vendor of telephone. I cant even mention it in passing.

Re: Apple Reports Fourth Quarter Results

#358

Post by orangecat »

buzzert wrote: post #328
mensetmanusman wrote: post #231

One move by China and Apple sales pause for a few years. Is this priced in?

What makes you think TSMC can’t continue to operate under Chinese control?

The relatively high probability of any or all of severe economic sanctions, the people who know how to run TSMC escaping, and the TSMC facilities themselves being replaced by large craters.

Re: Apple Reports Fourth Quarter Results

#360

Post by scarface74 »

seti0Cha wrote: post #305
JohnJamesRambo wrote: post #238

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I find it more depressing than anything else. The amount of those sales that was actually needed instead of upgraded for vanity is quite small. Imagine all the wasted resources and e waste so someone can have a different model number that is one higher for their phone, so they can feel better than their friends and spend more time looking at their phone. Our largest company is based on profiting from human greed and…

Status seeking is a fundamental motivation for people and catering to it has always been a source of wealth. In the past it was gold, silver, gems, ivory, beaver pelts, or purple dye. Now at least it's a device that performs a function.

How much of a “status symbol” is something that is owned by 50% of smart phone users in the US?

Besides, Apple has been selling electronics more expensive than competitors for 40 years.

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