Apple smartphone shipment share hits bottom, lowest in 2 years

[Achtung!]

As more and more people are switching to Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge based on the curved display design, this has caused a massive sales dip in iPhone sales. Samsung shipped DOUBLE the amount of smartphones that Apple shipped in Q1 2016. And this gap will likely widen before around Q4 when Apple starts shipping the iPhone 7.

I highly doubt the iPhone 7 will have any new design features compared to the iPhone 6S. 99% of the improvements on the iPhone 7 will mostly be software and internal hardware.. which most people don't enough take notice of.

The average consumer is shallow and physical appearance is the biggest factor when it comes to the smartphone market.

And with no designs from Apple for two years, it seems that Apple is running out of ideas.

Samsung ships twice as many smartphones as Apple in Q1

Q1 2015/Q4 2014

Q3 2015/Q2 2015

The trend is that Apple's smartphone market share shrinks as the year goes on until it hits Q4. Then it peaks at Q4/Q1. This time it peaked at Q4 2015, and then dropped sharply in Q1 2016.

With Huawei and Lenovo not being able to launch any attractive models, I think Samsung's market share will increase.

Last year, Huawei had a good year because of the release of Huawei P8 which was met with good reception due to its premium design. However it still can't match the technology level of the Samsung Galaxy S7 which sports a dual pixel camera (1st in a smartphone), dual edge curved display and AMOLED display technology (which Apple has signed a contract to purchase 100 million of from Samsung over 3 years).

 

[stlc8tr]

Yawn. And Apple will still out earn Samsung.

 

[dawheat]

Sigh he's back

 

[lothar]

And yet Apple still earns more than 90% of mobile profits...
Samsung can ship as many turds as they want to gain market share, that still won't eat a dime into Apple's mobile profits.

Your preaching/prediction about the downfall of Apple and the rise of Samsung the past 2 years is getting old now.
Surely someone can't possibly be this delusional...Can they?

 

[gorcorps]

Soon Apple will have a phone with wireless charging, I'm quite confident of that. Whether it's the 7 or the 7s I don't know but it's coming. I'd also be shocked if they just adapted the current Qi standard, and I'd expect them to have a proprietary system that only works if it has the right NFC chip in it. Similar to what the new cables have, there will be some sort of way for them to make sure you get an iPhone approved wireless charger.

When that happens people will be all over that phone, and they'll make even more money, and it won't matter what market share they have because they're beating the ever loving panties out of the entire mobile market when it comes to actual money made. Apple mainly does mobile devices and still has a computer market... Samsung has mobile devices, computers, TVs, home theater equipment, and most of all the semi-conductor business that is doing well in the mobile environment. Yet Apple still makes 5x more than them.

For my uses, Samsung makes the better device... but Apple is clearly the better business

 

[Oyeve]

Soon Apple will have a phone with wireless charging, I'm quite confident of that. Whether it's the 7 or the 7s I don't know but it's coming. I'd also be shocked if they just adapted the current Qi standard, and I'd expect them to have a proprietary system that only works if it has the right NFC chip in it. Similar to what the new cables have, there will be some sort of way for them to make sure you get an iPhone approved wireless charger.

When that happens people will be all over that phone, and they'll make even more money, and it won't matter what market share they have because they're beating the ever loving panties out of the entire mobile market when it comes to actual money made. Apple mainly does mobile devices and still has a computer market... Samsung has mobile devices, computers, TVs, home theater equipment, and most of all the semi-conductor business that is doing well in the mobile environment. Yet Apple still makes 5x more than them.

For my uses, Samsung makes the better device... but Apple is clearly the better business

Offshore tax shelters.

 

[Commodus]

Let's not get into business ethics... otherwise, you're going to have to bring up Google doing the same thing with taxes as Apple, or Samsung's institutional corruption. (Note: none of it is so egregious that I'd boycott the companies in question.)

Anyway... yes, we get it Achtung: you want Samsung to have a monopoly, and you'd like to see Apple burn to the ground. Neither is going to happen anytime soon, since Samsung's recovery is far from guaranteed and Apple remains the only wildly profitable phone maker. Can we move on, please?

 

[rbk123]

Apples shipments always dip after the huge sales numbers they get when they come out with new models. So will Samsung's over time. Both will shoot back up when they come out with the next model. This really isn't rocket science.

 

[deathBOB]

Samsung's shares of shipments are flat (Q12016) or lower (Q42015) year over year. This chart says more about the success of Huawei or Xiaomi than Samsung.

I also don't think you can draw any conclusions about the S7 from these charts, as they reflect sales at all price points, not just flagship hardware.

Somehow I doubt you will engage in a meaningful discussion on any of this.

 

[TakeNoPrisoners]

Soon Apple will have a phone with wireless charging, I'm quite confident of that. Whether it's the 7 or the 7s I don't know but it's coming. I'd also be shocked if they just adapted the current Qi standard, and I'd expect them to have a proprietary system that only works if it has the right NFC chip in it. Similar to what the new cables have, there will be some sort of way for them to make sure you get an iPhone approved wireless charger.

When that happens people will be all over that phone, and they'll make even more money, and it won't matter what market share they have because they're beating the ever loving panties out of the entire mobile market when it comes to actual money made. Apple mainly does mobile devices and still has a computer market... Samsung has mobile devices, computers, TVs, home theater equipment, and most of all the semi-conductor business that is doing well in the mobile environment. Yet Apple still makes 5x more than them.

For my uses, Samsung makes the better device... but Apple is clearly the better business

I don't really think wireless charging is so important that it will drive iPhone sales. The maindifference between wireless charging and wired charging is you can't use your phone while wireless charging.

At least with wires you can use your phone and even hold it up to your ear while charging.

I don't think for many people wireless charging is a necessary feature. It certainly isn't for me. Wired charging is still superior for my use cases.

 

[StrangerGuy]

And yet Apple still earns more than 90% of mobile profits...
Samsung can ship as many turds as they want to gain market share, that still won't eat a dime into Apple's mobile profits.

Your preaching/prediction about the downfall of Apple and the rise of Samsung the past 2 years is getting old now.
Surely someone can't possibly be this delusional...Can they?

You forgot China where Apple nearly outsold Samsung 2x in 2015, barely behind the #1 by mere 6% in volume without selling one priced-straight-to-landfill phone and Samsung isn't even in the top 5 list. But clearly Samsung is obviously unfairly dragged down by China's state-sponsored domestic phone dumping that somehow doesn't affect Apple.

Let's not get into business ethics... otherwise, you're going to have to bring up Google doing the same thing with taxes as Apple, or Samsung's institutional corruption. (Note: none of it is so egregious that I'd boycott the companies in question.)

Or Chinese OEMs manufacturers that totally has no state backing.

 

[Puffnstuff]

No matter neither the apple or samsung offerings do anything for me.

 

[Artdeco]

I've suspected for some time that iPhones sell well in China because they're quite proud of the phones being made there.

These threads will be extra pointless soon, as the mature markets are fairly well saturated now, and the growth numbers will be much smaller than in years past.

 

[gorcorps]

I don't really think wireless charging is so important that it will drive iPhone sales. The maindifference between wireless charging and wired charging is you can't use your phone while wireless charging.

At least with wires you can use your phone and even hold it up to your ear while charging.

I don't think for many people wireless charging is a necessary feature. It certainly isn't for me. Wired charging is still superior for my use cases.

All of this is true, but that doesn't mean there aren't people who want it. There's plenty, otherwise it wouldn't exist.

 

[Anubis]

I don't really think wireless charging is so important that it will drive iPhone sales. The maindifference between wireless charging and wired charging is you can't use your phone while wireless charging.

At least with wires you can use your phone and even hold it up to your ear while charging.

I don't think for many people wireless charging is a necessary feature. It certainly isn't for me. Wired charging is still superior for my use cases.

I agree with you on this

also a lot of apple owners I know are fed up with having to buy expensive cables, if the wireless charger isn't included. some people gonna be very mad

I agree people want it, I just don't think its enough to see a massive increase in sales for that reason alone

 

[dawheat]

I've suspected for some time that iPhones sell well in China because they're quite proud of the phones being made there.

These threads will be extra pointless soon, as the mature markets are fairly well saturated now, and the growth numbers will be much smaller than in years past.

Not just soon, now. The days of easy growth are gone - the larger than normal slowdown for Apple this year in their 2 year cycle is a reflection of that, even as the overall smartphone market slowly expands.

Doesn't mean it's not profitable, just that meaningful growth is going to be hard for everyone. I am particularly interested to see how the iPhone 7 performs in the second half of the year. For sure it'll have a huge launch quarter, but will it sustain.

 

[master_shake_]

Soon Apple will have a phone with wireless charging, I'm quite confident of that. Whether it's the 7 or the 7s I don't know but it's coming. I'd also be shocked if they just adapted the current Qi standard, and I'd expect them to have a proprietary system that only works if it has the right NFC chip in it. Similar to what the new cables have, there will be some sort of way for them to make sure you get an iPhone approved wireless charger.

When that happens people will be all over that phone, and they'll make even more money, and it won't matter what market share they have because they're beating the ever loving panties out of the entire mobile market when it comes to actual money made. Apple mainly does mobile devices and still has a computer market... Samsung has mobile devices, computers, TVs, home theater equipment, and most of all the semi-conductor business that is doing well in the mobile environment. Yet Apple still makes 5x more than them.

For my uses, Samsung makes the better device... but Apple is clearly the better business

wait

they still don't have wireless charging?

wow. that's pathetic.

talk about behind the curve.

 

[Crono]

This kind of thread (and most finance threads) is better suited for P&N. I, for one, don't care too much about the financial issues Apple is facing positively or negatively, especially when finance news is often skewed [insert Mark Tain statistics quote here] or commentated by people with interests or agendas that are hard to gauge.

 

[Artdeco]

Yeah, it's pointless, and just fires up flame wars...

 

[gorcorps]

Yeah, it's pointless, and just fires up flame wars...

I'm pretty sure that was the OPs intention. He pulls this crap all the time.

 

[poofyhairguy]

I agree with you on this

also a lot of apple owners I know are fed up with having to buy expensive cables, if the wireless charger isn't included. some people gonna be very mad

I agree people want it, I just don't think its enough to see a massive increase in sales for that reason alone

Wait wait wait

You expect Apple to INCLUDE a wireless charger?! That is hilarious. They won't include a god damn stylus with the only device that can use it. They will change top dollar for every freaking chargepad or two gen behind VR headset and people will pay it.

 

[Achtung!]

And yet Apple still earns more than 90% of mobile profits...
Samsung can ship as many turds as they want to gain market share, that still won't eat a dime into Apple's mobile profits.

Your preaching/prediction about the downfall of Apple and the rise of Samsung the past 2 years is getting old now.
Surely someone can't possibly be this delusional...Can they?

So you think that profits are more important than revenues/sales?

Many investors would prioritize long term growth potential (revenue + sales+ assets + operating profit) rather than just operating profit alone.

Let's not get into business ethics... otherwise, you're going to have to bring up Google doing the same thing with taxes as Apple, or Samsung's institutional corruption. (Note: none of it is so egregious that I'd boycott the companies in question.)

Anyway... yes, we get it Achtung: you want Samsung to have a monopoly, and you'd like to see Apple burn to the ground. Neither is going to happen anytime soon, since Samsung's recovery is far from guaranteed and Apple remains the only wildly profitable phone maker. Can we move on, please?

So Samsung making $20 billion USD per year makes Apple the only profitable phone maker?

$20 billion USD is a huge profit. That's how much Toyota, the biggest carmaker in the world, made last year.
And we're just talking about Samsung ELECTRONICS here. There are like 10 other subsidiaries of Samsung, most of which make sizable profits.

The only reason Apple makes a huge profit is because people like buying overpriced phones due to consumerism.

Apple's quarterly profit peaked at $18.4 billion USD and is likely going to halve to less than $10 billion USD according to this report:

http://www.wirelessweek.com/news/2016/04/apple-delays-earnings-report-campbell-memorial

Samsung's shares of shipments are flat (Q12016) or lower (Q42015) year over year. This chart says more about the success of Huawei or Xiaomi than Samsung.

I also don't think you can draw any conclusions about the S7 from these charts, as they reflect sales at all price points, not just flagship hardware.

Somehow I doubt you will engage in a meaningful discussion on any of this.

Apple's sales % share has decreased YoY for both Q1 and Q4.

Samsung has been releasing less low and medium end products this year. So most of the sales % increase are related to the new flagships (Galaxy S7/S7 Edge).

You forgot China where Apple nearly outsold Samsung 2x in 2015, barely behind the #1 by mere 6% in volume without selling one priced-straight-to-landfill phone and Samsung isn't even in the top 5 list. But clearly Samsung is obviously unfairly dragged down by China's state-sponsored domestic phone dumping that somehow doesn't affect Apple.



Or Chinese OEMs manufacturers that totally has no state backing.

Samsung dominated China for decades, yet Apple has only dominated for 2 years.

With China's economic slowdown, iPhone sales have fallen significantly over the past year.

The Chinese have become more attracted to Huawei, since they have premium build quality, is a domestic brand and are much more affordable, yet have superior hardware compared to Apple phones.

Keep up with the statistics, people.

 

[elitejp]

Its great having achtung around.
I'm surprised anyone actually replies to his posts.

 

[blairharrington]

There is a strong rumor of a redesigned iPhone in 2017.

Question becomes what does Apple does this fall.

I see two paths for 2016.

Same phone, better battery life.

Thinner phone, same battery life.

I believe they will go with the latter. And in 2017 it stays the same thickness but everything changes. (OLED, no home button, reduced bezels, liquidmetal potentially.)

They will not keep the current thick bezels until 2018.

 

[Artdeco]

There is a strong rumor of a redesigned iPhone in 2017.

Question becomes what does Apple does this fall.

I see two paths for 2016.

Same phone, better battery life.

Thinner phone, same battery life.

I believe they will go with the latter. And in 2017 it stays the same thickness but everything changes. (OLED, no home button, reduced bezels, liquidmetal potentially.)

They will not keep the current thick bezels until 2018.

Apple seems to respond pretty quickly to criticism, I noticed when even long time Apple loving journalists started writing that Apple is just playing it safe and getting boring, leaks about the 2017 iPhone started coming out, suggesting the 2016 phone won't be a huge change, it's likely already locked in and a couple months from production runs, but the 2017 should be much more interesting.

I'm going to jump to Android for a year or so, and wait it out, looking for the next hopefully Qualcomm 820 chipped nexus to replace nexus 6 (Moto) with while I wait.