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phoenixdave
I agree. The market seems to be pushing quickly toward the ...
KB3001
I think Android is a big threat to Apple too. They have to keep an incredible ...
Apple moves to No. 1 in handset revenue
Dylan McGrath
4/25/2011 11:56 PM EDT
SAN FRANCISCO—Apple Inc. overtook Finland's Nokia Corp. to claim the top spot in handset revenue in the first quarter, when Apple racked up record sales of its iPhone, according to research and consulting firm Strategy Analytics Inc.
Alex Spektor, a senior analyst at Strategy Analytics said in a statement issued by the firm that Strategy Analytics estimates that Apple's wholesale revenue for its iPhone handset division hit $11.9 billion in the first quarter, passing Nokia for the first time. Nokia had first quarter handset revenue of $9.4 billion, Spektor said.
"With strong volumes and high wholesale prices, the PC vendor [Apple] has successfully captured revenue leadership of the total handset market in less than four years," Spektor said.
"In revenue terms, Apple is now the world’s largest handset vendor, smartphone vendor and tablet vendor," said Neil Mawston, director at Strategy Analytics. Mawston said Apple's proprietary ecosystem of hardware, software and services has proven wildly popular and hugely profitable, but warned that rivals are chasing hard, particularly the Android vendor community. Strategy Analytics estimates that the global base of Android smartphones will eclipse Apple's by the end of 2011.
"Nokia is also investing heavily with Microsoft and Apple will be a key target for them next year," Mawston said.
Last week, Apple (Cupertino, Calif.) posted first quarter results that beat consensus analysts' expectations and said it sold a record number of iPhones in the first quarter— 18.65 million. According to Strategy Analytics, Apple sold each iPhone for an average wholesale price of $638 in the first quarter.
In 2010, Apple was No. 1 in smartphone revenue, taking home 29 percent of the market value, according to Strategy Analytics. Apple had just 16 percent of the total smartphone unit volume in 2010, according to the firm.
Alex Spektor, a senior analyst at Strategy Analytics said in a statement issued by the firm that Strategy Analytics estimates that Apple's wholesale revenue for its iPhone handset division hit $11.9 billion in the first quarter, passing Nokia for the first time. Nokia had first quarter handset revenue of $9.4 billion, Spektor said.
"With strong volumes and high wholesale prices, the PC vendor [Apple] has successfully captured revenue leadership of the total handset market in less than four years," Spektor said.
"In revenue terms, Apple is now the world’s largest handset vendor, smartphone vendor and tablet vendor," said Neil Mawston, director at Strategy Analytics. Mawston said Apple's proprietary ecosystem of hardware, software and services has proven wildly popular and hugely profitable, but warned that rivals are chasing hard, particularly the Android vendor community. Strategy Analytics estimates that the global base of Android smartphones will eclipse Apple's by the end of 2011.
"Nokia is also investing heavily with Microsoft and Apple will be a key target for them next year," Mawston said.
Last week, Apple (Cupertino, Calif.) posted first quarter results that beat consensus analysts' expectations and said it sold a record number of iPhones in the first quarter— 18.65 million. According to Strategy Analytics, Apple sold each iPhone for an average wholesale price of $638 in the first quarter.
In 2010, Apple was No. 1 in smartphone revenue, taking home 29 percent of the market value, according to Strategy Analytics. Apple had just 16 percent of the total smartphone unit volume in 2010, according to the firm.
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lifewingmate
4/26/2011 12:15 AM EDT
This is very exciting news! Whole process design and high usability finally pays off in financial records. I would love to know the 3rd and 4th contenders (Android). In addition, what is Nokia doing to innovate? What are the details of "investing heavily with Microsoft and Apple" is what I'm wondering. Partnerships?
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wilber_xbox
4/26/2011 1:22 PM EDT
these are pretty relevant and curious questions. Apple has sure taken 4 years to capture this position. They are still not the largest seller of phones. Apple is not only doing wonder in smartphones but in tablet segment also.
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Tunrayo
5/13/2011 4:51 AM EDT
Apple has a smaller product line for their phones, while Nokia has a product line of hundreds of phones. Yet Apple is able to charge more than seven times on the average for its phones... One thing I would love to know is how much it costs to make an iPhone.
I feel Apple is this successful because it is able to charge "designer" prices for its phones
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dylan.mcgrath
4/26/2011 1:17 AM EDT
I am pretty sure that Samsung and LG are No. 3 and 4, respectively.
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Silicon_Smith
4/30/2011 2:18 PM EDT
I am sure too. Followed probably by ZTE. However, the no. of handsets sold would put Apple below the top three in Nokia, Samsung and LG. Samsung being the growing one, Nokia being flat and LG on a negative trajectory as I understand..
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Tunrayo
5/13/2011 5:58 AM EDT
How come no one mentioned Ericsson. Ericsson used to be a top player ... previously behind Nokia and Motorola
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mariuspopa
4/26/2011 3:52 AM EDT
This shows just how volatile (yet lucrative) the handset market is. Apple has nearly no expertise in mobile communication stil becomes no.1 on the basis of a fantastic combo consumer/comercial approach!
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phoenixdave
5/20/2011 3:33 PM EDT
I agree. The market seems to be pushing quickly toward the mobile-computing/networking device with phone vs the previous phone with some mobile computing/networking/ capability. The computer-makers will be in the drivers seat in the future.
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BalaLak
4/26/2011 4:39 AM EDT
No other company understands what makes the customers tick as well as Apple. More importantly, their system-level design expertise is unparalleled. Their only undoing (if at all) will be because everything Apple is proprietary.
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Frank Eory
4/26/2011 3:34 PM EDT
Proprietary isn't their undoing -- Proprietary is the engine that drives those huge profits.
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Tunrayo
5/13/2011 6:01 AM EDT
I agree, and they always come out with arguably the best product in market. For instance Apple didn't venture into the mobile phone business until the advanced "touch" technology became available. "Touch" technology makes mobile phone use more productive
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agk
4/26/2011 4:43 AM EDT
Cheers to Apple designer teams. Their products are always designed to attract every user.The cost was the inhibiting thier market penetration.In mobile they have optimised.
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eewiz
4/26/2011 9:48 AM EDT
Nokia Vs Apple = "Design" Vs "Design Thinking". Simple.
Apple,according to Tim Cook, is planning to introduce cheaper versions of iPhone to attack the developing market. Feel scary to be in Stephen Elop's shoes right now :|
"Nokia is also investing heavily with Microsoft and Apple will be a key target for them next year,"
Does he mean Apple wasn't a key target for Nokia till now? ¬_¬
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Tunrayo
5/13/2011 6:02 AM EDT
Hmm that would be great! To have an Apple phone for low-end users. They would wipe the market clean with that. Nokia, Samsung etc should watch out for this
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t.alex
4/26/2011 10:23 AM EDT
Wow, Nokia has been in the top position for quite sometime.
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US Made
4/26/2011 11:44 AM EDT
Wow, Back to US. Time to be in number 1 in all fronts including consumers....
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chanj
4/26/2011 12:54 PM EDT
Nokia and Microsoft are planning to release first Windows 7 based Nokia phone in 2011. Please see link below. http://blogs.technet.com/b/microsoft_blog/archive/2011/04/21/one-step-closer-to-the-first-nokia-device-built-on-windows-phone.aspx
Apple has caught and been surfing on the top of the wave of mobile Internet. Nokia has been lacking behind even though Nokia starts the concept human technology. I can't wait to see how the partnership with Microsoft pay off to the 2012 revenue of Nokia.
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elctrnx_lyf
4/26/2011 1:24 PM EDT
This would be one major achievement for apple and I think this would be their peak. I hope Nokia will bring out much bigger and better results in the future.
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wilber_xbox
4/26/2011 1:27 PM EDT
Apple has been doing so good in the mobile segment and has so much cash that i am wondering what will do with it. All their products are highly profitable and in some sense revolutionary. Shouldn't they add more consumer products to their kitty.
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Frank Eory
4/26/2011 3:37 PM EDT
Apple TV has a ways to go -- perhaps they will invest more in bringing it up to the same standard as other Apple products.
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KB3001
4/27/2011 7:44 PM EDT
so far, yes. But it could also lead to their demise with the emergence and growth of the open-source Android. Apple have to keep inoovating to remain world leaders. They have understood this very early on, and they have been doing this very well. It's hard work though as it takes only one blip for them to slip.
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Stu4
4/26/2011 5:37 PM EDT
Wait a minute. In terms of total revenue I agree. But in terms of total units shipped, Nokia is way ahead. But this probably covers all of Nokia's phone line (smart, dumb, cheap, throwaway). What the bare numbers tell me is Apple's iPhones cost a lot more than Nokia's. Where do you think the growth is going to take place? Developing countries. Don't throw Nokia under the bus just yet. Look at what is nipping on Apple's heels too. Androids (but that is through lot's of companies). So take these numbers for what they are worth. Impressive? Yes, but not the whole story.
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alan.varghese
4/26/2011 6:43 PM EDT
When the smartphone appeared a decade back, Nokia handled it as if it was just another sub-segment under mobile phones. They threw in a more revved up version of their OS, an extra applications processor or two, and termed it a smartphone.
But Apple came in looking at smartphones as a new product, and started design on a clean sheet of paper. They started from the customer and user-experience and worked backwards to the phone requirements; as opposed to starting from existing hardware & software and trying to evolve it to meet customer requirements.
This comes back to the principle that each company needs to have a group that looks at killing their own product and cash cow. From chipsets to OSes to user-interfaces, this group needs to have a startup mentality and without any preconceived notions of what the design needs to look like. But due to internal divisions and company politics, this is harder to do than imagined.
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kr6x
4/27/2011 10:45 AM EDT
Of course, the purpose of a corporation is primarily to earn money, and I would submit that it is highly likely that Apple's performance in the smartphone earnings category places them even higher than they are in the smartphone revenue category.
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selinz
4/27/2011 4:48 PM EDT
It's hard to believe that they are getting $638/phone...
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KB3001
4/27/2011 7:40 PM EDT
That number looked odd to me too!
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alan.varghese
4/27/2011 5:21 PM EDT
The important question when a company comes in and becomes successful at the high-end like this, is whether they can cost-down and be equally successful also at the mid/low-end.
Apple’s iPhone 4 comprises of a hardware BOM that is less than $200; this allows them a lot of margin to move around with an ASP of $638. The company’s challenge going forward into lower tier markets is not to dumb down the phone so much, that the exclusive cachet of the Apple brand and experience is lost.
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goafrit
4/28/2011 12:31 AM EDT
We better watch Nokia. It is going into obsolescence. Apple of course gets the best free ads in the world. Who will not do well with such a great press. Yet, they earned it.
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Silicon_Smith
4/28/2011 3:44 PM EDT
Nokia at 108 Munits as against Apple at 18. Still goes to show the size of market that Nokia reaches out to. If only Nokia could find a way to build on its penetration and goodwill with the customers!
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t.alex
5/1/2011 9:56 PM EDT
Yes, the number of handsets does show Nokia positioning in the market. Just that the revenue is not as good.
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BillsBlots
4/28/2011 3:51 PM EDT
Can't play internet Flash products but still love my iPad. Makes no sense, but that's why Apple holds such a large portion of the market.
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t.alex
5/14/2011 4:57 AM EDT
It's a strategic move they kicked out support for Flash. Everything has to be done via apps.
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jorgemendez
4/28/2011 9:38 PM EDT
I only want that all this brings more innovation to the world, regarding low power consumption, environment friendly devices and more user-friendly GUIs. Definitely Apple knows how to sell a brand and an amazing OS, while Nokia has released great handsets in terms of hardware, but without an outstanding OS.
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Silicon_Smith
4/29/2011 1:12 PM EDT
Symbian had been a very good OS for quite a while, its the evolution where it has lacked.
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Sheetal.Pandey
4/30/2011 2:16 PM EDT
well its not very surprising..the kind of fan following Apple has got..it definitely deserve to be number one..
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yalanand
5/3/2011 11:55 PM EDT
I guess APPLE has peaked. With rising inflation and people spending power dwindling fast, needs to be seen for how long people will buy 600$ handsets. I am sure Android phones will give tough competition to APPLE.
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KB3001
5/19/2011 5:35 AM EDT
I think Android is a big threat to Apple too. They have to keep an incredible level of inventiveness to counter this threat. That said, they have to make one single error of judgment and it could be their downfall. Long live competition anyway!
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GREAT-Terry
5/4/2011 12:57 PM EDT
Wow, this is interesting! Apple finally can beat Nokia who is the leader for many years. I like the business model of Apple but just don't know why there isn't another company that does the same.
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