Apple Closing Quickly on Research in Motion in Smart Phone Market Share
Market research firm ChangeWave today released its latest quarterly Consumer Smart Phone survey, which includes survey data taken in mid-September highlighting market share trends for Research in Motion, Apple, and Palm.
In the horserace among manufacturers, the release of the iPhone 3GS has led to a big jump in smart phone market share for Apple and has placed them within striking distance of Research In Motion -- whose slew of models are still number one but have fallen to their lowest level in two years.
The report is an expanded analysis of data touched upon in September that showed Apple's smart phone market share rising from 25% to 30% between June and September. The new analysis compares iPhone market share to the performance of Research in Motion, which has trended slightly down to currently stand at 40%, and Palm, which appears to be stabilizing at approximately 7% of the market after a steep decline from its leadership position earlier this decade.
Overall, smart phone growth continues, with 39% of surveyed mobile phone owners reporting owning a smart phone, up from 37% in the previous quarter, and a continuation of a clear trend extending back many years as smart phones have continued to gain more enticing capabilities at lower price points.
Apple also appears poised to continue to eat into Research in Motion's lead in the smart phone market, with 36% of survey respondents planning to purchase a smart phone in the next 90 days looking to purchase an iPhone, with only 27% of those interested in Research in Motion's BlackBerry. The numbers represent a decline from the 44%-23% advantage held by Apple in the previous quarter, but as the report notes, the decline is due to a natural tapering off of enthusiasm after the iPhone 3GS launch and is actually a much smaller decline than was observed after the launch of the iPhone 3G last year.
Popular Stories
Apple is about to release iOS 26.2, the second major point update for iPhones since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least 15 notable changes and improvements worth checking out. We've rounded them up below.
Apple is expected to roll out iOS 26.2 to compatible devices sometime between December 8 and December 16. When the update drops, you can check Apple's servers for the ...
Intel is expected to begin supplying some Mac and iPad chips in a few years, and the latest rumor claims the partnership might extend to the iPhone.
In a research note with investment firm GF Securities this week, obtained by MacRumors, analyst Jeff Pu said he and his colleagues "now expect" Intel to reach a supply deal with Apple for at least some non-pro iPhone chips starting in 2028....
Apple is actively testing under-screen Face ID for next year's iPhone 18 Pro models using a special "spliced micro-transparent glass" window built into the display, claims a Chinese leaker.
According to "Smart Pikachu," a Weibo account that has previously shared accurate supply-chain details on Chinese Android hardware, Apple is testing the special glass as a way to let the TrueDepth...
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max.
One thing worth...
Apple today seeded the second release candidate version of iOS 26.2 to developers and public beta testers, with the software coming one week after Apple seeded the first RC. The release candidate represents the final version iOS 26.2 that will be provided to the public if no further bugs are found.
Registered developers and public beta testers can download the betas from the Settings app on...
Apple's senior vice president of hardware technologies Johny Srouji could be the next leading executive to leave the company amid an alarming exodus of leading employees, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports.
Srouji apparently recently told CEO Tim Cook that he is "seriously considering leaving" in the near future. He intends to join another company if he departs. Srouji leads Apple's chip design ...
Apple's chipmaking chief Johny Srouji has reportedly indicated that he plans to continue working for the company for the foreseeable future.
"I love my team, and I love my job at Apple, and I don't plan on leaving anytime soon," said Srouji, in a memo obtained by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
Here is Srouji's full memo, as shared by Bloomberg:I know you've been reading all kind of rumors and...
You'd expect things to be starting to wind down for the holidays by now, but that doesn't seem to be the case yet in the world of Apple news, with Apple just about ready to release iOS 26.2 and other operating system updates to the public.
There was also a flurry of news this week about Apple executive departures, some expected and some not so expected, while we also learned that Apple and...
A U.S. appeals court has upheld a temporary restraining order that prevents OpenAI and Jony Ive's new hardware venture from using the name "io" for products similar to those planned by AI audio startup iyO, Bloomberg Law reports.
iyO sued OpenAI earlier this year after the latter announced its partnership with Ive's new firm, arguing that OpenAI's planned "io" branding was too close to its...
