Apple's share of profits raked in by the world's top publicly-traded mobile phone vendors rose once again this quarter, as asymco's Horace Dediu notes in the latest edition of his quarterly tracking reports. According to Dediu's calculations, Apple's share of profits among the eight companies tracked rose to 66%, up from 57% last quarter.
This quarter saw a slight sequential decline in overall profit for the sector, but four vendors did not manage a profit from selling phones. Nokia, Motorola, Sony-Ericsson and LG all saw losses. The other vendors split the slightly decreased pie with Apple getting two thirds of it (66.3%)
This share is up from 57% in Q1 and 50% in Q3 and Q4. Samsung’s share went to 15%, though that’s not a peak level historically. In Q1 2008 the company was at 21%. RIM was at 11%, a level in a range that has been unchanged for three years. Finally, HTC captured 7.4%, a new high and an increase from 6% since last quarter.
Dediu notes that smartphones have become the primary driver of mobile phone vendor profitability, giving Apple a significant edge over most of the competition with its smartphone-only offerings.
Apple first grabbed the profit share lead from Nokia way back in the fourth quarter of 2008, and hit the 50% mark a year ago in the third quarter of 2010. Apple of course only holds about 5.6% unit share in the total mobile phone market, but earns much more profit on its premium-priced iPhones than other vendors do with their offerings.
Wednesday October 1, 2025 1:26 pm PDT by Joe Rossignol
iOS 26 was released last month, but the software train never stops, and iOS 26.1 beta testing is already underway. So far, iOS 26.1 makes both Apple Intelligence and Live Translation on compatible AirPods available in additional languages, and it includes some other minor changes across Apple Music, Calendar, Photos, and Safari.
More features and changes will follow in future versions,...
Apple is entering its most significant leadership transition in more than a decade as multiple senior executives prepare to depart and CEO Tim Cook begins to shape the company's next generation of leaders, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
In the latest edition of his "Power On" newsletter, Gurman explained that Jeff Williams, who was viewed as Cook's potential successor for several...
Tuesday October 7, 2025 11:27 am PDT by Juli Clover
Apple today released new firmware designed for the AirPods Pro 3, prior-generation AirPods Pro 2, and the AirPods 4 models. The firmware has a build number of 8A358, up from 8A356.
There's no word on what's include in the updated firmware, but the prior 8A356 update added iOS 26 features to the AirPods Pro 2, AirPods Pro 3, and AirPods 4 with ANC. The software introduced better audio quality ...
Monday October 6, 2025 11:56 am PDT by Juli Clover
With the second beta of iOS 26.1, Apple updated the design of alarms set on the iPhone, making them harder to dismiss than before.
Stopping an alarm in iOS 26.1 beta 2 requires a new Slide to Stop gesture rather than a simple tap. You can continue to tap to snooze an alarm, but if you want to turn it off entirely, you need to use a swipe.
Transitioning from a tap to a slide gesture to...
Monday October 6, 2025 5:05 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
A new iPad mini is "absolutely" on the way, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. So what should we expect from the successor to the iPad mini 7 that Apple released a year ago?
Processor and Performance
Apple is working on a next-generation version of the iPad mini (codename J510/J511) that features the A19 Pro chip, according to information found in code that Apple mistakenly shared in...
Saturday October 4, 2025 8:19 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
Apple's website offers a list of nearly 200 new features and changes (PDF file) included in the software update, released last month.
Apple also shared equivalent lists for iPadOS 26 and macOS Tahoe.
iOS 26 is compatible with the iPhone 11 and newer. To install the update, open the Settings app on your iPhone, tap on General, and tap on Software Update.
Below, we have highlighted eight ...
After launching new iPhones last month, Apple is promoting iCloud+ with a prominent banner on its home page, in a bid to boost its services revenue. In addition to more storage, all iCloud+ plans include five perks for iPhone users.
As a refresher, iCloud includes 5GB of storage for free. If you want extra storage, you need to subscribe to an iCloud+ plan. In the United States, prices range...
Apple released the second beta of iOS 26.1 and iPadOS 26.1, introducing useful changes to alarms, multitasking on the iPad, and more. There are also subtle tweaks to some of the Liquid Glass design elements as Apple continues to refine iOS 26.
Alarms and Timers
Alarms set using the Clock app now have a slide to stop button rather than a tap to stop button on the Lock Screen. To snooze an...
Supplies of the 14-inch M4 MacBook Pro model appear to be constrained amid rumors that an upgraded M5 model could launch as soon as this year.
As noted by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, custom configurations of the M4 MacBook Pro model have a delayed shipping date and will not be delivered to customers until October 23 to 28. The restricted supply could be an indication that Apple is planning to...
Wouldn't it be nice if they lowered their prices a bit instead of lining their pockets? Now that would be something to praise them for, not this idiotic bragging about how much money they make. Why don't most Apple customers think like normal consumers? All they think about is, I want Apple to make lots of money? Strange.
That is the most ridiculous thing I keep hearing from people that have no idea what goes on in the world. Seriously no one, not ONE single person just throws their money at Apple because they want Apple to make money.
People buy Apple products because, dare I say it, they are GOOD products! People don't just buy Apple because its Apple. That idea is nothing but a myth stirred up by the people who hate Apple and its users for no reason.
By your same token of thought I could say that people who buy MS products because they enjoy them throw their money at MS only because they want MS to succeed. Doesn't make much sense when you reverse it does it?
I am just sick of these comments, its all thats on Macrumors anymore.
Wouldn't it be nice if they lowered their prices a bit instead of lining their pockets? Now that would be something to praise them for, not this idiotic bragging about how much money they make. Why don't most Apple customers think like normal consumers? All they think about is, I want Apple to make lots of money? Strange.
Companies are in business to make as much money as they can.... that is the point.
Wouldn't it be nice if they lowered their prices a bit instead of lining their pockets? Now that would be something to praise them for, not this idiotic bragging about how much money they make. Why don't most Apple customers think like normal consumers? All they think about is, I want Apple to make lots of money? Strange.
My previous, and first laptop, was a Dell. It gave me a ton of grief. My previous, and first router, was a Linksys. It gave me a ton of grief. My previous phones were Nokia, Sanyo, and Samsung flip phones. They worked as dumb phones but their firmware was never updated despite regular bugs in the software. Support for hardware issues was a pain because most stores weren't 'corporate' stores and could not swap out your phone for a new one at the time.
I now have a MacBook (early '08), an iPhone 3G and 4, an Airport Extreme, and an iPad 2. They give me as close to zero grief as one could hope for. I'm not simply 'lining their pockets', I'm paying for a quality product that is well designed and supported just as well. To me it's worth it.
If you have an iPhone and no APPL stock, you're paying a huge premium to be part of the club.
Clarification needed: what huge premium is that, exactly? Are there phones as good as the iPhone 4, with as good a screen and camera and the same selection/quality of apps, and the same ease of use and battery life, or even other features that truly compensate for lacking those... and that cost a “huge” amount less? What does that huge amount come to per month, spread over 2-3 years?
I’d hate to think I was paying for a “club” and not for the apps and OS and hardware that are serving me so amazingly well, compared to the frustrations and “good enough I guess” experiences I see Android users constantly facing. (Seriously, I can’t even reach them half the time because their batteries are dead! And their handsets keep being made obsolete and receiving no further updates WAY too early.)
I wonder... maybe Apple gets great manufacturing/component deals, rather than simply overpricing... nah. Crazy talk! :)
Pretty good marketing to be able to convince users that a company making 50+% profit on every sale is good for the users of that product.
...If you have an iPhone and no APPL stock, you're paying a huge premium to be part of the club.
...
This doesn't "drive innovation" so much as it drives up dividends for rich people.
Using the same logic, you're getting a great deal if you own an LG or a Nokia device?
For iOS users it's still a great news even if they don't own Apple stock because it guarantees the company will stay afloat and there'll be active development and support on the products and the platform.
