AT&T today announced financial results for the third quarter of 2012, revealing that the carrier activated 4.7 million iPhones during the quarter, an increase of one million over the previous quarter as sales were buoyed by the iPhone 5 launch near the end of the period.
AT&T did not specifically break down iPhone 5 sales numbers, but did note that its overall postpaid sales numbers were impacted by "inventory constraints" on the device as Apple has struggled to keep up with demand.
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Notably, the 4.7 million iPhone activations represented roughly 77% of AT&T's total smartphone sales of 6.1 million during the quarter, showing that Apple continues to dominate AT&T's smartphone customer base. And with smartphones overall rising to account for 81% of AT&T's sales on a postpaid basis, the iPhone represented 62% of AT&T's sales of all phones (smartphones and feature phones) to those customers.
AT&T sold 6.1 million smartphones in the third quarter, 1.3 million more than in the third quarter a year ago. Smartphones represented 81 percent of postpaid device sales. At the end of the quarter, 63.8 percent, or 44.5 million, of AT&T's postpaid subscribers had smartphones, up from 52.6 percent, or 36.1 million, a year earlier and up 1.4 milion from the second quarter. [...]
In the quarter, the company activated 4.7 million iPhones, with 18 percent new to AT&T. The company also had its best-ever sales quarter for Android and Windows smartphones.
Verizon last week also announced healthy iPhone sales for the third quarter, although it too was impacted by supply constraints on the iPhone 5. Sprint will be the third and final major U.S. iPhone carrier to report earnings tomorrow morning, with Apple releasing its official numbers after the close of trading tomorrow.
Top Rated Comments
"These amazing tablets retail for £599.99 but we're craaaaazy so we sell them to you for just £9.99! That's right, we take a £300 hit on each device! How do we do it?! We make it up with VOLUME!!!"
All joking aside, your comment reminds me of something. It reminds me of the comments made when the iPhone came out. And when the iPod came out. And when the iPad came out. And when the Macbook Air came out...
How many times have we seen this pattern?
1) Apple releases a gorgeous piece of hardware made from excellent materials with amazing fit and finish, integrated into its unbeatable ecosystem, and pits it against cheaper "higher spec'd" competitors.
2) The interwub moans - too expensives! X Product is cheaper and has more megahootz! No rocket launcher? No sale!
3) Critics compete with each other to be the first to point out how Apple has finally lost it.
4) Millions of normal people (not Apple fanboys or deluded sheeple - just regular folk) buy the device and Apple posts record breaking sales and profits.
5) Customer usage stats demonstrate that these customers are using their devices more and for more things than the competitors supposedly superior products. Customer satisfaction scores remain way above the competition.
How often do we have to see this same pattern repeat over and over and over again before people stop making the same basic error in reasoning - price is only one part of the marketing mix. Value is not only dependant on the specs of the product as listed on a sheet of paper.
Honestly, guys - history repeating!
None of this is to say that Apple can't ever fail or make a terrible error. They have and they will again. But, if they do, it won't be because they refuse to compete on price or they refuse to include the latest tech in everything they do. We have seen, time and time again, that those factors are not the key differentiators.
"Listen, if you cant afford an iPad mini, youre not in the target market. Stop whining. Nobody cares. Developers arent interested in those who cant muster at least $329 for iPad mini. Neither are advertisers. Neither is Apple, who are running a business, not a charity. If you want an iPad mini, but you cant afford it, either save up for one or trot on over to Costco and settle for a cheesy, plastic, tiny screen pretend iPad mini and all that doesnt go with it. The choice is yours. Its like an IQ test.
So, to recap: With iPad mini, nothing has changed. Apple sells premium products at premium prices to premium customers and, when all is said and done, they will sell hundreds of millions of iPad mini units worldwide." (http://macdailynews.com/2012/10/23/newsflash-apple-sells-premium-products-at-premium-prices-to-premium-customers/)
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Think about it... if they priced it at even $250 for the entry level iPad Mini... why would most people spend more to get an iPod Touch?
Also... maybe I'm wrong, but Apple, unlike other vendors, likes to actually make a profit on hardware sales. No reason for them to give away product right now.