iPhone 4: Apple’s Vista?
Exactly two years ago, a Microsoft executive claimed that Apple’s problems with the iPhone 4’s antenna issues would sink the iPhone, making it into “Apple’s Vista.”
“It looks like the iPhone 4 might be their Vista, and I’m okay with that,” said Kevin Turner, Microsoft’s chief operating officer, in a keynote speech at Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC), which runs through Thursday in Washington, D.C.
Earlier in his talk, Turner poked fun at the reception problems that have dogged Apple’s iPhone 4 since its June 24 launch. “One of the things I want to make sure you know today is that you’re going to be able to use a Windows Phone 7 and not have to worry about how you’re holding it to make a phone call,” Turner said, referring to the Microsoft mobile operating system set to debut on smartphones this fall.
So, how did that prediction turn out? Let’s see:
Hmm. I can’t remember, did Vista exceed all sales expectations and take off like a rocket? Ummm…… No, I don’t think so.
And Windows Phone 7? With its rock-solid reception that everybody is talking about? Oh yeah, they’re at 4%. Everybody ran with the story that WP7 would explode to 20% in three years. So far? They dropped a fraction since January. So, not quite so rocket-like quite yet. And the iPhone 5 is bound to dazzle.
Apple sold 500,000 iOS devices /a day/ in 2Q12.
In two days it sold more iOS devices than the Apple II’s best year (1984, 1M units).
In the average week it sold more iOS devices than all the Macs sold in the 1980s (3.5M).
Or 3 hours to outsell all the NeXT hardware shipped.
http://jeremyreimer.com/totalshare0.gif
And it’s doing this with 40%+ gross margins and ~30% net margins. Insane economies of scale compared to the previous reality of the company — of the $18B coming in every quarter from sales, only $3B is taken in operating expenses, the rest is profit!
In comparison, MSFT had $13B profit and $7B in operating expenses in the MRQ, leaving “only” $6B in profit, less than half Apple’s take.
MSFT really needs a big upgrade cycle with Windows 8 this year, but it remains to be seen how many people upgrade from Windows 7. I sure as hell wouldn’t.
It’s really amazing how irrelevant Microsoft is to computing these days. Still milking their 1980s successes, Word and Excel.
Apple may be the “BMW” of PCs still, but they’re selling 1 out of 9 PCs in America — that’s more like Honda’s and Toyota’s market share (10 to 14% each)!
Sigh. Tough times at Apple.