back to article It's official: Firm numbers show firm global lead of pricey iPhone 5s

There's been a tsunami of speculation about the relative sales figures for Apple's iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c, but now that the first firm numbers are in, it's abundantly clear that among the fervent fanbois who couldn't wait to get their hands on Apple's latest shiny-shiny, the flagship 5s is the clear winner. The analytics …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    American Exceptionalism is Alive and Well, Putin

    The US has a huge lead over the rest of the world in two categories - giving amphetamines to children to improve their attention span; and buying shiny iPhones. Coincidence? I think not.

    Think about that the next time you sit down to pen an op-ed, Putin. Phone and pharmaceutical exceptionalism is alive and well among American consumers.

    1. LarsG

      If only

      If only All people supported their own countries businesses as well as the Americans do, instead of selling out to foreigners.......

      1. Don Jefe

        Re: If only

        "If only All people supported their own countries businesses as well as the Americans do, instead of selling out to foreigners......."

        Introducing Lime: The only completely British consumer electronics company.

        Not that I disagree with your sentiment, but plenty of countries don't produce remotely comparable product categories: There is no 'Lime' for instance. Is there a solution? Don't know.

      2. Michael Habel

        Re: If only

        Please enlighten us with your great wisdom then?

        When most of the IT related stuff is merely "designed" in California, and then manufactured in China, or South Korea. Just who or what is in fact still produced in Europe? I for One have absolutely no clue. We're talking about Phones here not Aeroplanes, much less Cars which are still made here in Europe. Really the only thing I can come up with on my short list is Alcatel. Nokia, and Siemens. Of that list only Nokia is likely the best known and AFAIK only Alcatel are left.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: American Exceptionalism is Alive and Well, Putin@Andy Prough

      Bloody stupid comment, find something a bit more constructive.

      I don't think you have ever posted a constructive comment against Apple, just a load of vitriolic spew each and every time, get a life.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: American Exceptionalism is Alive and Well, Putin@Andy Prough

        @AC 23:22 - "I don't think you have ever posted a constructive comment against Apple, just a load of vitriolic spew each and every time, get a life."

        What's not to love about Apple? A company that imprisons its customers in the luxuries of its walled garden of closed source software, locked-down hardware, and a closed app and content ecosystem. A company that, without a shadow of a doubt, builds backdoors for the NSA into its proprietary blobs, making every one of those shiny iToys into a useful government surveillance device.

        What's not to love about that, coward?

        1. Don Jefe
          Stop

          Re: American Exceptionalism is Alive and Well, Putin@Andy Prough

          Yes, customers love imprisonment. That's been the secret to my business success: I keep at least enough to boost a slow quarter on hand at all times.

          It is a somewhat different case for large businesses to become locked into a certain vendors products as it may cost them an advantage in the future. But we're dealing with consumers here, not businesses.

          Consumers don't mind being locked into certain things. In fact it often helps build loyalty in the customers. No one makes parts for my car except the manufacturer. That doesn't mean I don't buy that car, I like that car It is fast and I like how it looks. I buy it anyway. Nobody but the manufacturer makes lightbulbs that fit the sockets in my office. That doesn't mean I don't buy those fixtures. They produce exactly the kind of light my work requires.

          You're talking like a person who doesn't like their country but chooses to stay and bitch instead of moving elsewhere. Your attacks on a company, (barely) disguised as consumer rights activism in a completely voluntary luxury market are nonsensical at best, raving at worst. Don't buy Apple products if you don't want to. But I'd much rather not have Andy Prough advocating consumer decisions.

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: American Exceptionalism is Alive and Well, Putin@Andy Prough

            @Don Jefe - "You're talking like a person who doesn't like their country but chooses to stay and bitch instead of moving elsewhere."

            - To sin by silence when they should protest makes cowards of men.

            Abraham Lincoln

            - Dissent is the highest form of patriotism.

            Thomas Jefferson

            - A man may be a pessimistic determinist before lunch and an optimistic believer in the will's freedom after it.

            Aldous Huxley

            1. LarsG

              @Andy Prough

              @Andy Prough

              He comes out with stuff doesn't he, the problem is what he says makes him look rather intellectually challenged, I do love it when people search through the 'Famous Quotes' book to try and make themselves look clever.

              Instead he makes it contrived.

              1. Anonymous Coward
                Anonymous Coward

                Re: @Andy Prough

                @Lars - no, I didn't pull out the dusty old copy of Bartlett's Quotations. I used a new-fangled invention called the webernet to look up them there quotes.

                And yes, I'll admit it's a bit contrived. In fact, it's a lot contrived. But isn't it also pretty funny that fanboy-ism drives someone to rant that I don't even belong in this country? Because I don't like their favorite phone? I thought that it was funny as hell, and I figured that quoting Lincoln, Jefferson and Huxley would be the appropriate completely-over-the-top response.

                As far as your "intellectually challenged" blast - that hurt me bad. Almost as bad as if you had called me "fat" or "old". But how about I give you a little challenge for your intellect? Tell me which of the three quotes I copied is popularly considered to be correct, but is considered by historians to be mis-attributed.

            2. Anonymous Coward
              Anonymous Coward

              Re: American Exceptionalism is Alive and Well, Putin@Andy Prough

              Must have the quota-a-day app on his iPhone? Or logs out and back into his Linux server to get a new MOTD?

            3. Don Jefe
              FAIL

              Re: American Exceptionalism is Alive and Well, Putin@Andy Prough

              Those quotes apply specifically to a situation in which you are involuntarily placed by government. Not optional luxury purchases. Neither Thomas Jefferson nor Abraham Lincoln had much to say about how people spend their disposable income.

              Since you like out of context quotes, find some Bible scripture instead. It'll be about as (ir)relevant but, if you choose well, much more powerfully worded.

              1. Anonymous Coward
                FAIL

                Re: American Exceptionalism is Alive and Well, Putin@Andy Prough

                @Don Jefe - "Those quotes apply specifically to a situation in which you are involuntarily placed by government. Not optional luxury purchases. Neither Thomas Jefferson nor Abraham Lincoln had much to say about how people spend their disposable income."

                I already agreed that the purpose of my quotations post was to inject some over-the-top sarcasm into my response to the loony idea that since I didn't like iPhones, I shouldn't live in this country. In your "Fail" response you call out my sarcastic response as being sarcastic. So, it seems I achieved my aim, and your "Fail" is a bit of a fail.

                1. Don Jefe

                  Re: American Exceptionalism is Alive and Well, Putin@Andy Prough

                  You just, very publicly, failed at not only being sarcastic, but in trying to pass off asinine commentary as sarcasm. That's two fails for you in one statement, combined with all your others, I really don't think you can recover. It is best to cut your losses and move on. It is just so very awful to watch people flop about in public.

                  1. Anonymous Coward
                    Big Brother

                    Re: American Exceptionalism is Alive and Well, Putin@Andy Prough

                    @Don Jefe - Thanks for letting me cut my losses - does this mean you are allowing me to continue living in America, despite my brutal criticism of your favorite phone?

                    I was getting a bit worried that you might send Homeland Security or your friends at the NSA to come and deport me.

                    Enjoy your personal surveillance device pal. I've got to admit - it's freakin' seriously shiny. Much more impressive than one of those ankle monitors. Be sure and send your fingerprint to your buddies at the NSA.

              2. Anonymous Coward
                Anonymous Coward

                Re: American Exceptionalism is Alive and Well, Putin@Andy Prough

                "Since you like out of context quotes, find some Bible scripture instead. It'll be about as (ir)relevant but, if you choose well, much more powerfully worded."

                Oh please do FFS, because biblical quotes are always so popular among the religiously devout Commentariat assembled here.

          2. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            @Don Jefe Re: American Exceptionalism is Alive and Well, Putin@Andy Prough

            " No one makes parts for my car except the manufacturer. "

            Really? What car do you have? I can't believe any consumer would choose a car where all the parts were only available from the manufacturer - they'd completely take you to the cleaners.

            Are you saying that whenever you need new tires you have to take it back to the manufacturer or dealer? Same for screen wipers? Mats? Towing attachment? Cycle rack? Bulbs? Battery?

            I'd be surprised if your car manufacturer makes even half the parts in your car (you could be driving an F1 car though) and a number of the others unless it's a really obscure car could probably be sourced elsewhere.

            1. Anonymous Coward
              Anonymous Coward

              Re: @Don Jefe American Exceptionalism is Alive and Well, Putin@Andy Prough

              Car parts.

              I think that is true for my Ferrari.

              It is certainly true for my McLaren (a significant historic race car)

              Tyres are not spare parts, like petrol and brake pads, they are consumables.

              1. Anonymous Coward
                Anonymous Coward

                Re: @Don Jefe American Exceptionalism is Alive and Well, Putin@Andy Prough

                You are jake and I claim my £5. ;)

            2. Don Jefe

              Re: @Don Jefe American Exceptionalism is Alive and Well, Putin@Andy Prough

              Nobody actually makes all the parts in a phone either you know. As for my car, even though the manufacturer does have many of its parts made by third parties, you can't purchase them except through the manufacturer/dealer. It is that way with plenty of cars.

              Tires, like gasoline, are standardized consumables. They don't count as 'parts'. The accessories and sundries you list aren't suitable for my car and/or yes, you have to buy them from the dealer. I suppose I could find a battery, but I'm not going to bother swapping them out myself. It would take too long.

        2. Tim99 Silver badge
          WTF?

          Re: American Exceptionalism is Alive and Well, Putin@Andy Prough

          @Andy Prough 01:11 GMT

          [What's not to love about Apple? A company that imprisons its customers in the luxuries of its walled garden of closed source software, locked-down hardware, and a closed app and content ecosystem. A company that, without a shadow of a doubt, builds backdoors for the NSA into its proprietary blobs, making every one of those shiny iToys into a useful government surveillance device.]

          -

          Andy from his posting history, has an Android:

          http://forums.theregister.co.uk/forum/1/2013/07/06/samsung_isnt_alone_htc_profits_take_a_huge_dive/#c_1884256

          and writes how he prefers Windows 8 to 7...

          Perhaps he forgot that Microsoft was on-board with PRISM in Nov 2007 and Google in Jan 2009; but Apple was not added until Oct 2012:

          http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2013/06/snowden-powerpoint/#slideid-57994

          When you are going to troll, perhaps you should use another account.

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: American Exceptionalism is Alive and Well, Putin@Andy Prough

            @Tim99 - "Andy from his posting history, has an Android: http://forums.theregister.co.uk/forum/1/2013/07/06/samsung_isnt_alone_htc_profits_take_a_huge_dive/#c_1884256

            and writes how he prefers Windows 8 to 7...

            When you are going to troll, perhaps you should use another account."

            Go ahead - read more of my posts. I support lots of OSs in my company, INCLUDING a couple iPhones and some Macbooks. And a bunch of linux and Windows boxes, a chromebook, an old Blackberry or two. And yes, if I have to choose a Windows box, I prefer Windows 8 for its speed and stability over Windows 7. But my use case is unusual - I have very high CPU-intensive processes I run on Windows boxes. Most folks are more concerned about graphics handling or network connectivity. Some of my core processes include OCR'ing millions of documents at a time - I don't even need a network card or dedicated graphics - but I need a bad-ass many-core CPU that will run like the devil and multiple CPU fans and tower fans for some serious cooling. For what I'm doing, Windows 8 is a significant speed increase over Windows 7, and much more stable.

            Regarding mobile phones, I switched to Android because I need a physical keyboard, and when my old Blackberry finally bit the dust, my carrier wasn't selling the newer Blackberries anymore. I've since found I really enjoy the open Android ecosystem, and I love having a phone where I can add a micro-SD card, change batteries, and change tons of configuration settings.

            Regarding the iPhone - I'm appalled by the entire concept. You basically can't hardly change anything - it's Steve Job's way or the highway. If you like your iToys - more power to you. Guys like me will still support them.

            1. Anonymous Coward
              Anonymous Coward

              Re: American Exceptionalism is Alive and Well, Putin@Andy Prough

              You miss the point that most people do not give any value to 'can't hardly change anything' (nice Engerlish). You may wish to tinker but most people just want to use and Apple devices fulfil that very well.

              I do not feel the need to reprogram my washing machine either.

              1. Anonymous Coward
                Terminator

                Re: American Exceptionalism is Alive and Well, Putin@Andy Prough

                @AC 07:34 - "I do not feel the need to reprogram my washing machine either."

                Why the hell not? You should turn in your nerd card - you aren't worthy.

                1. Anonymous Coward
                  Anonymous Coward

                  Re: American Exceptionalism is Alive and Well, Putin@Andy Prough

                  @Andy Prough - here is a quote for you:

                  "One Life Live It"

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Obviously

      There was more stock available in some corners of the world....

      Numbers would have been even higher.

    4. Don Jefe

      Re: American Exceptionalism is Alive and Well, Putin

      We balance out the amphetamine use by giving them cough syrup at bedtime: Creates a balance.

      Balance obviously not being one of your strengths. Full marks for the logic chain that brought you to a Putin, Phone, Pharmaceuticals (P3) conclusion, but it isn't what one would normally call balance.

      "Americans seem to express excess nationalism even in their phone purchases", "Putin is a sexy, sexy man", "American children are overmedicated and their parents are too often uneducated and shallow"; any of those is somewhat balanced on its own, in structure at least, if not meaning, but when you mash them all together it just goes pear shaped. "Putin is an overmedicated American child with an iPhone"; just doesn't make any sense you see...

    5. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: American Exceptionalism is Alive and Well, Putin

      Also remember Apple show the number of phones sold to end users - not just the number shipped to distributors etc.

  2. This post has been deleted by its author

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Cheap and Apple is an oxymoron

    The 5c is a non-Jobsian product. It is not in line with the ethos of the company. Cook will be the death of the company.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Cheap and Apple is an oxymoron

      Absolute nonsense.

      The iPhone 3G and 3GS were Jobsian products and they had plastic backs. Pretty crappy plastic too, from why I can tell, since most of the ones I've seen developed cracks around the dock connector after a couple years.

      There have been many iterations of colored iPods that were developed and sold under Jobs's watch.

      So a plastic, colored iPhone seems like an extremely Jobsian product and anybody who thinks differently apparently isn't very aware of Apple's product history.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Cheap and Apple is an oxymoron

      The 5c is a great product - or to put it another way Apple keep selling the previous model or two - so if you wanted a cheaper phone today (and let's assume it was going to be an iPhone) would you prefer an iPhone 5 or a 5C? Ok some will say 5 but they can probably still pick one up where there is still stock.

      The 5C offers a (slightly) cheaper phone and to a different market - speaking to people some do not care about fingerprint sensors and faster CPUs but do like the idea of more colour choice and personalising it with the silicone covers. I'm pretty sure they will sell more 5Cs than they would sell the old 5.

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Cheap and Apple is an oxymoron

      Probably more a contradiction than an actual oxymoron.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    From the ghost of SJ to Tim:

    You are selling it wrong.

    It not plastic so it can be cheaper.

    Its available in colors, colors that look great in plastic, so its plastic, and because its in plastic we made it cheaper.

    :P

    1. Steve Knox

      @Ghost of SJ

      No, no, no. Almost there but still wrong. It should be:

      It's available in colors, colors that look best in plastic, so it's plastic, and because it's colorful, we made it more expensive.

      See, there's where Tim went wrong. He forgot the Apple price equation: low = no.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: @Ghost of SJ

        Hang on a mo - the 5S is a year on from the 5 and includes new features yet is about £20-30 more expensive that does not seem all that bad?

        The 5c is basically a 5 in a different casing - I doubt the difference in manufacturing cost between an aluminium case or plastic case is really that significant - certainly not enough to warrant the price difference alone.

  5. Philomena Cunk

    in summary

    Outside China: people locked into Apple's ecosystem that have come to the end of their two year contract cycle begrudgingly choose to renew rather than lose all their content.

    Inside China, the great firewall means new users are unknowingly making the same mistake western Apple owners made 2 years ago.

  6. Andrew Hodgkinson

    Repeat slowly after me: The 5C is NOT FOR THE CHEAP MARKET

    Good grief, "industry analysts" are unremittingly dumb. And shame on the journalists for parroting it.

    Analysts predict that Apple will sell a cheap phone, even though Apple never sold a cheap anything. Apple then release the 5C, which is in line with every other incremental phone update they've done - the old model gets dropped by around $100. In this case, they've tried to boost sales a bit by changing the case, probably boosting their margins in the process, but mostly - surely very obviously? - so that the outgoing 5 **doesn't look the same as the 5S on the shop floor**.

    When the old model was the 4S, the difference was obvious because of size. Now we have Apple's traditional per-year speed bump upgrade (3G to 3GS, 4 to 4S, 5 to 5S) and the lower end model needs a bit more differentiation. Thus, case change. Surprising? Of course not.

    It's nothing new, it's nothing unexpected, it's just not what the idiot analysts were claiming would happen and despite they fact they've been completely wrong about it all, they continue to whine about Apple's phones not selling into the markets they weren't targeted for. Despite record breaking opening week sales. *Again*.

    The low-middle end was not the target any more than it was the target for the 4S when the 5 was released.

    When the previous gen speed bump was released (the 4S) it sold 4 million in 3 days (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPhone_4S#Commercial_reception). When the 5 was released it sold AFAICT around 5 million in the opening weekend (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPhone_5#Commercial_reception and Google). My response to the 5S personally was "meh", I'm sticking with my 4S; iOS 7 is fugly and buggy no matter what you run it on, so I'm in no hurry to waste money on a new handset just yet. But 9 million people, despite the relatively uninspiring new hardware, bought in. Y'all can moan about "sheeple" and so-on but Apple just keep on winning those consumer satisfaction surveys and their sales figures keep rising and rising, so more an more people are buying in and more and more people are re-buying in again, despite the very high hardware cost.

    Surely Apple never expected the 5C to be a big hit in China, either. That's what the low-end still-sold 4 is intended to do. The 5C and 5S are far too expensive to be a mainstream market offering in China, so clearly, they're targeting the wealthy. The wealthy in China like shiny things. The gold has sold particularly well. News at 11.

    Nobody but analysts could *possibly* be daft enough to have not understood any of this. SMH. Why does anyone ever pay them attention? They're completely wrong year in, year out, over and over. It's almost impressive that they manage to perform so consistently badly.

    1. Don Jefe
      Meh

      Re: Repeat slowly after me: The 5C is NOT FOR THE CHEAP MARKET

      Analysts in any industry are part of the marketing cycle. When you do regular 'confidential' talks with analysts you don't send the CEO or COO, those guys do quarterlies and press releases. You send your marketing and sales people.

      You feed them what you want them to hear about yourself, your competitors and your industry. The analysts then meet with a bunch of other people in the industry and get more 'confidential' tactical marketing information. They then take a bunch of contradictory bullshit from many sources, condense it and position it as informed analysis and forecasting. In reality it's a bunch of shit all the way around; GIGO you know.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Repeat slowly after me: The 5C is NOT FOR THE CHEAP MARKET

      How can I upvote this post more??

      The 5C was expected to be a bit hit in China... really... when did ANYBODY at Apple say that?

      Idiots expected it to be a hit in China and instead of being embarrassed at how wrong they were about Apple's product strategy, they're crowing that a strategy that obviously never existed is now failing.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Repeat slowly after me: The 5C is NOT FOR THE CHEAP MARKET

        The 5C is basically what they would have done with the 5 - when the 5s came out they would usually drop the price of the 5 and it would continue to sell. Instead they bring out the 5c - almost the same as the 5 it replaces but with more colour options to appeal to a different / wider market and at a lower price. In the US it makes a big difference due to carrier subsidies - basically $99 against $199 for the 5s so for many people that looks like half price.

        Also with their trade in program people are probably actually getting either handset for free or cash-back - it's good marketing with the trade in option and now what - Applecare now covers 2 replacements / fixes for accidental damage over the 2 year period. So smash your phone and just pay the £50 excess - fixed.

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Repeat slowly after me: The 5C is NOT FOR THE CHEAP MARKET

      Perhaps the message was lost in translation.

      Giving the 5 a respray and cheaper body (assuming metal is more expensive than plastic in material and manufacturing), prolonging the revenue generating life of the old product at a (relatively) low cost.

      This effectively reduces costs for Apple whilst generating more sales, but not cannibalising flagship sales. A win win (win?).

      What everyone else seemed to assume was that reduced costs would translate into cheaper products for consumers.

    4. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Repeat slowly after me: The 5C is NOT FOR THE CHEAP MARKET

      Apple never said the 'C' was for Cheap or China or both - don't think they have even said it is for Colour (which would seem to make more sense) but people love to make assumptions.

  7. ARP2

    5c just doesn't have a home...

    The problem with the 5c is that it doesn't seem to have a viable demographic.

    Many (not all) who buy iPhones are very image conscious and so the prospect of buying a phone that screams, 'candy colored last year's model' just doesn't seem appealing to them. Sure you have a few hipsters that will buy the 80's/90's color scheme, but that's not enough.

    Those who are buying for the ecosystem probably are early adopters and have the money to match, natch.

    Those who buy purely on price/features will find that they can get a "good enough" android or WP for much less money.

    So who is the market for the 5c?

    1. Don Jefe

      Re: 5c just doesn't have a home...

      The same people who would drive Porsche Boxster?

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: 5c just doesn't have a home...

      The market is the people who only buy phones when they are offered for "free" or cheap ($99) from their carriers.

      I'm pretty sure there are a lot of these people. I personally already know a couple of people who are about to buy their first iPhones because they need new phones and the 4S is now "free" from their carrier. Fast forward a year and they'd be buying these plastic iPhone 5Cs.

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: 5c just doesn't have a home...

      You miss the point that the 5 is still a very good / high end phone and still more than many people need / want - remember many people are still using and buying older 3GS / 4 / 4S handsets (the 4S is for sale 'new' on the Apple store).

      Then remember some people like 'colour' - so there will be many that would have bought a 5 at a cheaper price but can now buy a 5c at a cheaper price. Some of those may have preferred the casing of the 5 and they can probably still get a 5 or spend the extra for a 5s but many will prefer the fact that the 5c looks different.

      So I expect many will want the flagship 5s but at the same time and probably in the longer run many will also buy the 5c (where they would have bought a 4S or 5) or where it's essentially free as a trade in etc.

    4. A 31

      Re: 5c just doesn't have a home...

      "who is in the market for 5C"

      people upgrade from an old for, that do not want to pay a deposit and keep their monthly tariff the same, but also have a nice colour on it, that own a mac and apple hardware at home....

      And of course they will not go Android, because they are not too tech savvy and are afraid things won't work with all their apple stuff. I think that's the issue with understanding a lot of Apple folks, like it was said earlier, they see apple as they see their washing machine, no need to re-program anything (In their terms, programming is changing some configuration). They are of course wrong, other manufacturers have made things very easy for their users, but the perception remains.

  8. Chairo

    Future orientation?

    Only the 5s has the new 64 bit A7 processor. This means that phone will most likely be supported much longer than the 5c.

    OK, in reality this is probably not a big deal, as the average lifetime of modern smartphones seems to be only 2 years, anyway, but it could also be one factor why people rather pay a bit more and take the 5s.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Future orientation?

      El Reg has already reported in great detail that a 64-bit processor on a mobe is total hogwash, and that most customers will see little or no benefit whatsoever.

      1. Steve Davies 3 Silver badge
        Mushroom

        Re: Future orientation?

        Those very same words were said about the first 64bit microprocessors.

        now look where we are.

        64bit CPU's will take over from 32 bit.

        Look how many 64bit PC are sold with 32bit O/S's or less than 4Gb Ram it does not seem to make much difference there.

        Once the volume of 64bit ARM devices exceeds that of the 32bit ones perhaps you might like to eat your words?

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Future orientation?

        Yada Yada - unless Samsung did it first - which is ironic really as they fabricated the CPU. 64bit does infer more benefits - once developers have modded their code to take advantage of it. Short term it's a nice to have - longer term when everyone has caught up it will be the norm.

      3. VinceH

        Re: Future orientation?

        "El Reg has already reported in great detail that a 64-bit processor on a mobe is total hogwash, and that most customers will see little or no benefit whatsoever."

        Here's something a little more informed.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Future orientation?

      Apple seem to update the OS on devices for about 4+ years - the 3GS does not run iOS 7 and it's about 4 years old now (but still runs fine on iOS 6). The lifespan for iOS devices is probably around 2x that of Android as most Androids are dead / non-upgraded (unless you go to lengths most people would not do) after 12-18-24 months. I know lots of people still running 3GS handsets and apart from a few more scratches doing it the same as they did 4 years ago.

      This who thing about Apple users upgrading every 12 months is a myth - sure some will but the vast majority of Apple users I see have ageing (but still very usable) MacBooks, 3GS / 4 iPhones, original iPads still working and a lot of iPad 2s. These 3GSs are now 4 years old and people who have them seem to 'now' be thinking of upgrading to a 5c/5s but mainly to get a better camera.

      1. Eradicate all BB entrants

        @AC and his dead Android 12 months on ...

        ..... have you not considered that in the Android ecosystem that the hardware/software improves so quickly that an upgrade after 12 months is quite viable? I have a Sony Xperia Z, an awesome phone and yet now there is the Ultra version available. For me that shows by the time my contract is up there will be something much much better available.

        As for macbooks, find me one from 2001 like my Thinkpad T21 that can still run a supported OS today (Ok only until next year but still). 12 years on it may take 15 minutes to boot (thanks SP3) but it will continue to get security patches and once running handles the simple browse the web or chat on skype from the sofa functions I need of it.

        Maybe Apple users don't upgrade every 12 months, but when they do they seem vacuous enough to want a shop full of customers and staff to clap and cheer when they do manage to complete a transaction millions of people manage everyday without any fuss (kinda like the toddler navigating their potty the first time solo).

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: @AC and his dead Android 12 months on ...

          I would not call 15 minutes to boot 'useable'. XP supported - yes - barely.

          So 9 million people bought iPhones and perhaps a few tens of thousands queued up at the stores to buy one - you do the maths. Samsung / Microsoft would love to get that type of hype and loyalty.

          As for changing your phones ever 12-18 months - you prove my point. Yes there may be something better to tempt you to upgrade but I've seen many Android handsets that have forced obsolescence due to not receiving updates. With Apple you can choose to upgrade for the new hardware if you want but I'm quite happy that my old 3GS is still in use daily.

          1. Eradicate all BB entrants

            Re: @AC and his dead Android 12 months on ...

            Well I do class that as usable as I am not using it to ponce around in Starbucks with. I can turn it on, do the required household chores and its ready. And I didn't prove your point, as I never stated the time period I waited to upgrade. You made that assumption when I made a point about the time it took for there to be an upgraded version of my current phone.

            And why is it you are allowed to be happy with your 4 year old unsupported phone but I am not allowed to be happy with my 12 year old partly supported laptop? Snobbery methinks.

            1. Anonymous Coward
              Anonymous Coward

              Re: @AC and his dead Android 12 months on ...

              It's like the old argument that someone is perfectly happy with their 12 year old clapped out car and they would not want a new one even if someone gave it to them - they are perfectly happy as it gets them from A to B. Or their ancient Nokia phone that is still going strong. Yeah right.

              Your 12 year old laptop may work for you but I'm sure most people are not prepared to wait 15 minutes for it to boot up and I'd assume that in use it's pretty slow as well.

            2. Anonymous Coward
              Anonymous Coward

              Re: @AC and his dead Android 12 months on ...

              Useable? 15 minutes. So what becomes unusable - 16 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes...?

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