back to article Apple CEO: Fandroids are BINNING Android in favour of IPHONES

Apple is wolfing down KitKats and Lollipops for lunch after it emerged that most iPhone 6 users have come from Android. iBling salesman Tim Cook told the Wall Street Journal that only 15 per cent of iPhone 6 customers have upgraded from other iPhones. It’s the first time he’s given a number for this trend, and although he’s …

  1. Richy Freeway

    Where's the evidence they're coming from Android? Perhaps they're coming from old feature phones or even completely new to mobile phone ownership.

    1. Dave 126 Silver badge

      The circumstantial evidence is Samsung's bottom line.

      More robust evidence would come from the network operator.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        I assume he has facts to back it up - you can't go just lying to investors.

        1. sisk

          you can't go just lying to investors

          Clearly you haven't been paying attention.

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            "you can't go just lying to investors

            Clearly you haven't been paying attention."

            Whoosh!

        2. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Its never stopped them in Keynotes, so why should it bother them with investor calls?

        3. P. Lee

          >I assume he has facts to back it up - you can't go just lying to investors.

          People who have bought a very expensive phone, had a cheaper one earlier.

          I care not one whit. I'll buy the phone that's right for me. Since I prize the ability to get at and use data on a phone as I please, that would be Android. My wife wants to press a button to play words-with-friends and has a mac & ipad from work - an iphone is a no-brainer.

          I find it weird that people seem to love the fact that their phone company has managed to take so much money off them. Getting people to think like that about a product you can buy on any street corner... now that's innovation.

    2. Badvok

      "Where's the evidence they're coming from Android?"

      There isn't any, Apple's market share hasn't increased, it has fallen.

      1. Dave 126 Silver badge

        >"Where's the evidence they're coming from Android?"

        >>There isn't any, Apple's market share hasn't increased, it has fallen.

        If the entire pie is growing, it is possible for a slice to become absolutely bigger whilst shrinking as a percentage of the total.

        In addition, if the pie is sliced into more slice, it is possible for one slice to grow against another with again shrinking as a percentage of the total total.

        I'm not saying that this is what has happened, I'm just helping you with your logic.

      2. Sr. Handle

        First stage negation...

        It is really that important that is the bigest plataform or not, I mean I really like my phone and I don't give a crap if they have 5% or 50% of the market, the numbers don't like the iPhone sell a los this year, but perhaps next is not so good, so growup and stop crying for things that aré meaningless.

      3. gnasher729 Silver badge

        You are wrong. Apple's market share in the phone market has been growing all the time since 2007. And Apple's market share in the smart phone market has grown as well.

      4. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Are you saying ...

        Are you saying such metrics as unit shipments and sell-through and handset market share are more important than revenue or profits? Are you saying those things inevitably lead to dominance in revenue or profits?

        A Grateful Coward

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      I'd imagine they do surveys or get data from the mobile networks.

    4. Preston Munchensonton

      Given the availability of iPhone 6/6+ in China, I would spectulate that most of the unusual growth in sales comes from users in China who have either never owned a mobile phone or view this as a luxury item, much like some nouveau middle class trying to impress their new station in life on those around them.

      1. jonathanb Silver badge

        In that scenario, they are not moving from Android. Though it could the case that they are moving from Chinese landfill Android to iPhone.

    5. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      1bn android activations

      In 2014..

      That's a real number, not a made up apple one

      1. This post has been deleted by its author

      2. Riku

        Re: 1bn android activations

        Is that just phones or does it include all sorts of things like chromecasts and fancy thermostats?

    6. gnasher729 Silver badge

      You are obviously right. Nobody would upgrade from a $400 smartphone to an iPhone 6. Only people with $20 feature phones, or people who never owned a mobile phone in their life, would be starting with an iPhone 6. Totally common sense.

      You believe what you want. I look at the numbers. And maybe, just maybe, Apple has asked a few of its customers and that's how they know.

    7. Randy Hudson

      In my case, I had an iPhone 5S with AT&T, but bought the contract-free T-Mobile phone to replace it (to keep my $25/mo. BYOD discount). I'm pretty sure my purchase was tallied under the wrong column

    8. Sorry that handle is already taken. Silver badge

      Where's the evidence they're coming from Android?

      I got the impression from reading (perhaps too far?) between the lines is that this generation of iPhones has had a larger proportion of converts from Android. In isolation this might not be very useful knowledge.

      However – and this is pure speculation – it's also conceivable that a measurable number of people who wanted a large screen smartphone gave up waiting for Apple and went with one running Android by default, because it was the only option.

  2. Amorous Cowherder

    Figures for migrations the other way, in the interest of a balance? Oh, sorry that would be sane and sensible to ponder the figures overall.

    I thought about upgrading my 3 year old SGS2 to an iPhone, pondered and in the end bought a second hand SGS3 off eBay! Sorry Cookie old son, your latest mega-multi-core monster device is just a bit overkill for me at the mo.

    1. A Non e-mouse Silver badge

      Sorry Cookie old son, your latest mega-multi-core monster device is just a bit overkill for me at the mo.

      I think the top-of-the-range mega-multi-core monsters are overkill for almost everyone.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Strange that...

      Fruity Phones tend to have fewer cores than say Samsung devices.

      There have been many Adverts for Android devices that extolled the 'more CPU Cores' than Apple devices.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Strange that...

        Yeah what is the issue with more and more cores. To me it sounds a bit like they need the cores to get the similar performance rather than doing it by better programming / efficiency - like a V8 6 litre muscle car throwing horses at it - great in a straight line but lousy handling compared to a Ferrari that fine tune and design performance into the whole car.

        Bit the same with battery life - Apple look for efficiencies and Samsung have to fit a larger battery! ;-)

        1. Paul Shirley

          Re: Strange that...

          "Bit the same with battery life - Apple look for efficiencies and Samsung have to fit a larger battery! ;-)"

          ...and others fit 8 core BIG-little CPUs to improve power consumption without harming performance. Sometime more of the right sort of core really is the answer ;)

        2. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Strange that...

          "Bit the same with battery life - Apple look for efficiencies and Samsung have to fit a larger battery"

          my iPhone lasts about a day at a push, without too much usage

          My galaxy lasts three days at the same rate

          go figure on the "efficiencies" I turned off all the games, gps etc to get a day out of it since the last IOS upgrade, before that it lasted 3 days with wifi and location services on

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      So basically it came down to money not intent - you wanted the iPhone but the SGS3 was clearly a lot less expensive. If it were not money and you really wanted Android you would have bought a newer / premium Android handset. So to lead on from that if money was not the issue then you would have bought the iPhone = the phone you really wanted.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        is that how you justify to yourself being suckered into paying over the odds for an iphone?

        Samsung sales are down because they make better phones which are good enough for longer. Not so good for Samsung's balance sheet but better for the end users.

        1. Gordon 10

          hahahaaha.

          @AC I think fandroid_galaxy_fan29 is still available as a nick.

          Got any facts to back up that wild supposition? Its far more likely that as the biggest volume seller of Premium Android Samsungs lunch is getting eaten by mid tier androids that are almost as good. Which co-incidentally explains why nearly all the current Flagship android makers are suffering.

          1. sisk

            Got any facts to back up that wild supposition?

            Dunno if AC does, but I can back it up with anecdotal observations. My Galaxy S2 has outlasted every iPhone anyone I know bought around the same time, and that's with mine being second hand and theirs being new. A couple of them have had to replace their iPhones twice in the time I've had this thing, and I probably won't be replacing mine for at least a couple more years.

            Besides, a little logical thought can prove it even without cases to site. The most likely part of any mobile device to fail is, by far, the battery. Sooner or later it's going to stop holding a charge, usually much sooner than the rest of the components stop working. Given that one fact a replaceable battery alone almost ensures than a Samsung (and almost any other Android device) will have a longer life expectancy than an iPhone.

            1. Anonymous Coward
              Anonymous Coward

              My Galaxy S2 has outlasted every iPhone anyone I know bought around the same time

              That's partly depending on how you treat kit. The 3GS I once bought needed a new screen at last as my son had been using it, but that was it. It's now given to Grandma who couldn't get on with Android and just wants to make calls (for which no update is needed), my 4s (still working fine) is now used by my son, and is all up to date, and I just bought a 6 because I want to experiment with the newer features. That's 3 iPhones since 2009 (so 5 years or better), the first one of that chain is STILL not landfill (and no, it still has the original battery as well).

              I would, however, be the first to agree with anyone who calls iPhones stupidly expensive because they are. For me they're a business cost, but it's a lot of dough if you have to buy them personally (unless you have it paid through a contract, which is basically a loan).

              I have tried Android, but I didn't get on with it, exacerbated by having to agree to Google's onerous T&Cs before it became useful. I actually read terms but it's their way or the highway - at least they got a false name off me..

              Personally, I fear most for the 4s. There is a strong compatibility problem between my teenager and any hardware of note :)

            2. VinceH

              Sisk said in reply to Gordon 10 "Dunno if AC does, but I can back it up with anecdotal observations. My Galaxy S2 has outlasted every iPhone anyone I know bought around the same time, and that's with mine being second hand and theirs being new. A couple of them have had to replace their iPhones twice in the time I've had this thing, and I probably won't be replacing mine for at least a couple more years."

              Quite. As I said yesterday, my S3 is now long out of contract and I'm not upgrading because I don't need to. The phone does everything I want of it, so I may as well keep using it and only bother with an upgrade if and when it becomes necessary.

              And that is indeed an example of a Samsung phone being kept because it's good enough, as is your comment.

          2. JEDIDIAH
            Mushroom

            I'll add a fact (or 3)

            We haven't upgraded our phones in awhile. We really see no need. What exact characteristic of ANY phone including the new iPhones is exactly supposed to be worth the bother (never mind the money)?

            It also doesn't help that the S6 is trying too hard to look like an Apple product (no removable battery or SD card).

      2. JustNiz

        You seem to be one of those rabid Apple fanbois that somehow thinks it should be self-evident to everyone that Apple automatically translates to "better". Your "IPhone = the phone you really wanted" comment has zero foundation in anything he actually wrote. He could equally have chosen the GS3 because he felt it is a functionally better phone than iPhone (which having used both actually agrees with my own experience too).

        After my own experience with an iPhone it seems very clear to me that Apple products are mostly just sold to gullible people that can't tell marketing bullshit/image from actually useful features. Personally given a choice between a free iPhone and buying an Android phone, I'd still take the Android.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          After my own experience with an iPhone it seems very clear to me that Apple products are mostly just sold to gullible people that can't tell marketing bullshit/image from actually useful features.

          I find it fascinating how people seem to translate their own experiences and wants into an absolute requirement for everyone else and denigrate anyone who doesn't agree. The last time I saw that attitude in real life was on a school's playground when picking up my kids.

          I have to use *all* platforms as a consequence of the work I do. It means I don't have to stick with a platform because of investment (because all are kitted out the same where possible), and it means my choice is not dictated by cost because all of them are paid by the company (thankfully, because iPhones are IMHO stupidly expensive). Yet, still, I prefer iOS as a platform. That is my personal choice, I have no need to fit in with some wannabee fashion crowd (which would be hard anyway with my sense of fashion, but that's my wife speaking), and I have no need to label other people for having different preferences.

          I don't berate people for choosing to wear different clothes to me or drinking a different type of beer either, and in my mind the choice of phone platform has roughly the same impact on what I think of someone. I'm happy to explain the logic behind my decision, I'm always interested to hear the logic behind yours, but vive la différence. If we all chose the same things would get boring.

          Personally, I get rather tired of all these pissing contests. I'm very happy that there is competition, I make my choice by parameters that are mine and don't need to agree with yours, and if you choose differently, fine. As far as I can tell that doesn't immediately turn you into someone I don't want to deal with (unless, of course, you have that sort of vacuous attitude to anyone who doesn't make the same choices as you).

          1. JEDIDIAH
            Devil

            The Pot goes on a rampage.

            > I find it fascinating how people seem to translate their own experiences and wants into an absolute requirement for everyone else and denigrate anyone who doesn't agree.

            That's rich coming from the fanboy camp.

            The OP's remark were a nice solid explanation for why a considerable bulk of the market might be inclined to avoid Apple products. Phone salesmen will even bring these issues up if they see you contemplating a switch back to Apple.

      3. 6th_Hokage

        he/she could have just read user reviews of both devices and saw the batter choice was the S3, sure the iPhone 6/+ looks okay on paper but the S3 is still a better product and still being sold for $300 new...Now if you mess with root and kernel settings and the S3 can go up against the S5 no problem :P

  3. Monti

    Good news / Bad news

    This is a perfect example of putting a spin on something that could be taken up in completely different ways.

    You could also take that same figure and say that this is bad news for Apple because it means that users of older iPhones are hanging on to their devices and that they just do not see the need to upgrade to the latest version of the iPhone.

    1. ciaran

      Re: Good news / Bad news

      I read it as even worse - current users of iPhones are staying away in droves.

      Or perhaps the group "users of smartphones" can be broken down into "15% iPhone, 85% android", of which they all have an equal propensity to refresh their hardware and have no brand loyalty?

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Good news / Bad news

        Agreed. iPhone 5 users happy to stay with their current product. Good enough etc.

        1. Planty Bronze badge

          Re: Good news / Bad news

          Apple users are FORCED to stay with apple. The one thing Jobs got right was early lock in.

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Good news / Bad news

        It shows Apple are growing the user base and keeping existing users. They make great phones that people often keep beyond the base 2 year contract - but when you look at the stats those users will very likely buy the new iPhone handset. It also proves false the notion that all the sales are fanbois uprading at every new iteration.

        1. Preston Munchensonton

          Re: Good news / Bad news

          "It shows Apple are growing the user base and keeping existing users."

          I reckon that you meant to say that the Carriers are forcing users to keep their phones based on contract length. I don't think a 15% return rate suggests that Apple is doing much of anything to keep existing users, though none of us really know since so little information is available from the carriers about brand/model usage.

  4. A Non e-mouse Silver badge

    Where Apple is still not playing is in the low end market, with nothing to challenge the Landfill Androids, [...] and Cook said nothing about attempts to take a bite out of that territory.

    Apple have never competed in the low end. They only do high end, high margin.

    1. Stuart 22

      Blinded by Retina

      "Apple have never competed in the low end. They only do high end, high margin"

      Absolutely correct. No one would argue about high end prices and margins. And to be frank I have never heard anyone doubt the quality of its cameras.

      But in basic web browsing on responsive websites the iPhone significantly under-competes with landfill Androids. I had to borrow one to prove what I was hearing was true. The Retina resolution claims are a bit of a con. Apple's double pixelling halves the effective resolution presented to the browser (and it doesn't matter which one). So in landscape its under 600 pixels on the iPhone4/5/6 and responsive sites wrap and drop 'unimportant' data. Whereas a cheap Android shows it in all its glory.

      The iPhone people I spoke to were unaware of what they were missing and that for a lot less they could get a lot more - well when it comes to web browsing.

      Oh and every iPhone 6+ owner I know was replacing a 5S. Perhaps I should get out more.

      1. returnmyjedi

        Re: Blinded by Retina

        "But in basic web browsing on responsive websites the iPhone significantly under-competes with landfill Androids."

        I find that's more of an issue with Safari; Chrome on iOS tends to load pages properly.

        1. sabroni Silver badge
          Headmaster

          Re: significantly under-competes

          "under performs compared to" surely? What does "under-compete" mean? Doesn't try hard enough?

    2. Dana W

      Apple's low end is always last year's phone.

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "Only 15 per cent of iPhone 6 customers have upgraded from other iPhones."

    If true, Cook should be concerned not jubilant. Parts of Apple's (and everyone else's) game is to push how desirable their new shineys are compared to the older now less shiney things that were themselves once the greatest shineys compared to the previous... and so on.

    So the message isn't getting through that well if only 15% of iPhone 6 upgrades are from previous Apple products. That implies to me that although someone may well ditch an Android phone for an Apple phone, they can only do that once and maybe they'll never upgrade again. 15% says that's far more likely than I expected.

    1. dogged

      Re: "Only 15 per cent of iPhone 6 customers have upgraded from other iPhones."

      My missus is hanging on to her iPhone 5S for dear life, I know that much.

      Small hands.

      1. John H Woods Silver badge

        Re: "Only 15 per cent of iPhone 6 customers have upgraded from other iPhones."

        You should hang on to YOUR MISSUS for dear life. Small hands.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: "Only 15 per cent of iPhone 6 customers have upgraded from other iPhones."

      15% sounds pretty reasonable and blows the assumption that it's just Apple fans relentlessly upgrading every cycle. I say it's reasonable as the phone has only been out a few months and a lot of people are on 2 year contracts - 8 quarters in 2 years = 12.5% of people come due to upgrade each quarter. Of course it's not quite that simple (as I know lots of people who keep their iPhones longer than their 2 year initial contract on cheaper SIM only deals) but it's not an unsurprising figure?

    3. Ummagumma

      Re: "Only 15 per cent of iPhone 6 customers have upgraded from other iPhones."

      I ditched yet another Android phone for a used iPhone 4s and so far am pleased with overall experience.

      Every Android device I've had so far (3 tablets and 4 phones) had been plagued with slowdowns, memory issues, and hardware failures. I still think the OS as an idea has a great potential, but the software implementation is often half baked and in an effort to stick as much as possible into the phone at the least possible cost the corners get cut in the process.

      My 4s is about three years old, looks and functions like new, has far better memory management than my Android phones, so far no rogue apps slowing everything down, no unexplained sudden Bluetooth issues that appear out of nowhere and disappear a week later, Siri voice recognition seems more consistent than Google Now (although this may be simply due to a better Bluetooth connection with this phone), and with iOS 7.1.2 it's pretty fast as well.

      I'd love to stick with Android but it's been a lottery so far, and I feel I've mainly been losing. Google's own Nexus 7 tablet would first slow to a an unusable crawl with Android 4.2, then just as they fixed this in subsequent release, they've introduced the slow charging bug.

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    It's true

    I left Android to go to iOS, it didn't last long though. Whereas 4 or so years ago iOS was king and Android was a cheap and rough imitation - I found now that in most aspects that are relevant to me Android was more advanced and functional. Android has developed a lot in the last few years and innovated more than Apple. I'm back on Android now.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: It's true

      Maybe for you but I have both Android and iOS and Android is far behind in usability, quality of build and apps and support. All very important. Android is far better than it was but it's still lagging behind iOS and especially iOS integrating with OS X etc.

      1. Preston Munchensonton
        Mushroom

        Re: It's true

        "but it's still lagging behind iOS and especially iOS integrating with OS X etc"

        What a shocking development. Meanwhile, world+dog is thrilled that Android doesn't quite play so nice with iTunes. Truly, I wish nothing but evil on whoever invented iTunes.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: It's true

          Truly, I wish nothing but evil on whoever invented iTunes.

          Just curious, do you use it under Windows or OSX? I'm not spectacularly impressed with it either, but it does do the job under OSX.

          For the rest I started using iMazing, which (apart from it's desperately stupid name, sorry, DiskAid gave at least some idea what it did) makes the iPhone more like a drive so you can just drag images out instead of having to suffer iPhoto, and generally get at the whole filesystem. It gives you the control Apple wants to keep away from the average user.

          1. JEDIDIAH
            Linux

            Re: It's true

            iTunes is pants under any OS and yes I have used it under MacOS. It's really not that sophisticated of a program. It's missing little bits of polish that you might even see on a Linux app. It's not really a proper GUI and some of the obvious music use cases are missing. Media management for alien video isn't there at all. It's "jack-of-all-trades" throw everything together in the same app approach is also a bit daft and highly anti-Unix. The storefront is just an 80s throwback turning what should be a modern ecommerce site into something you would have seen on the 3 foot 10 pack.

            It's one of the most undeservingly overhyped applications ever.

        2. ThomH

          Re: It's true @Preston Munchensonton

          I think the poster is more referring to stuff like being able to take an ordinary mobile phone call and answer regular, non-proprietary texts via your Mac if it and an iPhone are on the same wifi network.

          Photos, contacts, etc automatically sync between your phone and iPhoto if you want (via Apple's servers), and Apple will sell you a music locker, but I think that sort of stuff is fairly normal now across all the handsets?

  7. Adolph Clickbait

    Hardly surprising

    Considering Android has probably the largest market share.

    1. dogged

      Re: Hardly surprising

      I think that (globally) dumbphones still have the largest market share.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Hardly surprising

      Ok. For the last fucking time. MARKET SHARE MEANS DICK YOU FUCKING MORONS.

      1. John Bailey

        Re: Hardly surprising

        "Ok. For the last fucking time. MARKET SHARE MEANS DICK YOU FUCKING MORONS."

        So..

        Apple users = small dicks.

        Android users = big dicks.

        Crackberry users = castrati.

        Yes?

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Hardly surprising

          Stop dicking around.

          What he means to say in a somewhat clumsy way is that there are people who use iOS and people who use Android (and even a few who use Windows). And despite that, they still go to the pub after work and have a few beers together.

          It's a bloody phone, not a religion.

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    If true, then paint me surprised

    Perhaps a lot of pent up demand for an iPhone with a bigger screen? I like the 6+, but I'm in no rush to go out and buy one. I'm still perfectly happy with my Nexus 5 and Lollipop.

  9. jason 7

    Well its nice that the iPhone 6...

    ...has mostly managed to catch up feature wise with my 2012 spec Nexus 4.

    I think the issue for Apple in the future is that they launched the iPhone back when the components for such devices were at the peak of mobile tech and could charge a premium for such tech.

    However, now that tech is mature and common, the material cost of such devices has plummeted hence why we can now have a full blown Windows x64 tablet for £60!

    Apple's marketing folks will have an uphill struggle to keep convincing their kit is worth £600 when in the not too distant future you can probably buy a faster 4K IPS, 128GB, 20MP enabled 5.5" Android for £275.

    But I'm sure they'll perfect their mind control techniques further.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Well its nice that the iPhone 6...

      One of the big differences is service. It's like Mercedes and Ford - I'm not knocking people who own a Ford - the cars are good but not made as well as a Mercedes. They don't hold their value like a Mercedes and you don't get the service and support as you get with Mercedes. You own a Mercedes and next time you probably will buy another one whereas the experience I have had and seen with Ford is next time you may but nothing special so next time maybe you will look elsewhere.

      1. JEDIDIAH
        Linux

        Re: Well its nice that the iPhone 6...

        It's funny how people who clearly have never touched a real luxury brand in their lives (never mind actually owning one) like to fawn all over some generic bit of crap as if it were something other than what it really is.

        The right Ford centric comparison to draw here is Lincoln.

        ...essentially the same thing but with some superficial bits of trim added.

      2. Tringle

        Have you ever actually owned a Mercedes . . ?

        Because I have, and that's why I drive a Ford now. The Merc was, not to put to fine a point on it, overpriced under performing junk that cost a fortune to maintain. The Mondeo is much much much better.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Have you ever actually owned a Mercedes . . ?

          Yes I've owned a Mercedes and it was a really good car and yes I've driven Fords and no they don't compare. YMMV. Enjoy that depreciation...

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: Have you ever actually owned a Mercedes . . ?

            Having owned and used most cars between a Bentley and a DAF 33, aside 5 wheels and an engine, the only difference is how economically and/or luxuriously you want to get from A to B, else it's all just added glitz n glamour whilst parked for 23 hours a day

            Phones make voice calls (hence the name Phone, google the meaning), everything else (facepalm, Twatter, mobile TV etc) are just for individuals to choose / not choose to have

            1. Vic

              Re: Have you ever actually owned a Mercedes . . ?

              Having owned and used most cars between a Bentley and a DAF 33, aside 5 wheels and an engine, the only difference is how economically and/or luxuriously you want to get from A to B

              When you're doing 1000 miles a week, comfort is king...

              Vic.

          2. JEDIDIAH
            Devil

            Re: Have you ever actually owned a Mercedes . . ?

            Don't be a moron. ALL cars depreciate.

            Also, there's nothing terribly noteworthy about "Mercedes service" either. Although you will likely be forced to use it because of the proprietary nature of many parts of a Mercedes. I sorely wanted to replace the head unit in mine with something a bit more modern. Car companies always lag behind with that kind of thing.

            Although the real point is that Apple products come out of the same Chinese factories and use the same parts as any other PC or phone. Besides the extra trim, there is absolutely nothing to distinguish them from the cheapest brand you can name.

      3. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Well its nice that the iPhone 6...

        Of course if you never owned an iPhone or Mercedes you probably will not understand. A car is a car and all that?

      4. Old Yank

        Re: Well its nice that the iPhone 6...

        My wife's iPhone 5 had an issue last winter. While taking pictures outside on a very cold day, the lens froze up and all subsequent photos were out of focus. Even after several days the camera still would not return to normal function, so we went to the local Apple store for help. Upon arrival, the ipad-toting associate told us to wait four hours for an appointment with a "genius". Being the impatient person I am, I sat down with a display MacBook and googled issues with iPhone cameras. In about 30 seconds, I found a YouTube video that explained how commonly, iPhone cameras suffer this issue in cold weather, and that the solution was to "gently tap the phone, lens side down on a table, to free up the lens autofocus ring". Problem solved in a few seconds. I just found it hard to believe that no one had asked about this problem before, and left wondering if the point of being asked to wait four hours was more about keeping us captive in the store than quickly resolving a customer's issue. So much for the touted superior service Apple offers.

        1. jason 7

          Re: Well its nice that the iPhone 6...

          This is why three of my customers who switched over to Macs for work about 18 months ago have all come back to me and Windows. Apple Genius support is fine if you have a problem with iTunes or dropped your iPhone in the loo. However, if you need help integrating it into your existing business setup forget it. Most of the independent Apple support guys I knew of a couple of years ago, have all given up and got other jobs due to an Apple Store opening up in the city taking 50% of their jobs away and the other half gone through Apple making a lot of the hardware not worth fixing economically.

          1. Dana W

            Re: Well its nice that the iPhone 6...

            The only Mac to Windows Switchers I've ever seen who went back to Windows were the ones Buying Macbook Pros to run XP on. :) I ca't blame them I hated Windows too.

    2. Neil Alexander

      Re: Well its nice that the iPhone 6...

      Specs are more irrelevant now than ever before on anything but low-end handsets. Take your average person into a carrier store and talk to them about 4K IPS and octa-core processors and RAM and they will glaze over. Instead they are now more concerned with "What can I do with it?", to which Apple are impressively still ticking the majority of boxes.

      Can you browse Facebook with 1GB of RAM? Yes. If you browse Facebook with 4GB RAM, is the experience any better? No.

      Granted, not all of that is Apple or Google's fault. A good example of this is how I can connect an iPhone to most USB-enabled car entertainment systems and it will work, whereas if you connect an Android device, they are often not compatible. The same applies for a whole wealth of accessories, audio docks, etc. Manufacturers have traditionally favoured Apple customers, and Apple can still capitalise on that.

      The consumer then has to answer questions like this: Do you want your phone to have all these fancy invisible specs, or do you want to be able to do things like browse through your music library in the car?

      In cases like that, we can be reasonably confident which way most of them will answer.

      Experience and specification are not always directly aligned.

  10. Joe Gurman

    Landfill

    "Where Apple is still not playing is in the low end market, with nothing to challenge the Landfill Androids"

    Erm, did you not read the rest of the financial statement, say the part where the gross margin, across everything the Cupertino Fruit Factory makes, is 39.9%? And according to various "analysts," would have been as much as 5% higher had it not been for the recent nosedvies of various non-US currencies? If Mr. Rockman knows how to achieve that kind of margin on burner phones, I will be posting a check for his next startup tomorrow.

    1. Tim Jenkins

      Re: Landfill

      The whole "Landfill Android" tag is getting a bit out of date anyway. The £29.99 unit which I picked up for the Mrs at a certain blue-alien-promoted highstreet catalogue shop (I declined the 'mandatory' £10 top-up) is turning out to be perfectly viable for her browsing and messaging habits and even copes with iPlayer / Netflix. It's somwhat less than a 5" screen, but then she has very small hands...

    2. Dan 55 Silver badge

      Re: Landfill

      Isn't it amazing what glue and no user serviceable parts can do?

  11. Badvok

    "Samsung’s fall from grace"

    Fall from grace? By this do you mean that Samsung have gone from 32% market share in 2013 down to 25% market share in 2014? Meanwhile Apple's share has also fallen a bit. Apple are still a long way behind Samsung with only 15% share, they certainly haven't gained any share from Samsung, other Android makers have.

    The truth is that MOST PEOPLE still prefer non-Apple smartphones.

    1. Wake up befor you sleep thru windows last crash...

      Re: "Samsung’s fall from grace"

      That's ridiculous, and there is no such thing as 'truth' when it comes to Roider stats. They count pirate memory sticks, etc... Roid is just a crappy OS, you can put it on anything. You're an idiot if you believe their figures. With Apple every sale is money in the bank.

    2. Wake up befor you sleep thru windows last crash...

      Re: "Samsung’s fall from grace"

      LOL, Roider stats are fantasy. Roid is just a crappy OS. They put it on everyone now, and count it as if it were a phone. Even feature phone (technically) 'have android' on them. Not that it matters.

      It's a honking, second rate rip off. Why you clowns can't see that, when literally everyone else can, is beyond logic or reason.

      1. Badvok
        WTF?

        "Roider stats"

        What on earth are "Roider stats"? Something about how much your steroids have grown your muscles? Are you sure you are on the right web site?

        P.S. If you want to know smartphone market share figures I think there is a very famous search engine you can use to look them up yourself.

        1. TitterYeNot

          Re: "Roider stats"

          "What on earth are "Roider stats"?"

          I was wondering that as well - I'd assumed that it was someone posting in the wrong comments section and ranting on about their haemorrhoids.

          Aaaand back to the subject at hand...

          This news isn't surprising in the slightest. A certain proportion of Android users in recent years will have been people who like Apple gear but didn't get one because they also wanted a big screen, which his Appleness in his wisdom didn't provide, so they ended up buying a big screen Samsung or suchlike. Now Apple have changed their minds and are selling big screen fruity phones, so the same proportion of Android users will jump ship to Apple when it's time for a replacement.

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: "Samsung’s fall from grace"

      I'm not sure you can accurately say prefer when it's more a factor of what you can afford. That's like saying people would prefer to eat only rice when it may be all they can afford.

      People buy Android because the vast majority of it's handsets are cheap you would need to compare an iPhone and an Android phone at the same price and there we can see people buy iPhone.

    4. gnasher729 Silver badge

      Re: "Samsung’s fall from grace"

      Please, you need to keep up-to-date with your numbers. Right now, world-wide smartphone market share for Samsung and Apple is both around 19.5%. Considering that most profit is made at the high end of the market, and Samsung's mobile profit is down massively from the quarter last year (about one third of last year's profit), it is quite safe to say that a whole load of Samsung high-end customers have defected to the iPhone.

      And the truth is that MOST PEOPLE always preferred the iPhone. In some countries, like the USA, MOST PEOPLE buy iPhones. In other countries, many people can't afford it.

      1. Captain DaFt

        Re: "Samsung’s fall from grace"

        "In some countries, like the USA, MOST PEOPLE buy iPhones."

        And in some countries, like the USA, MOST PEOPLE prefer Hershey's Chocolate. So what exactly does it prove?

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: "Samsung’s fall from grace"

          I didn't realise Hershey's was meant to be chocolate.

  12. 45RPM Silver badge

    This just shows that the market is healthy. Nothing more.

    Surely this isn't evidence of the awesomeness of the iPhone - this is merely evidence that the market is healthy. In the olden days, if you worked on a PC, or PCW, or an Amiga, or a Mac or an <insert platform of choice here> then you'd have the very devil of a job getting your work onto a different platform if you ever wanted to jump ship. Networking was non-existent (or as good as) and floppy formats were incompatible - even if you were able to get the disk to fit into your new computer. Whole businesses were founded on software / hardware solutions to jam your work down the serial port and (hopefully) reconstruct it on your new platform. And once reconstructed, there was a very good chance that you wouldn't be able to open the file that you'd carefully copied anyway. And this is why I have a "you don't know how lucky you are" moment whenever someone whines about lock-in.

    If users really are switching to and from Android or iOS then it demonstrates that there is little or no lock-in. In fact, beyond any apps that you purchase, I can't think of any lock in. After all, it is the data that you own / create that's really valuable. Email, contacts, calendars and so forth - and these can me moved as easily as making a cup of tea.

    It doesn't show that the iPhone is necessarily better than Android. The iPhone probably is better than Android for some people, just as Android is better than iPhone for others. Same applies to Windows and Blackberry. People are buying what's best for their needs at this moment in time and you can be sure that the stats will be different again in a year. People move. The market is healthy. Don't read too much into it. Move along…

    1. magickmark
      Pint

      Re: This just shows that the market is healthy. Nothing more.

      Careful that sounds like common sense there 45RPM we don't want the El Reg forums to get the reputation for being a place to come for a well balanced and thought out view, oh no! Especially on a Friday afternoon when its fast approaching beer o'clock.

  13. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    You can see this all over. Apple sell the phones people want and probably make literally all the profits. The Google app store does more downloads but the Apple app store makes they money and of course developers make money. A lot of the Android phones I see may as well be anything as they are literally only used for calls and texting and perhaps downloading the odd (free) app.

    Android may have market share but what do they say - turnover is vanity - profit is sanity?

  14. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Switched

    The wife and I just switched. Her from a Motorola and me from a HTC. Both were nice phones, but we got tired of Google just messing up the little things like Bluetooth messaging integration with our vehicles and nit fixing it. I "fixed" mine with an Xposed module, but Xposed doesn't work with ART.

    In the end, Car Play ended up working too well that it tempted us over. So far we're happy.

  15. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    LOL...

    .....whatever, Tim.

    Apple have just shipped their one billionth iOS device overall - Android shipped over a billion last year alone....

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: LOL...

      Android shipped nothing.

      Countless phone manufacturers shipped over a billion units (with various versions of Android on them).

  16. David 138

    If i didnt dislike ios because of itunes, the messy desktop, inconsistent UI and the dated look i would have an iPhone. One thing they do get is updates, and you don't feel like a second rate customer when a new phone is released seconds later by the same company. Android could do with more premium phones with continuous updates,

    1. Ivan Headache

      Not sure what you mean by 'messy desktop' or 'inconsistent UI'.

      Care to explain more.

      My desktop looks pretty neat and tidy, and apart from one or two oddities the UI appears to be consistent ove all the app I use.

    2. Adam 1

      Just because they provide updates doesn't mean you should install them. Some of the older models that scrape onto the list of compatible devices work so slow you will soon need an upgrade.

      1. JEDIDIAH
        Linux

        I see crazy people and they don't know they're crazy.

        Agreed. The fetish with upgrading all devices seems insane. Give them security fixes sure, but don't force everyone to run the latest bloatware. It doesn't make any more sense on a phone than it does on a PC.

  17. Alan Denman

    Spin doctor at it again

    Notice how the guy has given zero details apart from a catch all 15%.

    Golden rule, only tell the customer what you want them to know.

  18. IGnatius T Foobar

    A lie repeated often enough...

    A lie repeated often enough will eventually be perceived as the truth. Socialists know this. Apple knows this too. So does Microsoft.

  19. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Largest profit by any company ever

    Can't people just be happy for them?

  20. JaitcH
    Meh

    Early one morning a few days ago ...

    I spotted an iThingy in the gutter. So I pulled my motorcycle over and picked it up. No owner information so I had the SIM hacked and we eventually found the owner.

    He said he dropped it but after buying a new LG cell handset he didn't bother picking it up. I guess that says it all.

  21. Da Weezil

    I dumped Samsung...

    2 Former S3 users here, both now on 6+.... why? well I cant speak for the other one, but for me with an i9305 (thats the LTE one) it was lousy battery life, software issues that led to the phone frequently dropping its user ring tones and other customizations and its weird propensity to self dial people that I had just texted if the screen rotated while the text window was still showing. It also used to drop network easily and then refuse to work without a reboot believing that it was still off of coverage even though it was showing several bars of signal. There were other issues surrounding attempting to dial in a certain way from contacts which showed some software running (USSD code running) then an unable to dial message

    Oh and the final straw - the micro USB socket failing after 15 months and Samsung supports assertion that such failure would be seen by them as chargeable damage not a defect despite the fact that the phone needed charging more than once in 24 hours which was the reason for heavy usage and yes the other S3 phone (I9300) here was showing the same sort of issue when it was replaced.. For a premium product it was just terrible the software was lousy and after the USB failure I knew I no longer trusted Samsung to provide me with the quality I expect from a mainstream brand.

    My current 6+ runs for 3 days on a single charge with the same sort of usage and software in use. It just works which is what I expect from a premium price unit. In fact I probably use mobile data more now than I did with the Samsung mainly because I have a battery that will last me a day or more... rather than needing a recharge by 6 or 7 pm

    Samsung products have disappointed several times and are now no longer considered by this household.

  22. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Consumers with cash...

    Who can choose to buy either an iPhone or android device, have woken up to the fact that Android is a buggy, insecure, unpleasant to use operating system and that Google is literally the creepiest company that has ever existed on the face of the planet. They are voting with their wallets. Poor people who cannot afford anything better are still being forced down the Android route. Soon, these customers will be able to choose Windows devices instead though.

  23. Frank N. Stein

    If only "only 15 per cent of iPhone 6 customers have upgraded from other iPhones", what phone are all of the other iPhone users upgrading to, if not iPhones? The Blackberry Passport? It can't be the S5, because they didn't sell well.

  24. Unicornpiss
    Flame

    Did Fox News announce that statistic?

    The company I work for was given a very good deal to upgrade our iPhones from 4s and 5s to the new 6. I suspect that we're not the only ones. That could account for some of the numbers if they're not counting new activations.

    We have a LOT of iPhone 6 devices. Users like the bigger screens and faster processors, as well as the new iOS fitness and other apps, plus the fingerprint reader. We have found that this seems to be the most fragile iPhone in the last few generations of them. We have replaced a lot of these for cracked glass components, though admittedly the actual LCD isn't cracked in most of these cases. The extra 'security' is a bit annoying, especially when connecting to 'untrustworthy' wireless networks, and of course iTunes is the marketing-centric turd it has always been.

    As far as I'm concerned, Apple has only just barely caught up with the last Samsung innovations, and I won't be giving up my Android device anytime soon.

  25. Diogenes

    Anecdotal

    Last year on day 1 back at school I surveyed the kids in my IT classes. Roughly 1/3 each windows , android and iphone.

    Believe it or not this year 50%(!) windows , and about equal numbers each of android and apple. Nobody had a 6 (many still on 4), and most 'droids (roughly 2/3) were still on jellybean or kitkat - no lollipops.

    A few of the kids have tablets (mostly cheap Pendo pads being sold @ $45 - again roughly 50/50 droid and windows, although I did notice my local Coles sold the droid quicker. There are a few ipad minis and a couple of Galaxy Tab/Notes in the classes where the kids have jobs - (all still waiting for Lollipop).

  26. rvt

    IOS to Android ratio

    on the register can clearly be observed by averaging the up/downvotes.on each comment.

    1. Dana W

      Re: IOS to Android ratio

      It measures iOS to Android ownership on the REGISTER nothing else. And the user base here is very much NOT the general public.

      iOS is popular with people who want it to just work, and don't want to have to run an antivirus on their PHONE!

      I've seen people go to Android from iOS, They get talked into it by salesmen, then they come back. iOS has better user retention. Android is fine for geeks. ts like Linux, its nice if you know how to use it, and you can maintain it. But people like their phones the way they like their TVs, turn it on and USE it. My Last Android device had to have its boot-loader unlocked and be rootkitted to give me that non "walled garden" experience It is supposed to be so famous far.

      1. 6th_Hokage

        Re: IOS to Android ratio

        "iOS is popular with people who want it to just work, and don't want to have to run an antivirus on their PHONE!

        I've seen people go to Android from iOS, They get talked into it by salesmen, then they come back. iOS has better user retention. Android is fine for geeks. ts like Linux, its nice if you know how to use it, and you can maintain it. But people like their phones the way they like their TVs, turn it on and USE it. My Last Android device had to have its boot-loader unlocked and be rooted to give me that non "walled garden" experience It is supposed to be so famous far."

        1st android doesn't need a antivirus...

        2nd you can do more with stock not rooted Android then you can with IOS....jail break gives IOS some freedoms but nothing close to root on Android.

        3rd you have to be really freaking dumb to not be able to use a Android device out of the box, part of the user experience is finding out how to do different things with it by yourself, you don't need someones help to figure out how 90% of it works...

  27. Jeff Lewis

    Let's wait a quarter more before surrendering, ok? Apple had an insane amount of pent up demand it just released - if their sales still look like this over the next quarter, then you may have a point.

  28. Rainer

    Still waiting

    for the 5S-sized 6S ;-)

    I really want a 6 Plus (if only for the OIS) - but I don't really want to carry such a big phone.

    Plus, while my current 4S is showing its age, it's still working nicely, although a bit slow.

    Choosing an iPhone has never been so difficult, I tell you!

  29. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Writer Receives Failing Grade For Homophobic Quip.

    Just couldn't resist the "...fruity furrier..." comment, eh? Pretty tasteless in an otherwise interesting and informative article. Missed opportunity for developing self-control.

  30. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    My first smartphones were Windows Mobile 5-6 device such as the HTC Tytn II. I moved to an iPhone 3G and then to an HTC Evo as my first android device. At that point I started using Nexus devices exclusively, owning every nexus phone up to the 5' buying them on release day. I liked the Nexus line. It was consistent, regularly updated and compatible with most apps, which is often not true for other Android devices. Unfortunately that is coming to an end as the Nexus 6 is too large for my taste. I watch my friends with LGs trying to find a stable ROM end up in a constant cycle of loading a ROM, finding it buggy, wipe, rinse, repeat, all because the manufacturer refuses to update the device past Jelly Bean. I used to enjoy trying out ROMs but honestly now I just want something that works and I'm seriously considering going back to an iPhone.

    1. 6th_Hokage

      dude all you need is Samsung galaxy S3 or S4 or Note 3 and custom Bloat-free Touchwiz roms.....the reason i don't say the S5 or Note 4 is because they murdered the Menu key....and right now most if not all bugs are gone in 4.4.2-4.4.4; 5.0 still has to be fully released. you mentioned the update thing sure that is good to have when it comes to Android versions but some times those updates come with "security" basically breaking most of the easy root options....i know Nexus is supposed to be a Dev friendly phone but, to me Samsung just happens to have more root options then Nexus does.

  31. 6th_Hokage

    Most If not all of those Android People had the iPhone 4 and/Or 4s and saw that it was a shit product and switched to Android or were the first to get the iPhone 5. Those that went the Android route probably did so to have a quality device that is pretty cheap till they finally go back to apple when they releases the "Next big thing". Others that went the Android route are happy where they are; then comes the ones that switched to the iPhone 5, they just like the Android route are either happy where they are or were waiting for the "Next big thing" but those people would be stuck in a contract before they can upgrade. But I'm a happy S3 owner so i really couldn't care less but, feel free to up/down vote or get into a heated debate/argument lol :P

  32. JimWin

    Choice rather than upgrade

    I have both Sony Android and Apple iPhone out of choice and history. Because I live in a not-spot area, both are PAYG. The fruity mobe is a classier product, but the android just as functional. The Android is also cheaper and more dispensable. So when doing outdoor sports or other outdoor activities, it's the android phone. When I'm out on business or socialising, it's the iPhone. I don't consider the iPhone to be an upgrade. Both serve their purpose so I'm not binning my Android.

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