Skip to main content

Apple iPhone takes 52% of third quarter industry profits

In Smartphone news, the iPhone is making a lot of money for Apple—more than half the industry’s overall profits belong to the Cupertino-based company. Though Samsung has pushed way ahead of Apple for sales in the September quarter, Apple managed to command 52% of the profits with the iPhone.

This is according to Canaccord Genuity Analyst T. Michael Walkley, who points out that Apple’s profit command comes from only 4.2 percent of the global market share; smaller still when you realize that its market share has dipped from 5.4 percent.

Recommended Videos

It’s also worthy to note that in the third quarter of 2011, Samsung and Apple combined make up 81% of the money made for the smartphone market. The rest of the 8 largest manufacturers: Nokia, RIM, Motorola, Sony Ericsson, LG, HTC, all came in with under 10% of the profits.

Handset_industry_operating_profits via all things digital
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Walkley also points out that four years ago Apple was puttering around with only 4% of the profits while Nokia reigned with a whopping 67%, and now the two companies fortunes have reversed.

As impressive as that 52% seems, Walkley believes that Apple will be reaping even bigger profits when the fourth quarter rolls around. With Rim and Motorola struggling in North America and Nokia bogged down as well, Apple is predicted to grab at least 60% of the smartphone industry’s profits. The company is expected to hit 29 million iPhone sales by December and to pump out 104.4 million by the end of 2012.

Despite the popularity of Android, Apple ruling in the profits area has become a trend as Canaccord Genuity that the iPhone garnered roughly 50 percent in the years first quarter. Apple may have ceded the title of largest phone vender to Samsung, but of course that was before the iPhone 4S launch. 

Jeff Hughes
Former Digital Trends Contributor
I'm a SF Bay Area-based writer/ninja that loves anything geek, tech, comic, social media or gaming-related.
iPhone 17 Air: everything you need to know
Alleged concept render of the iPhone 17 Air in black.

The iPhone 17 Air is set to become the first iPhone that's as light as a feather -- or light as air, as its name suggests. Not because it's as tiny as the oldest iPhone models, but rather it's because it's as thin as the MacBook Air that inspired it and thinner than the rest of the iPhone 17 line.

Although the iPhone 17 Air is months away from being officially announced by Apple, let alone the standard iPhone 17, the leaks and rumors swirling around the ultra-slim model have iPhone users excited about the prospect of holding it in their hands and anxious about its fragility because of its thinness. Here's everything you need to know about the iPhone 17 Air.

Read more
The iPhone 18 Pro could see a major design change
A person holding the Apple iPhone 16e showing the screen.

If the iPhone 18 release schedule wasn't enough of a shift, it looks like the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max models could switch to under-screen Face ID and have only a small camera in the top-left corner of the screen. The news comes from Digital Chat Station on Weibo, a leaker with an inside hook into Apple's supply chain.

"Well, I checked with the Apple supply chain a few days ago. The iPhone 18/18 Pro Max is indeed testing 3D faces under the screen, with a single HIAA hole; the iPhone 8/18 Air is a regular 2+1 hole," they write (as translated by Google.)

Read more
The iPhone 17 Air might not stack up in terms of battery life
Alleged concept render of the iPhone 17 Air in black.

Concerns over iPhone 17 Air battery life might have been spot-on, according to a new report from The Information. Apple allegedly conducted internal tests that showed only 60 to 70 percent of iPhone 17 Air devices would make it through the day without needing a recharge, versus between 80 to 90 percent for other iPhone models.

Of course, part of that is due to the design of the handset. At just 5.5mm, the iPhone 17 Air is set to be the thinnest iPhone ever (and one of the thinnest phones on the market overall), but it might come at the cost of battery capacity. To help offset this problem, Apple is supposedly planning to launch an optional battery case accessory to give users a little bit more juice to get them through the day.

Read more