Skip to main content

Apple makes 50 percent of all handset industry profits, says analyst

Apple iPhone 4
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Google Android may have Apple beat in terms of the totally number of users. But when it comes to making money, Apple reigns supreme. According to market analyst T. Michael Walkley of Canaccord Genuity, sales of Apple’s popular iPhone handset brought in 50 percent of all smartphone profits combined, in the first quarter of this year.

“Our [June] checks indicated continued strong sales of the iPhone 4, as it remained by far the top-selling smartphone at AT&T and Verizon despite the continued popularity of 4G smartphones and several new high-end Android smartphones,” said Walkley, who spoke with AppleInsider.

Recommended Videos

By Walkley’s count, iPhone 4 was by far the top-selling smartphone at Verizon, where it beat out all six new high-end Android devices, which include the HTC Thunderbolt and Incredible 2, Motorola Droid X2, Samsung Droid Charge, Sony Ericsson Play and the LG Revolution.

iPhone-Apple-sales
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Walkley says the iPhone 4 “will remain the top-selling smartphone at Verizon throughout 2011.” Despite this, he expects iPhone unit sales to drop from an earlier estimate of 16 percent to 15.2 percent. At that rate, Apple is still on track to sell 100 million iPhone units during the course of 2011.

During the same period, Walkley says that the number of devices running the Android operating system, from all companies, will rise from the 67.2 million units sold during 2010 to a total of about 329 million units sold throughout 2011.

Currently, Android devices make up about 45.3 percent of the market, more than any other OS. That compares to No. 2 Apple’s 15.6 percent share. By the end of this year, Walkley expects Android to account for about 50 percent of all smarphones sold.

Walkley expects the number of users with iOS-based gizmos — that includes all iPhones, iPads and iPod touch devices — to rise from 250 million in 2011 to about 415 million by the end of next year.

Andrew Couts
Features Editor for Digital Trends, Andrew Couts covers a wide swath of consumer technology topics, with particular focus on…
The foldable iPhone could become a yearly staple for Apple
Semi-open state of a foldable iPhone concept

South Korean tech site ET News has released a report suggesting the foldable iPhone will get an annual refresh starting in 2026. It would replace the Pro Max as the top-of-the-line iPhone model and get updated every year just like the rest of the core lineup.

The launch date for the "iPhone Fold" is still up in the air -- so while ET News is betting on 2026, we don't know if that will turn out to be accurate or not. Either way, the hype around this rumored new model is continuing to build with every new leak we get.

Read more
I’m saving for Apple’s game-changing 2027 products and you should, too
Apple Watch Series 7 sitting on top of an iPhone 13 Pro.

Apple makes terrific hardware, and serves an astoundingly refined software to go with it. The company, unfortunately, also follows a strategy where it repeats the same fundamental design and innovation stack for years. 

In a nutshell, you get to see a remarkably new hardware from Apple once or twice in a decade.  The year 2027 is shaping up to be one such year, and it seems buyers will be spoiled for choice with the sheer diversity of upgraded products in two years from now. 

Read more
Apple could soon fix Wi-Fi access woes across all your devices
Setting up Wi-Fi on an iPhone.

One of the biggest hassles while traveling is the hunt for a decent internet connection, and then getting it to work across all your devices. The conundrum is now mainstream across hotels, lodges, and coffee shops — essentially all the establishments a person is supposed to spend a few hours of their day, but needs to fill a web form first before they can get internet access.

Apple will soon put an end to those Wi-Fi registration struggles. According to Bloomberg, the company is working on “a system that can synchronize captive Wi-Fi access details across the iPhone, iPad and Mac.”

Read more