Despite the decline in Windows PC sales over the past five years, Microsoft and its partners have traditionally sold more units than Apple’s iOS devices, but that might have changed in 2015. According to Asymco analyst Horace Dediu, more iPhones and iPads were shipped in 2015 than Windows PCs. His data is based on sales estimates, since official numbers aren’t know as of yet.
Dediu estimates that Apple sold 300 million iPhones and 60 million iPads in 2015, which amounts to 360 million iOS devices sold. In comparison, he projects that just 276 million Windows PCs were sold in the same time period. Apple usually announces its yearly sales figures early in the year, so we should find out how accurate Dediu’s predictions are soon enough.
Asymco also estimates that around 15,000 Macintosh computers were sold throughout 2015, and the projections show Mac sales increasing, while the PC market declines. In a tweet, Dediu claims that if the current trend continues, Mac will surpass Windows PC in total sales 12 years from now. Of course, these are just projections, and the market could certainly change during that time frame.
Although iOS device sales may have finally surpassed Windows PCs, they’re still a far cry from the number of Android phones sold. We don’t have official Android sales numbers for the year, but combining Samsung sales for the first nine months and Huawei’s 100 million mobile sales in 2015 is enough to surpass Apple’s total iOS device sales. That’s not including the millions of sales Xiaomi, Lenovo, and ZTE made in 2015.
Apple might not be able to win on market share, but the company is one of the few to make a profit. A recent report suggested that Apple takes home 94 percent of the mobile industry’s profit, while LG, Sony, and HTC struggle to survive in the competitive market.
Next year might be tougher for Apple, too, with various investors lowering sales forecasts for the iPhone in 2016 after reports of growing inventory. However, some analysts say the iPhone 6C and iPhone 7 might be able to boost sales performance throughout 2016.
