IDC

iPhone 5c supply cuts, iPad losing revenue game, overpriced iPhones… It must be a Friday.

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated August 4, 2016

What better way to manipulate AAPL than trash-talk the company on a Friday and let bloggers disseminate FUD? First, UBS analyst Steve Milunovich articulated his disappointment with iPad sales because the tablet in general "simply isn’t a must-have device" (I swear I'm not making this up).

Next, Henry Blodget (who runs Business Insider) is back with his 'iPhone dead in the water' meme: Apple's refusal to go for low-value customers has been ticking Blodget off for some time, even if the move carries the real risk of damaging the brand beyond repair.

Then, a Chinese blog asserts Apple is further trimming the iPhone 5c production as early adopters continue to prefer the flagship iPhone 5s. Finally we have Morgan Stanley creatively putting all of the Android tablets together - including those sold on the Moon plus sub-$50 no-names sitting in the drawer collecting dust - to proclaim Google's platform a revenue winner.

Grab your popcorn and chillax...

IDC: in Asia, phablets now outselling both PCs and tablets

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 11, 2018

If a camel is a horse created by committee, then a phablet is a device built by indecision between a smartphone and tablet. Whatever the definition, popularity of the product with a screen between five and seven inches diagonally is skyrocketing in much of Asia. According to IDC, sales of phablets led tablets and portable PCs, up 620 percent in the second quarter compared to the same period in 2012...

IDC: China’s iPad market share slashed by strong home-grown competition

Ed Sutherland ∙ August 21, 2013

In every analysis listing market share, there is that mysterious 'Other' category which lumps together all the lesser-known players. Now comes word 'Other' is making a name for itself, as the Apple iPad's share of the increasingly important China market was almost cut in half during the second quarter.

Researcher IDC said Tuesday Apple's tablet market share in China fell to 28 percent during the second quarter of 2013, down from its usual level above 50 percent. Some 46 percent of tablets shipped to China were made by 'Other' tablet brands, often low-cost Android devices, according to the research firm...

For this analyst, Apple needs both low-cost iPhone and iPhablet to stay ahead of curve

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated February 28, 2017

Although Apple managed to surprise investors with better-than-expected iPhone sales, some observers see a more daunting future for the flagship Apple smartphone.

Apple's global smartphone marketshare may have fallen by some estimates to as low as fourteen percent amid increasing pressure from rivals seeking higher margins and more sales.

Strategy Analytics describes the iPhone being "trapped in a pincer movement" between Android cheapos and high-end monster phones with five-inch screens. In other words, as iPhone competitors that churn out inexpensive handsets increasingly march toward the mid-range in hopes of gaining more profit, Apple's high-end rivals are now moving toward the middle, seeking increased sales...

India overtakes Japan as third biggest smartphone market

Ed Sutherland ∙ June 26, 2013

For years, the big three smartphone markets have been China, the U.S. and Japan. India now has knocked Japan out of the third spot due in part to better distribution and increased attention from Apple and Samsung, a research firm said Wednesday.

India has recently been in the spotlight as the two smartphone giants battle over the nation's growing interest in adopting the more powerful mobile phones. As a result, consumers are bombarded with an array of buying options, perhaps explaining why Strategy Analytics is reporting 163 percent smartphone growth in India, four times the global average...

IDC: iPhone 4’s triple-digit growth boosts Apple’s China share to 9%

Ed Sutherland ∙ June 20, 2013

More indications Apple's efforts offering flexible pricing are paying off. Sales of the iPhone 4 in China grew at a faster pace than the overall market during the first quarter, research firm IDC announced Thursday. Per data, the iPhone has a cool nine percent of the Chinese smartphone market, putting Apple in fifth place.

Demand for the iPhone 4 grew by 211 percent, outpacing the market's overall 117 percent growth rate. By comparison, Korean smartphone rival Samsung has nineteen percent of the smartphone market in China. However, the company has shifted from growing its share of the high-end market to simply hanging on to what it now has...

IDC: tablets to overtake laptops this year, all PCs in 2015

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated February 28, 2017

It was not long ago that people dreamed of providing a PC for every child on the planet. Well, the vision needs to be updated. Tablets - particularly those in the iPad mini size range - are outselling laptops now and soon will overtake all PCs, research firm IDC reported Tuesday.

Some 229.3 million tablets are expected to ship this year for a 58.7 percent growth rate, compared to 2012. By contrast, PC shipments are down for the second year in a row, dropping 7.8 percent in 2013, the company announced.

The key takeaways: tablets are becoming smaller and cheaper, while at the same time being increasingly able to accomplish tasks once done by PCs...

iOS and Android gamers spend 3X as much as handheld console owners

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 9, 2016

I still remember vividly how industry heavy-weights Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft initially laughed off gaming on the iPhone. It was right after Apple slashed the iPod touch to the sweet $199 price point that it became clear to me that gaming on high-end smartphones and tablets would eventually outgrow that on dedicated handheld consoles such as Sony's PSP and Nintendo's DS family.

Enter a new report by research firm IDC and analytics service App Annie which reveals just how far along mobile gaming has come. According to the study, users of smartphones and tablets spend nearly three times as much purchasing games on Apple's App Store and Google's Play Store as handheld device owners.

If these numbers are anything to go by, smart mobile devices will soon relegate dedicated handheld consoles to a niche market, if not eventually kill the category altogether...

IDC: Apple, Android own 92% smartphone volume, Windows Phone beats BlackBerry

Ed Sutherland ∙ May 16, 2013

Just days after rival research firm Gartner released quarterly sales for iOS and Android, rival IDC today announced similar numbers for shipments of smartphones. Combined, iOS and Android maintained their stranglehold on the smartphone market, accounting for more than an astounding 92 percent of shipments during the first quarter of 2013.

In a surprising move, shipments of the Windows Phone smartphone operating system surpassed the BlackBerry OS, putting Microsoft in third place behind Android and iOS. I bet you didn't see that one coming...

Behind the data: iPad market share fell below 40 percent, or did it?

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated February 28, 2017

In the latest lesson on how to be a smart tech news consumer, we focus on why research pointing to Apple gains somehow is trumpeted as losses for the iPad maker.

Wednesday, research firm IDC announced Apple's tablet saw a 65 percent year-over-year gain in first-quarter shipments.

Yet several news outlets blared headlines of the iPad's market share falling below 40 percent. How was Apple's strong growth spun into an Android win?

A first: smartphone shipments outnumber feature phones

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated February 28, 2017

For some time, the mobile phone industry has been shifting toward more powerful smartphones and away from basic mobile phones. Now comes word that smartphones outnumber feature phones for the first time. The line was crossed in the first quarter of 2013 with 216.1 million smartphones shipping, accounting for 51.6 percent of all handsets sold. Smartphone shipments grew 41.6 percent during the quarter, up from 152.7 million units shipped during the same period in 2012, one industry research firm announced Thursday...

IDC: Apple within spitting distance of Samsung in smart connected devices

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 28, 2017

Research firm IDC today shared an interesting data point which again reminds us that the mobile game has pretty much come down to the epic fight for supremacy between California-based Apple and Seoul-headquartered Samsung group. Combined shipments of desktop and notebook PCs, tablets and smartphones rose to 378 million units in the fourth quarter of 2012, accounting for $168 billion in quarterly sales.

One particular data point has piqued our interest: thanks to the (sarcasm alert) "disappointing" iPhone 5 and "overpriced" iPad mini, Apple closed the gap with the South Korean giant, having accounted for a 20.3 percent unit share versus 21.2 percent for its rival.

And, of course, when you narrow down the analysis to just revenues, Apple's high-margin business has allowed the company to pull in the market-leading 30.7 percent revenue versus 20.4 percent revenue share for Samsung.

In other words, nearly one out of every three dollars spent on desktop/notebook PCs, smartphones and tablets in Q4 2012 went to Apple, with Samsung taking one out of each five bucks...