← Back to context

Comment by nojvek

5 years ago

Well they are winning with iPhones aren’t they?

It's a question of what winning means I think. In terms of profits, they might be winning. If it's market share though, they are not winning, and that means there is still an opening for open standards.

  • If it was your company, would you rather have 99% market share and 1% of profits, or 1% market share and 99% of profits?

    • 99% of profits, obviously, but you've forgotten what thread we're in. This is a thread about Linux and software freedom. For that, market share is way more important than profit share.

    • If I was making 99% of the profit off of 1% the market, I’d be terrified someone could just undercut me and take either my 1% or a big portion of the remaining market, that I’m trying to also get.

      Owning the profit is great, but owning the market means longevity.

Are they? Last time I've heard Android still runs in the vast majority of phones, worldwide.

  • Apple is winning in terms of making virtually all the profit available to those selling phones, and Android's market share advantage is not nearly as big as you think, at least not in areas where people have a lot of disposable income, like in the US, where it's basically 50/50 between Android and iOS.

Nope. Android has more market share despite apple having the head start.

  • It's somehow easier to be a follower here, Apple set the trends for years, Android only had to replicate and sell cheaper.

    • I don't think apple is looking to beat android in marketshare, but instead in profits. They are mostly not interested in selling cheaper commodities, and instead work hard for premium differentiation (and maximal value capture of the whole ecosystem around premium smartphones with services and peripherals).

      Besides, if they did win smartphone marketshare too hard, they risk regulation on the amount of control they enjoy of their platforms, which might harm their profits.

      2 replies →