iPhone 5 Rumored to Arrive September 21 > Finally catching up to year old Android products.

reply to nfotiu22

Re: Finally catching up to year old Android products.

Google makes the Android OS not Motorola or Samsung etc..Its irrelevent how many companies make Android phones as there is only one company who releases the OS and thats Google..

Missing OS features dont have crap to do with only having one company release their phone.

damn isheep

reply to OSUGoose
Galaxy Nexus - About a year old, actually. Announced October 2011. »www.phonearena.com/phones/Samsun···A_id6135

Has a large screen, turn by turn directions, LTE.

reply to OSUGoose
You lost me as to why the comparison is unfair.

Apple's net income in 2011 was $25.9B.
Samsung $18.3B (entire conglomerate, not just mobile)
HTC $1.3B
Motorola Mobility ($249)M
LG $5.8B (entire conglomerate, not just mobile).

Even though I included the entire profit totals of Samsung and LG (both make lots more stuff than just phones), Apple still made more money than the others combined. Most of Apple's money comes from iOS products and that product line is by far more profitable than ANYTHING the others create.

Apple is not constrained by resources. This means they choose to have one phone and refresh it once a year. How can this be used, then, as the basis for an unfair comparison?

Bottom line: There's no reason Apple couldn't have more than one phone model. At the very least they could offer options like an LTE radio and perhaps something with more flash and an upgraded camera. Having options like this wouldn't fragment the line and leave less room for Android manufacturers to wiggle.

Its a unfair comparison as Apple docent churn out junk every 3-6 months like the Android MFG's do. They chose to wait and release yearly and hit it out the park 95% with that phone. While the Android MFG's deal with the growing pains of chipsets draining batteries or dont hand off well, and other issues. Why would I buy a Android phone when history suggests in 3 months it will be obsolete and not supported for software updates after a year. While Apple is STILL supporting 3GS with iOS updates and people generally know when the new version comes out and can either take the risk to buy in the summer or wait for the fall release, not only saving money if they want the now "old" version or getting the new one at normal pricing.

Dont forget, that apple also has their app store and Itunes sales, as well as support tickets, and accessories sales, and all that crap. If you were to count their phones alone, I think apple sold less retail volume than all other android handset makers.

reply to gballer

reply to Chubbysumo
As of this month, 46.4% of Apple's revenue is derived from the iPhone. About 25% from the iPad. Recent court documents revealed a 59% gross margin on the iPhone -- about twice the margin of the iPad. That means the lion's share of their $26B in annual profit (2011 figure) comes from the iPhone alone. Regardless of revenue figures, are you really willing to argue that the other manufacturers I listed make that much money off their smart phones?

The two most significant companies are Samsung and LG. Both make tons of consumer appliances and it's unlikely they can commit the kind of capital Apple could to keep their phones fresh.

Revenue is one thing but you need profit to reinvest and innovate. If you don't have profit, you have to issue stock or borrow.

reply to OSUGoose
If Apple chooses to turn out new products less frequently to make sure they are solid, why does that make it unfair to compare them with Android phones? Isn't stability a feature and doesn't that neutralize the competition's faster radios, better cameras, bigger screens, etc?

The category is smart phones and I think it's fair to compare smart phone vs. smart phone. It's not fair to compare a feature phone using an OS like Symbian vs. a smart phone.

reply to rradina

reply to Gbcue

reply to Gone
I'm lost as to why the specific breakdown matters regarding it being unfair to compare an Android smart phone with an Apple smart phone...

Apple could give the rest away. Almost all the profit is hardware.

These numbers are from this article's chart:

»www.phonearena.com/news/Apple-re···_id32825

46.4% iPhone
26.2% iPad
10.4% Portables
5.9% iTunes Stores
3.7% Desktops
3.0% iPod
2.5% Software/Services
1.9% Peripherals

However, this pie chart contributes even more revenue to the iPhone hardware:
»cdn.macrumors.com/article-new/20···hart.jpg

reply to OSUGoose
So what if there is multiple phones for android? How does that change the fact that Apple is just NOW putting these features in?

reply to fifty nine

reply to Cheese
Obviously all the non-Apple manufacturers have infiltrated Apples R&D and stole their product designs and features from Apple. Or maybe Apple's engineering department went bar hopping. Either way, it's very clear to me that Samsung, HTC, Motorola, et al have stolen their design from the iPhone 5. There's no other explanation.

I have one! The Hot Tub Time Machine! Apple went back in time and saw the ideas and now presto!

reply to Cheese
Because apple cares about getting it right the first time and when new features get popular between refreshes, they dont rush together a phone just to say "us too". While the multi-Android makers pump them out without fully working all the bugs out.

Right...

Getting it right the first time, now that's funny!

"You are holding it wrong!" Ring a bell?

LOL

Or the yellow screens? LOL