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February 11, 2016
Tim Cook reports 31 per cent rate of switchers in last quarter came from Google’s OS
Apple has revealed that 31 per cent of new iPhone customers in its Q4 came from Android – its highest ever switch rate.
The claim, made by CEO Tim Cook last month, came as Apple again reported record-breaking quarterly and annual financial results, which included sales of more than 300 million iPhones and iPads over the 12 months.
Cook credited the firm’s growth with the number of customers leaving Android run devices, which includes rivals such as Samsung and Sony in favour of iOS. Market share figures show in Q2, iOS share grew from 11.6 per cent a year ago to 13.9 per cent, while Android saw its share decline to 84.8 per cent from 92.8 per cent.
“We recorded the highest rate on record for Android switchers last quarter,” said Cook. “There have been some switchers on top of that from other operating systems but Android is the largest one by far. It’s a huge number and one that we are very proud of.
“We also look at the number of people that have upgraded that were in the installed base prior to the release of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, and that number is in the low 30 percentages.
“There is a fixation with an upgrade rate but I feel good that is a low number because that means 69 per cent of the people out there prior to the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus launch haven’t upgraded yet, and that is a large number. I see that as an opportunity.”
Quarterly figures
During the quarter, ending September 26 – the first full quarter since the latest iPhone 6s and 6s Plus went on sale – Apple sold 48.046 million smartphones – up 22 per cent year on year. This resulted in iPhone revenues increasing by more than a third (36 per cent) from last year to $32.21 billion (£20.83 billion) and by three per cent sequentially.
Net profit for the company leapt from $8.5 billion (£5.5 billion) a year ago, to more than $11.1 billion (£7.18 billion) in the quarter. International sales accounted for 62 per cent of the quarter’s revenue, with the greatest jump seen in China, with revenue doubling to $12.52 billion (£8.1 billion).
Apple again opted against revealing Watch sales numbers, only stating they were up sequentially and were ahead of expectations. Sales did however help drive growth in its ‘Other Products’ segment, which includes Apple TV, Beats products, iPod and Apple branded and third-party accessories, with revenue up 61 per cent year on year and 15 per cent from Q3 to $3.048 billion (£1.97 billion).
Annual
Apple’s annual revenues were $233.715 billion (£151.1 billion) compared to $182.795 billion (£118.2 billion) during the previous 12 months. iPhone unit sales grew by almost a third to 231.218 million from 168.679 million in fiscal 2014.
In total, it sold more than 300 million devices in total, including 55 million iPads, with 100 billion cumulative downloads from the App Store, along with the introduction of Apple Pay in the UK and US, Apple Watch in 14 countries with access to more than 13,000 applications and Apple Music in more than 100 countries.
It also completed 15 acquisitions in the year and returned almost $50 billion (£32.3 billion) to investors.
“We are reporting a very strong finish to a record-breaking year,” said Cook. “These results are made possible by Apple’s commitment to innovation and creating the best products on earth.
“In the past year, we have sold over 300 million devices, including 231 million iPhones, 55 million iPads and 21 million Macs, setting new unit records and increasing our global market share for both iPhone and Mac. We also entered an entirely new category with Apple Watch, and we are in the very early innings of this promising new part of our business.
“We returned almost $50 billion to shareholders while continuing to invest confidently in research and development, marketing and distribution, our retail and online stores, supply chain and infrastructure. We also completed 15 acquisitions to enhance and accelerate our roadmap for products and services.”