Recent results of market share surveys have shown that Apple has lost shares in the United States and the European markets. Apple’s share of the smartphone market appears to have taken a big hit. Losing ground to its rivals like Microsoft and Samsung seems to be an uphill trend for some time now.
Especially in Western Europe, Apple’s troubles may well be related to the economic problems of the area. While its competitors are releasing new smartphones at more economical prices, Apple’s iPhone seems to be taking the fall. Reportedly, even in India, Apple is no more in the top five smartphone vendors in unit shipments. The company has tried to aggressively lower the prices for some of their products and even plan on coming up with a less expensive phone, without comprising on the quality that it is known for.
The tech giant remains number one in tablet shipments, but numbers show that it is growing at a much slower rate than Samsung, Microsoft or Amazon. This may just be part of a bigger problem, with the market getting less expensive. Long known for selling its products for a higher price than companies, this approach of Apple may be the reason of its stunted growth in recent times. The iPad which accounts for more than fifty per cent of the tablet market is clearly maintaining its lead for now. Apple clearly dominated the ‘post PC world’ with its iPad and iPhone, up until now. However the greatest threat may not be from Android devices that are priced lower, but from PC’s that are pushing into the mobile market. With the launch of touch based Windows 8, and a lot of other improvements in the power efficiency of computing hardware, the competition ground may not be so clear in the future.
What it means for you?
If you are looking to invest an app in the iOS store, fear not. Apple still holds a great promise. However, market shares in general, and particularly Android’s market share may not be a right measure of success. After all, market shares or financial profits alone are no bench mark for how well a company is fairing. Despite the assumption that market share is the only thing that matters, Apple’s iOS continues to have a strong platform, even with a smaller market share than Android. Apple definitely has the loyalty of a million fans who continue to camp out over night just to buy the latest iPhone, but this latest development seems to be a reminder that iPhones are still out of reach for the greater number of people across the globe.
Even with this impending cause of concern, it would be wise to remember that Apple has survived setbacks before. Apple has always believed in making products that are consumer centric; easy to use and unparalleled in quality. Still, if the world’s biggest company is to maintain its shine and momentum, it may need to introduce a new device that would reshape the market the way the iPhone and the iPad did.
