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One. One billion. iPhones.
It’s a good number, and with a good number like that, Apple can do much more than any new smartphone on the block (Hello, Pro1-X from XDA Developers). But the biggest winner could be the hundreds of millions of native iPhone users.
HONG KONG, CHINA – 2020/10/23: A customer queues at an Apple store during the launch day of … [+]
The headline number comes from an investigation by Neil Vybart of Above Avalon:
“By my estimate, Apple surpassed the 1 billion iPhone user milestone last month. Thirteen years after it went on sale, the iPhone remains the most popular and best-selling smartphone ever. Competitors continue to blatantly copy iPhone, or at the very least heavily influenced by iPhone. Going forward, Apple’s top priorities for the iPhone include finding ways to keep the device at the center of people’s lives while recognizing the paradigm shift introduced by portable devices “.
Naturally, a billion devices is great news for Apple, but it’s also great news for those who are part of the Apple ecosystem. There are some “expensive” items where device volume makes a difference.
First of all are the applications. While the debates on which is the best platform between Android and iOS, what is not up for debate is that both mobile operating systems have the applications that consumers want. In terms of platform choice, I would rate Microsoft’s Windows Phone platform (especially Windows Phone 8) as a superior experience; but Windows Phone lacked application support. Even the provisions for Facebook and Twitter were weak on the day.
Without the bulky installation base, there was little reason for even the top apps to work on one version of Windows Phone unless they were otherwise supported.
The iOS platform (and the Android platform) is here to stay for several years. Even if Apple disappeared tomorrow, it would still be an incredibly attractive platform to back.
It is not just application developers who welcome a platform with a significant install base. Those looking to buy a new phone will also be forced to make that decision. Just to go back to Windows Phone for a moment, when phones were at their peak, they were still an island for today’s messaging trends. Having a Windows Phone meant not being part of the crowd.
There is no such problem with the likes of Signal, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Slack, Discord, and more on iOS. The only potential problem is the proprietary messaging client available across Apple’s full range of devices. But is this a setback when considering the install base? While it means you’ll want your social circle (no matter how distant) to be on iOS, chances are they’re already in those 1 billion.
Of course, that’s one of the great benefits of the iPhone ecosystem for its owner. If you want messages you have to be in his garden. It is a very large garden, but the only thing you can eat is Apple. Whether this is “monopoly power” or not remains a highly contentious and highly political question.
Those 1 billion iPhones don’t exist in isolation. Everyone is connected to the Apple cloud, and all the other elements that the cloud connects create an expansive world. The size of Apple has created a world of streaming music, podcast libraries, TV series, portable devices, and more.
All of them have taken advantage of the growing sales of the iPhone over the years and have grown with the march to one billion devices. Without the bootable nature of the iPhone, those services wouldn’t be as strong as they are now, and they might not have started if the iPhone numbers weren’t there (… other than possibly music, but we can substitute mastery of the iPod in music player market partly; and can copy / replace on Windows Phone with Zune).
Surprisingly, not everything is easy for Tim Cook and his team. With massive sales and a significant number of active users, Apple is a textbook example of the innovators’ dilemma. Any advancement on the iPhone should be moderated with support for the existing dock. Apple has proven adept at balancing the need for legacy support while pushing users and developers forward, but it is noted that Apple rarely introduces new technology on the iPhone.
The idea that Apple hopes to be the best, not the first, is one that many subscribe to, I think part of that delay in adoption is ensuring that the foundation remains strong. Apple also maintains strict control over the ecosystem; applications must follow Apple’s style guide and there are limits on functionality, any developer income must flow through Apple’s own payment system; And as Apple advances technology, developers have no choice but to keep going.
For the next billion?
Now read more about the success of the iPhone SE versus the iPhone 12 Mini …
