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　　Since its launch in 2007, the iPhone has been regarded as a product leading the new era of smartphones, but due to high prices and other reasons, the iPhone has never been able to lead the market share. So who keeps suppressing the iPhone? Everyone should know the answer - Android, although it is worse than iOS in terms of system optimization and other aspects, but Android's open and free features make it popular in the low-end market that iPhone has not touched, becoming the mobile phone system with the highest market share.

　　However, the reality that Android's market share is higher than that of the iPhone has become a thing of the past. Although it is limited to the US market, it is also a milestone-like historic moment for Apple. According to the latest report from industry analysis company Counterpoint Researchcgh, in the second quarter of 2022, Apple's smartphone market share in the United States exceeded 50% for the first time, surpassing Android phones to become the first.

Image credit: Counterpoint Researchcgh

　　Counterpoint Researchcgh's report is based on the statistics of "active installations". In short, it counts all mobile phones that are still in use, including a large number of old iPhones and Android phones that are still in use. Therefore, it does not mean that Apple has Shipments surpassed Android phones.

　　Even so, this is a stellar result for Apple, which means that Apple has managed to defeat all Android phone manufacturers on its own.

　　A new milestone for Apple?

　　Although according to the report of Counterpoint Researchcgh, this is the first time that Apple has surpassed Android mobile phones and achieved a market share of more than 50%. In fact, according to the statistics of other institutions, Apple's active installed capacity in many developed countries accounted for the first time. already exceeded 50%.

　　In the data provided by statcounter, the proportion of active iPhone installations in Japan has remained at a very high proportion, even approaching 70% at one time, and in the past year, the minimum has remained above 60%. On the love of iPhone , Japan should be regarded as the world's first.

Image credit: statcounter

　　In fact, after reviewing the data of major developed countries, I found that the more economically developed countries and regions, the higher the active installed base of iPhones, while in developing and underdeveloped countries, the market share of Android is much higher than apples.

　　With the perfect ecology and the mobile phone performance that has always suppressed the Android camp, the iPhone is often the first choice for consumers with sufficient budget, which also gives the iPhone an advantage in the mid-to-high-end market. So, I wouldn't be surprised by the news that the iPhone's active installed base in the US market accounted for more than 50%. In fact, I always thought that this result was inevitable, only the difference between surpassing this month or next year.

　　Because there has always been a "user deficit" between iOS and Android.

　　The "user deficit" between Android and iOS

　　If you ask an iPhone user, why do you keep using the iPhone? Then there is a high probability that you will get such an answer: "Get used to it". However, when you ask an Android user why they choose this phone, they will get a different answer: "good camera, high cost performance, good performance, thin and light...".

　　In fact, many brands are pursuing to make users "accustomed" to their products, because when most people buy things, they tend to choose products that they are "accustomed to". The formation of habits means that a long-term user group that will not easily leave is equivalent to a long-term meal ticket for a brand. Of course, we generally do not call this phenomenon so directly, but use "ecological dependence". to describe.

　　Most iPhone users have already formed an "ecological dependence" on Apple, and they need to give up many things to switch from Apple's ecology to Android's ecology. Therefore, the outflow of users from Apple’s ecosystem has always been much smaller than that of Android phones. Simply put, there is a “deficit” between Android and Apple, and more users flow from Android to Apple than from Apple to Android.

Image credit: BuildFire

　　The reason is that apart from the higher cost of jumping out of the Apple ecosystem, Android users' low dependence on the system is also one of the main reasons. Android users who are accustomed to changing brands can more easily accept different mobile phone ecosystems. And as iOS and Android are becoming more and more similar (iOS even launched the Android version of the phone replacement assistant function), Android users can easily jump to the iOS ecosystem.

　　When this trend persists, even if Android still maintains its lead in terms of shipments, it will gradually be caught up and surpassed by Apple in terms of the actual number of active users. In addition, the longer replacement cycle of the iPhone also reduces the frequency of users replacing their phones, so that users do not need to constantly decide between continuing to buy an iPhone or replacing other phones.

　　In fact, after getting accustomed to the convenience of Apple's ecology, few users would think of actively jumping out of Apple's ecology. Most of the time, users who switch from iPhone to Android are mainly affected by objective reasons, such as lack of money and work needs. Wait. You can say that this is Apple's "trick", or it is Apple's shrewdness. Attracting users by performance and appearance cannot maintain user stickiness for a long time. Only a mature system ecosystem is left by the user group. root cause.

Image credit: stocksnap

　　Apple's strong system ecological stickiness has even allowed iPhone users to accept a design that has remained unchanged for several years and a mobile phone price that is too high compared to the cost. Taking Xiaomi mobile phones as an example, its hardware profit generally does not exceed 5%, and even those Android mobile phones that are considered by digital media to be "high-priced and low-end" generally do not exceed 20% hardware profit, but iPhone can maintain close to 50%. hardware profits.

　　When you compare the iPhone and Android phones of the same price horizontally, you will find that the iPhone is not superior in terms of screen, battery life, charging, imaging, etc., and even lags far behind Android phones in areas such as charging. Even so, users still have extremely high loyalty to the iPhone, which shows how strong the bundling ability of Apple's ecology is.

　　Of course, if Apple gets dizzy one day and drastically increases the price of the iPhone, making it unaffordable for most people, the number of users who move from Apple to Android should soar. compared to the items needed to sustain life.

　　Otherwise, judging from the current situation, the "user deficit" between Android and iOS is almost unsolvable, unless the Android camp can come up with epoch-making innovations or products that completely change the form of mobile phones, and this product cannot be imitated by Apple (actually). I have been learning the advantages of Android in recent years on Apple), irresponsibly, this probability may be smaller than the probability that I go out and pick up two dollars and buy 5 million in the lottery.