Apple to Sell 28 Million iPhone 4S Devices this Quarter, but Not Because of the Phone
By: Hillel Fuld
Reading the biography of Steve Jobs has caused me to make some serious shifts in the way I think about the man and the company he started, Apple. If you are a fan of this blog, you probably know that when Jobs passed away, all we wrote about for a week or more was his life, his legacy, and his pure brilliance.
Having read more about his super interesting and inspiring life, I am torn between the inspiration that he caused via his vision and love for great products, and a feeling of disgust by the way he treated employees, colleagues, and the women in his life. He was a problematic man, to say the least.
Another shift I made in my thinking as a result of this book is my appreciation for Apple as a maker of great products, and its unprecedented success as the world’s most valuable technology company.
I mean I knew Jobs was ousted from Apple before reading the book and I realized Apple had some difficult days in its history, but I never realized how much of a mess the company was or how fast it was going down the road to complete and utter failure. I mean, at one point the CEO, can’t remember which one, put the company up for sale to other computer makers like IBM and Intel and no one was interested. Apple! That amazed me.
What truly magnifies my feeling of awe from what Jobs created here is the sharp contrast of the darker days in which the Apple stock was worth $10 and today, when Apple’s Hong Kong preorders of the iPhone 4S sold out in TEN MINUTES! Jobs did that.
According to BGR “Analyst Brian White with Ticonderoga Securities said Monday in a note to investors that pre-orders began last Friday and the phone will officially land in stores this Friday. White estimates that the Chinese market will be key to Apple’s continued growth. The analyst believes Apple’s revenue from “Greater China” — mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan — topped $4.5 billion last quarter, a 270% increase from the same quarter in 2010. That figure was 16% of Apple’s total sales, up from the 2% of sales that Greater China represented in 2009. Apple currently owns and operates six official Apple Stores in China. White reiterated a Buy rating on Apple stock with a price target of $666.”
The iPhone 4S was the top selling device in AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint last month and is absolutely selling like hot cakes. Deutsche Bank analyst Chris Whitmore predicts that a whopping 28 million iPhone 4S devices will reach consumers’ hands this quarter.
So, what is the secret? I mean, seriously, Android vs iOS aside, 28 million phones in one quarter? How does Apple do it? Well, I think it is pretty clear that Siri is the 4S’ main selling point. The iPhone 4′s camera is still one of the best out there that I would be surprised if the enhanced photography capabilities of the 4S was the reason many people are upgrading.
To those people who were not using an iPhone till now, the 4S is not exciting enough to bring millions of Android or BlackBerry users over, if we are analyzing this from a logical perspective.
OK, that might be taking it a little far...
The speed? Despite the iPhone 4 slowing down over time, it is still blazing fast and most reviews claim they do not even feel the difference in speed between the iPhone 4 and 4S. So, Siri? But many Android and even iPhone apps do voice recognition! OK, fine, Siri does it well, and it is a taste of the future of mobile technology. Fine, but 28 million??
If you are expecting me to answer this question with a black and white mathematical equation of just how Apple is so successful at selling a pretty “non revolutionary” device, you are not going to get it. I don’t think it exists. And I think that is exactly where Apple’s strength and differentiating factor lays. It is not about a processor, better camera, or cool software.
It is about the whole package. It is about sexiness in hardware and software working together in harmony, it is about emotionally connecting with your device, it is about being inspired by design. That was Steve Jobs in a nutshell and that is what he left Apple with. Let’s just hope they maintain that legacy for as many years as possible.
The point is, the iPhone 4S is not as revolutionary as the original iPhone or the iPhone 4 were, it is just another Apple device. But what seems to be pretty clear is that the brand is doing the selling, not product. People have come to trust the name Apple to deliver beautiful and inspiring products. It doesn’t matter that the specs are not mind-blowing.
As I go to press the Publish button on this post, I know I sound very Apple fanboyish, and I am open to hear other explanations for the success of this “mediocre” device that didn’t fundamentally change the industry like its predecessors did. So, skip the derogatory comments and all you Android people out there, please, tell me how you explain these ridiculous numbers.
