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Smartphone Shipments Declined For the First Time In 2017 (theverge.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the downward-sloping-demand-curve dept.

2017 was the first year that smartphone unit shipments didn't grow, according to a new Internet Trends report. "Shipments actually declined by 0.5 percent, as IDC noted in February," reports The Verge. "In 2016, shipments were lukewarm at 2 percent yearly growth, but this downturn is significant." From the report: Among smartphone shipments, Android and iOS have all but completely pushed out every other mobile operating system. And despite the growing price of today's top flagship devices, the average selling price of a smartphone has steadily fallen over the years. As more of the world now owns smartphones, growth has basically stalled. Similarly, internet user growth has only grown 7 percent in 2017, compared to 12 percent in 2016. More people are accessing the internet than ever, on an average of 5.9 hours a day. And they're browsing on mobile, indicating that they're just holding onto older models of phones instead of buying new ones.

144 comments

  1. Planned obsolesence by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    I suspect it's in part because Apple got caught artificially slowing down older devices (and frankly, I think a number of Android vendors did too given how a number of my devices have become inexplicably unusably slow over time even if I uninstall all or reset to factory). Now that that practice has been bred out through consumer uproar, people are probably realising they don't actually need a phone every 2 years because most are good for 4 - 5 years for 99% of the population. It was only ever the process of artificially crippling devices that forced people to upgrade.

    1. Re:Planned obsolesence by Kjella · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Now that that practice has been bred out through consumer uproar, people are probably realising they don't actually need a phone every 2 years because most are good for 4 - 5 years for 99% of the population.

      Estimated number of smartphone users: ~2.5 billion
      Smartphones sold each year: ~1.5 billion
      Estimated growth: ~200 million
      Average lifetime: 2500/(1500-200) = ~2 years

      The facts reject your hypothesis.

      --
      Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
    2. Re:Planned obsolesence by Tough+Love · · Score: 1

      It's much more simple than that. It's because the number of smartphones in circulation is approximately the same as the number of humans alive. The slowdown will continue until we teach dogs and cats how to phone.

      --
      When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
    3. Re:Planned obsolesence by q_e_t · · Score: 1

      My cat and dog have tried, but my ass has phoned most.

    4. Re:Planned obsolesence by guacamole · · Score: 2

      I suspect it's in part because Apple got caught artificially slowing down older devices

      Apple slowed down those devices in order to avoid an expensive battery recall process.

    5. Re: Planned obsolesence by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I love my 6 plus. I will use it until it dies. And I use a mophie battery pack so the battery will last. Iâ(TM)ll give this phone another 4 years from almost 4 already.

      Iâ(TM)m not some Hollywood celeb retard that thinks my phone is a status symbol. Itâ(TM)s a phone. My solid gold baume geneve is a status symbol.

      A phone. Lol. Cheap commodity.

    6. Re:Planned obsolesence by tlhIngan · · Score: 1

      I suspect it's in part because Apple got caught artificially slowing down older devices (and frankly, I think a number of Android vendors did too given how a number of my devices have become inexplicably unusably slow over time even if I uninstall all or reset to factory). Now that that practice has been bred out through consumer uproar, people are probably realising they don't actually need a phone every 2 years because most are good for 4 - 5 years for 99% of the population. It was only ever the process of artificially crippling devices that forced people to upgrade.

      Or not, since iPhones still throttle down. They're just more open about it.

      And you can say Android should do the same - given how many seem to boot loop because they try to boot up and fail because the battery can't provide enough power. The Nexus 6p is famous for it, with a community hack fixing boot loops by disabling the high performance cores.

      Or in other words, the Android community deliberately cripples the performance of the phone (using the low power cores and telling the kernel to not switch to high performance cores) in order to fix a common problem in older phones. They can't boot up because the kernel will try to boot the higher power cores, they get busy and the battery can't supply enough power and the phone resets.

      And I know plenty of people who say "30% on their battery is basically 0% - once it hits 30%, the phone will shut off". Again, the battery cannot supply the instantaneous power required, and the voltage dips. (The impedance of lithium secondary batteries goes up as it discharges because the ions have to migrate through more material to continue the reaction).

      Apple slows the processor down (on some phones - other phones with the same model are fine - it depends on your usage after all) so it can guarantee your phone works. Slow or not, if it means a working phone or a phone that lasts until 0%, people generally will want that.

      And no, a slow phone does not mean someone will upgrade - performance is not everything. Some people are happy with slow phones (see all the cheap Android phones they give away). Usually what triggers an upgrade is some other parameter - OS is too old, battery does not last as long, etc. And battery not lasting as long is a general impetus to upgrade. Apple slowing down the phone making the battery last longer ironically means more people generally will not upgrade their phones (at least until it gets shortened so much even slowing down the phone is inadequate).

    7. Re:Planned obsolesence by Plumpaquatsch · · Score: 0

      I suspect it's in part because Apple got caught artificially slowing down older devices

      Well, that could explain why Apple still sold more phones, but not why the others sold less. Isn't planned obsolescence supposed to increase sales?

      --
      Of course news about a fake are Fake News.
    8. Re:Planned obsolesence by Plumpaquatsch · · Score: 1

      I suspect it's in part because Apple got caught artificially slowing down older devices

      Apple slowed down those devices in order to avoid an expensive battery recall process.

      Yeah. Just that nobody wanted a battery replacement when the phones just shutdown. Only when they suddenly kept working , but somewhat slower when the CPU was taxed, then they complained they wanted a switch to turn back sudden shutdowns back on. But when Apple then offered a cheaper battery replacement process, people suddenly wanted the batteries replaced. So either Apple's plan failed spectacularly, or your conspiracy theory doesn't work.

      --
      Of course news about a fake are Fake News.
    9. Re:Planned obsolesence by AC-x · · Score: 2

      Don't you think a bigger factor is that hardware performance improvements outgrew software requirement increases? At this point even a several year old mid-range phone feels fast enough running the latest software, while previously smartphone hardware genuinely struggled to keep up with later more featured/bloated (delete for preference) software.

      Same thing happened in the PC space, remember when your PC felt slow, even obsolete every year trying to run the latest software? Now I can use a budget laptop from 2010 and run exactly the same software as a brand new high-end laptop without it even feeling slow.

    10. Re:Planned obsolesence by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Apple slowed down those devices in order to avoid an expensive battery recall process.

      Meh. The battery in my note4 became bad/old - I just ordered another battery from the shop, and replaced it. Trivial. My phone never slowed down, and never had to. The battery was of course expected to fail at such an age. But replacement was easy, and both the shop and Samsung was interested in making money on replacement batteries.

      I never understood why Apple went for non-replaceable batteries. Most of their customers buys the next Iphone when it comes out anyway - because having the latest is a status symbol. Why not also make some side money on the nerds that hang onto old equipment? Their notion of 'status'is not measured in price or money anyway.

    11. Re:Planned obsolesence by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      When the battery can't power the phone, the battery is considered used up, and the fix is to replace the battery. Which is easy - pop off the back cover, snap in a new battery, pop the cover on.

      Only a moron would buy an android phone with non-replaceable batteries - unlike Apple products, you can still get them. My note4 is old, but they still build & sell the model due to the replaceable battery & no stupid breakable glass backside. There is even that headphone jack.

    12. Re:Planned obsolesence by unixisc · · Score: 1

      That was the case in past years as well, but what is different is the fact that smartphones now have specs that are adequate and don't need upgrading. As an example, I upgraded from an iPhone 5s w/ 16GB storage last year to an iPhone 7 w/ 128GB. That is more than adequate for the foreseeable future i.e. until that phone dies! It's like w/ PCs over the last decade: people stopped upgrading b'cos PCs became fast enough for almost any and all tasks thrown at them.

    13. Re:Planned obsolesence by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Estimated number of smartphone users: ~2.5 billion
      Smartphones sold each year: ~1.5 billion
      Estimated growth: ~200 million
      Average lifetime: 2500/(1500-200) = ~2 years

      The facts reject your hypothesis.

      Your numbers support the hypothesis. OP's CLAIM is that a fun will suffice for 99% of the population even if 4-5 years old. I think that is an exageration, I'd ballpark it between 40 and 80% would be happy with a phone 4-5 years old.

      That aside, the phones are not lasting that long. I've had two coworker galaxy's lost in the last couple weeks (and we have like 12 phones on our plan). One an S7 Edge with NO damage. The other an S6 with scuffs but nothing that would justify the 'no network' or some such.

      In the S7 Edge, it was a suspect antenna but the cost of diagnosis is like $70 and that specific repair is north of $250 or thereabouts. Getting a new S8 in his hands ... $200 (+ 2yr renewal).

      So phones are falling apart because an ANTENNA in pristine phones are falling apart.

      Neither coworker was dissatisfied with a 2-year+ old phone (which speaks to the OP ENTIRE FLIPPING POINT), both coworkers are upgrading because of failures not mechanically induced (AFAIK).

      I've never had a phone upgrade request because they needed a better camera or to crush candy faster. It is the battery, dropped calls, just not working. A consumer handheld item ... unless it's been phsyically crushed, submerged, put in a microwave ... something.

      Could it be very convenient incompetence? Maybe they push 2mm thinner because it knocks the expected lifespan in the desired direction.

  2. Dup by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    https://mobile.slashdot.org/story/18/02/25/0615246/worldwide-smartphone-shipments-down-for-first-time-ever

    1. Re:Dup by Tough+Love · · Score: 1

      It's a dup in the same way that having breakfast every day is a dup. We can't get enough of this particular news.

      --
      When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
  3. Because of poor people. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Poor people are buying more phones. They can't afford a proper iPhone so they opt for a cheap Chinese Android piece of crap. Apple still had the lion's share of profit in all mobile phone sales.

    1. Re:Because of poor people. by Tough+Love · · Score: 2

      They can't afford a proper iPhone

      "Proper iPhone" is a not a thing.

      --
      When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
    2. Re: Because of poor people. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Is my beach cabin landline phone (where there's no cell network) an "improper iphone" then?

    3. Re: Because of poor people. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Only if you rape, murder, and bury hookers up there

  4. Time for the next big thing by RhettLivingston · · Score: 2

    I vote for ditching the display and the concept of holding the phone. The next big thing should be leaving the phone in your pocket and interacting with it via peripherals only with the primary display using augmented reality glasses.

    1. Re:Time for the next big thing by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 2

      I second this idea, with the addition of seeing the 3D girls of Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball dressed in swimsuits walking around and the possibility of picking one of them to be your AI assistant.

      --
      #DeleteFacebook
    2. Re:Time for the next big thing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      oh, yes. please bring on the glassholes version 2.0.

    3. Re:Time for the next big thing by Tough+Love · · Score: 1

      I vote for ditching the display and the concept of holding the phone.

      Right after that, ditch the concept of using the phone.

      --
      When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
    4. Re:Time for the next big thing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      that's what I always wanted... can we start calling them computers again?

    5. Re:Time for the next big thing by RhettLivingston · · Score: 1

      I second that. In terms of how they are used, they've never been smartphones. Browsing and messaging dominate the time spent on the device. It's a computer with a phone capability.

    6. Re:Time for the next big thing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      AR waifus will be paradise on earth.

      Get infected by malware, AR Slenderman starts showing up and it becomes a nightmare.

    7. Re:Time for the next big thing by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 1

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

      --
      #DeleteFacebook
    8. Re:Time for the next big thing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ...The next big thing should be leaving the phone in your pocket and interacting with it via peripherals only with the primary display using augmented reality glasses.

      Uh, people tried your "next big thing" a few years back.

      Society politely referred to them as glassholes, in case you were wondering how well the concept of augmented reality was accepted by the masses...

    9. Re:Time for the next big thing by RhettLivingston · · Score: 1

      Regardless, it is where we will go eventually. The smartphone is a crude and very poor form of self-augmentation already. Augmenting ourselves will happen. If we can't get over the cultural barriers, other countries will take the lead and, eventually, we won't be able to compete.

      I never quite got the backlash myself. Maybe we just need to have some cutesy, demeaning name for those that walk around or sit in restaurants looking at their smartphone displays all of the time. It seems worse to me.

      Also, Google's attempt was crude and did not naturally merge the "desktop" into the environment around the wearer. To do that, the tech needs to augment both the full field of view and depth of view (information about an object must be in focus near the object), monitor where the eye is looking, fully process the surrounding environment, and display information where it needs to be instead of at a fixed spot. If you do all of this, then you want have the wearer looking away from the natural point of attention for information. This probably requires something like a super advanced retinal laser display tech.

      I think regulation could also help. Personal augmentation recording should have legal access and sharing constraints modelled on the constraints of our own memory. Essentially, I am the only one that can see my memory. Recordings made by personal augmentation devices should start with that as the ground rule. Only I can hear or see them. No warrant can access them, and I can't share them except by describing or drawing them myself. Then, we carefully move out from there. To be of any use, my AI assistant and "desktop" needs to have full access also, but they should be treated as internal to the virtual me by the law. Not even a warrant can access them. At this point, we have an effective system that does not violate privacy.

      Sharing could be carefully evolved from this point, likely involving rules like a scene can be shared but the system must blur out every person and property that the system doesn't have explicit owner-given permission to share, even to the court. Essentially, everyone has 5th amendment rights to not share there images even when in another's "memory" except that the other could choose to describe the "memories" verbally or with drawing just as they can today.

      Altering the system to break the rules should carry severe penalties. In the world of the future, this might not need to be death or lifetime isolation. It could be as simple as barring the person from using the tech. It would be like being reduced to being an animal - literally.

  5. Headphone Jack. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    People are keeping their old phones with the headphone jack.

    1. Re: Headphone Jack. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I bought a used phone with a headphone jack, IR blaster, removable battery, fm radio, and an SD slot.
      Unfortunately, it will have to last until they have had enough shitty sales cycles to build a decent phone again.

  6. Missing a big factor by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    Smartphone shipments haven't gone down. Android shipments have gone down. iPhone shipments have gone up (50.7m to 52.2m YoY).

    Average selling price hasn't gone down. Android average selling price has gone down. iPhone average selling price has gone up ($655 to $728 YoY).

    There's a story here, but it's not the one being told by the headline.

    1. Re:Missing a big factor by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      "Hanging onto its sliver of the market" is an odd way of describing the best selling, most profitable smartphone that is continually improving its numbers and breaking its own records.

    2. Re:Missing a big factor by Tough+Love · · Score: 1, Offtopic

      Q1 iPhone shipmments are off 1 million, YoY. If you are an Apple shareholder that ought to worry you. But then, you are an Apple cultist, so nothing worries you, including maxing out your credit to own it.

      --
      When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
    3. Re:Missing a big factor by Tough+Love · · Score: 1

      "Hanging onto its sliver of the market" is an odd way of describing the best selling, most profitable smartphone

      It's a way of describing the market sliver that Apple is hanging onto, nothing more or less.

      --
      When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
    4. Re:Missing a big factor by Dzimas · · Score: 1

      iPhones amounted to 19.2% of the global market in the last quarter of 2017. That means that 4 out of every 5 phones sold are made by other companies, running Android. Apple marketshare is indeed a sliver.

    5. Re:Missing a big factor by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The first thing I did was check Apple's share price. Shocked it didn't take a dip after this news.

    6. Re:Missing a big factor by AvitarX · · Score: 1

      Except if their sales are going up while overall sales are going down (though I'm too lazy to check actual numbers, just accepting that premise from earlier in the thread), it follows they aren't just hanging onto their sliver, but growing it.

      --
      Wow, sent an e-mail as suggested when clicking on "use classic" banner, and got a fast response that addressed my msg
    7. Re:Missing a big factor by Teckla · · Score: 1

      You seem happy about the potential prospect of an Android monoculture. That doesn't seem like such a good idea.

    8. Re:Missing a big factor by Tough+Love · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Q1 iPhone shipmments are off 1 million, YoY. If you are an Apple shareholder that ought to worry you. But then, you are an Apple cultist, so nothing worries you, including maxing out your credit to own it.

      Apple cultists are not only unworried about these obvious warning signs, they will take the opportunity do downmod anyone who points them out, if they can. Makes me wonder what other slimy things Apple is in the habit of doing on social networks? Seems to come very naturally for Apple cultists, almost like it is corporate culture still living on from Dead Steve Jobs.

      --
      When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
    9. Re:Missing a big factor by Tough+Love · · Score: 0

      iPhone is hanging on to its sliver of the market for now. Far be it from me why anyone would want one. They are overpriced and stupidly dumbed down to the point where I would rather eat bugs than own one. Never mind that, because BSD is developed by a tiny group of coders without broad community feedback, it just does not have the features, stability, or performance of Linux. The only person who would want that is a clueless one.

      Apple's sliver of market share really is a sliver, around 13% now. Depends who you ask of course. If you ask an Apple cultist, you will be left with the impression that it is 100%.

      --
      When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
    10. Re:Missing a big factor by Tough+Love · · Score: 1

      You seem happy about the potential prospect of an Android monoculture.

      Not really. I just don't like Apple, it is a sleazy company with defective products sold to clueless people, and a truly toxic corporate culture. Avoiding a monoculture is not a good enough reason to accept Apple as it is, and Apple shows no sign of changing, except possibly for the worse.

      --
      When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
    11. Re:Missing a big factor by Tough+Love · · Score: 0

      Except if their sales are going up while blah blah blah

      That's not even true. They gerrymandered some sales from Q1 into Q2 to create that fiction, otherwise the truth is, Apple's unit sales are flat or worse at the moment.

      --
      When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
    12. Re:Missing a big factor by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Exactly this. Id go to a non existent Microsoft phone or flip phone before buying anything apple. They are a total cancer in the industry.

    13. Re:Missing a big factor by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Your wishful thinking doesn't make it so. How did your short into last quarter go? I think your dislike of Apple is clouding your judgment.

    14. Re:Missing a big factor by Tough+Love · · Score: 0

      Shorting AAPL last quarter would have been stupid. Everybody knows that they are able to squeeze more money from their existing customers for the time being. And likewise, everybody knows there are better and less risky places to put their money than AAPL. Except you. I suggest you buy more, except wait, you don't own any, because you melted your credit card buying crappy Apple products.

      --
      When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
    15. Re:Missing a big factor by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think the real story is weighing Apple's vendor lock-in and censorship against Google's 1984-in-your-pocket and newfound evil permission.

      Microsoft dropped the ball at least once, or their telemetry fetish and forced reboots could have been an alternative today.

    16. Re: Missing a big factor by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Shorting is stupid. Like gambling. I know you donâ(TM)t have a dime to loose.

    17. Re: Missing a big factor by Tough+Love · · Score: 1

      You are an idiot. I have shorted more than you are worth, safe bet. I would not short AAPL, but I would not buy it either. Google is another story.

      --
      When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
    18. Re:Missing a big factor by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The headline is consistent with the data from the mentioned sources, is it not? Or are the sources themselves wrong?
      idk your source, but you only mention iPhone growth; if Android decline is more than iPhone growth, then total smartphone shipments ARE declining.
      In the grand scheme of things, a smartphone is a smartphone.

    19. Re:Missing a big factor by Plumpaquatsch · · Score: 1

      "Hanging onto its sliver of the market" is an odd way of describing the best selling, most profitable smartphone

      It's a way of describing the market sliver that Apple is hanging onto, nothing more or less.

      Boy, even the Black Knight "called it a draw" instead of declaring "Actually it's you who has lost all his limbs. Now stop running away on your non-existing legs."

      --
      Of course news about a fake are Fake News.
    20. Re:Missing a big factor by Plumpaquatsch · · Score: 1

      r of market share really is a sliver, around 13% now. Depends who you ask of course. If you ask an Apple cultist, you will be left with the impression that it is 100%.

      Yeah, and that sliver is growing. And it's hilarious how you foam out of your mouth because you can't admit it.

      --
      Of course news about a fake are Fake News.
    21. Re:Missing a big factor by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      From TFA, Android shipments remained about the same, and the change in iPhone shipments is just a tenth of a percentage point relative to all smartphone shipments. The real change is that "Other" phone shipments mostly dried up.

    22. Re:Missing a big factor by jeremyp · · Score: 1

      One company has 19% of the Smartphone market and it's a sliver? Only one other manufacturer has a similar sized market share and that's Samsung. So if these two both only have slivers, what does everybody else have?

      --
      All I want is a secure system where it's easy to do anything I want. Is that too much to ask ~~ Randall Munroe
    23. Re:Missing a big factor by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      There's a story here, but it's not the one being told by the headline.

      Yeah the real story is that you just concluded that Apple doesn't sell smartphones, something which many people have been saying all along.
      The other story here is that Apple is still playing catchup and their platform hasn't matured yet. Shame, they were once so innovative.

    24. Re:Missing a big factor by CastrTroy · · Score: 1

      Also worth noting that Apple somehow manages this while only offering 3 different options. Samsung has slightly higher market share but released 25 different phone models in 2017.

      --

      Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
    25. Re:Missing a big factor by Tough+Love · · Score: 1

      r of market share really is a sliver, around 13% now. Depends who you ask of course. If you ask an Apple cultist, you will be left with the impression that it is 100%.

      Yeah, and that sliver is growing.

      In the same way that the parrot is not dead.

      --
      When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
    26. Re:Missing a big factor by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Shorting AAPL last quarter would have been stupid.

      Back in January you said last quarter would be bad. What happened to that "smart money" you talked about? "The smart money already called it: X sales 25% below expectation"

  7. Over five billion Android phones in use by Tough+Love · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Based on the assumption that Android phones last about four years, which may be an underestimate (my own phone for example) then over five billion Android phones are in use right now. This is the real story, this is phenomenal. And all running Linux, this is even more phenomenal. We did something historical, maybe the biggest technology story ever. Certainly a key event in history.

    --
    When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
    1. Re:Over five billion Android phones in use by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Android phone no more run Linux than iPhones run BSD.

      You evangelical Linux geeks really crack me up.

    2. Re:Over five billion Android phones in use by Tough+Love · · Score: 1

      iPhones do run BSD, idiot.

      --
      When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
    3. Re:Over five billion Android phones in use by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      iPhones run iOS, which was branched from XNU in 1996, idiot.

      "BSD" my ass. That's like saying Linux is just Minix.

    4. Re:Over five billion Android phones in use by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The average smartphone life is closer to 2 years not 4. technologically they potentially could last that long but the reality is they are broken or replaced every 2 years for the majority

    5. Re:Over five billion Android phones in use by bloodhawk · · Score: 1

      Based on the assumption that Android phones last about four years, which may be an underestimate (my own phone for example) then over five billion Android phones are in use right now. This is the real story, this is phenomenal. And all running Linux, this is even more phenomenal. We did something historical, maybe the biggest technology story ever. Certainly a key event in history.

      yeah NO, that is a really bad assumption, you really think over 60% of the worlds population now uses an android smartphone? smartphone users are currently estimated at 2-2.5 billion (that includes ALL not just android). Smartphone life is currently estimated at around 2 years not 4.

    6. Re:Over five billion Android phones in use by Tough+Love · · Score: 1

      Oh god, conversing with you makes me feel like I got something on me. Ios kernel is a BSD deriviative. To this day it is still maintained principally by FreeBSD hackers, most of whom do not work for Apple, but happily take Apple's money. Take your attitude and stuff it high up your colon.

      --
      When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
    7. Re:Over five billion Android phones in use by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      iOS is still based on Darwin you numpty.
      WTF does Linux have to do with Minix?

    8. Re:Over five billion Android phones in use by AvitarX · · Score: 1

      It seems unlikely that 5/7s the population is using an Android phone, or that their are enough double phone users to significantly impact that premise from 5 billion phones in use.

      Take out children, elderly, and super poor, it seems unlikely to me that their are even 5 billion smartphone users.

      --
      Wow, sent an e-mail as suggested when clicking on "use classic" banner, and got a fast response that addressed my msg
    9. Re:Over five billion Android phones in use by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      really you came to an assumption with numbers that says 2/3rds of the world population now uses an Android smartphone and you thought that was an intelligent conclusion?

    10. Re:Over five billion Android phones in use by angel'o'sphere · · Score: 1

      My "smartphone" is an iPhone 4 from 2010 (not sure) ... I replaced the battery in January.
      People might throw away their phones, but that has nothing to do with the "life span".

      --
      Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
    11. Re:Over five billion Android phones in use by angel'o'sphere · · Score: 1

      He is really an idiot, as even XNU is based on BSD ...

      --
      Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
    12. Re:Over five billion Android phones in use by Teckla · · Score: 1

      Aren't you worried about security vulnerabilities in such an old model of the phone (thus firmwares) and OS?

    13. Re:Over five billion Android phones in use by Tough+Love · · Score: 1

      you really think over 60% of the worlds population now uses an android smartphone?

      Yes I do, that is why the sales growth stalled. Say, did you ever take a cab ride in a third world company? What is that in the driver's hand? Oh right, an android smartphone. See, everybody in the world who can afford a smartphone now has one. And given that used ones and low end ones are incredibly cheap, penetration is essentially the entire world, not just that little bubble full of unicorns that you live in.

      --
      When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
    14. Re:Over five billion Android phones in use by Tough+Love · · Score: 1

      Whatever your source for statistics is, it is a bad one. Look, we know that Google shipped over 1 billion phones in 2015, yet some commonly cited statistics sources claim only 5% growth in total smartphones in use for that year. Somebody is out by more than a factor of 5, and it is not Google. Put that in your pipe and smoke it.

      --
      When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
    15. Re:Over five billion Android phones in use by Tough+Love · · Score: 1

      I'm not the only one asshole.

      --
      When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
    16. Re:Over five billion Android phones in use by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      you really think over 60% of the worlds population now uses an android smartphone?

      Yes I do, that is why the sales growth stalled. Say, did you ever take a cab ride in a third world company? What is that in the driver's hand? Oh right, an android smartphone. See, everybody in the world who can afford a smartphone now has one. And given that used ones and low end ones are incredibly cheap, penetration is essentially the entire world, not just that little bubble full of unicorns that you live in.

      then you are clueless as the numbers are well tracked and it is less than half your number

    17. Re:Over five billion Android phones in use by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      you seem completely ignorant of the breakage and replacement rates for phones which is very very high. iphones were at something like 25%, I imagine android phones would be similar or worse (worse as their are some really cheap garbage ones out their that break easily).

    18. Re:Over five billion Android phones in use by gravewax · · Score: 1

      then please find us a source. Every source I can see agrees that the numbers are somewhere around 2.5 billion for all smartphones in use. you are the one making up the stats that disagree with whats our there so please provide the citation!

    19. Re: Over five billion Android phones in use by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yup. Itâ(TM)s childish, little boy thinking. And another retard calling even one using an iPhone clueless. Like all the ceos that are a million$ times better than this help desk looser.

    20. Re:Over five billion Android phones in use by Tough+Love · · Score: 1

      The numbers are not well tracked, because the total number of Android phones and iPhones as reported accurately by Google and Apple are far more than the installed phone base estimates spouted out by the likes of you, as any fool can see. Which makes you less than that.

      --
      When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
    21. Re:Over five billion Android phones in use by Tough+Love · · Score: 1

      Why don't you find your own source, are you that incapable. Here is one that looks more like reality. See, it agrees with sales figures provided by Google and Apple, which if they are not accurate, will send people to jail. See how that might help? Now, where the fuck are you getting your numbers.

      --
      When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
    22. Re:Over five billion Android phones in use by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Thankyou for proving YOURSELF wrong. "In 2018, 66% of individuals in 52 key countries* will own a smartphone,". That is 52 countries. NOT THE FUCKING world and those countries are the highest penetration countries representing about 65% of the worlds population. From this you can extrapolate that 66% is an absolute maximum and the average will be much lower. it is also an advertising companies promo trying to sell mobile advertising so expect the figures to be vastly exaggerated. on top of that, that is TOTAL smartphones so even if they were right for the world that would still put Android way way lower than your ridiculous estimates.

    23. Re:Over five billion Android phones in use by Plumpaquatsch · · Score: 1

      I'm not the only one asshole.

      Well, asshole, even if we let it slip that this a prediction for 2018 - you keep ignoring that "tiny sliver" iOS., you stupid turd.

      --
      Of course news about a fake are Fake News.
    24. Re:Over five billion Android phones in use by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      you aren't doing yourself any favours with that link. it actually completely disagrees with your statement. For what you say to be true you would need worldwide usage of around 75-80% (that allows 66% to be android to meet your numbers). basically that site proves you are off by at least 1 billion, most like closer to 2 billion off if it is accurate.

    25. Re:Over five billion Android phones in use by jeremyp · · Score: 1

      XNU is a kernel. It's based on the Mach microkernel, it's not BSD.

      In Apple's operating systems, the virtual file system and network stack are based on BSD but have been substantially rewritten, the kernel is XNU and the device driver infrastructure was written from the ground up by Apple. There's a BSD compatibility layer and the userland command line tools are mostly BSD. Of course, the GUI and a lot of the other frameworks on top of all that Apple proprietary software.

      I don't know how much of the Linux kernel there is in an Android phone but it's probably more than there is BSD in an iOS device.

      --
      All I want is a secure system where it's easy to do anything I want. Is that too much to ask ~~ Randall Munroe
    26. Re:Over five billion Android phones in use by gravewax · · Score: 1

      I don't need a link, more than happy to use yours lol, even though those numbers are likely inflated by the ad company they still show you are a long way off. that link probably puts Android somewhere in the 3-3.5 billion range.

    27. Re:Over five billion Android phones in use by jeremyp · · Score: 1

      When you say "looks more like reality" what you really mean is "agrees with your preconceptions". The 66% by the way is in 52 countries i.e. not the whole World.

      --
      All I want is a secure system where it's easy to do anything I want. Is that too much to ask ~~ Randall Munroe
    28. Re:Over five billion Android phones in use by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      Based on the assumption that Android phones last about four years

      How did you justify that assumption?

    29. Re:Over five billion Android phones in use by AvitarX · · Score: 1

      I don't take issue with the sales numbers, but it doesn't follow that there are therefore 5 billion in use.

      1) your 4 year typical use assumption is quite likely wrong (I know it is in the US, I can't speak to the world at large).
      2) your 66% source (for a tech heavy weighted list) doesn't actually list what they're defining as 100% saturation., but they're predicting 90% penetration. I can't prove it, but it seems very likely they are leaving out at the very least young people (6.5% of US population is under 5 (2010 census), that doesn't leave much wiggle room to get to 90%.

      1 billion sales being a 5% increase means smartphones last a little over 2 years when there's 2.5 billion of them, where did you get your 4 year number?

      --
      Wow, sent an e-mail as suggested when clicking on "use classic" banner, and got a fast response that addressed my msg
    30. Re:Over five billion Android phones in use by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I believe it was 2.3 billion "active devices". Journalists took this to mean smartphones, but it could be tablets and set top boxes.

      Also, Google's definition of "active" is that the device is one that connects to the Play Store within in the last 3/6/12 months (I don't know which). So there could be devices still in use that no longer, but not going to the Play Store. Some Android devices don't even ship with it.

    31. Re:Over five billion Android phones in use by angel'o'sphere · · Score: 1

      No,
      I don't do anything that can trigger security problems, unless you think browsing /. is a security problem :D

      --
      Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
    32. Re:Over five billion Android phones in use by angel'o'sphere · · Score: 1

      The Mach micro kernel is based on BSD.
      What is this nitpicking about?

      --
      Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
    33. Re:Over five billion Android phones in use by Teckla · · Score: 1

      I think there are some vulnerabilities in other areas too, like in the Bluetooth and Wi-Fi drivers, that might leave you vulnerable just by having one or both of those radios on. Not 100% sure about that though and the risk is probably minimal since it would require close physical proximity.

    34. Re:Over five billion Android phones in use by Tough+Love · · Score: 1

      Based on the assumption that Android phones last about four years

      How did you justify that assumption?

      Eyes are amazing, particularly when used for reading.

      --
      When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
    35. Re:Over five billion Android phones in use by Tough+Love · · Score: 1

      I'm not the only one asshole.

      Well, asshole, even if we let it slip that this a prediction for 2018 - you keep ignoring that "tiny sliver" iOS., you stupid turd.

      Asshole, everybody knows that, but some of them have more than two neurons to rub together between their ears, unlike you.

      --
      When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
    36. Re:Over five billion Android phones in use by Tough+Love · · Score: 1

      When you say "looks more like reality" what you really mean is...

      "Agrees with the number of phones that we know were shipped." Yes, thank you, that is exactly what I meant, now go back to wanking on your internet porn.

      --
      When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
    37. Re:Over five billion Android phones in use by Tough+Love · · Score: 1

      I don't need a link...

      Or a brain, it is wasted on you.

      --
      When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
    38. Re:Over five billion Android phones in use by Tough+Love · · Score: 1

      smartphones last a little over 2 years when there's 2.5 billion of them, where did you get your 4 year number?

      It is idiotic to suppose that smartphones only last 2 years when you are surrounded with evidence that they last at least twice as long. Where did get your 2 year number, and why would you trust that source?

      --
      When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
    39. Re:Over five billion Android phones in use by Tough+Love · · Score: 1

      What do you do with your own smartphone, drop it in the toilet twice a year to even out the figures?

      --
      When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
    40. Re:Over five billion Android phones in use by AvitarX · · Score: 1

      Usually concrete, but yeah, I break a lot of them.

      They've existed how long, 9 years? I've had at least eleven (this one is pretty old at 8 months though, and 2 or 3 were defective (or broken charging ports that got Jarred and we're soldered to the board) and one was lost while skiing).

      I suspect the number over time skews low because 5 or so years ago they were pretty rapidly improving and replacements were less likely break related vs today.

      --
      Wow, sent an e-mail as suggested when clicking on "use classic" banner, and got a fast response that addressed my msg
    41. Re:Over five billion Android phones in use by AvitarX · · Score: 1

      In 2014, the Google numbers imply under 24 months, but lengthening.

      https://www.ben-evans.com/bene...

      --
      Wow, sent an e-mail as suggested when clicking on "use classic" banner, and got a fast response that addressed my msg
    42. Re:Over five billion Android phones in use by Tough+Love · · Score: 1

      Read your own link ffs. "The last time a daily rate was given was in May 2013 (1.5m a day), and the last number for cumulative activations was in September 2013" and "This of course excludes China, where Android devices do not use Google services". Other gotchas no doubt, those ones just jumped off the page at me. On the other hand, Google can't distort the number it actually shipped, that's illegal. We know those numbers.

      Eleven phones in 9 years, nobody should listen to your opinion about how long a phone lasts.

      --
      When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
    43. Re:Over five billion Android phones in use by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      Oh no I read it. I just assumed if your entire point lingered on one key assumption you would have more than one anecdotal data point. Maybe you should do some reading next time before making a post.

    44. Re:Over five billion Android phones in use by Tough+Love · · Score: 1

      I get it. Your eyes only work for reading my posts. Not for gathering data from any other source, except for dubious sources that happen to support your noncritical thinking.

      --
      When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
    45. Re:Over five billion Android phones in use by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      he isn't the one that can't read/understand the contents of his own link lol

    46. Re:Over five billion Android phones in use by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      someone is upset they were proven wrong, by their own link no less lol. Incidentally the main made up bullshit people are arguing with is the numbers you wanked out over the screen for total Android phones in use.

    47. Re:Over five billion Android phones in use by gravewax · · Score: 1

      I don't need a link...

      Or a brain, it is wasted on you.

      yeah obviously I am the one that needs a brain https://www.statista.com/stati... , you are the one that gave that link that proved yourself wrong. you came up with a stupid number for lifetime of phones and now try to defend it or deflect it.

    48. Re:Over five billion Android phones in use by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      no shit sherlock, Apple and google shipped numbers are much higher as they don't include replacement phones from breakage or phones retired due to replacement, most people nowadays have one or more old smartphones sitting in a drawer. average phone life is around 2-2.5 years at the moment.

  8. It's called "A Maturing Market" by knorthern+knight · · Score: 5, Insightful

    1) At the beginning, item X (desktop PC, flatscreen TV, smartphone, whatever) is damn expensive and almost nobody except rich hipsters has one.

    2) As R&D costs are amortized and production lines ramp up, prices drop, more people can afford item X, and sales increase.

    3) Then really cheap Chinese knockoffs appear, and sales really take off.

    4) Eventually, everybody that wants one, and can afford one, has one. At that point sales drop down to replacement levels for older ones that wear out, fall on the floor, are stolen, whatever.

    A few years ago there was hoopla about "the end of the desktop PC". The PC market hasn't disappeared; it's matured and sales have stabilized at replacement levels. I expect the same to happen for smartphones.

    --

    I'm not repeating myself
    I'm an X window user; I'm an ex-Windows user
    1. Re:It's called "A Maturing Market" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      After the last fiasco I had over my failing Samsung phone, I bought multiple mid-level Android phones when they went on sale ($100 each), and when they break I just swap in a new one from the pile. For a $500 top level phone, I can buy five replacements. I don't lose sleep over scratches or theft, and I don't pay for phone rental charges to my carrier. Essentially I'm out of the phone market for 5+ years, and I love it.

    2. Re:It's called "A Maturing Market" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The market is predictably nearing the top of the S-curve. Exponential growth always tapers off.

    3. Re:It's called "A Maturing Market" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      So, funny story:

      Growing up I always had a desktop computer; from the Spectrum to the Amiga to Windows 7. I switched to laptops and OSX around Vista and I'm reasonably happy there.

      My cousins were a few years younger, and they made far more use of mobile devices, consoles for gaming, and had zero interest in general purpose computing outside of schoolwork. They'd borrow their parent's machines for homework, but everything else was on locked down devices. They're now getting into indie gaming and 3d modelling respectively and are absolutely blown away by how much more you can do on a real computer. The recent privacy headlines have further dissuaded them from the surveillance panopticon that is mobile computing.

      I think a big part of the slowdown in the desktop/laptop market has been due to mobile and tablets, but amongst their friend groups at least the trend seems to be swinging towards real computers.

    4. Re:It's called "A Maturing Market" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I misread that as rectal charges

    5. Re:It's called "A Maturing Market" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Good points. The market matured because there is nothing new in smartphones these days. Marginally faster cores or marginally better camera doesn't drive sales.

      A phone that only have styling changes, won't force replacement either. Some of the new stuff, like glass backside, is negative. Breaks easier, not what people want. We're only looking at the frontside anyway.

      They are all the same these days - the only difference among models is screen size, so you go for what suits your needs and stick to it till it breaks.

    6. Re:It's called "A Maturing Market" by Raenex · · Score: 1

      This comment should be rated, "5: Obvious, but somebody had to say it."

  9. Even high-end phones are commodities now by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 2

    My iPhone 6S will soon be 3 generations “behind”... but it does everything I want, and still gets security patches (as does its predecessor). Apple has apparently realized this - after all, they spent 1/3 of their iPhone spotlight event talking about how their glorious and great newest iPhone’s best feature was... turning yourself into a talking poop emoji. Oh, and they’ve once again made incremental improvements on the camera. Woo hoo!

    It’s not like it’s any different on the Android side, either.

    If you have a smartphone that was purchased within the past 4-5 years, and the phone is not physically broken - there’s just not a compelling reason to throw another $800-1000 at these companies.

    --
    #DeleteChrome
    1. Re:Even high-end phones are commodities now by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What is it with this scat craze anyway? Ewwww.

        Imagine if a teacher or parent saw a poop emoji 30 years ago. Yeah, outcome not so good.

    2. Re:Even high-end phones are commodities now by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What is it with this scat craze anyway?

      Imagine if a teacher or parent saw a poop emoji 30 years ago? Yeah, outcome not so good.

    3. Re:Even high-end phones are commodities now by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      but it does everything I want

      Advertise that you're too poor to afford a new fashion accessory every year?

    4. Re:Even high-end phones are commodities now by Gilgaron · · Score: 1

      Are they even fashion accessories anymore? I can't remember the last time anyone was 'excited' to see what kind of phone someone had. At least not since the Samsung whatevers were catching fire: "oh is that one of those ones that will explode? when are they sending you a new one?" Conversely, the last time I was on a campus I was shocked to see how many people had Apple Watches, in general public or at work there are few enough people wearing a watch of any kind, perhaps a fitness tracker here and there.

    5. Re:Even high-end phones are commodities now by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 1

      Advertise that you're too poor to afford a new fashion accessory every year?

      Dude, look at my username - that ship has sailed.

      --
      #DeleteChrome
    6. Re:Even high-end phones are commodities now by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      Are they even fashion accessories anymore? I can't remember the last time anyone was 'excited' to see what kind of phone someone had.

      Better question: Were they ever? I mean clearly they are some sort of symbol to someone. I doubt anyone upgraded their iPhone 7 to an 8 for all those amazing things their 7 couldn't do. Yet there are plenty of people who jumped on the opportunity for some reason. Someone still considers it as a symbol rather than a functional mini-computer / phone.

    7. Re:Even high-end phones are commodities now by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      Bahahahhaah. Oh. Have an internet cookie. I tip my hat to you!

      Side note: I was being sarcastic, but that's kind of irrelevant now that I've spat coffee all over my laptop. :-D

    8. Re:Even high-end phones are commodities now by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 1

      Side note: I was being sarcastic, but that's kind of irrelevant now that I've spat coffee all over my laptop. :-D

      My work here is done!

      --
      #DeleteChrome
    9. Re:Even high-end phones are commodities now by antdude · · Score: 1

      My folks still like their 6 Pluses even though they are slower with iOS v11.x. I am OK with my free 4S I got from one of them even though very slow, bad original battery life, and unsupported. I rarely use it, but they want me to have a mobile phone. :/

      --
      Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
    10. Re:Even high-end phones are commodities now by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      iOS 9 is the earliest version of iOS that has ad-blocking for Safari, and which still supports iPhone 4S. Get your Safari browser an ad-blocker, subscribe to n+1 blocklists, and at least web browsing should thereonafter be faster on account of a lesser amount of ads. Given an opportunity, you could choose to not upgrade to iOS 10 or 11, for example, if these newer versions make your phone slower.

      Also, ditch resource-hungry social apps, like Facebook.

  10. The only reason I replaced my last phone... by Lordfly · · Score: 2

    ...was because the USB port finally gave out. I now have a Samsung Galaxy S8 Active. It's boring, it looks like a grey rectangle, but I can go swimming with it if I want to. Assuming the stupid built-in battery doesn't die out exactly when my two years are up, I'm gonna keep this around for a long time. All I use my phone for is some photography social media and web usage. I don't need a super duper phone.

    --
    hookers and grits.
    1. Re:The only reason I replaced my last phone... by Dzimas · · Score: 1

      Samsung will replace the battery for about $79. There's no need to replace your phone just because the battery's failing.

    2. Re:The only reason I replaced my last phone... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      My phone battery costs $3.50 delivered and I pull them out and put them in all the time.

      This might be a cause of the decline in new phone sales, they're all crap now.

    3. Re:The only reason I replaced my last phone... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Form over function.

      The phones themselves are pretty good, but in the name of looking pretty and competing to be the thinnest they've sacrificed larger or replaceable batteries. For a mobile device that's pretty annoying when the batteries won't last a full day. Hence why they've created an entire market of external batteries, often built into a protective case. People want to use the smartphones, but they don't necessarily care about the look. They're more concerned with having it last the entire day and not smashing the screen.

    4. Re:The only reason I replaced my last phone... by Gilgaron · · Score: 1

      The forms seem to have all settled on an "all screen" look. Looking to sci-fi, I guess next will be where it is just a little handle and the screen either unrolls or projects out the side... then maybe the same idea but it comes out of a wristwatch instead of being large enough you need to keep it in your pocket?

  11. Give me a better radio by rsilvergun · · Score: 0

    that gets me faster data and better signal strength. Nothing else is gonna make me bother with a phone upgrade. And all I've got is a $220 LG. And it doesn't help that folks learned that their iPhones just needed a new battery to run fast again.

    --
    Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
  12. 2GB RAM are enough, I guess by drolli · · Score: 1

    My Note II from 2012 has 2GB, and the only reason I updated my phone was because there was no OS update any more. My current phone has specs similar to the old one, and i am perfectly fine with it. So I guess the market saturated simply because replacing your android phones will not give you as my added usability as it was a few years back.

    1. Re:2GB RAM are enough, I guess by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      https://wiki.lineageos.org/devices/t0lte

    2. Re:2GB RAM are enough, I guess by drolli · · Score: 1

      sorry - i have then non LTE version

  13. Yawn ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Smartphone Shipments Declined For the First Time In 2017

    And, tablets .. and laptops .. and desktops .. and game consoles .. and god knows what.

    Yes, it's been a shiny decade in which people sold us new products. But, we now have phones and tablets and desktops and laptops .. we don't need any more. In fact, we don't care any more.

    The fundamental problem is the idiots who run businesses think we're all going to upgrade every year or two, and they base their sales targets off that bullshit hypothesis. They want an unsustainable level of purchase that no rational consumer will buy into.

    You can claim all you want that you have new features in your tablet that are compelling to the consumer and they'll flock to buy new ones. You can, but you're wrong.

    I had a first gen iPad ... my primary use cases were google searches, email while on the road, apps to find restaurants, track my flights, and a couple of games an novelties I deleted within a month or so, and some video streaming.

    Know what my use cases for my Nexus 7 are a decade later? Yeah, google searches, email while on the road, finding restaurants, tracking flights, and video streaming ... now I'm over the games and novelties so I don't care about them at all. The rate at which I look for new apps is now pretty much zero.

    Google maps, gmail, and Netflix are 99% of why I still have a tablet for when I'm in a hotel, and it's 7-8 years old. A smart phone doesn't add much more since I don't use social media and have disabled anything requiring location services. Aww, I missed out on a coupon so you could track everywhere I go? I don't give a fuck. Can I tell you one feature on the iPhone work pays for that I can't live without? Honestly, no.

    All of these things have peaked, because we all have phones, and tablets, and whatever form factor of 'real' computer we have.

    The market is saturated, and the only purchases are by people who want the latest and greatest, and replacement of what we already have.

    But make no mistake about it, those devices out there are on their 2nd or 3rd level of hand-me-down. The people on the low end have only the most basic needs. The people on the high end simply can't sustain the market.

    Neither my phone, my tablet, nor my Windows 8.1 machine present compelling reasons to upgrade. In some cases, they present compelling reasons not to upgrade.

    Boo hoo, you've sold enough new phones that nobody gives a shit about. It's like printers ... yup, I've got a printer. There's little about your new printer that I care about.

    Smartphones and tablets become a product where the incremental difference is negligible if you aren't tech obsessed. For me, I'm not sure there are enough features between an iPhone 4 and an iPhone whatever to care.

    Oooh, the edges are roundier with more fruity overtones and hints of leather.

    Whatever, don't care, not interested.

  14. The reason I haven't upgraded: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    the new 'feature' is removing the headphone jack. The phone I have performs well enough for the jobs I want it to do, so losing features means that a new phone would be a downgrade.

  15. I have two thousand US dollars... by nightfire-unique · · Score: 2

    I have two thousand US dollars to spend on a smartphone, because I haven't upgraded since 2013. My note 3 has a replaceable battery, full sensor complement, headphone jack, MicroSD slot, hardware home button, silkscreen back/menu buttons, IR blaster, unlocked bootloader...

    There doesn't exist an equivalent phone, let alone a better phone. However, if any company is interested in making an actual flagship phone (think: ugly, powerful, maintainable, and with no wear items glued in), then I will pay two thousand US dollars for it.

    Do you hear me, Samsung?

    --
    A government is a body of people notably ungoverned - AC
    1. Re:I have two thousand US dollars... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That was a good phone ! I use the Samsung Galaxy S3 as my benchmark for similar reasons: FM Radio, Headphone jack, replaceable battery, 2 SIM cards, expandable memory SD card etc. I just a bought a few Lenoko K8 Note phones for me and family because they are the best equivalent that I can find now.

    2. Re:I have two thousand US dollars... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sorry, Lenovo K8 Note - available from Amazon in India or lazada in the philippines