Apple stock has been dropping as well as its smartphone market share as Android seems to be increasing its share quickly based on quarterly market share. Unless you purchase a used iPhone 3G or 3GS you will likely have to spend $449 for the entry level iPhone (the iPhone 4). This means those people that are just now finally upgrading from a flip phone to a smartphone only have Android as an affordable start. This has clearly been the reason for most first time smartphone users going with Android from the beginning. With so many people adopting smartphones these days and many choosing iPhones the cheaper Android version are winning the newbies.
If you look at the image above released by IDC (International Data Corporation) you can clearly see Google’s growth and Apples decline. In the fourth quarter of 2011 you notice that Apple did gain serious ground with the release of the iPhone 4S although it was short lived and all gain was lost over the following 12 months. The number one reason for this decline (based on statistics) is the fact that Samsung released a worthy competitor to the iPhone 4S in May this year, the Galaxy S3.
We not only see Apples decline with their market share but also their share price which has steadily dropped over the past month or so. AAPL has dropped over $100 a share recently and there is no end in the near future from what we see. This being said they are a resilient company that will likely see their numbers increase based on Q4 holiday sales. We personally all at Android Advice have Apple stock and are still looking at it as a buy although short term may not see positive results.
Apple has mentioned recently releasing a more affordable iPhone for entry level smartphone adapters, which can be seen with its initial release in China. If they successfully release a lower end iPhone things will likely change. If not then Apple may be compared to Blackberry in the near future. Lets just assume with Apple’s great marketing team that they will succeed but likely never catch Android in overall market share.