Then there's the rev share on the AT&T contracts. Oh, and all those T-shirts.
Tal Keinan
· 6 months ago
Can you provide additional information about the ratio 1:15 - 1:40. Is it number of applications or number of downloads.
Glass
· 6 months ago
Yeah, I believe the app store is there just to increase the value of the hardware itself, not to make huge cash. They're making the hardware sell. And Apple are way more generous than most cellphone companies to the developers, taking only 30%. Normally you'd only get a small 5% or 10% royalty if you were selling Java games or ringtones... so yeah, they're not in it for soft(ware) money.
franceinshirts
· 6 months ago
Yes but see the customer database !!!!
jakrose
· 6 months ago
just because they do not make direct money on software does not mean that they are not a software company. i would argue most of the innovation of the iphone is the software, or more specifically the UI (which is software and hardware). It is interesting to see the estimating dollar amounts flying through the app store, but the real value of it all is the attraction and retention of customer for the iPhone, iTunes, and their higher end products.
Also, consider iTunes as a software play for Apple. They are selling music, making money on music, but the software move was what made it all happen.
I would say Apple has a pretty solid balance as a software and hardware company, constantly innovating on both sides of the coin. Not making tons on the app store is good for business. Allows the free economy of it all to push the rest of their business forward.
Thanks for the dirty details.
Scott King
· 6 months ago
Good observation - It is a mistake to look at one product by itself and totally ignore it's relationship to a brand as a whole.
Francis Vallieres
· 6 months ago
The correct formula is
1. build hardware, 2. turn it into a platform, 3. ????????? 4. profit.
scott
· 6 months ago
who Cares enough about the mf'ing iphone already
Rene
· 6 months ago
How exactly is making 20-45 million dollars considered 'Not much' ? What other company can make a product and have people create components for it and make money off of doing little to no work? I am a bit confused why this is a bad thing.
Thomas
· 6 months ago
you forgot to factor in the money that developers pay to Apple for the privilage of developing for the iPhone. To sell through the app store the developer has to be a member of the iPhone Developer Program. And that costs about $99. That doesn't mean each individaul app has that cost associated with it, but it's almost guaranteed that each developer that is in the store has paid this.
bob ama
· 6 months ago
should be using median not mean for calculating this you idiots
dsf
· 6 months ago
Your math is off by a factor of 10. It's hundreds of millions not tens of millions using your assumptions.
scott
· 6 months ago
So what your saying is that apple made $25-40 million and all they had to do was approve whether they would sell the applications? That sounds like a good source of free money to me. have people build applications without paying them, and then turn around and sell the application
Brad
· 6 months ago
How do they turn hardware into a platform? Software.
Corinna
· 6 months ago
Sure, but you are disregarding both brand exposure and consumer loyalty; besides, Apple makes most of its profits on hardware, not software - let users have free content for their high-markup gadget!
Erik
· 6 months ago
Then there's the rev share on the AT&T contracts. Oh, and all those T-shirts..
fiyu
· 6 months ago
hardware = less rentability than software, which extra unit replication cost is near 0, so once the apps will give benefits the net income/revenue ratio will grow faster than for the iphone...)
REO
· 6 months ago
I am surprised that Apple has gone with this pro developer route. Kudos to them and the developers!
Rus
· 6 months ago
You're also forgetting revenue from Google searches performed from within Mobile Safari. I've seen estimates as high as $100,000 a day.
This number can also be extrapolated by using the numbers Firefox and Safari post for desktop browsers.
Yeah, well Apple is IN the right place to be more than a hardware Co, they're one of the few Co's that have solidly increased revenue & activity in the last year. Walk thru the mall, see how many stores are BUSY like the Apple store. So I say they got Product & Position, ... & see if Co's like Verizon, who are good at selling, but not so good in actual position & product can even keep up
apple i phone 2009
· 6 months ago
this is good phone I really like this. But I heard that apple did not announced the 4g technology yet is that true.
apple iphone 2009
· 6 months ago
Apple iphone is the the revolution in the field of mobile. Whatever we have a before never compete with iphone and the new version are more useful
iPhoneTeacher
· 5 months ago
you missed the point...
1. app sales are driving hardware sales. that is key.
2. in the future, Apple can drive the pricing of hardware down if app sales start to soar. this is just the beginning so 20 to 45 million is not bad at all. they will be able to beat out the rest because of the lock in caused by large apps and drive the hardware price down because of revenues coming in from the apps. if an average iphone user spends say $50 per year on purchasing apps - that gives apple the option to drop its price down by $15 (that is, 30%) ..times the number of avg years a consumer holds onto the hardware. plus dont forget that if the consumer sells it further second hand - the new owner will also purchase apps - so essentially Apple can make $15 (or whatever their analysis of yearly average estimates give them) per year per piece of hardware sold. thats pretty neat and the numbers add up if an iPhone lasts for an average of say 8 to 10 years before it goes bad and the hardware fails (apple would know this better).
Finally - if you're interested in iphone development - check out - www.EDUmobile.ORG iphone ecourse offered online.
John
· 4 months ago
I am a seasoned .NET programmer. I have just tried to create a simple application for iPhone but had a tough time sorting out the Mac environment and the Objective-C lingo. Not for me :(
All Comments
Also, consider iTunes as a software play for Apple. They are selling music, making money on music, but the software move was what made it all happen.
I would say Apple has a pretty solid balance as a software and hardware company, constantly innovating on both sides of the coin. Not making tons on the app store is good for business. Allows the free economy of it all to push the rest of their business forward.
Thanks for the dirty details.
1. build hardware,
2. turn it into a platform,
3. ?????????
4. profit.
This number can also be extrapolated by using the numbers Firefox and Safari post for desktop browsers.
See this article which discusses this:
http://fixyourthinking.com/2009/05/iphone-reven...
1. app sales are driving hardware sales. that is key.
2. in the future, Apple can drive the pricing of hardware down if app sales start to soar. this is just the beginning so 20 to 45 million is not bad at all. they will be able to beat out the rest because of the lock in caused by large apps and drive the hardware price down because of revenues coming in from the apps. if an average iphone user spends say $50 per year on purchasing apps - that gives apple the option to drop its price down by $15 (that is, 30%) ..times the number of avg years a consumer holds onto the hardware. plus dont forget that if the consumer sells it further second hand - the new owner will also purchase apps - so essentially Apple can make $15 (or whatever their analysis of yearly average estimates give them) per year per piece of hardware sold. thats pretty neat and the numbers add up if an iPhone lasts for an average of say 8 to 10 years before it goes bad and the hardware fails (apple would know this better).
Finally - if you're interested in iphone development - check out - www.EDUmobile.ORG iphone ecourse offered online.