Apple Q4 2015 results show record revenue of $51.5bn

[HEXUS]

Says the record results are down to success of the iPhone and all-time sales records for Macs.

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[shaithis]

Never has the phrase "a fool and his money are easily parted" been more apt.

Apple must be laughing all the way to the bank with their "Charge more for less" strategy and their underpaying of workers.

Do people actually realise that an iPhone costs apple $200 to make?

[DanceswithUnix]

Wonder how how many people were driven off Android by the early Lollipop 5.0 horrors.

[abaxas]

Wonder how how many people were driven off Android by the early Lollipop 5.0 horrors.

TBH I've always wondered why standard android comes with the worst SMS app of all time.

I know SMS is a bit oldskool but it's basically free.

[crossy]

Just back from "vacation" in Florida and I was really struck by how incredibly popular the iPhone5's and 6's are. Basically if you were looking for a smartphone case at Universal, Disney, etc and you didn't have iPhone5/6 or Samsung Galaxy 5/6 then you were utterly out of luck. That, in addition, to seeing a pretty much 3:1 ratio of iPhoner's to Android users. I also saw quite a few folks touting the Apple Watch in the ride queues. Which, I guess, goes some way to account why Apple is still such a force in the market.

I also find the US Apple Store "experience" to be far better than the one over here. Although I had major problems trying to buy a pair of iPod Touch's with UK spec (so chip 'n' pin) debit and credit cards in the Apple Store. And since I'd happily used those cards in other sellers (e.g. Alamo car rental, 7/11 etc) and did subsequently, I'm pretty convinced that the problem was at Apple's end not mine. That's what they get for using iPhone5's as roaming tills rather than having "proper" ones!

Oh, and I compared by "last year's model" LG G3 to the new iPhone6s and still came away preferring my old LG. I wasn't convinced by the 6s's look and while the UI was a bit smoother, it wasn't a big enough difference for me to want to jump ship.

[DanceswithUnix]

TBH I've always wondered why standard android comes with the worst SMS app of all time.

I know SMS is a bit oldskool but it's basically free.

Because Google want you to use Hangouts, so they pretty much abandoned the AOSP messaging app.

Because Android is open source, apart from the bits like Hangouts that aren't

[azrael-]

Never has the phrase "a fool and his money are easily parted" been more apt.

Apple must be laughing all the way to the bank with their "Charge more for less" strategy and their underpaying of workers.

Do people actually realise that an iPhone costs apple $200 to make?

Combine that with the fact that the old adage "there's one born every minute" still holds true and you've got a winner. How people keep falling for that Apple shtick continues to elude me.

[mikerr]

That iphone just keeps on printing money for them, doesn't it ?

Still hiding iWatch sales though, and ipad sales declining.

[peterb]

Combine that with the fact that the old adage "there's one born every minute" still holds true and you've got a winner. How people keep falling for that Apple shtick continues to elude me.

Because, funnily enough, they are making products that people want to buy. They have found a price point that sells and makes a profit,nwhich is what business is all about.

Why do people like the products? Perhaps because they work without faffing about, and the ecosystem/infrastructure business model isn't about building an advertising profile about you. Plus the fact that there is pretty much seemless transition between any Apple device.

There warranty and care programmes are all handled in house, so if you buy from Apple direct, that is where you go for support. One stop, easy and convenient, and for many people that convenience is worth the extra cost.

oh yes, and an appropriate GUI for a desktop machine/laptop and a mobile device with a touch screen.

But it is fashionable for those "out of the fold" to sneer at those inside, but get over it, people are buying them, in spite of the price premium because they are perceived as uncomplicated.

Just wish I was a shareholder.

[b0redom]

Stop being so damned reasonable. You should know that any Apple thread is an excuse for the fanbois to come out.

[3dcandy]

And a quick straw poll among my apple using friends is the new ones are too much and don't offer enough lol
I must admit though the amount of people who just upgrade because they can astounds me, though this applies to all shiny toys

[shaithis]

Because, funnily enough, they are making products that people want to buy. They have found a price point that sells and makes a profit,nwhich is what business is all about.

Why do people like the products? Perhaps because they work without faffing about, and the ecosystem/infrastructure business model isn't about building an advertising profile about you. Plus the fact that there is pretty much seemless transition between any Apple device.

If only that were true.

It's fashion and peer-pressure, pure and simple.
John has a shiny new iPhone, I must have one as well!
"Oh, you can't afford an iPhone?" or "Android/Windows eh? They are just copies"

However you carve it up, it most certainly isn't value, which funnily enough most iPhone users will look for value in almost everything ELSE they purchase.....just not anything with an Apple logo on....

[3dcandy]

Just to add that most of the Apple users simply can't be arsed to mess around with stuff. Was in an office the other day with 4 iphone users. Icloud didn't work properly on 2, 1 was smashed and the user didn't want to mess around to fix it and the other phone was next to useless as it had no memory left....
So 4 users on monthly contracts paying a fee for something that didn't work properly. 100% rate of people with something that didn't just work as the fanbois say all the time.... is it just me or are people just not that bothered these days?

[peterb]

If only that were true.

It's fashion and peer-pressure, pure and simple.
John has a shiny new iPhone, I must have one as well!
"Oh, you can't afford an iPhone?" or "Android/Windows eh? They are just copies"

However you carve it up, it most certainly isn't value, which funnily enough most iPhone users will look for value in almost everything ELSE they purchase.....just not anything with an Apple logo on....

Well that is a convenient assertion, but the same applies to Samsung, or Nexus or any other brand. They all have their blind adherents. And part of success for a business is building a strong brand, whether it is technology or any other commodity. And Android fans are equally vociferous in defending their position, although Apple users don't seem so bothered about sneering at them.

Android based phones can offer good value for money, but some 'high end' phones cost as much as an iPhone, but offer little more than one costing a third as much - so who is getting value for money there? But that is their choice and if they want to show brand loyalty for a device that they can get to do the same thing for less, then good luck to them.

[LSG501]

Well that is a convenient assertion, but the same applies to Samsung, or Nexus or any other brand. They all have their blind adherents. And part of success for a business is building a strong brand, whether it is technology or any other commodity.

Actually if you look at all the phones out there is only 1 brand (Apple) that basically gets '10/10' in reviews and blogs no matter how good another product is compared with it, even in topics which don't have anything to do with Apple they still manage to get brought up. Even the iOS 8/9 got high ratings with all the issues they came out with, some of the issues were seriously bad too.

Plenty of blogs and newspapers will post new news about something competing with apple but will 90% of the time put a negative twist on the announcement or like with the Q4 results will say its down to 'users leaving android' when it's more likely due to opening up in more markets (ie China). Newspapers websites basically push Apple onto users because well nothing else exists in their world when it comes to things like apps, same goes for other media companies mainly supporting iOS over android and windows mobile. Oh and don't forget the 'apple did it first' effect to pretty much anything new they released even when they were nowhere near first... just look at apple pay for example.

In essence Apple get so much free marketing from 'celebs' and media outlets (plus they do considerably more adverts than the others) that they have a huge presence in a market where most teenagers are more focused on 'how pretty I look when I pout in instagram photos' rather than being able to make their own informed decisions. Sadly the current market is geared towards this type of owner... just look how popular beats headphones are considering how bad they are....

although Apple users don't seem so bothered about sneering at them.

you might want to go to some 'pro apple' sites...

For the record, I don't think apple does the best product out there but I do feel they have the best marketing team out there.

[crossy]

you might want to go to some 'pro apple' sites...

For the record, I don't think apple does the best product out there but I do feel they have the best marketing team out there.

It's not just the "iFan" sites either - I was watching an episode of the Twit.TV show "All About Android" last month and they spent over five minutes discussing in what ways the iPhone was "clearly better" than the poor Android devices they were stuck with. Heck, I thought I'd downloaded "All About Apple" instead!

Apple also gets kudos for it's support, and for the most part I'll agree with that. I've had "5 star" service from both the service org (based in Ireland) and also one of the Apple stores in Orlando. As a counterpoint though I had one of my worst "support experiences" with my (then local) Apple store in Glasgow. It was so bad that I swore then and there that I'd never buy a new Apple device for myself ever again.

LSG501 if you want a wry smile then nip off to YouTube or TekThing.com and get a copy of their (TekThing) review of the Apple announcements - they're definitely off Tim Cook's Christmas card list!