Apple's 4.2% mobile market share rakes in over half the industry's profit

Apple Insider ^ | Monday, January 31, 2011 | By Josh Ong

[stripes1776]

I will respond with the observation that your question is a textbook example of the logical fallacy of begging the question

I do apologize. I need to be clearer. Facts are not arguable. Apple has 4% of the cell phone market, but 50% of the profits. That is a fact, and therefore is not a proposition. There is no begging of the question because that is not a proposition, simply a fact.

[tacticalogic]

It is a fact that this is what the report claims. You’re submitting that there can be no question that this report is accurate.

[stripes1776]

It is a fact that this is what the report claims. You’re submitting that there can be no question that this report is accurate.

No, that is not what I am submitting at all. A fact is not a proposition and therefore not arguable. The criterion for a good proposition is that it is arguable. But there can be no begging the question about facts because they are not propositions.

If you want to say that those statistics are not facts because they are not accurate, then that is a different matter entirely. But you will have to show why they are not factual.

[tacticalogic]

If you want to say that those statistics are not facts because they are not accurate, then that is a different matter entirely. But you will have to show why they are not factual.

I would if I had stated that they are inaccurate. I did not. I submitted that it is entirely possible that they are not accurate.

All the evidence we have right now is an article about a report, and even that will only commit to saying that this is what the report claims. We do not have the actual report, and we certainly do not have the data that was used to produce it. Without that, any assesment about the accuracy of the report, the data it's based on, or the conclusions drawn from that data are speculation.

[stripes1776]

We do not have the actual report, and we certainly do not have the data that was used to produce it.

There is a good reason for that. The companies that compile these figures charge their customers for the reports. You can always buy a report if you want. But you can try tracking down the individual bits and pieces.

Without that, any assesment about the accuracy of the report, the data it's based on, or the conclusions drawn from that data are speculation.

In that case, you aren't able to make any propositions at all as to why Apple has 4% of the market but 50% of the profits of cell phones.

[tacticalogic]

In that case, you aren't able to make any propositions at all as to why Apple has 4% of the market but 50% of the profits of cell phones.

I can make whatever proposition I want. The only requriement you put on a proposition is that it be arguable. I submit that it is arguable that it is possible the report is inaccurate. If you're going to state as fact that is not possible, then you'll have to produce the date to prove it.

[stripes1776]

I can make whatever proposition I want. The only requriement you put on a proposition is that it be arguable. I submit that it is arguable that it is possible the report is inaccurate. If you're going to state as fact that is not possible, then you'll have to produce the date to prove it.

You are the one making the proposition, not me. Now you have to present an argument to support the proposition. Surely you are not begging the question, are you?

[tacticalogic]

More detailed information about the report is availble on the Apple Insider website. The data compares information from 8 vendors. Nowhere in that article does it say the report accounts for all the vendors or accounts for all the profits made in that market.

The author of the original report may have made that claim in the report and it was repeated by the author of this article, or the author of the article may have drawn that conclusion on his own. Either way, the accuracy of the claim is arguably questionable based on the apparent absence of sufficient data to support the conclusion.

[stripes1776]

The author of the original report may have made that claim in the report and it was repeated by the author of this article, or the author of the article may have drawn that conclusion on his own. Either way, the accuracy of the claim is arguably questionable based on the apparent absence of sufficient data to support the conclusion.

The conclusion is that Apple has tremendous profits with the iPhone. And it makes a deal of money for the company because of the quality of the product.

[tacticalogic]

The conclusion, verbatim from the article :

With just 4.2 percent of the global mobile phone market, Apple's iPhone accounts for a massive 51 percent of the total profits, a new report claims.

[stripes1776]

The conclusion, verbatim from the article : With just 4.2 percent of the global mobile phone market, Apple's iPhone accounts for a massive 51 percent of the total profits, a new report claims.

If you want to produce exact figures on your own, please do.

The comparison in the chart is of the big 8 vendors. Of those Apple is taking half the profits. The iPhone generated $10.5 billion in revenue last quarter.

Apple has a relative low share of the total cell phone market and at the same time generates the highest percentage of the profits in that market. The iPhone is a high quality product with high user satisfaction.

[tacticalogic]

Fact:

The article claims the report shows Apple makes 51% of the total profit in the mobile phone market.

Fact:

Nowhere is there any evidence that the data accounts for all the profits of that market, or that the there was any attempt made to do so. The data is limited to 8 vendors selected from that market.

Those are facts. They are not arguable.

[stripes1776]

Nowhere is there any evidence that the data accounts for all the profits of that market, or that the there was any attempt made to do so. The data is limited to 8 vendors selected from that market.

OK, Apple has 50% of the profits of the top 8 vendors that have 80% of the market. As to that other 20%, they are minor players. They may have negligible profits, could be breaking even, or could be loosing money. If they had big profits we would all know their names.

Anyway you slice it, Apple has very high profits. Here are some more graphs showing how profitable the iPhone has been for Apple.

Again, this chart shows the relative revenues of the global eight vendors, the eight that matter. Apple is the most profitable of the eight. (The purple is LG. They are losing money.)

This chart shows that Apple sells a smaller number of units than some other companies, but makes more revenue on each umit. Other vendors make very little on each unit, and try to make it up on volume. So market share of units does not necessarily translate into more profits.

[tacticalogic]

So market share of units does not necessarily translate into more profits.

And high price doesn't necessarily translate into better quality, but it appears to be expected that the argument that it does must be accepted without question if it's an Apple product.

[stripes1776]

And high price doesn't necessarily translate into better quality, but it appears to be expected that the argument that it does must be accepted without question if it's an Apple product.

Apples is more profitable that other vendors (fact--not arguable) because (get ready--here is my proposition and therefore arguable) it produces higher quality phones. I maintain that is why Apple has such a high satisfaction rate on its products. Those products give people a very high lever of satisfaction and so they continue to use those products and buy more of them.

[tacticalogic]

You're quite entitled to submit and argue that prosition. All I ever did was provide a possible counterpoint.

When assesing an article, is it more important that it be accurate, or that it be favorable to Apple?

[stripes1776]

When assesing an article, is it more important that it be accurate, or that it be favorable to Apple?

The gist of the article is accurate. Apple is more profitable than other vendors. They don't sell the highest volume, but they make more on each phone than other vendors.

If you don't like Apple products, then there are lots of other products on the market to choose from.

[tacticalogic]

This is not about whether I like Apple products. This is about whether I like articles that appear to misrepresent the data they’re supposed to be reporting on.

[stripes1776]

This is about whether I like articles that appear to misrepresent the data they’re supposed to be reporting on.

The big idea, read for the big idea: the Apple iPhone is more profitable than any other phone. The big and important idea.

[Ted Grant]

Your inane posts remind me of the blond who said, “Don’t hate me because I’m beautiful.”

That was Kelly LeBrock in a very famous Pantene commercial in the early 1980s. And she's a brunette.