Unfortunately for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Google Inc’s (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android OS and the cheaper line of phones that carry it, are difficult to beat. Apple’s share of the inexpensive device market is on the decline, at 15%, which is down from 19% the year before. It also holds the number two spot, and Apple Inc. is significantly far behind Google’s Android phones which accounted for 79% of the billion devices purchased in 2013, this is is an increase from 69% in 2012.
2013 also marked the first year that mobile device sales exceeded 1 billion separate purchases. However, the market is maturing, so there are only a few years left of double-digit growth. What can be detrimental to Apple is the fact that smart phones, costing less than $200, made up 43% of the buys. This is an escalation over 31% in 2012 and 29% in 2011. More and more smart phone manufacturers are able to offer similar features to the Apple iPhone using Google’s Android interface at a much lower cost to the consumer.
In addition, the low-end mobile market is expected to continue its rise. Analysts predict it will have 54% of the market by 2017. This means a large majority of smart phone users will own Google Android devices.
According to IDC analyst Ramon Llamas, Google’s success in this arena may be attributed to the fact that Google,”relied on its long list of [manufacturing] partners, a broad and deep collection of devices, and price points that appealed to nearly every market segment.” In contrast, Apple focuses on a minimal number of device variations at more premium costs.
This news has analysts believing that Apple will invest in a strategy change. Unfortunately for Apple, the days of bragging rights, that come with owning an iPhone, seem to be over as more and more users embrace and love Android. This means that, in order to keep up with Google, Apple needs to assemble a metamorphosis.
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