When Apple held its annual shareholder's meeting, its CEO, Tim Cook had to publicly acknowledge Android's explosive growth. He told Apple shareholders, "success is not making the most." This was the first acknowledgement from the iPhone maker that smartphones running Google's Android operating system outsell the iPhone.
He followed up with telling shareholders that Apple could press "a button or two" if Apple wanted to sell the most products in a certain category, but it doesn't, because "it wouldn't be good for Apple."
Some might call that arrogance, but Apple sees it as quality over quantity. Google's Android operating system currently holds a 53.4 percent market share of mobile operating systems, while Apple's iOS holds 36.3 percent of the market. Even though Android smartphones outsell iPhones, Apple collects a much bigger profit while selling fewer devices. It captured 69 percent of handset industry profits in 2012 due to maintaining high margins on its devices, compared to its biggest rival, Samsung.
It is widely believed that Apple will move to a more aggressive release cycle of its products since it must please shareholders who have watched Samsung surpass Apple in sales of smartphones. It is believed that Apple will launch a lower-priced iPhone and a possible 5-inch phablet to compete with Samsung's Galaxy Note phablet and other upcoming 5+-inch smartphones. Apple needs to address the market it has been ignoring for years, low-end smartphones, and offer features found on Android smartphones, including larger screens.
While Google's Android smartphones have been a huge success, the same cannot be said about how it has fared in the tablet world. Tim Cook went on to remind the board that Apple's iOS is on "a lot more tablets" than Google's Android mobile operating system. It seems that even though Android devices outsell Apple's iOS devices, Apple's customers are willing to spend more money on its attention to design and detail than Android smartphones, and that extra cash makes Apple feel successful.
