Forget Mr Rockefeller, forget the oil companies, and forget Google. In January 2015, Apple has just become, the company which has recorded the largest profits ever. With a record breaking quarter posting profits of $18 billion dollars, the company now has a fat wad of cash totally some $142 billion. Indeed, it could be said that the company is acquiring more money than it can spend it. A nice problem to have! But to put it into a little perspective, it has just bought out Beats! for $3 billion, and that was its largest purchase ever. It seems incredible that a single company can make so much money largely thanks to a product that slips seamlessly into your pocket.
Indeed, the figures are backed up by the Internet search trends of 2014. Google recently published its top trends of 2014 for consumer electronics, and guess what featured in number one place? Yep, the iPhone 6. In fact, an Apple product featured three more times in that top 10 listing, with Samsung, Moto and Nexus making up some of the other places.
The figure is incredible. It would take a person 450,000 years earning $40,000 per year to achieve a figure of $18 billion in three months. That’s how massive this figure is. To achieve this figure, it sold 34,000 iPhones every hour, or 9 a second. In fact it made more money this quarter than what NASA receives in budget for an entire year!
What should Apple do now? With those profits, it could easily sit on its laurels for quite a few years and spend to come up with something new and innovative. It could also be nice, and maybe pay 35% tax and put money back into the US economy. Or it could even sell its next line of products for less; although its shareholders would likely not allow any of those options!
The fact is, despite the strong competition of the Android machines, Samsung, Motorola et al, the iPhone is simply outselling everyone. Ease of use, dedicated OS to the unit, a strong foundation, and a loyal customer base has made the iPhone, and consequently Apple what it is today.
But that’s not to say the iPhone is perfect. It does have to deal with iTunes much of the time for a start. It also can get damaged quite easily, despite Apple’s use of high quality materials. And the cynic in me perhaps suggests this is part of Apple’s ploy. To market a product such as an iPhone, to present it in such a nice way, with good quality feeling materials, to get its customer base hooked and bought into the Apple way of doing things, and when something untoward does happen to the unit, it does break easily.
Shattered screens are the most common problem with them. Water damage is also another problem, they are not as waterproof as some of its competitors, the Samsung S5 for example. And so, when something does happen, the unit is mostly seen as a write off, and the owner goes out and buys another one. This makes Apple very happy.
This need not be the case, because iPhones are surprisingly easy to fix with replacement parts, a little patience and a youtube video. Or you can send it away to be repaired by a company such as iPhonefixed.co.uk where the vast majority of iPhone issues can be repaired, saving the user hundreds.
With the cost of the iPhone being so much, this is perhaps the majority of people’s best bet when they do have an issue with their phone. Despite these huge profits, it’s very unlikely Apple will be selling its products for any less than they do now, and why should they if the market is prepared to pay it? So the only other option is to look after your phone, and to ensure that any issues that do arise with it, get fixed rather than simply throwing it, and hundreds away for a new one.