Daily iPhone Blog

Apple Has Huge Success With iPhone 6/6 Plus Posted: 18 Nov 2014 07:47 AM PST Apple launched the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus back in September and since then the devices have gone on a world tour of success. They smashed sales records, became massively popular and gained sales in many regions and have simply been Cupertino's most successful smartphones of all-time. With that in mind it is hardly the shock of the century to see that the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus have led iPhone sales over the last 30 days by a huge amount. UBS and Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP) found that Apple's 2014 smartphones took 84% of all iPhone purchases over the last 30 days, with 16% going to older models like the iPhone 5s and 5c. The researchers were particularly surprised by the demand for the handsets in China, where Apple enjoyed massive pre-order and hard launch sales numbers. Another interesting thing to emerge from the survey was that 19% of Samsung users asked said they will be switching to either the iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus. Our recent UBS Evidence Lab study complements the backward-looking CIRP work in finding impressive iPhone 6 buying intentions," UBS wrote. "Over 40% of respondents were likely to buy an iPhone 6 in the next year with China surprisingly strong. There is clear share gain - 19% of Samsung users look to switch to Apple for their next purchase. It also found a tilt toward the 6 Plus at over half of indicated purchases. CIRP data show the smaller iPhone 6 is selling more than the 6 Plus, which we expect to continue. But due to supply shortages, we don't know the underlying 6 Plus demand. The Evidence Lab study suggests the 6 Plus could exceed expectations, especially in Asia. CIRP confirmed last week's news that most people buying the iPhone 6 or 6 Plus were previous iPhone users and not coming from Android. The vast majority of new iPhone buyers were already iPhone owners," CIRP Partner and Co-Founder Josh Lowitz said. "Current iPhone owners accounted for over 80% of buyers after this launch, compared to less than 65% after the iPhone 5S and 5C launch in September 2013. Android owners accounted for a much smaller share of buyers immediately after this year's iPhone launch, and with smartphones so prevalent in the US, we also saw a smaller percentage of iPhone buyers moving from basic phones.

Samsung to produce 80% of Apple’s 2015 chips Posted: 17 Nov 2014 03:37 PM PST There have always been rumors that Apple will eventually stop using Samsung to build its processors and it is certainly an eventuality that can happen. In fact, Cupertino holds all the cards, but admittedly having Samsung as a component partner is a lucrative accord for both companies. This year Apple toned down Samsung's involvement in making the A8 chips, but the Korean company will be coming back with a vengeance in 2015 it seems. Samsung has previously stated it will once again ramp up production as Apple's chief supplier for processors. The Korea Times is not saying that is indeed the case and the newspaper says that Samsung and Apple have already agreed on the deal: Samsung Electronics agreed with Apple to produce application processors (APs) from next year for iPhones and iPads, sources said Monday. The agreement means Samsung will become a primary supplier of APs to Apple, pushing its chief Taiwanese rival TSMC back to second place. From 2016, the company will supply 80 percent of APs used in Apple devices, and TSMC the remainder. To deal with the big load, Samsung will recruit the services of New York based GlobalFoundries to help spread the manufacturing between Sammy's Texas and South Korea manufacturing plants. The Korea Times is one of the more solid Samsung sources, however the periodical has gotten chip related news wrong in the past, but I think this time the paper is one a secure footing. There is little doubt that Samsung and Apple will once again partner for the A9 chips that will be found in Cupertino's mobile products in 2015.