Apple Continues To Dominate Smartphone Profits, Claims 92% Last Quarter

Oh, how frustrating it must be to be an Android phone maker. No matter how good a device is, claiming a good chunk of the overall profits pie is tough – or impossible if we consider how large Apple’s share is. Few companies can enjoy sky-high profit margins like Apple, and because of that, along with the overall success of the iPhone 6, it almost feels like all smartphone-related profits go straight into the Cupertino company’s pockets.

Take, for example, the fact that Apple claimed 20% of smartphone sales last quarter. That almost seems paltry (though it’s not even close to being as bad as BlackBerry’s and Microsoft’s share); Android once again dominates the charts, finding its way into the hands of far more people. But because Apple’s margins are so good, and the device costs overall are higher than most other high-end handsets to begin with, it managed to claim a staggering 92% of total smartphone profits last quarter.

If you can believe it, that’s actually down from the previous quarter, where it was 93%.

It seems likely that Apple’s share will decline slightly in advance of the expected release of the next iPhone – called either the iPhone 7 or iPhone 6S. It’s been heavily rumored that this update could come a bit sooner than we’d normally expect, and at this point, it’s hard to gauge whether or not it’s going to prove as exciting a release as the 6 series was – especially with its new Plus model. iPhone 7 – or whatever it will be called – could include Force Touch, an improved body, as well as an improved camera.

What seems certain is that regardless of what the next iPhone brings to the table, Apple’s gluttonous share of smartphone profits is likely to remain intact.