Apple’s campaign to convert Android users into iPhone customers is picking up steam. The company estimates that during the third quarter of this year, more than 14 million iPhones were purchased by “Android switchers.” Overall, Apple sold 48 million iPhones during the quarter.
Apple’s revenue for the quarter was $51.5 billion and net profit was $11.1 billion. The third calendar quarter is the last quarter of Apple’s fiscal year, and 2015 turned out to be the company’s best financial year ever, with revenue surging 28% to almost $234 billion.
As overall growth slows in the smartphone market, Apple has been working hard to maintain momentum by converting Android users to the iPhone. The company has even launched an app in the Google Play store called Move to iOS.
Apple’s proprietary texting app, iMessage, may also be motivating a number of “switchers.” Android users cannot use iMessage and may find themselves left out of group texts, or even missing some messages altogether.
iPhone 6s, iPad
Apple’s results for the quarter ended in September include less than a month of iPhone 6s and 6s Plus sales. The new models went on sale in North America and China at the same time, and despite the economic slowdown in China, Apple almost doubled its revenue from Greater China during the most recent quarter, with China, Taiwan and Hong Kong accounting for $12.5 billion in sales.
Apple expects the growth in iPhone sales to continue during the fourth quarter, driven by holiday buying, upgrades to the new models and more switching from Android.
The iPhone’s continuing success does not extend to the iPad. Apple’s tablet sales were down almost 20% year-on-year. Apple said it still has almost 75% of the high-end U.S. tablet market, but that market has stopped growing.
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