UPDATED 07:27 EDT / JULY 13 2015

NEWS

Report: Apple took 92% of all smartphone profits in Q1 2015

According to a new report published by The Wall Street Journal on Monday, Apple took home an estimated 92 percent of total worldwide smartphone profits for the first quarter of 2015, up from a 65 percent share in the year-ago quarter.

By comparison, Samsung Electronics Co Ltd. took second spot with just 15 percent share of worldwide smartphone profits.

The estimation, based on earnings from eight of the world’s top smartphone makers, comes from Canaccord Genuity Group Inc. and shows Apple and Samsung taking in excess of 100 percent of profits due to other manufacturers losing money or only breaking even.

Apple’s first quarter profit share marks a three percent increase quarter-over-quarter. A report from research firm Strategy Analytics indicated that Apple accounted for 89 percent of worldwide smartphone profits during the fourth quarter of 2014.

Apple’s runaway success is in stark contrast with recent news from other industry players. While a report last week claimed the iPhone maker had placed a record initial order for 90 million combined units of its upcoming iPhone 6s and 6s Plus models, rival Samsung forecast a seventh consecutive quarterly profit decline, HTC Corp. reported a second-quarter loss, and Microsoft wrote down $7.6 billion for its 2014 acquisition of the Nokia devices and services business.

Although Apple’s iPhones accounted for only 20 percent of smartphones sold worldwide during the first quarter of 2015, the company’s ability to charge a premium price for its handsets is what allows it to capture the vast portion of profits.

Apple’s competitors, notes the report, use mainly Google’s Android mobile operating system and, as a result, are left competing on price due to a lack of differentiation.

According to Strategy Analytics, claims the report, Apple’s iPhone commanded an average price tag of $624 worldwide, compared with $185 for rival smartphones running Android.

Apple’s success was compounded by the runaway success of its larger-screen iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus handsets and an average $60 increase in iPhone prices, according to the report. For the quarter ending March 28, Apple sold 61.1million iPhones, an increase of 43 percent of the year-ago quarter.

Canaccord’s figures do not include privately held companies like China’s Xiaomi Inc.; however, the firm says it is unlikely to impact the overall smartphone vendor profit share.

Image credit: S B via Flickr.com

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