Really wonder where this comes from.
Rough estimates of worldwide users:
- Windows: 1.5 billion
- macOS: 100 million
- Android: 2.8 billion
- iOS: 700 million
That's hardly "Apple reigning supreme".
20 years ago, if you asked people "what does a computer look like?" they thought of Windows, and they were excited about it. Today, it's Apple.
It's the classic "what devices 16 year olds are asking their parents for?" survey, which hovers around like 90% pro-Apple. That's a future dollar, and one that will very likely go to Apple (unless they trip over themselves / get too high on their supply).
Also! Apple undoubtedly gets the most value-per-unit … App store sales ($138/user/year! [1]), iCloud subs, branded accessories, line-extension stuff (homePod, Apple TV, etc.). So while they may not dominate in unit percentage, they probably get like 80% of the total revenue* in the space.
* kneejerk based on prior revenue breakdowns + gut feeling alone [1] https://sensortower.com/blog/revenue-per-iphone-2020
Where?
> App store sales ($138/user/year! [1]), iCloud subs, branded accessories, line-extension stuff
Yeah...because everything there is expensive and therefore aims for the upper class (or people who want to look like it).
But I'm quite sure they feel very much supreme.
Are you sure about that?
Windows dominates the high-end computer gaming market, which a lot of this demographic is into. That's a $40+ billion market, representing a large number of Windows users.
Only in America.
Most people in the rest of the world doesn't use Apple computers or phones.
And asking your friends and family is the text book definition of selection bias, so not exactly a reliable data point...
Outside of US no amount of marketing would convince significant number of people to buy a product, that has nearly 100% same functionality (maybe even slightly less) for 2x markup for home. Elsewhere they just convinced most people, that iPhone is a status thing.
That's neither here nor there, though, and I would hardly say that means that Apple "reigns supreme", or remotely close. It seems like they're an important player among important players.
Microsoft, Apple, Google (with a subscript of Samsung), and to a much lesser degree Sony dictate our digital life now.
But IMO there really isn’t a single dominant platform right now, with Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, and Linux all being highly relevant in different niches.
I hope this number is much smaller and the gap we are looking at is more due to unreported usages.