Sometimes I hear people comment that since Apple represents only a small fraction of mobile device sales, they may not view their business as very successful.

However, a recent report by research firm Asymco has found that although Apple products may be only a small portion of the total units shipping, Apple actually accounts for a hugely disproportionate share of the profits.

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In the second quarter of 2011, Apple represented about 4.6% of total worldwide mobile sales. This has grown substantially over the past year, but is still well behind Nokia‘s 23% and Samsung‘s 16% of shipping volume.

However, when looking at who is earning the profits from the mobile industry, the picture is completely different.

Globally Apple accounted for roughly two thirds (66.3%) of mobile profits during Q.2 2011. This is miles ahead of nearest competitor Samsung with 15% of profits, RIM with 11% of profits, and HTC with 7.4% of profits.

Research by iSuppli last year found that Apple makes a margin of $250 per device compared to their nearest rivel, RIM who make $75.

The chart shows just how radically this industry has been changing. Compare today’s results with the situation just 4 years ago when Nokia dominated the market with 55% of profits and Apple was only at 1%.

There certainly could be a lot of discussion about why Apple has been so successful, but clearly some of the factors have to be great design, attention to detail, innovative marketing, and an powerful focus on providing the best overall customer experience.

And somehow we feel that Apple is probably fairly satisfied with winning 2/3 of the profits even if they have less that 10% of the shipments.

22.08.2011    Tags: apple, nokia, RIM