Apple reportedly remains on track to sell one billion iOS devices by late 2014 or early 2015.
The above-mentioned projection was made by Horace Dediu of Asymco, who gauges iOS device sales via iTunes account growth.
Dediu calculates that Cupertino is currently adding approximately 12 million new iTunes accounts every month, a growth pattern which apparently mirrors corresponding increase in iOS usage.
Although Dediu admitted the numbers are not a “very precise forecast,” they do suggest Apple will sell a total of one billion iOS devices – iPhone, iPad and iPod touch – by late 2014 or early 2015.
“If the trends tracked by Dediu prove accurate, that would mean Apple will more than double the total number of iOS devices sold in the next two years,” explained AppleInsider’s Sam Oliver. ”While the first 400 million sales took five years to achieve, current growth trends suggest Apple will sell another 600 million by early 2015.”
In other Apple related news, analyst Trip Chowdhry from the Global Equities Research recently claimed that Apple and Google will control 98% of the mobile market by the end of 2012.
”There will not be any third spot left. Nokia, Microsoft and RIM will struggle in the remaining 2 percent of the market. It is not the quantity of people you talk to. In a random sampling of people, when three people in a row say the same thing, you know you have it right,” he told eWeek.
“ Developers will go to the platform where you have devices and you have monetization. If you look at Apple, they have 400 million devices in the market, with more than 400 million user credit card numbers in their system where developers can make potential sales of their apps. What that means for a developer is that they have 400 million people waiting to buy. That is a critical asset that Apple has. If you go to the Windows market, they don’t have 400 million devices or credit card numbers.”
However, Dan Maycock of Slalom Consulting disagreed with Chowdhry’s analysis.
”I think the 98 percent prediction is pretty aggressive. Certainly, it’s going to come down to people and their loyalties,” he said, noting that Microsoft also makes money on every Android device sold.
“Microsoft has too much money, too much entrenchment in the enterprise market and too much to lose to let [a possible 2 percent market share] happen to them. If they have to give away enough devices to get more than 2 percent of the market, they could do it.”
