Apple Makes More From iTunes and Accessories Than Most Companies Do From Phones

An analysis by Asymco of Apple's newly-introduced revenue breakdowns claims that Apple made more money from iTunes and accessories sales alone than all other companies except Samsung made from phone sales during the most recent quarter.

asymco_itunes_phone_revenues
As noted in its latest earnings release for the first fiscal quarter of 2013, Apple's total revenues from iTunes and accessories amounted to over $5.5 billion - ahead of the total phone revenues of each of Nokia, Motorola, Sony, LG, RIM (now rebranded as BlackBerry) and HTC.

Analysis author Horace Dediu also notes that iTunes may be worth more to Apple than its Mac business within the current year.

iTunes+Accessories combined is a bigger business in terms of revenues than any of the other phone vendors except Samsung. iTunes is now Apple’s fourth largest business, having overtaken the iPod in revenues two years ago. iTunes growth relative to the Mac means that it could become the third largest business during this year.

The figures also make iTunes bigger than Microsoft's combined Xbox and Windows Phone divisions.

Meantime, Morgan Stanley analyst Scott Devitt (via Business Insider) suggests that Apple receives around a billion dollars a year from Google in return for making Google the default search on iOS devices, up roughly tenfold from just three years ago. It had previously been believed that Apple had a revenue-sharing deal with Google, but Devitt believes Apple would have gone for the neater and less risky option of a flat fee per device sold.

The steep rise in value for the search deal is said to have been driven in part by Microsoft which has been becoming increasingly aggressive about making such deals for its Bing search engine but has yet to secure a partnership with Apple for iOS to make the switch.

Popular Stories

election results 2024 live activities

Track 2024 U.S. Election Results Live on Your iPhone Lock Screen

Tuesday November 5, 2024 5:02 am PST by
Apple News is providing Live Activities support for the 2024 U.S. presidential election, allowing iPhone and iPad users to track electoral results in real time directly from their Lock Screen. The feature is rolling out for U.S. users over the course of Election Day, November 5, providing continuous updates of the electoral count. So if you're interested, you don't need to repeatedly check...
Generic iOS 18

Everything New in iOS 18.2 Beta 2

Monday November 4, 2024 12:34 pm PST by
Apple today seeded the second betas of upcoming iOS 18.2 and iPadOS 18.2 updates to developers, and Apple is continuing to refine the Apple Intelligence capabilities. There are also a handful of smaller features that are worth knowing about. Find My Find My has a new option to Share Item Location with an "airline or trusted person" that can help you locate something that you've misplaced....
iCloud General Feature

Here's What's New in Apple's Updated iCloud Terms and Conditions Taking Effect Next Week

Friday September 13, 2024 7:39 am PDT by
Apple has started notifying users about an upcoming revision to its iCloud Terms and Conditions, which takes effect on Monday, September 16. We compared the text of the upcoming iCloud Terms and Conditions with the current U.S. version from September 18, 2023 and identified four key changes: "Apple ID" references have been changed to "Apple Account" throughout. iCloud users must agree to ...
ipads early bf deals

The Best Early Black Friday iPad Deals

Tuesday November 5, 2024 7:02 am PST by
Black Friday is still a few weeks away, but you can already find great prices on numerous iPads, including the 9th generation iPad, 10th generation iPad, iPad Air, and iPad mini. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running. Of course, there is a chance that ...
ios 18 2 chatgpt plus

iOS 18.2 Beta 2 Shows Siri ChatGPT Limit, Offers 'Plus' Upgrade Option

Monday November 4, 2024 10:54 am PST by
With the second beta of iOS 18.2 that's available for developers today, Apple has further fleshed out the ChatGPT integration that's available with Siri. In the Settings app, there's now a section that shows the ChatGPT daily limit, and offers an option to upgrade to the paid ChatGPT Plus plan. The beta includes an Advanced Capabilities section with a "Daily Limit" reading that shows up as...
M4 MacBook Pros Thumb

M4 MacBook Pro Reviews: Processor Benchmarks Impress, New Nano-Texture Option Worth the Extra $150

Thursday November 7, 2024 6:14 am PST by
The first wave of reviews of Apple's new M4-powered MacBook Pro models were published this morning. We've collected some of the latest impressions from YouTube channels and select media outlets below. Apple last month announced the new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models, adding next-generation M4, M4 Pro, and M4 Max chips, with Thunderbolt 5 ports on higher-end models, display and camera ...
early apple watch black friday

The Best Early Black Friday Apple Watch Deals

Wednesday November 6, 2024 6:33 am PST by
Black Friday is just around the corner, and Apple Watch deals have begun appearing ahead of the shopping holiday on November 29. In this article, we'll take a look at all of the best early Black Friday Apple Watch deals, including the new Series 10 models. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small...

Top Rated Comments

LittleStuffBull Avatar
153 months ago
This is the most confusing London Underground map I have ever seen.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
leo.andres.21 Avatar
153 months ago
Why was Samsung left off this chart?

Because they say iTunes + Accessories revenue is more than 'most' companies, not including Samsung, so there's no need to fit Samsung in this chart.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
japanime Avatar
153 months ago
Wow. Just wow. The foresight and pure genius of Steve Jobs continues to blow my mind. What a legacy.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Reelknead1 Avatar
153 months ago
Why was Samsung left off this chart?
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bigcat318 Avatar
153 months ago
Why was Samsung left off this chart?

"iTunes+Accessories combined is a bigger business in terms of revenues than any of the other phone vendors except Samsung."

Because statistics are manipulated to prove the point you are trying to make.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
basesloaded190 Avatar
153 months ago
+1, or even +1,000,000.

Not to mention if you're going to talk about Apple's "music/app store and accessory revenue," then you would have to include other companies' as well. And something tells me Sony will win this argument.

Not sure if you understand what they are comparing here. iTunes sales versus total phone sales of other companies. If we were to include other companies' music and app store as well, then we would have to add in Apple's phone sales to continue to equal the comparison.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)