The almighty Apple (AAPL) is taking down the competition again, although this time in an unexpected way.
A new report from Canaccord Genuity shows that older iOS products are outselling new Android devices. Technology analyst at Canaccord Michael Walkley found that the older generation iPhone 3Gs has greater sales than brand-new phones, like the HTC (2498.TW) Inspire and the Motorola (MMI) Atrix. Currently, the iPhone 3GS, first released in 2009, sells for $49 with a 2-year contract.
“Interestingly, our April checks indicated continued strong demand for the iPhone 3GS at AT&T (T) and iPad 1 at Verizon (VZ), as these older generation products with reduced prices often outsold new Android products,” said Walkley. “We believe this highlights Apple’s significant competitive advantage, and these older products help Apple offer a tiered pricing strategy at key channels.”
But the impressive, if not surprising, sales aren’t limited to the iPhone. The report also found that the first generation of iPads are outperforming new Android tablets like the Motorola Xoom, and the BlackBerry (RIMM) PlayBook, which only have “modest sales.” After the launch of the iPad 2, the original iPad was discounted to $399 ($100 off the original price), and sold out in two weeks. In their respective first weekends on the market, the original iPad sold 300,000 units, and an estimated 1 million iPad 2s were moved. An analyst calculated that since the Xoom’s Feb. 24 debut, 100,000 have been sold. In a statement, Verizon simply responded, “We are pleased with customer response to the Xoom.”
Together, the smartphones running Google (GOOG) Android have exceeded the amount of iPhones sold. But that’s all the Android devices collectively taking on Apple’s only one. Walkley also noted that the iPhone 4 is “by far” the best selling device at both AT&T and Verizon. Last quarter, Apple had record sales of 18.65 million iPhones, and the company boasts half of all smartphone profits. Earlier this year, Apple announced they’ve sold 100 million iPhones since their 2007 debut.
Apple set the bar high when they released their smartphone. The iPhone is truly the smartphone to beat, but it remains to be seen if there’s any device that’s up to the challenge. Especially now, when it seems that people will settle for older models instead of a shiny, brand new Android, just to get their hands on an Apple product.
