Android OS a BECOME the largest operating system for smartphones, Nokia is the market leader in terms of global mobile phone sales, but Apple chastises the most money from mobile phone sales. In the graph above, we have a comparison between the profit recorded by various mobile phone manufacturers over the 3 years since the launch of the first iPhone and until now. Notice that in 2007, Nokia earns the most money from mobile phone sales, but as we approach 2010, we notice how Nokia's profit drops dramatically and Apple's increases directly proportionally.
Don't cry too hard about Android's ascension as king of smartphones and Apple losing a few share points. The Cupertino, Calif. company is crying — but it's all the way to the bank. Although Apple has just 4.2 percent of the entire cell phone market – not just smartphones – the company pulls in 51 percent of the profit.
Apple has only 4.2% of the mobile phone market, but collects 51% of the profit generated by this market. Apple does not sell nearly as many terminals as Nokia, but it registers a double profit compared to the Finnish company. Apple will never be the leader in terms of mobile phone sales, but for the moment it is the leader in terms of profit generated from sales and that matters the most. It's ironic that a company like Nokia sells hundreds of millions of mobile phones in a year, but ends up being surpassed in terms of profit, by a company that sells much less. Although Apple has a closed platform with a bleak future, at the moment the company from Cupertino earns the most money in this segment.
