Microsoft CEO: Apple a 'Low-Volume Player' Except in Tablets

By Zak Islam
published

Apple has sold over 100 million iPhones in 2012 alone, with over 190 million units of the smartphone expected to be sold next year.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer believes Apple, the world's most valuable company, is a "low-volume player" in every market it competes in except for tablets.

"We like our model, as we are evolving it," said Ballmer during post-Windows 8 launch interview with the Wall Street Journal. "In every category Apple competes, it's the low-volume player, except in tablets. We'll see what winds up mattering in tablets."

"In the PC market, obviously the advantage of diversity has mattered since 90-something percent of PCs that get sold are Windows PCs," Ballmer added.

According to to technology research firm Gartner, Apple's market share PC market share stands at just 13.6 percent during the third quarter.

Ballmer's comments, however, tries to depict Microsoft as the market leader in every category bar tablets, but that's evidently not the case. Google is the current smartphone market leader through Android, while Apple continues to sell hundreds of millions of iPhones, with projections for 2013 said to see Apple sell over 190 million units of its handset.

He was correct about the exclusion of tablets, though; Apple can't be classified as low-volume player in the tablet market as the device has sold more than 100 million iPads since its inception in 2010, while it's expected that the firm sells over 100 million iPad units in 2013 alone.

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Zak Islam
35 Comments Comment from the forums
  • azz156
    yawn, everyone and there dog knows microsoft pwns apple in almost every market since the early 90's
    Reply
  • kartu
    Well Apple's smartphone market share is 15%-ish, which is close to their PC market share.
    (it used to be well over 50% though)

    In tablet we are moving in the same direction, but apple still has 50%+

    Now, calling sales of 100+ million of anything "low volume" is still hard to justify.
    Reply
  • halcyon
    Yes, Apple isn't selling much of anything besides tablets /sarcasm
    Reply
  • tomfreak
    Apple Ipad was strongest tablet until all these Nexus/Surface out. Ballmer is just saying what is happening. Everything but Ipad has a much better alternative. Ipad is also my only Apple product I purchased, and probably my last.

    My best hope for my next tablet is a x86 Intel + win8 combo.
    Reply
  • halcyon
    ...and with MS only every other OS is good. Maybe Mr. Balmer could focus on correcting that while the world waits for Windows 9.
    Reply
  • wlachan
    Apple have been making few products but they have done them well. MS on the other hand, have dipped in every pot and turned them poison. If not for their Windows and Office dominance in business, MS would be history long ago.
    Reply
  • Microsoft also doesn't lead in servers, and they're losing more marketshare to Linux everyday... They've even resorted to using Apache Hadoop with Azure because they couldn't develop a comparable alternative... Then there's other things they don't sell many of like phones, mp3 players and super computers.

    So I guess that means that Microsoft is only a high volume players in desktops?
    Reply
  • unksol
    All he said was apple only leads one market, probably in response to a question about apple. This is true. He never said Microsoft led the rest, and no one would think that. He was specifically talking about seeing what will happen in the one market apple is still leading. Stop reading into it. This is just Zak trying to make a news story out of half a statement no one should care about
    Reply
  • Yes Ballmer bites down hard and pulls on his fancy silk pillow while curled up in a fetal position every night, damning Apple's market cap through such low-volume sales. And as Ballmer tugs at that pillow, like an angry puppy, Steve Jobs' gost appears and laughs maniacally!
    Reply
  • john_4
    azz156yawn, everyone and there dog knows microsoft pwns apple in almost every market since the early 90'sAnd MS is a convicted monopolist too so your point is.
    Reply