The iPhone 4 is on track to sell more units this year than last, as Apple's "software first" mentality continues to bring the company success.
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The iPhone 4's numbers are impressive, but a number of factors outside of quality influenced its sales. Apple typically releases a new iPhone in June, but many analysts say an upgrade won't come until this fall, making the iPhone 4 the only option if customers want an Apple smartphone.
Apple also broke its iPhone exclusivity deal with AT&T in January, allowing Verizon to carry the iPhone 4 and adding over 90 million potential customers. In addition to making the iPhone available with Verizon, Apple also released the much anticipated white version of the iPhone 4 in April. Both of these developments were a shot in the arm for iPhone sales.
Still, all the recent developments surrounding the iPhone 4 don't change the fact that the handset is a year old. The current iPhone is only 3G capable, has a single core processor, a 3.5-inch screen and yet is still marketed as top-of-the-line handset at $200. Some Android devices sport 4G speeds, dual-core processors and larger displays, yet the iPhone still out performs them in sales.
Its continued success is based on Apple's emphasis on software, creating the iOS platform as user-friendly and integrating well with Apple's other devices, such as the MacBook and iPad.
Also propelling Apple's iPhone 4 sales is the App Store. Users have downloaded over 15 billion apps from Apple's mobile marketplace since it was released. Although Google has made great strides with its Android Market, Apple still leads in the mobile app store category, offering more than 425,000 different applications and attractive droves of developers.
Apple will likely continue to bolster its iOS platform even further this fall when the company launches iCloud. The free service promises to automatically store all customers' music, app store downloads and pictures on the digital cloud. Users can use the service to push that data to other devices automatically, or recall the data through a free over-the-air download at any time.
The iPhone 4's success will likely level off once the iPhone 5 is released, which is rumored to have very few changes to its hardware. Analysts suggest that the body type will remain the same, and the phone will see upgrades to its camera and processor. If Apple does truly make just minor changes to its newest device, it may be seen as another instance of Apple banking on its software until the company rolls out true next-gen hardware.
Even as other devices with more power hit the market, the appeal of Apple's software extends the iPhone 4's shelf life. As Apple's model continues to work, it may be the best indicator of what the iPhone 5 will bring.
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