How Important is iPhone to Apple's Business? And Who Thinks it Stinks?

By Rene Ritchie
last updated

How important is the iPhone to Apple's business going forward? See the chart above, prepared by Fortune. Up from 5.7% in 2008 to 18.5% in 2009.

We're going to say "very" and "increasingly". Daring Fireball highlights how Apple goes about ensuring that "increasingly" part, riffing off The Loop's reminder of when Apple killed the iPod mini at the hight of its popularity and replaced it with the iPod nano:

You know who thinks the iPhone 3GS stinks? Steve Jobs. No one is working harder on an “iPhone 3GS killer” than Apple.

Given that competition is ramping up (see Android Central's coverage of Droid Day, CrackBerry's BlackBerry Storm2 watch, and Nokia Experts' massive N900 guide), is that internal drive still enough?

Rene Ritchie
Rene Ritchie
Contributor

Rene Ritchie is one of the most respected Apple analysts in the business, reaching a combined audience of over 40 million readers a month. His YouTube channel, Vector, has over 90 thousand subscribers and 14 million views and his podcasts, including Debug, have been downloaded over 20 million times. He also regularly co-hosts MacBreak Weekly for the TWiT network and co-hosted CES Live! and Talk Mobile. Based in Montreal, Rene is a former director of product marketing, web developer, and graphic designer. He's authored several books and appeared on numerous television and radio segments to discuss Apple and the technology industry. When not working, he likes to cook, grapple, and spend time with his friends and family.