iPhone 4 sales: 3 million and counting, 1.7 percent returned
By Chris Ziegler 
posted July 16th 2010 12:32PM
posted July 16th 2010 12:32PM
As for how many of those sold phones are staying out in the field, Jobs has revealed return rates, too: 1.7 percent, which works out to about 51,000 phones, compared to 6 percent for the 3GS. Seems like most of these returners would've been better off eBaying for a profit, eh?
1.7% = 51,000 iphones
using the lowest price to buy one at, 199, that means that apple has lost
$10,149,000.00 dollars, assuming those were ALL just 16gb phones.
they are proud to announce that?
@congusano They are proud because it is an incredibly low return rate.
Show me any product which has 100% user satisfaction.
@HighestRanked2
Is that a butthurt iFanboy I hear?
How does it feel knowing you just upgraded to hardware that drops calls worse than the 3G/S?
Solution? Free bumpers!....but only if you bought before a certain date. And a full refund!..... Except for the AT&T service charge
@grub Apple has successfully dumbed the American population into little lambs who will take any crap Apple makes. I feel like if Apple designed a phone that would drop calls all the time, Apple would say that "You don't need to talk on the phone, you just need to text message!" Apple has successfully made the American people think what they want, even if it wasn't a practical decision.
Kudos to Steve Jobs
There goes Apple again, thinking large iDevice sales numbers really matter... Apple products are currently a bit of a fad, you find more students with Mac Books than you do Windows based laptops (and way more than Linux laptops), and it's not like they're even really using it over Windows for any reason other than it's metallic and has an apple on the back that lights up. Not saying nobody with a Mac Book uses it for Mac's advantages over Windows, just saying that typically the general public just uses Mac to say they have a Mac. Seriously, the stuff I see people with Mac Books around campus, they're watching a video, browsing facebook, and typing. WHOA REVOLUTIONARY. I was in a class room once and the teacher had hers hooked up to the projector, she actually used it, her dock was just filled with stuff. One student who always talked about how much she hated Windows and loved Mac (for no apparent reason might I add) raised her hand and seriously asked "HEY how do you have so many things in your dock? i have like five things and i don't know how to add more, and how do you have it on the side like that?"
iPods are the same way, and because of iPods, so are iPhones. I love iPods, and I love iPhones, but really they only sell so well because of what they are - iPods and iPhones, not so much the product or the stuff inside. I'm sure Steve Jobs could defecate in a sealed brushed aluminum box with a glowing "iShit" on the side, and people would buy it like crazy.
@travis8214
You seem to have some serious issues about brand loyalty. Many people by branded goods for whatever reasons. That's just choice. You could say the same about any person that likes Ford, or Lexus or Frigidaire or is loyal to any brand. To believe that they'd be happy with some inferior products of their chosen brand is rather insulting. That they'd accept a Lexus with turd carpeting and not complain is totally ridiculous. Besides, it's not going to happen, anyway.
It's like cheering your school team even if it has a losing streak. You don't just dump it because of a few lost games or a bad season.
@HighestRanked2 WHOA you totally misunderstood everything i said...wow.
I'll probably explain myself a little more, only to be further misinterpreted by people like you. Please read it with an open mind.
I love Apple products, I think they're great, I just don't understand why SO MANY people buy them and don't even use them for anything more than web browsing - considering the price. It is preference, yeah, I get it, but if you're just going to update your facebook status and type up essays, is a MacBook PRO really worth two grand? I know a guy that's great with macs, he's about half way to becoming a director, and I've seen him using Final Cut PRO and he's a fucking wizard with that shit, it's amazing, it's like watching someone sculpt out of granite only with little multicolor bars and video synced up to it. THAT'S someone fully utilizing an Apple product. However, the mass public generally doesn't do anything with an Apple product that you couldn't do on anything else JUST AS WELL. There's no real justification for about 60% of the people with Macs having Macs instead of the cheaper PC. I'm not saying they can't enjoy the product they own, I'm sure they all do. I'm just saying there's really no need to spend so much to do the same exact thing. Preference, maybe, but I'm a fan of both Mac OSX and Windows XP and 7, not so much on Vista, so perhaps that's why I can't fully understand it.
When it comes to the iPhones, personally, every iPhone up until the iPhone 4 has been great, flawless, perfect. The only things I don't like about the iPhone 4, and I really hope you at least read this, are the antenna and AT&T. The screen? hell yeah. the "multi"-tasking? hell yeah. But AT&T has shit signal where I live, with Sprint having the best service (but worst phones imo, but slowly getting better), AT&T costs more, and they don't have unlimited data to offer anymore. The Antenna issue isn't really that big of a deal, just something to consider as I'm right handed, so I'd be using most of the applications with the phone held in my left hand, so I'm fucked unless I get a bumper. Other than those two things, one big (AT&T, if it comes to Verizon I'm sold, quote me on it) and one small (antenna, i'm sure if it ever does come to Verizon it'll be fixed, I think the phone is much much nicer looking without a case).
And don't think I'm favoring anyone. I've never had an Android phone, and I currently have a Windows Mobile phone that I'm completely fucking sick of, I think it's the phone itself but I haven't really had the most user friendly or fun experience with Windows Mobile - it's just not that inviting.
@travis8214 Well it is the same reason why people buy expensive brand name cars or expensive houses they cannot afford...it's all about the image. People will spend so much money just to have that "cool" image that they are willing to go bankrupt for it...Why do you think Americans have such a huge debt/economic crisis going on now? People don't really learn how to be practical and save their money anymore...
It's what people think makes them look "cool" that they will pay an arm and a leg for it...which is why Apple is so successful. They play on that psychology. A normal practical person who does not really care about image would normally not go for an Apple product that costs almost twice as much, but go for something cheaper that can do the same thing. Unfortunately, society nowadays is all about image.
@HighestRanked2 Well, the iPhone 4 just proved itself to NOT work better than the competition...Dropped calls, antenna issues, proximity sensor issues...they all seem kind of major to me. Yet 3 million people still buy it with a 1.7 percent return rate. That just tells me that people are just finding Apple as the "cool kid on the block."
What you said was true for the previous Apple products. The iPod especially was a phenomenal product (and still is currently). Lately, however, Apple has become hypocritical, snobbish, and arrogant. (Not to mention that they started blaming other corporations for their own failures).
@mathnerd88 I cannot possibly express how much I'd like to thank you for those two posts.
What they didn't tell you was the percentage of people smashing their phones and throwing them away.
@Spiky haired boy, And I suppose *you* have this number? Or are you just implying they do, but they won't tell us?
It amazes me the length Apple Haters will go to find something to bitch about. At this point, you can get a free case, a refund if you already bought one, or return the phone with no re-stocking fee. Name a single other company that would do any more than that.
This post is useless to most Engadget commenters, since they do not understand that the point of business is to generate revenue and make money, not make poor geeks salivate. Sadly, as long as there is a new Droid phone every month, no Droid model will ever approach 3 million units. The most successful Droid so far, the Motorola Droid, couldn't even hit 2 million, despite nearly 8 months of sales. But hey, geeks who live with their moms and eat coco puffs for dinner love it, so that makes it great here on Engadget.
@Perspective you cannot compare the two because Apple iPhone came out a lot earlier than the Android phones...it's all about the present and future. Right now, Apple is kind of pressured by the Android phones. This is like the Windows vs. Mac back in the 80s and 90s. Open to 3rd party manufactures or only one. Which one becomes more successful? To Google, they don't care whether the third party manufactures sell the most phone...as long as they are selling Android OS on these phones, it doesn't matter.
I pre-ordered 2 iPhone 4's and received them both on launch day. I sent one to my twin brother. We've confirmed that both have the proximity sensor issue (we spent a frustrating 20 minutes hanging-up on each other while discussing the issue). Combined with Bluetooth problems, this makes the phone almost unusable.
Count me and my brother as 2x exchanges (did Apple count these? I doubt it). We both exchanged ours, and the replacements did the same thing.
This is my first IPHONE. I don't own a single other piece of Apple hardware. EVER!!! I'm left handed, thought the Antenna might be a issue for me, I was worried. So far it hasn't been a problem. My problem has been the Proximity Sensor. Trying to talk to someone and having the mute pop on again and again is a problem!!! I think that's something Apple can fix with a software update, so I'm not worried.
I like the small size of the IPHONE!! I have a PocketPC, a HP IPAQ, and it's bulky, and a pain/hassle to carry around. The Iphone is small, and handy to have around with me always. Those other larger 4"+ screen phones are just to large for me. It's not like they are the size of the IPAD which really is just to bulky to be carrying everywhere, but they are still large none the less. The screen on the Iphone4 is so sharp, I don't have a problem reading small text, or blow it up just a bit that a small screen really isn't a issue. Maybe if your watching a lot of movies on your phone a larger screen may be nice, but for me, I'm quite happy with the screen size and the all around smallness of the IPHONE4!!!
@JBDragon
cool story, bro!
Dudes, the iPhone has only been out for a few weeks now. Not the > 1 year the 3GS has been.
Give it time. Many people are still flailing about: 1, waiting for an apple fix to issues; 2, hypnotized by the screen and living with dropping calls; 3, still trying to sort out what is fact and what is fiction regarding the issues (as it trying to sort through Apple spin); 4, buying cases - which most people ought to do anyway.