iPhone sales growth slowest since launch
Some fear the iPhone has had its day, with growth in sales at its slowest since the smartphone’s launch and revenue likely to fall as well
An iPhone 3 with a cracked screen. Growth in iPhone sales is at its slowest since the smartphone was launched in 2007, and, if company expectations are met, the next quarter will see the first fall in year-on-year revenue
Apple has posted its slowest iPhone sales growth since the smartphone’s launch in 2007. A barely over one percent increase in sales for the holiday quarter and an almost imperceptible rise in year-on-year sales has led some analysts to speculate the iPhone’s rip-roaring success may be coming to an end.
Apple sold 74.8m iPhones in its first quarter, up – albeit barely – from 74.5m the year before. Revenue for the next quarter, according to company expectations, will be between $50bn and $53bn, down from $58bn the year before, which would mark the first fall in revenue since the iPhone’s launch.
Apple sold 74.8m iPhones in its first quarter, up – albeit barely – from 74.5m the year before
Figures posted by the company in October showed smartphone sales made up 63 percent of its total revenue. Figures for this quarter show the percentage has crept up to 68 percent. Apple iMacs, meanwhile, accounted for 13 percent and iPads eight percent, with any remaining products – including the Apple Watch – lumped into the “other” category.
Last year was an all-round positive one for Apple, but this one started off on a bad footing when the company’s stock slipped below $100 for the first time since 2014. A Chinese slowdown has weighed on the company’s performance in Asia, and many expect Apple will have to wait until the iPhone 7’s launch later this year before it returns to its winning ways.
Speaking to Reuters, Daniel Ives, an analyst at FBR Capital Markets said: “Apple has become a victim of their own success as the blockbuster iPhone 6 product cycle was hard to replicate, as many customers are either buying an older, cheaper iPhone 6 or waiting for the iPhone 7.”
