It's been a while since we've heard that iPhone sales are slowing down, but that may not worry Apple as much as you think.
In its latest report, Apple confirmed that over the past three months, the iPhone accounted for less than half of net sales in its product portfolio. The past nine months show a slightly different picture, with the iPhone being the standout product, but the overall trend suggests that other devices and services are gradually attracting it.
Services are the big winner here, accounting for more than 20% of Apple's total net sales in the latest quarter, showing that Apple Music, Apple Pay, and other platforms in their offering are making money for the brand.
The Apple Watch flies too: In the "apparel, home, and accessories" sector, the bundle has grown nearly 50% over the past year, likely due to the success of the Watch 3 and the upgraded version of the Watch 4 currently on the market. .
Given that the Apple Watch is clearly the underlying success of this category, one has to wonder when Apple will divide it into its own segment, perhaps if the HomePod will become a bigger seller?
Apple does not care about the iPhone?
Of course, the drop in iPhone sales is a worrying trend for the Cupertino brand. It remains by far the best-selling segment of its business, exceeding twice the net trade figure for Services.
However, even if your overall turnover is modest, your overall turnover has increased and the mix is becoming a bit more balanced - any business owner will tell you that a diversified success story in the portfolio of products is more attractive and robust.
In fact, with the iPad and Mac selling well this year and improving from the same point in 2018, the situation is not as bad as the company's title statistics. 39; slowdown iPhone could be shown. That's even before revenue spikes with the new Apple Cards, Apple News Plus, and Apple TV Plus.
"It was our largest quarter in June yet, driven by record service revenue, accelerated growth from Wearables, strong iPad and Mac performance, and significant improvement in wireless growth." 'iPhone,' said Apple CEO Tim Cook before hinting at a (expected) range of new releases later this year.
The Apple Watch 4 has been well received since the 2018 launch
(Image credit: LaComparacion)
"These results are promising across all of our geographic areas and we are confident in what lies ahead. The balance of the 2019 calendar will be an exciting time, with major launches across all of our platforms, new services, and several new products."
These geographic areas paint an interesting picture: While all territories have relatively consistent net sales from one year to the next, overall net sales for the past nine months offer another story.
In the past three quarters, net sales in China posted the biggest decline, dropping nearly 20% in a market saturated by many low-cost, high-power devices. Net sales in Europe decreased slightly, while the Americas increased slightly.
It will be better?
This financial report really sets up an interesting one-year tail. While a more diverse mix of product revenue is good for Apple, in the short term, a thriving iPhone ecosystem is still needed to help cement the brand's growth.
With the general slowdown in the smartphone market, according to Gartner, Apple could be content with a shocking iPhone this year to attract new users. However, the first warning signs of a fairly modest update with the iPhone 11 and the absence of 5G so far could lead to another difficult sales year before the 2020 iPhone doesn't bring the big expected design changes.
Does this mean that Apple has a surprise in the case for the launch of the new iPhone this year? Something that pushes the iPhone 11R into new territory? A clue about the flexible iPhone? Or is it just a slight camera upgrade? We'll know more in September, but this could be a true turning point in Apple's history.