So much for worries over Apple’s iPhone X

“If Apple Inc.’s iPhone X is a problem, so far it’s a high-quality one,” Dan Gallagher reports for The Wall Street Journal.

“Apple launched the expensive device later than usual during its fiscal first quarter that ended Dec. 30,” Gallagher reports. “The phone came on the 10th anniversary of the company’s first smartphone, and was heralded by Apple and its fans as the “future of smartphones.” But an opening price of $1,000 is rich for any smartphone, and production issues appeared to keep supply of the phone relatively tight at least in the first few weeks after its early November launch.”

“That appeared to weigh down sales. Apple said Thursday that it sold a total of 77.3 million iPhones during the quarter, which was below the 80 million units analysts had been expecting,” Gallagher reports. “That made for a 1% year-over-year decline in iPhone unit sales for the quarter, though iPhone revenue popped by 13% to hit $61.6 billion. That is a signal that the iPhone X appealed to enough of the company’s fan base to boost iPhone’s average selling price to about $796—the highest on record and a strong 15% jump from the same period last year.”

Read more in the full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: Keep in mind that this was a 13-week first quarter in 2018 vs. 14-week first quarter in fiscal Q1 2017.

SEE ALSO:
MacDailyNews presents live notes from Apple’s Q118 conference call – February 1, 2018
Apple smashes Street with biggest quarter in company history – February 1, 2018

20 Comments

    1. No offense but you must be very sheltered for someone in NYC it’s all over the news everywhere you can’t possibly have missed it. I have the iPhone X, love it, very happy with it but come on the notch has been in the news as much as Trump.

  1. Boy did I goof. I neglected to take into account this December quarter being one week shorter than last year. As a result my units sold and revenue estimates were over stated by ~one week’s sales activity.

    This makes my April $195/$200 Call Spreads (375) somewhat iffy.

    1. The phone was not generally available for at least a month after the release in the color and memory one might want. The reality is that the quarter really only reflected about 1 full month of sales. Many people put off the purchase because of difficulty getting what they wanted or because there were a few months remaining on their contract with their carrier for the prior phone. This was my situation. I will buy one this quarter once I don’t have a balance to pay off in addition to the new phone cost.

  2. One week more, and we would propbably have seen (77,3M / 13 x 14 weeks =) 83,3 M iPhone units. That’s impressing, I would think. And somewhat beyond the 78,3 M market expectation

  3. The X may appeal to the hardcore fanboys, but I have yet to hear what exact useful functions it does that some other model iPhone can’t do equally as well. If your only response is that you unlock it differently, well big deal. It’s not worth the price to me. Next you will be telling us to throw away any laptop that doesn’t have the gimmick bar? I agree with those who say the notch is bad design. Apple can do better.

    1. Typical ignorant comment from someone who doesn’t own a X. The screen is better than all previous iPhones or any other Apple product, it’s also larger proportionally to the frame than any other iPhone, the camera is the best in a smartphone, no clunky home button means no mechanical failure, the processor is lightspeed compared to previous models, and gesture controls throughout iOS are far superior to onscreen and home button control. Most people can get by with older iPhones, but when you have something far superior available and you can afford it, it’s an easy choice, especially for something that you interact with for several hours each day.

      1. Andy is right. the iPhone 8 handily outclasses the X in many objective measures. It has the same chip as the X but much less overhead. Slightly smaller size is easier to pocket. Camera on the 8 Plus is actually better than the X if that is important to you. Home button hasn’t been mechanical since the iPhone 6. Apple pay is faster with touch too. Best of all, the other iPhone models are more affordable, leaving room in the budget for spare headphone adapters.

        The notch is noticeable whenever using photos or watching videos.

        So what it comes down to is a different unlocking method, and an oled screen from samsung. That and some people take way too much satisfaction on having the latest gadgets. I will bet an updated iPhone 5E (sic) with newest camera and chip would outsell the X handily, old led screen, home button, and all.

        Maybe before you accusing others of ignorance, Nick, you could open your mind to realize that your preferences aren’t the only ones that count.

  4. Apple’s fiscal Q1 2018 was one week shorter than the 2016 holiday quarter and that is why the year/year iPhone numbers were down rather than up. The WSJ and other rags knew that but it did not suit their narrative on Apple.

  5. With regard to iPhones, Apple sold fewer of them than last year, but make substantially more profit from those sales. It’s only in the topsy turvy world of Wall Street and the media where this could be considered to be a bad thing.

    In any other business, selling fewer items while making more profit from them is regarded as the holy grail.

    It’s part of the ‘market share’ fallacy, where selling more handsets is the only thing that matters, even if some companies are selling at a loss and will not be able to sustain their position indefinitely.

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