“Following Apple’s wildly successful iPhone 6 product cycle, which began in the second half of 2014, Apple has struggled to grow iPhone unit shipments significantly in subsequent cycles,” Ashraf Eassa writes for The Motley Fool. “The iPhone 6s cycle saw iPhone unit shipments drop significantly year over year, while the iPhone 7 cycle saw unit shipments inch upward from the levels seen during the iPhone 6s cycle (though they were still well below the levels seen during the iPhone 6 cycle).”
Eassa writes, “It’s not looking like the current iPhone product cycle, which consists of the iPhone 8 series as well as the iPhone X, is going to be much better on the unit shipment front.”
“Part of that can, of course, be attributed to a weakening overall smartphone market — Apple isn’t immune to industry trends. However, another part of it may be that Apple’s most interesting product — iPhone X — came at a price point that was inaccessible to many potential iPhone buyers, while the products that Apple offered at more traditional price points were simply updated versions of the same basic designs that Apple introduced with the iPhone 6 series smartphones in 2014,” Eassa writes. “So, I think that investors who had previously expected the current product cycle to be a big product cycle in the vein of the iPhone 6 cycle in 2014 will be disappointed.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: We won’t know for sure until we see this quarter’s (Apple’s fiscal Q218) results in May, since iPhone sales actually did increase YOY when you compare apples to apples, as opposed to comparing the 13-week 2017 holiday quarter to a 14-week 2016 holiday quarter and calling it a “decline,” when it wasn’t.
iPhone X was the best-selling smartphone in the world in the December quarter according to Canalys, and it has been our top selling phone every week since it launched. iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus rounded out the top three iPhones in the quarter. In fact, revenue for our newly launched iPhones was the highest of any lineup in our history, driving total Apple revenue above our guidance range… The iPhone X was the most popular and that’s particularly noteworthy given that we didn’t start shipping until early November, and we’re constrained for a while. The team did a great job of getting into supply demand balance there in December. But since the launch of iPhone X, it has been the most popular iPhone every week, every week sales. And that is even through today, actually through January… We feel fantastic, particularly as it pertains to iPhone X. — Apple CEO Tim Cook, February 1, 2018
SEE ALSO:
Ignore the iPhone X naysayers – March 10, 2018
Will the naysayers admit they were wrong about Apple’s iPhone X? – February 5, 2018
I don’t believe MF has the best track record. Most other smartphone manufacturers would love to have the disappointing sales of iPhone 8. The X broke the perceived ceiling of $1,000. Samsung was quick to jump in there too. The 8 has the same processor as the X. It could quickly push down in the price scale leaving Apple ahead on mid price point phones. The other thing they don’t look at in the future is India. Apple is now taking it seriously and that will increase their overall sales.
display manufacturing is perhaps the only credible data point not silly component suppliars, and apparently display units are slightly up yoy
What a load of horse crap. Total iPhone sales should be considered. Apple split the highend offering into the 8 and X. The X model will not be for everyone.
Also ASP will be high than YOY which analysts always conveniently forget.
Good point on 2 top phones. Put the sales of both together and see where they stand.
Why can’t Apple wise up and realize iPhone sales leave the company entirely vulnerable to cheap shots by analysts? Apple could take some of those massive profits and reinforce its revenue with a couple of other side businesses. Cloud businesses seem to be an easy way to make money and Wall Street considers any company with a cloud business as being an unlimited cash cow. Amazon is now untouchable and is always being praised to high heaven with a revenue base as wide as the pyramids. Apple is said to have a one-legged iPhone revenue base that can be pushed over with a gentle breeze.
Watch Apple stock fall today because of this unsubstantiated rumor. In fact, lately, Apple stock has been showing as much weakness as Facebook in the headwinds of a data-mining scandal. Big investors are probably selling their Apple stock to buy more Facebook instead of the other way around. Any company using personal data is always going to be the ones most valued by big investors because they’ll never be regulated as consumers happily and knowingly give their personal data to the data-mining companies.
Thanks, Tim Cook, for allowing AMZN to become the strongest stock and most untouchable company on the planet while keeping Apple on the doomed company list. Consumers will always give up their personal data for free services because they believe it’s worth the cost. Most consumers don’t care about their personal privacy.
Money doesn’t talk, it blinds.
Apple is in the cloud business. What do you think iTunes, App Store, and iCloud are? Do you believe Apple is not data mining the hell out what we do?
Apple stock is falling today, along with the rest of the market. I got an opportunity to open a position at a great price.
Bored to death. Same old same old analcysts.
Who cares! All I want is a new iPhone SE 2.
The PC effect is happening to smartphones- the rapid improvements from generation to generation began to not be as big and many stopped the upgrade cycle. Look at how hard it has been for Microsoft to pry people off off Windows XP and now 7- most are happy with what they have and do not see the value with an upgrade.
The same thing is happening with smartphones. A huge chunk of us do not give a shit about Augmented Reality, FaceID, or twin lenses with fake Bokeh. You can count me among that number and I am an Apple die hard and shareholder.
This is the one trick pony accusation I have been posting. Apple’s last quarter showed 69% + of the revenue came from the iPhone- everything else was just under 30% and this is a problem.
There is a finite number of people who want a smartphone, a lesser number who can pay the prices Apple asks and an even smaller number that strongly dislikes the price gouging on the 2 year planned obsolescence cycle Apple is pushing. At some point, people will get off the train.
Apple is under pressure to always grow earnings, but the Goose that Laid The Golden Egg (the iPhone) looks to have peaked in raw sales numbers. The only way to grow revenue is by bumping up the average selling price- exactly why you see $1,000+ iPhones.
I have the money for one- my house is paid off, no kids in the house, good job, lots of savings & investments- but I will be damned if I will pay $1,000 for a throwaway phone.
In 2 years you will not be able to recover half of that in resale. Gazelle right now will give you $425 for your $1,000 iPhone X- imagine what it will be in 2 years.
Not trolling, but buying one is an IQ test. There are better uses for the money.
I would not be so quick to dismiss the analysts. They aren’t all off the mark.
– they never said 4th quarter wasn’t good for Apple. Everyone knows that Apple plans a big 4th quarter because of holiday sales and prepares full distribution of the latest iPhone models to peak before christmas.
– what they do say, and they are mostly correct, is that mobile phones are a saturated market and that is absolutely true. iPhone 7,8, and X sales have all been weaker and all dissipated more quickly after the early adopter rush. I propose there are many reasons for this:
– the iPhone 7 abandoned the headphone jack
– the iPhone 8 has a fragile glass back and no headphone jack
– the iPhone X has an ugly notch and an odd aspect ratio, which is a big turnoff for people who view a lot of photo and video. It was priced higher than ever, and has not convinced many people that the unlocking FaceID is secure or more convenient than TouchID
Meanwhile the aged SE hasn’t been kept current.
Add that all up and yes, Apple iPhone sales are plateauing despite some hefty promotions on iPhones this year.
It is almost certain that Apple will expand the X lineup to include more screen sizes this year. Do you honestly believe that would snap the macro trend Apple is on?
My iPhone 6 just received its new $29 battery and a VERY noticeable speed boost as a result. No way I would consider dumping it for an 8 much less an X. I would feel just plain stupid…
Agree, though I do plan on getting a new model this autumn.