“Apple Inc. signaled that the long wait for new products is nearing an end,” Adam Satariano reports for Bloomberg. “With bigger-screen handsets in development, Apple said yesterday that shoppers are delaying buying new iPhones, which will weigh on sales in the current quarter ending in September.”
“Yet rather than dissuade buyers from procrastinating, Apple stoked anticipation for new devices on a conference call, with Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook talking about an ‘incredible pipeline’ that ‘we can’t wait to show you,’ and finance chief Luca Maestri declaring it would be a ‘very busy fall,'” Satariano reports. “Looking ahead to new gadgets is the main reason investors barely reacted to Apple’s fiscal third-quarter results yesterday. The world’s most valuable company posted a 12 percent rise in net income to $7.75 billion and a 6 percent revenue increase to $37.4 billion, with strong iPhone and Mac sales making up for a drop in iPad demand.”
MacDailyNews Take: There wouldn’t be any dissuading anyway: Every iPhone buyer with a pulse has heard new iPhones with larger displays are coming. We’re all in wait and see mode now. Apple and everyone else knows that there’s no way around it. The late summer pause in iPhone sales has become an expected, routine event.
“Investors were buzzing about Apple’s coming slew of products. The Cupertino, California-based company, which hasn’t released a new mobile device since last year, is working on larger-screen iPhones, a potential wearable device and an upgrade to Apple TV, people familiar with the plans have said,” Satariano reports. “Maestri, who took over as Apple’s chief financial officer this year, said in an interview that the trend of customers waiting for new releases is especially pronounced in English-speaking countries where more rumors are spread online about the company’s product pipeline. He said Apple took that phenomenon into account when crafting its outlook for the current quarter. The company projected sales of $37 billion to $40 billion, slightly below the $40.6 billion estimated by analysts. ‘We’re seeing some purchase delays and we’ve reflected that in our guidance,’ Maestri said. ‘It happens. We have to live with that.'”
Read more in the full article here.