James Ticomb for The Telegraph:
Apple will reach a landmark moment this week as it reveals that its iconic handset now makes up less than half of its turnover for the first time since the death of visionary founder Steve Jobs.
Sales of the device, seen by many as the world’s most successful consumer product, are expected to fall for a third successive quarter, according to Wall Street. It will mean the iPhone accounts for 49 per cent of sales in the three months to the end of June, according to Morgan Stanley.
Morgan Stanley expects iPhone revenues to drop from US$30bn a year ago to US$26b, although total sales will increase slightly, from US$53b to US$54b as other divisions make up for the shortfall.
Quarterly services revenues are predicted to climb by a quarter to US$11.9bn, and its “other products” division, which includes the Apple Watch, AirPods and iPods, by 30 per cent to $11.9bn.
MacDailyNews Take: iPhone has at least one more hurrah, in 2020 when iPhone 5G arrives to usher is what’s sure to be an iPhone super cycle!
End of an era? What could replace the iPhone?
many things.
I sell caricatures of myself, I sold one to Steve Jobs once.
Apple watch and iPad Mini. Maybe something interesting will show up for a camera, such as in the watch since the iPad Mini has a camera.
What could replace the iPhone? How about cheap Android smartphones, leaving the iPhone with a meager 12% global smartphone market share percentage. Apple had been warned many times not to put all their eggs in the iPhone basket. Apple never had to rely so much on the iPhone with all the cash and resources they had to work with. Apple could have put much more effort and focus into their computer lineup. They could have been increasing their computer market share percentage along with selling iPhones.
Even so, many consumers don’t consider the iPhone as the best smartphone available. There are plenty of smartphone manufacturers offering features the iPhone doesn’t offer. I don’t expect Apple to match features of dozens of models of Android smartphones, but that’s the reality of the smartphone market.
I realize the iPhone is likely the ultimate device for Apple, but sometimes a company needs a backup plan for when times start to change. Didn’t Apple ever stop to think that the smartphone market would become totally saturated with so much competition. Every tech company you could imagine started making smartphones because Apple left such a large hole to fill in the smartphone market.
I believe consumers should hold onto their iPhones for at least a couple of years, but Wall Street doesn’t like that. The fewer new iPhones are bought, Apple’s value decreases and that’s a hard fact that’s turning Apple into a problematic no-growth company. YOY, Apple looks downright ugly. Just look at any of the recent revenue growth graphs.
Apple just spent a laughable $1B on Intel’s failed modem business. Wow! What a big spender. Big investors will not even think that’s worthwhile for Apple. I think it’s worth it but that will not increase Apple’s value, at all. Not long-term or short-term. A baseband modem will always be viewed as an insignificant component and nothing more. Every flagship Android smartphone will have a 5G modem long before the iPhone and Wall Street will turn that into a negative for Apple.
Apple used to write software to sell hardware.
The buggy whip people don’t realize that Apple now sells hardware to sell software, iCloud and the rest of the services..
iPhones will continue to sell, me, not upgrading till 2020, like zillions of people.
I’ll be upgrading in 2019, like zillions of people.
Not particularly surprising, given the quality and capabilities of the latest iPhones.
I can easily see holding on to my iPhone XS Max for 2 to 3 years.
Plenty of of room for growth with a Maxed out storage capacity.
Series 5 WATCH is my next device purchase after adopting Xs Max last Fall while sticking with my Series 3 WATCH from ‘17. Expect to buy the 12.9” A13X 2020 iPad Pro next year since I’m still on the original ‘16 A9X 9.7” iPad Pro. After that I’m not sure I’ll be inclined to buy any more of these devices as they will all be so fast with Bluetooth 5.x and I’m not much of a cell network user at all.
What a stupid heading and a stupid concept! One product STILL makes up nearly half of its turnover. Apple is not WEANING itself OFF anything.
They like saying it, Apple is Doomed…….anyway they can.
Apple is still considered The iPhone Company, so it can be said Apple is doomed if iPhone sales continue to fall along with revenue. If Apple is still part of the FAANGs, then Apple is the only FAANG with negative growth thanks to Tim Cook and crew. I realize Apple is trying to build Services, but Wall Street says it’s not good enough to replace the iPhone and there you have it.
A more accurate description would be “Apple Diversifies Products and Services Beyond iPhone”, but that’s not as attention grabbing as suggesting Apple has been addicted to the iPhone and is finally breaking the bad habit. Clickbait garbage.
Ah dang. You mean Tim & Co. will have to start paying more attention to their entire product line, but more specifically, MACS !!?? It’s as if every device or product they make should never have been ignored but in fact made a priority for growth with advertising and real innovation that’s actually practical and just works (butterfly keyboards please fly away never to return).
Tim: “Nah, let’s not do that. Sound like hard work”
No, they’re only paying attention to the mac for those few that want it. They understand most folks are buying mobile devices, but they’ll sell a few macOS desktops if they can make a good enough profit from it.
“No, they’re only paying attention to the mac for those few that want it.”
No, several millions buy Macs every quarter. Peter is right it is about time Apple paid more attention to the flagship product that built the company. Had they done that yearly under Clueless Cook they would have sold, much, much more…
26b….pocket change!
Just raise the price another 20%. Move more product design to Punjab. It will all be good.
Apple will be fine. Go back to Fortnite.
The X range introduction hit a lot of potential customers really hard. Starting at $1,000 pushed the iPhone out of the market for many Apple fans. The XR isn’t that great for a lot of folks either because of its size. I have one and will look to dump it in September if Apple has a smaller, affordable iPhone that is more comfortable in the hand.
Apple clearly has the power to grow their market share, but not at the current pricing structure. Keep the top two at the $1,000 range, but bring more affordable iPhones to market. An SE with a semi current A Chip and Face ID. Apple has a great ad on Face ID, but doesn’t back up the ad with actual products outside the X series.
5G has not been proven safe to human cells so, untill it is, 5G should be considered unsafe. I am basing this on warnings published in scientific articles.
Apple will be fine. Wall Street rewards or punishes change. Will you be fine?