Apple Q2 Earnings: iPhone Sales Fall Flat (reuters.com)

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: Apple Inc reported a surprise fall in iPhone sales for the second quarter on Tuesday, indicating that customers had held back purchases in anticipation of the 10th-anniversary edition launch of the company's most important product. Apple sold 50.76 million iPhones in its fiscal second quarter ended April 1, down from 51.19 million a year earlier. Analysts on average had estimated iPhone sales of 52.27 million, according to financial data and analytics firm FactSet. However, revenue from the smartphones rose 1.2 percent in the quarter. Expectations are building ahead of Apple's 10th-anniversary iPhone range this fall, with investors hoping that the launch would help bolster sales.

Comments

hold off or went elsewhere?

[gravewax]

did customers really hold off or did they go elsewhere? I know quite a few apple phone fans and none of them ever hold off, I also know quite a few disillusioned former fans.

Re:hold off or went elsewhere?

[dknj]

did customers really hold off or did they go elsewhere?

D I G I T A L L O C K I N

You bought all your videos on iTunes store, all of your music is iTunes in the cloud, and all of your photos and videos are also in iCloud. I would say half of those buying iPhones don't think there is a way out and can't fathom losing the thousands of $ they put into apple digital products

Re:hold off or went elsewhere?

[Anubis IV]

I know quite a few apple phone fans and none of them ever hold off

This is an anecdote, to be sure, but my parents are holding off until later this year, even though they haven't heard any rumors and even though their iPhone 5s has since been surpassed by the 6, 6s, and 7 generations.

The reason they're holding off is because their existing iPhones are simply good enough. The iPhone 5s still runs the latest OS, gets the latest patches, and runs apps nearly as well today as it did when it was first introduced in 2013. It's held up remarkably well. The fact that it was also the first 64-bit smartphone has helped to keep it on the good side of any compatibility cutoffs as well, as apps have dropped support for older architectures and devices.

Really though, none of this is surprising. Though my dad was in a line before dawn to get the iPhone 3G on launch day, he held off two generations before upgrading to the iPhone 4, three generations to get the iPhone 5s, and now holding off four generations for whatever comes out later this year.

All of which is to say, it has nothing to do with whatever's next, and everything to do with what they already have: something that's good enough.

What is this trash?

[Jack9]

Marketing spin is not news. Stop parroting Reuters.

10th anniversary?

[fred6666]

I know quite a lot of Apple fanboys and none of them ever said they were holding off for the 10th anniversary iPhone. Nothing special is expected, it will be better than the 9th, worse than the 11th.

Apple probably lost many sales to Android manufacturers, however.

Re:10th anniversary?

[Cmdln Daco]

As a buyer, that means I am paying a large bounty to the manufacturer if I buy an Apple Phone.

Not that many of us here are cellphone producers. Most of us are buyers.

When that has sunk in for a while, well....

Meh.

[Frosty Piss]

My iPhone 5S works fine, does what I want, serves its purpose. The only thing I want is more realestate, which will maybe drive me to an iPhone 6-something when I feel the price point is right (soon). I like my iPhone, so I will not be getting an Android. But I'm not going to spend a fortune on The Latest and Greatest a long as what I have works. It's a phone, not the center of my world, so I'm fine both sticking with Apple and being a few years behind the bleeding edge.

Re: Meh.

[Frosty Piss]

Guy who says "meh" + guy who names himself "frosty piss" / guy who is satisfied with his 5s = DOUCHE BAG. Don't get offended Frosty, it's math. It's never wrong. Just checking - do you drive a 15 year old Subaru without a/c?

Worse. I drive a Tarus wagon.

Re:They sold 50 MILLION phones. Let that sink in.

[knorthern knight]

>Trying to get that number to sink deep down in, I really am, but it's just not happening.

Apple gets just about all the industry's profits... http://www.reuters.com/article...

> For the second quarter, the company's net income rose to $11.03 billion, or
> $2.10 per share, compared with $10.52 billion, or $1.90 per share, a year earlier.

And, oh yeah, Apple now has a quarter of a ***TRILLION*** dollars of cash.

Try to get that to sink in.

> Citizens of the world buy more than a billion Android phones a year now.

"Losing money on every sale, but making up for it in volume" does not get you a quarter of a trillion in the bank. The goal of a business is to make a profit, and Apple is doing that very nicely, thank you. I am not an Apple fanboi, and do not own any Apple products. I have Dell PCs and a Samsung tablet at home, so I'm neutral here.

Re:Apple vs Android - apple in for a shock

[Cmdln Daco]

Have you ever used a Windows Phone?

I have run iOS, Windows Phone 8, and Android. I presently use some Android devices. Windows Phone as an operating device was really nice, I would rate it above Android. There just aren't any apps for it and never will be. WP8 has a nice snappy interface, even on the low-end Nokia that I used.