Slashdot Mirror
Apple Will No Longer Reveal How Many iPhones, iPads, and Macs It Sells (theverge.com)
Yesterday, during the company's Q4 earnings call, Apple's chief financial officer Luca Maestri said the company will no longer report unit sales of its main hardware divisions, including iPhones, iPad, and Mac. "This is the same as protocols Apple already follows for its smaller devices, such as the Apple Watch, AirPods, and HomePod, which are bundled under the 'Other Products' category," The Verge reports. From the report: The announcement comes after iPhone unit sales percentage was unchanged year over year, despite a revenue bump of 29 percent. The decision to stop disclosing unit sales is because that figure is "not representative of underlying strength of our business," Maestri said. "A unit of sale is less relevant today than it was in our past," he says, adding that unit sales increase are still a clear part of Apple's goals. While unit sales may not accurately represent Apple's business performance, it's a figure that analysts and journalists have used to calculate a product's average selling price. For example, that number can provide insight into how well different iPhone models are selling, as newer iPhones like the XS, XS Max, and XR are priced higher than older models like the now-discontinued SE, 6S, and 6.
We are still making money in the short term by overcharging suckers, while losing market share, and also pushing iOS developers away from the Macs they required.
This is the problem with the short term thinking and incentive structures in western multi-nationals corporations, who only care about the next quarter or so. Which is typically done at the expense of long term business viability.
We already know that I-phone sales are down, it was in the quarterly report
We do? It was?
The year ago quarter they sold 46.7 million phones. This quarter they sold 46.9 million.
FY 2017 they sold 216.8 million phones
FY 2018 they sold 217.7 million phones
Which of those figures show that sales are down?
You are cherrypicking data. Their sales dropped after 2015.
FY 2018 they sold 217.7 million phones
FY 2017 they sold 216.8 million phones
FY 2016 they sold 211.9 million phones
FY 2015 they sold 231.2 million phones
(Sales continuously increased before that time.)
Also, the issue is not that their sales are dropping, it's that their rate of increase is dropping, which is indicative of lack of enthusiasm in their product.
You can see this from their sales trends here and here .
Apple is not losing marketshare.
Apple is losing marketshare.
Now Apple is already down to 11% of the worldwide market and was passed by Huawei at 15%. Xiaomi is now only 2% behind Apple, coming up fast, and Oppo is 3% behind. Apple will soon be fourth or fifth by market share.
When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.