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Despite the struggling economy, Apple has managed to produce some positive numbers, most of which can be attributed to its smartphone business.
Reports
Due to iPhone sales, the industry rarely notices flaws in Apple’s operations.
In fact, the last quarter reports show that the iPhone sales performance has been strong.
Behind the performance, however, is a plethora of underlying concerns.
Last week, Apple released a quarterly report that instilled confidence in the market amid supply chain challenges, an economic downturn, and the effects of a pandemic.
The company’s third quarter revenue ($83 billion) was in line with Wall Street expectations.
IPhone sales generated more than half of sales and exceeded analysts’ expectations.
Apple predicted the supply chain hurdles would reach $8 billion in revenue, and the results indicate that this was just an exaggeration.
Despite strong iPhone sales, other areas haven’t found the same success.
Decline in revenue
Apple has three main products outside of iPhones: the Mac, the iPad, and wearables. Each of the products saw sales decline year over year, but while the iPad beat analysts’ expectations, the other two underperformed.
Early analysis claimed that the Mac’s decline was expected, but analysts failed to predict such a decline.
Mac Sales
The MacBook Air and MacBook Pro are Apple’s flagship laptops, and their quarterly sales have been flat for nearly four weeks.
However, the sales are due to the release of the M2 versions of the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro a few weeks later.
The MacBook Pro went on sale on June 26, while the Air was released on July 15. The delay in the launch caused sales to stop, causing Mac sales to drop by about $1 billion in the third fiscal quarter from a year earlier.
Mac sales are expected to improve next month and many are optimistic about the category.
People also think that the decline in income is only temporary.
Experts speculate that the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air will grow significantly in the fiscal fourth quarter.
Apple is also expected to gain momentum with the release of a new Mac mini and a more expensive MacBook Pro later this year.
iPad sale
MacBook sales were better than iPad sales, which was a big deal for Apple.
It has been reported that many shoppers have been unable to find the tablet they want in retail stores over the past year.
Industry insiders thought the iPad Air and iPad Pro were too similar, confusing buyers. Additionally, the Pro model’s shortcomings when it comes to multitasking were a downside.
Apple blamed the drop in iPad Pro sales on the decline of tablets. However, the company has not had demand issues due to supply shortages.
Apple wear objects
Other Apple products with declining sales include the Apple Watch, AirPods, Beats headphones, HomePod, and Apple TV.
Product sales were hit hard by supply chain issues, the Russian invasion and chip shortages.
Apple CEO Tim Cook highlighted the economic impact of wearable devices, saying the economy is hampering people’s desire for the products.
He pointed out that the AirTag could be one of the reasons for the decline. However, they also updated Apple TV in the third fiscal quarter of 2021. Despite the two factors, they weren’t enough to explain the $ 750 million year-over-year revenue drop.
Hiring
In an interview with Bloomberg Television, Tim Cook revealed that Apple will continue to hire and invest more “thoughtfully” during the recession.
Reports show that the company has held back internally with limited staff growth.
Reference:
Strong iPhone sales can’t hide Apple’s worries – records zero growth
