Apple recently announced its financial results for the second quarter of the year 2016, according to which there is a notable drop in revenues, for the first time in the last 13 years.
The turnover of the colossal company was 50.6 billion dollars instead of 52.02 billion dollars, which was the number that had been predicted by economist. The same quarter last year, Apple had an income of $58 billion.
Despite all the above, the results didn’t’ seem to come much as a surprise, especially for those who had done their homework, since Apple had already predicted its drop. However, one of the most concerning facts, is the drop in the main device that has built Apple its empire, which is none other than the iPhone. This smartphone is literally the shiniest stone of all, on its maker’s crown.
More specifically, the American corporation, sold 51.2 million iPhone devices during the last 3 months, whereas 61.1 million devices where sold last year. It is essentially the first time since the first iPhone generation in 2007, that we’re seeing a considerable drop in its sales.
In general, there has been a drop in smartphones everywhere, regardless the brand so companies are now on wild goose chase to find the next innovation which could revive smartphone sales.
On the other hand, some experts argue that the future is now in self-driving cars, smart houses or industrial applications of the Internet of Things, though “we can’t be sure until we’re sure”.
To confront the situation, Apple is hoping on the forthcoming iPhone SE and the new generation of iPhone, to get its sales up and running again. Of course, such a plan shall take some time before the aimed goals are achieved.
If anything, the American market has proved that it is a hard place to flourish your business once you’ve seen its downfall, and that goes even for the companies that expand around the globe. And a downfall may not be the case here, but we’d all agree that it could also be closer than we might think.
And to make things worse, Apple’s second most essential handset, the iPad, is facing another consecutive drop, from 12.6 to 10.3 million devices from year to year. In fact, this is the 8th quarter in a row that the company’s sales tablets are falling, which is why a new smaller and more affordable version of the iPad Pro, is more crucial now than ever.
To finish off the situation, sales in Mac systems dropped approximately half a million since last year.
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal,Apple CEO Mr Cook said it was “a challenging quarter”, but he dismissed concerns that Apple was in decline. “It’s a tough bar to hurdle, but it doesn’t change the future. The future is very bright,” he said.
“The market is currently not growing; however, my view is that’s an overhang of macroeconomic environments in many places of the world,” Cook continues. “We’re very optimistic that this too shall pass and that the market, and Apple, will grow again.”
Whether Mr. Cook’s prediction will turn out to be accurate or not, is yet to be proved in time. For now, the most tangible facts we’ve got in public, indicates that Apple had a hard quarter and an even harder one is around the corner.
