American technology giant, Apple, has a very positive public face in the market. However, most of Apple’s success comes from its smartphone business. The iPhone usually sells so well that the industry barely recognizes any failures in Apple’s other businesses. According to reports, in the latest quarter, iPhone sales performance is strong. However, behind this glorious performance, Apple is experiencing some hidden worries. On the face of it, Apple delivered a surprise quarterly report last week, instilling confidence in the market, especially given the supply chain challenges it faces, the economic downturn and the lingering fallout from the pandemic.
Source: BGR
Apple’s third-quarter revenue of $83 billion was in line with Wall Street expectations. The iPhone sales was particularly strong, with revenue of $40.7 billion in the quarter, beating many analysts’ expectations. The company also said it had predicted that supply chain hurdles would hit up to $8 billion in revenue, but that now appears to be an exaggeration. However, the good news ends there.
Mac, iPad and wearables record strong decline in revenues
Apple’s other three major products – the Mac, iPad and wearables – all experienced year-over-year revenue declines. While the iPad beat analysts’ expectations, the Mac and wearables fell well short of expectations. Previous analysis claims that the decline of Mac was expected. The real surprise was that analysts didn’t predict such a decline.
The MacBook Air and MacBook Pro are Apple’s two most popular Macs. Sales of the two devices may have been stagnant for nearly four weeks during the quarter. That’s because the M2 versions of the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro were released on June 6, but didn’t go on sale until a few weeks later. The MacBook Pro did not sell until June 26 while the MacBook Air did not hit the shelves until July 15.
The delay in the launch of the two Macs means that sales of Apple’s best-selling notebook have come to a screeching halt. The result: Mac sales in the fiscal third quarter were down about $1 billion from a year earlier. It is worth mentioning that more people will buy home office equipment in 2021 than this year.
iPhone sales are good but Mac is not impressive
Mac sales are expected to rebound next month, and some commentators remain optimistic about the category. The latest quarter’s problems may only be temporary, and it’s unlikely that Mac will enter a downtrend here.
The MacBook Pro and MacBook Air should grow substantially in the fiscal fourth quarter. Apple will provide further growth momentum with the release of a new Mac mini and high-end MacBook Pro later this year. Next year will also see a new Mac Pro, iMac and 15-inch MacBook Air.
Compared to the Mac, the real concern is the iPad and Apple’s tablet supply chain woes for several quarters. Allegedly, many consumers have been unable to find the iPad they want in retail stores over the past year. Industry insiders believe that Apple’s iPad Air and iPad Pro are a bit too similar, confusing many consumers. The iPad Pro’s inadequacies in multitasking are also a downside.
In its quarterly report, Apple blamed lower iPad …….