Apple has announced that its first quarter earnings is at a record $54.5 billion in revenue, compared to $46.33 billion same time last year. The Cupertino tech giant has shipped more than 47 million iPhones in Q1 of 2013, a figure that is both astonishing and ironic, since Apple’s stock price is on a decline. The number of handsets sold is also a record high for the company, amidst the rumors that consumers are slowly losing interest. Apple’s flagship product is facing intense competition from other manufacturers, but from what these earnings report suggests, the iPhone is still ahead of the game.
Reign of the iPhones and iPads
The biggest chunk of Apple’s earnings was contributed by its mobile products, the iPhone and the iPad. Aside from the 47.8 million iPhones sold in the quarter, 22.9 million of Apple’s tablets were shipped this Q1. It is a big improvement compared to last year’s Q1 performance, where they pushed more than 15 million units. From these figures, it’s hard to imagine how rumors about the waning customer interest for these products started. While it is still too early to confirm or debunk these rumors, we can only assume that consumers worldwide still favour Apple’s brand of tech gadgets over the competition.
Macs and iPods on path to obsolescence?
But aside from the impressive overall earnings and strong performance of their key products, it seems that Apple is having problems with two of their other offerings. Macs and iPods sales were on the decline, with their flagship computer shipping just 4.1 million units, down from 5.2 million same time last year. The new eye-catching design and colors of its main music devices failed to capture more attention, pushing just 12.7 million units compared to Q1 2012’s 15.4 million. But while others perceive these figures as a threat to the company, Apple CEO Tim Cook actually sees this as a good sign for the iPad. Cook considers this “cannibalization” by one of their own product as a good thing, as the sales decrease for their Macs translate to more iPads getting shipped off to consumers.
The decline in their Mac sales can also be attributed to shipping delays of their newer models. Late last year, Apple has upgraded most of their MacBook Pro line, giving the 17-inch and the 13-inch models a Retina display. But rolling out the newer models was slowed by shipping problems, as some regions were able to get them several months after the release.
Since it is still too early to make a prediction for the company’s performance for the year, it’s safe to assume that the ups and downs experienced by Apple could stabilize as 2013 progresses. Tim Cook also reported than more than half a billion iOS devices were already sold, and if that says something, it’s probably the fact that Apple is still a force to be reckoned with in the tech world. The transition from peddling Macs and iPods to pushing iPads and iPhones is just Apple’s way of adapting to an ever-changing world of technology. Just like how the Internet changed the way we communicate through wireless data management, VoIP services, and the like, Apple’s products have revolutionized the way we look at computers and mobile devices.
