January 26, 2016: After 9 years of spectacular progress, iPhone gross sales flatline for the primary time. Some name the gross sales plateau means “peak iPhone” has lastly arrived.
Numbers posted by Apple present that throughout the ultimate three months of 2015, iPhone gross sales grew by solely 0.4%. The essential vacation season gross sales examine fairly unfavorably with the 46% bounce recorded throughout the identical interval a yr earlier.
Fears of ‘peak iPhone’ as gross sales plateau
When the primary iPhone arrived in 2007, it modified the sport for smartphones. And with every subsequent mannequin, Apple offered extra iPhones than the yr earlier than. However that phenomenal gross sales trajectory couldn’t go on for ever.
For years, analysts questioned when Apple would hit “peak iPhone.” In 2016, for the primary time, it appeared the reply is likely to be “now.” Apple offered 74.8 million iPhones throughout the interval, up from 74.46 million within the fourth quarter of 2014.
The fault for the iPhone gross sales plateau didn’t essentially lie with Apple, though the iPhone 6s was arguably the least thrilling improve in years (even by “s” launch requirements). As an alternative, the iPhone hunch had so much to do with slowing worldwide progress for smartphones. General smartphone gross sales sank to their lowest stage since 2013, in keeping with researchers at Gartner.
This proved true in the USA and different mature markets, the place fewer folks had been shopping for their first smartphones. Apple due to this fact focused on catering to its current buyer base, in addition to no matter customers it might steal from rivals.
The smartphone slowdown additionally hit China, which Apple touted as its future greatest market. Apple CEO Tim Cook dinner famous that, whereas Cupertino made nice strides within the Asian nation, the corporate “started to see some economic softness in greater China in recent months, most notably in Hong Kong.”
Different Apple merchandise don’t assist a lot
The truth that Apple didn’t create a brand new hit product class to select up the slack solely compounded the height iPhone downside. And different Apple product traces declined, too. The corporate offered 4% fewer Macs and simply 16.1 million iPads within the quarter (down from 21.4 million in the identical interval in 2014). The Apple Watch and Apple TV, in the meantime, generated only a fraction of Apple’s whole income. Because of this, Cupertino handled them extra like hobbies than potential iPhone-beaters.
Apple did submit document revenues for the quarter. Nonetheless, this marked a development that continued, as the corporate’s meteoric rise throughout the early 2000s started to lose momentum.
Peak iPhone … NOT
From at this time’s perspective, the concept 2015 was “peak iPhone” is clearly ridiculous. Market analysis exhibits Apple shipped 88 million iPhones within the fourth quarter of 2020, and 85 million in the identical quarter a yr later. That’s way over in This fall 2015. And whole shipments throughout all of 2021 confirmed an 18% year-over-year enhance.
That stated, iPhone progress in the USA, Europe and different rich international locations will depend on folks switching from Android. The variety of folks shopping for their first smartphone every year is even decrease than again in 2015. As of 2024, Apple reportedly commanded 18.7% of world smartphone gross sales.
Additionally on at the present time in Apple historical past…
Whereas the announcement of slowing iPhone gross sales (and associated fears of hitting peak iPhone) might be crucial Apple occasion to happen on January 26, it’s enjoyable to make use of these “Today in Apple history” posts to look again a bit additional.
On January 26, 1999, Apple reached a settlement with the Federal Commerce Fee to reimburse clients who had been charged for technical assist that an “Apple Assurance” advert marketing campaign stated would at all times be free.
The Apple Assurance was a promise made by Apple from 1992 to 1996 that free entry to technical assist personnel would at all times be out there so long as the buyer (or a member of their household) owned an Apple product. Quickly after Steve Jobs returned to Apple, the corporate scrapped this coverage. From October 1997, Apple started charging clients a $35 price for entry to assist.
In the long run, Apple agreed to ship a Discover of Refund to each person concerned within the disagreement. This included a examine or bank card reimbursement notification to everybody who beforehand paid for technical assist providers.
