That being said, the iPhone still remains the crux of Apple’s overall operations.
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This year, the company’s “S” models failed to generate as much consumer excitement as the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus did in 2014, as they were the first Apple smartphones to feature a display larger than the traditional iPhone’s four-inch screen.
Daniel Ives, managing director at FBR Capital Markets, told ABC News that while Cook warned that the next quarter will be tough for Apple, he believes new product releases later this year will help Apple restore the tremendous growth it has reported in previous quarters. He suggested the next iPhones will “turn this ship back into growth waters”. Still, the figure was good enough to set yet another iPhone sales record.
Has the mighty iPhone reached its selling peak?
Apple doesn’t have many alternatives for near term growth.
However, on average analysts had been expecting earnings per share of $3.23 on sales of $76.6bn.
Apple is used to being the overachieving popular kid in Silicon Valley, but the iPhone maker is about to face its most hard quarter since the first iPhone was announced, after the company forecast a decline in sales.
With the growth slowing in iPhone sales, analysts expect sales of units of the smartphone to enter negative territory for just the first time later in 2016 due in part because of rumors from the supply chain of Apple of reduced orders for the iPhone 6S.
“It’s really cool and has some interesting applications”, Cook added, without elaborating.
“Apple’s slowdown is completely normal and priced in as the ending iPhone 6 replacement cycle is making it very hard to grow revenues beyond current levels”, said Edison Investment Research analyst Richard Windsor. Apple also recently hired virtual reality expert Doug Bowman, a Virginia Tech computer science professor, according to reports last week.
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During the same quarter, Apple sold 16.1 million iPads and 5.3 million Macs. The message seemed aimed at reassuring investors who worry that Apple relies on the iPhone for two-thirds of its revenue, but several analysts said it was a positive sign.
