This statement comes exactly a day after Apple reported a drop in iPhone sales in Q2 of 2016.
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“iPhone has become one of the most important, world-changing and successful products in history”, Mr Cook said.
Apple announced on Wednesday morning that its sold its one billionth iPhone. “Thank you to everyone at Apple for helping change the world every day”, he added.
Apple will reportedly break with its usual strategy of overhauling the iPhone every two years. Cook also quoted a Kantar survey which said iPhone purchasers in the United States had a 95 per cent loyalty rate, “the highest ever measured for any smartphone”.
iPhone Se is popular both in developed and emerging markets.
Mr. Cook told investors numerous quarter’s new iPhone owners switched from cometing smartphones running Google’s Android platform. And not only did Apple reach that goal easily, it quickly became apparent that the iPhone itself was a juggernaut, a once-in-a-lifetime product that would forever change the way we interact with technology. Now, only seven months later, the iPhone has topped the billion milestone. And expectations for the next quarter will continue to shrink, with the company projecting fourth-quarter sales between $45.5 billion and $47.5 billion, compared to $51.5 billion this time a year ago.
The quarterly results underscored the challenges for Apple, which has built a huge business around the iPhone but is unlikely to see continued growth, due to a saturated smartphone market and increased competition. Sales for the 4-inch iPhone SE have done well and a recent study says that many owners of older iPhones are actually switching to the iPhone SE, which costs a few hundreds dollars less than the iPhone 6 and 6S.
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Apple isn’t relaxing now that a billion iPhones have been sold. And there’s still room to grow: according to Credit Suisse analysts, revenue from Apple services will generate $53 billion in revenue by 2020. “We have an incredible lineup of products in our pipeline, and I’m very bullish about our long-term opportunity”, Cook said.
