Apple broke the record for highest quarterly profit ever recorded, result fuelled by all-time record revenue from its products, especially the iPhone. The Cupertino-based company said it sold 74.5 million iPhones in the quarter, 46 per cent above the previous year.
“Demand for iPhone was staggering,” Apple CEO Tim Cook told analysts. The company’s recent realization echoes the pinnacle of success reached by late Steve Jobs, but the taste of accomplishment could be even greater now as Apple faces more competitors. The US$18 billion profit was driven by growing iPhone sales, which accounted for over two-thirds of the US$74.6 billion in revenue.
Mr Cook announced that Apple “brought on more new people to iPhone than ever before,” although the company had previously predicted that iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus would convince many existing iPhone users to upgrade. The CEO of Apple added that the tech giant “couldn’t be happier” about the fact that many of the smartphone users are switching from Android.
Apple finally captured the top spot in China’s smartphone market; booming sales of the new iPhone models helped the company gain ground on Samsung, which has been dominating the market since 2011. Both Apple and Samsung shipped 74.5 million smartphones at global level in the fourth quarter to claim 19.6 per cent of the market each, Strategy Analytics told Bloomberg in an e-mailed statement. The third company to claim a spot on the podium was Lenovo Group with a market share of 6.5 per cent after its acquisition of Motorola Mobility.
In China, Apple overtook local vendor Xiaomi Corp, which now occupies the sixth position globally. Strategy Analytics’ executive director, Neil Mawston, told Bloomberg by e-mail that both Apple and Lenovo-Motorola have started to attack Xiaomi. The latter’s spectacular growth could be complicated by the two companies’ strong presence not only in China, but also worldwide.
According to Counterpoint Technology Market Research, the new iPhone models helped Apple almost double its smartphone share in China, Bloomberg reported. Thanks to its 17 per cent smartphone share, Apple has outshined Xiaomi, which only amassed 13 per cent, preliminary estimates form Counterpoint show. Lenovo’s 13 per cent helped it secure the third position ahead of Huawei. Samsung fell on the fifth position with only nine per cent smartphone share. Counterpoint analyst Neil Shah said in an e-mail that Apple’s iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus hit “the sweet spots” and managed to attract “a broader set of consumers.”
Although some analysts might consider Apple’s sound success short-lived, Mr Cook made it clear that the company plans to start shipping its first smartwatch in April. Although the CEO did not provide more details on Apple Watch, he did add that development is progressing on schedule.
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