Apple’s CEO has spoken with confidence about the future of the firm’s iPad range, despite having recorded two quarterly declines in a row.
Despite the proximity of the iPhone 6 debut, Apple’s current-generation Smartphone range is going from strength to strength. Particularly in developing and secondary markets outside the US, strong sales in a usually deflated period have contributed to growth of an impressive 12% compare to the same quarter last year.
Sadly, the same cannot be said for its sibling…the iPad.
Apple’s market-leading tablet is in a state of free-fall right now, having once again slipped in sales performance for the second quarter in a row. And while the Cupertino collective may have insisted the slump is nothing more than a temporary glitch, others are beginning to question just how the iPad can or will continue to hold its own going forward.
In specifics, Apple reported total iPhone sales of 35.2 million units for the three-month period ending June 28. This represented an increase of 12.7% compared to the same period last year, almost hitting the targets set by analysts. Interestingly, Apple credited much of its iPhone gains to its success in the ‘BRIC’ territories outside the US – those being Brazil, Russia, India, and China. These fast-emerging markets brought home the most impressive iPhone sales growth of all, collectively recording a 55% improvement over last year.
“We’re thrilled with the results, and we’re thrilled with where we are going,” said Tim Cook following the revenue announcement.
“The momentum is really strong.”
Fans of the iPhone in particular have a great deal to look forward to over the coming month, with both the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 and the 5.5-inch iPhone Air set to launch mid-fall. These larger Smartphones could also be joined by the very first Apple Smartwatch, which according to new patent sightings could launch under than name of the iTime.
However, Q2 proved to be another troubling period for Apple’s iPad which came out with a battered and bruised 9.2% slide in sales performance compared to the same three months last year. Q1 performance was even worse, with iPad sales slipping a full 16% compared to Q1 2013. This contrasts rather painfully with the second quarter of 2012, when iPad sales spiked a staggering 84% year-on-year.
The problem largely comes down to dwindling demand in the iPad’s most important markets of all – particular those of Europe and the US. Saturation has become such that overall demand for tablet PCs – particularly those of a high-end nature – is beginning to taper-off at a somewhat alarming rate. However, Apple’s CEO made it clear that he’s in no way concerned about the iPad’s poor performance in 2014 to date and insists that the device range as a whole still has plenty to give.
“This isn’t something that worries us,” said Mr. Cook.
Around the same time as the report’s publishing, Apple announced a new venture with IBM that would see the pair create upward of 100 new corporate-focused apps that would be built wholly around tablet PCs, rather than the usual formula of modifying existing desktop apps. It’s hoped that the partnership will to some extent bolster iPad demand among the lucrative business markets of the US and Europe, where tablet PC sales on the whole are likewise on the decline.