Analysis of Apple's quarterly report on the pages of our website was , but there are always those nuances that I would like to return to. Few market players have not cited a shortage of Intel processors in recent quarters, and Apple was no exception. Of course, this is not the main one of its current problems, but this factor was voiced by Apple representatives without initiative from invited analysts.
Apple executives admitted that revenue from sales of Mac computers fell from $5,8 billion to $5,5 billion over the year, which was largely blamed on a shortage of processors used in some of the Cupertino company's popular computer models. It is clear that we are talking about Intel processors, which the manufacturer produced using 14 nm technology with priority in favor of more expensive models with a large crystal and a large number of cores. Some specific Apple processor models might not be enough.
These conditions, as Apple representatives clarify, did not prevent sales of Mac computers from increasing by double-digit percentages in the quarter in Japan and South Korea. In local markets, Mac revenue reached an all-time high last quarter. Moreover, the Japanese market was the only one outside the Americas in which Apple's revenue grew in the past quarter. Apple adds that globally, approximately half of new Mac purchasers have never owned a Mac before, and the Mac user base is at an all-time high.
iPad Pro awarded the title of ideal laptop replacement
Much has already been said about the success of iPad tablets in the past quarter; the growth rate of revenue from their sales reached its highest level in six years. As Apple executives explained, the main success factor in this situation was the high demand for iPad Pro. Revenue from iPad sales grew by double-digit percentages in all five macro-regions of Apple's presence, and in China it returned to growth, despite the difficult economic conditions in that country. Again, in Japan, revenue from iPad sales reached an all-time high, tablets sold well in South Korea, and in Mexico and Thailand, revenue more than doubled compared to the first quarter of last year.
Apple representatives at the quarterly reporting event repeated the usual phrases about records for the number of active iPad users, and the predominance of βrecruitsβ among those who purchased an Apple tablet between January and March of this year. As Apple CEO Tim Cook summarized, the iPad Pro tablet is an ideal substitute for a classic laptop for both amateurs and professionals.
Apple can't keep up with demand for wireless headphones AirPods
In the hardware direction, Apple had another reason to be proud in the first quarter - the dynamics of sales of wearable devices and accessories. Revenue growth for the year was approaching 50%, and Tim Cook compared the size of this business with the capitalization of a conventional Fortune 200 company. This is all the more surprising, as Cook explained, given that it has only been four years since the Apple Watch first appeared. generations.
Watches in this series continue to be the best-selling devices of their kind in the world. About 75% of Apple Watch buyers have never used a watch of this model before.
AirPods wireless headphones continue to be in incredible demand, said Apple's executive director. Demand now exceeds supply, and the company has to make efforts to meet it. AirPods are also considered the most popular wireless headphones in the world. Last month, the second generation of AirPods was introduced, offering faster device pairing, Siri voice interface support without the need for gestures, and longer battery life.
Branded used exchange program iPhone has good potential
Apple is gradually expanding the geography of its proprietary programs for exchanging old smartphones for new ones with an additional payment and purchasing new devices in installments. These offers are already available in the US, China, UK, Spain, Italy and Australia. Over the year, the number of smartphones exchanged under this program has quadrupled.
Particular attention was paid to China, where the demand for Apple smartphones was able to return to growth only after the correction of pricing policy, the implementation of special installment programs, and a reduction in VAT throughout the country. However, Apple considers the fourth positive factor to be progress in negotiations between the US and Chinese authorities on foreign trade terms, but the experts invited to the event would prefer to think that Apple learned the most important lesson from the correction of its pricing policy.
Apple's chief financial officer was quick to point out that while the company was cutting product prices in a number of countries, the company was carefully weighing the impact of this move on profit margins. And when representatives of one of the analytical agencies asked about the conclusions drawn, Tim Cook in his answer went somewhere in the direction of the impact of the smartphone exchange program on consumer loyalty, preferring not to touch on the topic of the elasticity of demand for the iPhone.
The peculiarities of behavior of the participants in this exchange program were also voiced. Apple receives used smartphones of various generations during the exchange, from the sixth to the eighth. Some people update their smartphones once a year, others once every four years. The company tries, if possible, to give the received smartphone a second life by offering it to another buyer, but if the resource is exhausted, the components of the smartphone are sent for recycling. The cases of new Apple devices, for example, are made from recycled aluminum or alloys based on it in one hundred percent of cases.
In the US, Apple even has a robot with its own name Daisy, which is capable of disassembling 1,2 million smartphones per year for further processing and disposal. There are several of these robots in use, and the company is proud of its environmental achievements.
Source: 3dnews.ru